I felt a gentle breeze. Of course that might have been a real breeze since we were outside. But I noticed the air around us smelled less horrid. I took another careful sniff. Heck, it smelled good. Looking over at Grandma and Mr. Gomez they didn’t agree. They both coughed, gagged and winced.
“OMG Mick… what the heck have you been eating…” Mr. Gomez gasped. His eyes rolled to the back of his head. He dropped to the ground out cold.
Grandma’s knees were buckling. I knew she wanted to stay standing but the powerful stench from Grandpa’s butt had to be too much for her. Her legs finally buckled under her. She dropped to the ground.
Grandpa sniffed the air. “Wimps. That wasn’t even one of my really bad ones….”
Maria and Hammy stopped gagging. Maria turned to me, “thanks Zara!”
I looked at Gramps. He gave me a crooked smile.
“Gramps, I don’t want to hurt you!” I said. “This is your chance to go back to wherever it is you are supposed to be….”
Gramps stuck his tongue out at me. “Nah nah nah nah!” he said as his tongue wagged, tossing spit all over.
“Oh gross, gramps! Very immature!” I said.
Gramps grinned. “You ain’t seen nothing yet!”
Gramps tongue rolled back into his mouth. He rolled his tongue around his mouth gathering spit.
I shook my head. “Oh Gramps don’t do what I think you’re going to do…”
Gramps’ tongue whipped of out his mouth and snapped at me. I ducked under it. The tongues lashed downwards slapping me down the face and then back up the face. It not only hurt but it soaked me with spit. Gramps rolled his tongue back into his mouth. He smacked his lips.
“Oh so gross!” Maria said.
“That was hard to watch,” Hammy said.
I shook the spit off me. “So so, yucky, gramps….”
Gramps laughed. “You still ain’t seen nothing yet.” Gramps stuck a finger down his own throat.
“Oh man, he’s going to ghost barf us!” Hammy shouted.
All right now enough was enough. I wanted to give Gramps a chance to do the right thing. Thing was now I knew he was too far under the influence of Lizzy. Now, I had no other choice.
I turned to Hammy and Maria. “Get him guys!”
The two charged at Gramps.
Gramps looked at them and snickered. “Really? You two are attacking me? I’m a ghost. What do you plan to do? Make me laugh myself into defeat.”
Maria through a flying kick at Gramps’ head. Hammy jumped up and threw a flying kick at Gramps’ knee. That move caught me off guard.
Of course the two of them passed right through him.
Gramps turned to taunt them to their faces. But as weird as this may seem that was my plan. I figured Gramps would take his mind off me.
I drew my zapper and zapped Gramps right in the back. Gramps looked down and saw my zapper beam pass through him. “Oh drat!” he said as he burst into what gross stuff ghosts burst into.
I pointed to the soccer field. “Okay, let’s stop, Lizzy! This has gotten personal!”
Approaching the soccer field, we could hear the crowd cheering, which in itself, was weird because usually the girls’ soccer games didn’t even draw twenty people. Today though, even with the field just coming into view, we saw the stands jammed packed with people.
In fact, everybody in town sat either in the stands or stood around the field. Most of them were chanting, “Go Lizzy! Go!”
Now even the soaked teachers had joined us watching the game. They all shouted, “Go Master! Go!”
Scanning the crowd I saw Ming and Matti. Ming was holding a big sign that read: Lizzy Rules!
I heard Lizzy inside my head saying, “Zara, I’m so glad you could come to watch me. That’s what I really wanted! I’ll make you a follower after the game.”
“Did you guys hear that?” I asked Maria and Hammy.
“Hear what?” they both asked.
“Never mind…”
The scoreboard read, Hallow Falls: 20 Winterbrook: 0. A few Winterbrook players lay on the ground, shivering, sucking their thumbs. The Hallow Falls players sat on the field with their legs crossed, eyes glazed, clapping and chanting, “Go Master! Go!”
