Off the Wall

by P. J. Night

“Why don’t you just read the card?” Daria interrupted.

  Lucy made a little face. But she turned to the placard on the wall and began to read aloud. “ ‘Canopic jars were used during mummification. They held the organs of . . . Oh, gross! These jars have guts in them!”

  “They’re probably empty now,” said Katherine. “But yes, each mummy needed four canopic jars to store the body’s organs. Ancient Egyptians believed that people’s bodies would need them when they arrived in the afterlife. The stomach, intestines, liver, and lungs each went into a different jar. The heart stayed in the body, though.”

  “That makes me feel so much better,” said Cailyn sarcastically.

  “And what are these eagle mummies doing here?” Lucy pointed at two small coffins hanging on the wall.

  “Egyptians mummified all kinds of animals,” said Willow. “Both wild animals and pets. Even donkeys, sometimes, in case a person might need a ride in the afterlife.”

  “Ancient Egyptians thought way too much about being dead,” said Jane.

  “Okay, girls. Listen up,” Willow said, once they were settled back into the Great Hall. “We don’t expect you to fall asleep right away. But try not to stay up too late, okay? We’re going to keep the lights on for an hour.” She pointed to a huge clock on the wall above the east entrance. “And then, after we turn off the lights, you can whisper for another hour. But after that, we want you to go to sleep.”

  Which was not what happened.

  “And when they found her, she was missing her head!” Grace whispered two hours later.

  Katherine and Willow, at least, had fallen asleep. The two of them lay hunched and quiet in their sleeping bags in the center of the Great Hall. But they were the only ones in the room who were sleeping.

  The lights had been turned off more than an hour before. But the little lights marking the doorways were glowing dimly. They made the Great Hall look shadowy and strange—a good background for the scary stories Lucy and a cluster of other girls were telling. Jane hadn’t contributed any, but she’d been listening, riveted, as the stories got wilder and wilder. Daria hadn’t contributed either, but Jane had the feeling that she wasn’t missing a word.

  “I bet that’s not true about the girl’s head,” Cailyn said now. “A person’s head can’t fall off from terror.”

  “It can too!” Grace said indignantly. “It happened to my cousin’s friend’s best friend!”

  Cailyn yawned. “Yeah, right. People always say something happened to a friend of a friend of a third cousin or something. I’ll believe it when you say it happened to you.”

  “But then how could I say it? I wouldn’t have a head,” Grace retorted. The other girls started to laugh.

  “All right, it’s Cailyn’s turn to tell a story,” Lucy said once the giggles had died down. “Tell us something scary that happened to you!”

  “Okay. But I need licorice first.” Jane passed her the pack, and Cailyn pried a strand loose. “Well, muh muh wuh—”

  “Gross! Finish chewing first!” Lucy ordered.

  “ ’Kay.” Cailyn swallowed and started over. “First of all, this was something that happened when I was six, before I knew any of you. At our old house. My parents were out late at a party, and they had hired a babysitter named Traci.

  “I don’t know where my parents found Traci,” Cailyn continued, “but she was a totally horrible babysitter. I mean totally. She told me it was time for bed when it was only six thirty. When I said that I knew how to tell time and that I didn’t have to go to bed for another hour and a half, Traci said, ‘Well, I’m tired. I’m going to take a nap on the sofa. Just don’t do anything bad while I’m sleeping.’ ”

  “And you didn’t, because you’re such a goody-goody,” Grace added.

  “No, I really didn’t. I behaved myself the whole time she was snoring away. But I did check the refrigerator to see what kind of snacks my parents had left for Traci. They always gave babysitters way better snacks than they gave us.”

  The other girls nodded in sympathy.

  “So there was this huge slab of chocolate cake from the bakery,” said Cailyn. “I figured it was so big that Traci wouldn’t notice if I tried a little slice. I went and got a plate and a fork. And while I was cutting off a little piece of cake, I heard something behind me.

  “I guess my conscience was bothering me, because I thought it must be Traci. I whipped around, but no one was behind me. But at the window . . .” Cailyn stopped to take another bite of red licorice.

  “What? What was at the window?” asked several voices.

  “Nothing. I didn’t see anything.”

  “Wow, this is so terrifying,” said Grace sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

  “At least it’s realistic,” Lucy added.

  “Just wait,” said Cailyn. “I’m getting to the scary part. So I got my cake and went to the table to eat it. Our kitchen table was in this kind of—kind of nook thing with three windows, one on each side. And while I was eating, I heard the sound again. A scratching sound. From the window behind me. So naturally I whipped around again—and I saw a stick scraping against the window.”

  Grace groaned. “A tree. Woo-hooo!”

  “No,” said Cailyn. “There was someone holding the stick.”

  Now she had their attention.

  “I could see the person’s arm—a black sleeve and a hand in a black glove. A huge glove, like the person was really, really big. But it was too dark for me to see the rest of him. He scraped the stick across the window again. And then he tapped with it—three times. Tap-tap-tap. And then I saw them . . . eyes. Bright white eyes with light blue pupils . . . so light they looked almost white too.