Lizzy pranced up the field, kicking the soccer ball, closing in on the Winterbrook goal. Two big Winterbrook players rushed at Lizzy, trying to stop her from scoring. I had to give them credit for their courage, but not their brains. Obviously, they had less of a chance of stopping Lizzy than an undersized ant would have against an angry rhino. One of the girls, a freight train of a kid, lowered her shoulder, throwing herself into Lizzy. The big girl went bouncing backwards, hitting the ground three or four times before she stopped. She lay there, out colder than a popsicle on the North Pole.
The second girl didn’t give up, she dribbled towards Lizzy and stopped just before she reached her.
Lizzy, for her part, happily dribbled the ball up the field like she didn’t have a care in the world. Lizzy looked at the girl and smiled as she continued to dribble forward.
“You’re smart!” Lizzy told the girl.
Lizzy blew a little puff of breath at the girl. The girl fell over straight, stiff as a board.
“But, I am smarter and stronger,” Lizzy said, continuing towards the goal.
Surprisingly, the Winterbook goal keeper still held her ground. She stood there, legs bent, arms ready to make the stop. I could only imagine that Lizzy liked the challenge.
Lizzy wound up kicking a missile right at the poor goalie. The goalie closed her eyes and tried standing firm. Lizzy had other ideas though, she pointed at the goalie, then pointed at the ground. The goalie fell to the ground out cold. The ball flew over her head (which was lucky for her as the shot would have taken her head off). It went into the goal for another score.
Lizzy jumped up and down celebrating. The crowd also started celebrating and chanting, “Lizzy! Lizzy!” I have to admit, Lizzy was a pretty cool girl...ghost...whatever. She was wearing her usual hippy clothes and some cool USA sunnies. I could see how people came under her spell...but with her super ghost powers on top of her natural attraction, nobody could resist her.
Ms. Quesada, who coached the girls’ soccer team, and two of Lizzy’s other teammates, Mandy and Lucy, ran up to Lizzy and started patting her on the back. Lizzy lifted her arms up in victory. Ms. Quesada, Mandy and Lucy stopped their patting. They grabbed their throats and fell to the ground. Lizzy looked on. She sniffed under her arms.
“Ooops, super BO. Sorry about that,” she said to the three unconscious bodies at her feet.
“Wow, she’s going to be hard to stop,” I gulped.
Hammy nodded. “For the ghost to be this strong it must have been around for a long time. Maybe that explains the 70’s type clothes that Lizzy wears and why she knows so much.”
“Really? Do you think she lived back in Grandma’s hippy days?” I asked.
Hammy glared at me. “No, she probably lived with the cavemen!” He stomped two of his feet. “Of course! It’s not like I say things just to hear myself talk!”
I took a step back. “Well, excuse me for not knowing. It’s not like this stuff comes with a book.”
Hammy crossed his front arms. “I gave you lots of books to read! Websites, too! Remember?”
“Oh yeah, sorry…” I gulped. “I did glance through the Primer and was planning to check out the websites, but I have been busy lately.”
“Don’t worry Zara. I like you, so I’m letting you keep your mind... for now,” Lizzy said in my head. “You were always nice to me – so I will let you keep your brain, for now…” she repeated stressing the ‘for now.’
“Did any of you hear that?” I asked.
“They can’t hear me,” Lizzy said in my head again.
“Hear what?” Maria asked.
“Never mind,” I said.
“It’s been fun watching them, but now it’s time for your friends to become my fans too!” Lizzy thought.
“Our master Lizzy tells us that looking for ghosts no longer matters to us,” Maria and Hammy both said in monotone voices.
Looking over at them, I saw their eyes glazed and their arms extended. Lizzy had converted them to her fans. They started walking towards the stands.
I jumped in front of them and held out my hands.
“Guys, guys stop!” I said.
“I am not a guy,” Maria said in a monotone voice.
“I am not either,” Hammy said in a high pitched monotone voice.
I pointed at Hammy, “Yes, you are….”
Hammy shook his head vigorously. “No, when it comes to master Lizzy none of us are guys or dolls, we are just fans!” His eyes were non-blinking but he still looked proud.
Maria turned her head towards Hammy. “Unless of course Master Lizzy want us to be dolls. Then we turn into dolls for her.”
Hammy grinned and nodded in agreement. “Yes, so very true. Master Lizzy is so strong and wise and smart and smells great! I understand her farts can turn barren land into lush forest!”
Maria’s face formed a crooked smile. “How true, unless of course she is angry, then her farts can turn a rainforest into a dry desert…”
“Excellent point!” Hammy said.
The two nodded to each other and started past me again. I reached out and grabbed Maria with one arm. I reached down and picked Hammy up with my hand.
“Look guys, I can not let you go to Lizzy!” I told them.
Hammy bit me on the hand. I yelled and dropped him. Maria took my arm and tossed me over her shoulder. I hit the ground. My back and my hand both throbbed. I laid there and watched them walk away.
I thought about using my mental powers to pull them back. I heard Lizzy say. “Silly Zara, your mental powers are no match for mine!”
Maybe she’s bluffing? I thought. I mentally tried to pull Hammy and Maria back towards me. They slowed down. They turned to me. I think it was working! They started laughing at me. They turned back and headed towards the stands.
This called for a new plan of action.
Lizzy’s power was growing by the second. I had to find a way to stop her fast. I had an idea. Not the best idea, but hopefully it could grow into a better idea. I needed to learn more about the identity of Lizzy. Once I knew that, perhaps I could talk Lizzy into moving onto the next dimension. At least then I would have her real name and that should give me some control of the situation.
Lizzy seemed to be having so much fun, scoring goal after goal that I doubted she would miss me if I sneaked off. I turned and rushed back to the school.
Chapter 6: Ghosts of the Past
The school felt like a ghost town, so empty. All it needed to complete the feeling would be sage brush blowing by in the wind. At least I had something to go on. I just needed to find information about Lizzy’s tragic death.
Walking down one of the school’s hallways I couldn’t help thinking that the halls looked even uglier without kids and teachers filling them up.
A familiar transparent face popped up through the floor and stood in front of me.
“Hello, Zara,” Margo said to me.
I paused. I took a step back. I figured this most likely wasn’t a good thing. It appeared Lizzy had a summoned any ghosts I’ve had contact with to get in my way. Still, I had hoped Margo would be on my side.
Margo lowered her eyes. “Sorry I let you down when sniffing out the super ghost….”
“Ah, no problem my friend….” I said, keeping a hand on my zapper.
Margo shook her head, I actually heard something rattling inside her head when she did that. “I did my best. I took a good strong whiff of that Lizzy!”
“So I’ve been told…” I said, still holding my zapper steady.
“And man, did she reek! I mean, I was already dead and she smelled so bad she made me more dead…”
I shrugged. “Ah, sorry…”
Margo grinned at me. “That’s okay, doing that made me realize the truth…”
“Well the truth is good….”
Margo bobbed her head back and forth. “Yes, yes, the truth truly will truthfully set you free…” Margo told me.
“Margo, I hate to rush you, I really do. But I’m kind of in a hurry here. I do have an evil super ghost that I have to figure out how to stop.”
Margo sat down on crossed legs in front of me, her butt and hands sunk into the floor. “Yes, you do. But that’s where the truth comes in….” She paused to build suspense.
I aimed my zapper. “Look Margo, I like you. You were helpful to me. But if you don’t spit it out I’m going to have to blast you.”
“If you insist….” Margo said. She opened her mouth wide and I mean her jaw dropped to the floor. A yellow green muck streamed from her mouth at me. I dove to the ground but the muck still sprayed along my back.
“The truth is nobody, no-one, nothing can beat Master Lizzy!” Margo shouted.
“We’ll see about that!” I said. From the floor I fired my zapper at Margo. She disappeared in a poof of green slime. I stood up and brushed the yellow goo and green gook off of me. Had it been that easy?
I walked forward and examined the spot where Margo had been sitting. I looked down. Margo’s head shot up from the floor. “Boo!” she yelled.
I pulled backwards and slipped to the floor.
Margo pointed at me laughing. “I’ve always wanted to shout BOO! Ha, if you could have seen your face. It looked like you saw a ghost! Your eyes popped open. You turned white. It was so groovy…”
I shook my head. “Okay, Margo what’s the point here?”