  “But his eyes were all I saw. He must have been wearing some kind of black hood thing over his face—you know, that kind of hat-mask thing that goes over your head and has holes for the eyes and mouth?”

  “A balaclava,” said one girl in a know-it-all voice. Everyone shushed her. Jane realized that they were now the center of a big group. A lot more girls had pulled up their sleeping bags to listen to Cailyn’s story.

  “His eyes were so weird,” Cailyn whispered. “I know I was only six, but I still remember them. They were so white. And they were staring right at me.

  “I opened my mouth to call Traci, but it was like one of those nightmares—you know, the ones where you try to talk but you can’t? I could only make this little croaking sound.

  “He lifted up his other hand, and I saw that he was holding a hammer. He held it up as if he was going to smash the window—but then all he did was tap the glass with it. Tap-tap-tap. Tap-tap-tap.”

  “And while I was looking at the hammer, his other hand suddenly smashed through the glass. AND HE KILLED ME!”

  As she shrieked the last words, Cailyn lunged at Grace’s throat.

  Jane screamed. So did everyone else who’d been listening to the story. Which made the rest of the girls in the Great Hall scream, even Daria. Which woke up Willow and Katherine—who also screamed.

  Abruptly the overhead lights came on. And a man’s voice yelled, “What’s going on? What’s the matter?”

  Standing in the west doorway were two museum guards. Both were panting from having run so fast.

  “Uh-oh,” Lucy muttered. “Busted.”

  Now the chaperones were both standing up. Even though the lights were on, Katherine was aiming her flashlight all around like a TV cop. “What happened, girls?” she asked.

  I’ll get us out of this, Jane thought. She was very proud of how not-shy she was growing as the night’s festivities went on.

  She raised her hand. “It’s—it’s all my fault,” she said apologetically. “I get nightmares. I must have screamed in my sleep.”

  Lucy chimed in loyally. “And then I heard her, and it made me scream. And then I guess everyone got scared.”

  “You got scared,” said one of the guards. “I almost had a heart attack when we heard you. Try and keep it down for the rest of t
he night, okay?”

  “We’re so sorry, officers,” said Katherine, who still seemed to think she was in a TV show. “We won’t let it happen again.”

  “Thanks,” the other guard said curtly.

  “Well, girls,” Willow said sternly when the guards were gone. “That was an embarrassment. You’re too old for this kind of thing. I want everyone to settle down now.”

  “People can’t help having nightmares,” Katherine pointed out. She looked kindly at Jane. “Would you like to move your sleeping bag over next to us, Jane? That might make things seem less scary.”

  “Um—no, that’s okay,” said Jane. “I’m fine. Really.”

  “Please stay fine,” said Willow. “I’m turning the lights off now, and I don’t want to hear another sound until morning.”

  She snapped off the lights.

  For a few seconds there was total silence. Then Lucy whispered, “Good job, Cailyn.”

  “You have to admit it scared you,” Cailyn hissed back.

  “QUIET,” Willow blared. “Go. To. Sleep.”

  And now, at last, the Great Hall actually quieted down. There were a few more whispered giggles. A few rearrangements of sleeping bags and thumpings of pillows. Then, gradually, the room filled with the soft, even breathing sound of people falling asleep.

  Jane was relieved. Now maybe Lucy and Daria would just forget about settling their bet. Jane felt so comfortable just lying here. She could feel her eyelids getting heavy. . . .

  And then Lucy nudged her in the side. “Jane!” she whispered. “Are you awake?”

  “No,” said Jane sleepily.

  “Well, be awake! We have to look for the mummy, remember? Daria’s ready to go.”

  Jane groaned. “Can’t you and Daria just go together without me?”

  “No way!” whispered Lucy. “We need you as a witness! Besides, it won’t be fun for me unless you come.”

  “All right.” Jane rolled over and sat up. On Lucy’s other side, Daria was already sitting up.

  “Wait!” whispered Lucy. “I need to get my flashlight.”

  “What is this obsession with all the flashlights?” said Daria impatiently. “There are real lights all over the museum!”

  “I’m not wandering around this building without a flashlight,” Lucy said. She burrowed through her backpack until she found it. “Okay, let’s go.”

  Slowly, the three girls stood up. Good so far, Jane thought. No one around them had moved. She pointed at the nearest exit. That one? she mouthed.

  Lucy shook her head. THAT one, she mouthed back, jerking her head toward the north doorway.

  Jane’s heart sank. The door Lucy wanted was all the way across the Great Hall! They would have to make their way around so many people, and they would have to pass the leaders. But she could hardly start arguing now. She took a deep breath and began tiptoeing behind Lucy and Daria.

  All around them, girls lay sound asleep. Grace was lying on her back, halfway out of her sleeping bag. Cailyn was rolled into a ball with one hand sticking out. She was still holding that licorice, Jane noticed.