Margo pulled her entire body up from under the floor. She crossed her arms behind her back. “Lizzy just wanted me to let you know how useless it is to fight her. I mean come on. Look at me! I was a ghost for decades, just wandering around this school. One whiff of Lizzy’s pits set me free….”
I pointed my zapper at her. “Ah, not to put a chill in your mood, but you appear to be back now…” I noted.
Margo nodded. “Good point!” She winked at me. “I gotta say Zara, you are a sharp one! No wonder the master likes you best. I’m back, but I am back just to serve the master. So now I have a cool cause. I’m not just floating around invisible wondering if I should haunt people.”
“Ah, so your cause is to help Lizzy take over?” I asked.
Margo’s head bobbed up and down rapidly. “Yep, yep. Lizzy says I can be her number one personal assistant. I’m not sure what that means but it sounds cool.”
“Well you should ask Lizzy what it means,” I told her.
Margo nodded. “I will, but I can’t right now. Lizzy says I’m supposed to slow you down. So I can’t leave now….”
I pointed behind Margo. “You can just turn and ask her. She’s standing right behind you…”
Margo’s mouth dropped open and hit the floor. “Say what! You’re kidding!! The master is here!”
Margo turned. I zapped her in the back. She poofed away. Man, she was nice, but certainly not the brightest ghost.
I reached the library and was amazed to see Ms. Ellen there. She sat at a computer frantically typing away. The minute I walked in she turned to me. Her eyes still had life in them. I didn’t think she had been put under Lizzy’s spell yet.
Ms. Ellen looked at me and shouted, “efte tspo!”
My feet stopped moving. They felt like they had been glued to the ground.
Ms. Ellen held out her hand and said, “nereyg ocem!”
A red pulsating ball of energy appeared in her hand. She lifted the hand getting ready to throw the ball of energy at me.
I held out my hands. “Ms. Ellen no please!” I shouted. “I’m not one of Lizzy’s fans!” I had to hope that as far as Ms. Ellen was concerned that was a good thing.
“Zara, you’re still in control of your mind?” she asked, the ball of energy still pulsating in her hand.
I grinned. “Yes, it’s still me…”
Ms. Ellen w
aved her fingers. The ball of energy disappeared. She pointed at my feet and said, “omev onw!”
I could now move my feet.
Ms. Ellen forced a small grin. “Zara, if you’re still free then there’s still a chance…”
“Ms. Ellen, you’re really not…”
“Under Lizzy’s control. No.”
“How come? And how were you able to stop me?”
“Natalie Quesada, Carolina Nina, Vivian Vance and I are all witches. Our powers make us immune to mind control.”
I took a step back. “What! Really?”
Ms. Ellen rolled her eyes. “Really ZARA, after all you’ve seen today, you don’t believe in witches?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just, you four...aren’t...uh...ugly.”
“Why, thank you, Zara. But the ugly witch thing is just stereotyping and bad press.”
“Ah, okay.”
“Our coven has suspected for a long time that a super ghost was in this school. We just couldn’t smoke it out.”
“But, Ms. Quesada was under Lizzy’s control,” I noted.
Ms. Ellen shook her head. “No, she was just faking in order to get close enough to Lizzy to put a sleeper hold on her.”
“You must all spend a lot of time watching wrestling,” I laughed.
“It’s entertaining,” Ms. Ellen said a bit defensively.
“Well, it was kind of an epic fail.”
Ms. Ellen nodded. “Yes, poor Natalie didn’t take into account the power of Lizzy’s scent.”
“Why didn’t you ladies just turn Lizzy into a toad?” I asked.
“That’s another stereotype!” Ms. Ellen snapped.
“Sorry,” I said.
She shook her head. “Actually, Ms. Vivian and Ms. Nina tried and failed. Apparently super ghosts are immune to our magic. Their attacks bounced off Lizzy and they both transformed into toads. I think we have to stop Lizzy to turn them back. I’ve been searching for information but the information is very limited. ”
Sitting down at one of the computers I said, “We need to find out more about Lizzy! I know to be a super ghost, she must have died in a tragic way. I also think her first name must really be Lizzy, but her last name must not be Sullivan. If I can find that last name I think I can stop her1.”
The Super Ghost Page 4