  Oh, if only Lucy and Daria hadn’t gotten into that argument! If only she had never mentioned the stupid mummy. Everyone looked so cozy here. I hope we see the mummy fast and get it over with, thought Jane. But wait—that wasn’t the thing to wish for. She didn’t want to see a mummy.

  On the other hand, at least if they did see a mummy, they’d be able to go back to bed.

  On the other hand, what if they saw a mummy and it attacked them?

  On the other hand, if a real mummy was actually roaming around, wasn’t it better to be awake? What would prevent the mummy from coming into the Great Hall and doing whatever it was mummies did to their victims? Did mummies have victims? What exactly did mummies do besides shuffle around and groan?

  While she’d been worrying about all this, Jane hadn’t noticed how far she and the other two girls were advancing. They were almost at the north doorway now. Another thirty feet or so, and they’d be safe. Maybe this wouldn’t be so—

  At that moment Lucy gasped. Jane turned to see what she was looking at—and stopped in her tracks.

  Willow was sitting up. And she was staring straight at them!

  CHAPTER 5

  The three girls froze in midstep. Jane’s heart was pounding so hard she could barely breathe.

  As they watched, breathless, Willow raised one hand and pointed at them.

  “You.”

  Then—

  “You left it at the store,” Willow said in a blurry voice thick with sleep. And she lay down again.

  Lucy let out a long breath. “She must be dreaming,” she whispered. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Jane glanced around, but no one seemed to have woken up. Silently the girls tiptoed out of the Great Hall. In the corridor they broke into a run. When they were safely out of range, Lucy doubled over with quiet laughter.

  “ ‘You left it at the store,’ ” she said. “Don’t you wish we could ask her what ‘it’ was?”

  But Jane felt too rattled to laugh. “We could have gotten out of the Great Hall in two seconds if we’d used the closest door. Why did you make us walk all the way across the room like that?” she asked.

  “To give us more of an adventure!” said Lucy. “And you have to admit, it was more exciting my way. Now come on, let’s get started on our hunt.”

  “Get started how?” said Jane. “What are we supposed to do—just wander around the museum hoping to see a mummy?”

  “We’ll go back to the Egyptian exhibit, of course,” said Lucy. “Where else would a mummy hang around?”

  “No.” Daria’s voice was firm. “If there is a mummy, do you think it would really hang out in the Egyptian exhibit every night? It would want to explore. It could be anywhere. We should start on the third floor and work our way down. It’s more organized that way.”

  “The third floor? But then we’ll be really far away from the Great Hall. We’ll never be able to outrun the guards if they suspect us!” said Jane in a panicky voice.

  Daria glared at her. “Then go back if you’re so scared.”

  “No, no, no, I’m fine,” Jane said hastily. Going back alone would be even worse than going up to the third floor. “Sounds great. Let’s go!”

  She strode purposefully toward the stairs.

  At the top of the second flight the girls stopped to check the information map on the wall. It was hard to know where to start. “What about the medieval jewelry?” asked Jane hopefully.

  “Actually, can we check out the Arms and Armor exhibit first?” said Lucy. “That’s my favorite. I was bummed we didn’t go there earlier tonight. Then I think we should look in the dinosaur wing. Dinosaurs and mummies have a lot in common—you know, being all bones and everything.”

  The Arms and Armor hall held an entire battalion. A long row of knights in armor, seated on horses in armor, had been set up to look as if they were marching down the center of the vast floor. The knights were posed for battle, or for a parade. Their horses were made of some kind of cloth that had been molded over a frame, but they were amazingly realistic all the same. Each knight held a long wooden pike in its right hand. Each horse stood in exactly the same pose.

  The endless procession gave Jane a strange, lonely feeling. Those poor knights! They would be marching, marching, marching until the end of time without ever arriving.

  Even Daria seemed interested. She moved up close to one knight to examine his armor in the dim light. “Their gloves were made of metal,” she said, peering at the knight closest to her. “How could they move their fingers?”

  “It says here that armor was easier to move in than people think.” Lucy was reading a plaque on the wall. “It wasn’t as heavy as people think, either. A full suit of armor weighed less than what a firefighter wears now. What I wonder about are the horses. I just feel so bad for them having had to wear all that metal.”

  “I wish they weren’t so tall,” Lucy
added regretfully. “Every time I come in here, I want to lift up one of those visors and peek inside. Maybe there would be an old knight’s skull grinning out at us. Hey! A mummy couldn’t climb inside a suit of armor, could it?”

  “I’ll look inside,” said Daria. And before either Jane or Lucy realized what she was doing or could stop her, Daria had vaulted up onto the back of one of the armored horses and sat down behind the suit of armor.

  She grinned smugly down at them from her perch.

  “Get down from there! Get down!” said Lucy frantically. “You’ll set off the alarm!”

  But amazingly, no alarm rang. Maybe it hadn’t occurred to the museum that anyone might actually climb onto one of the horses.

  “You can’t be up there!” hissed Jane.

  “Too bad. I am up here.” Daria reached around and opened the knight’s visor. Since she was sitting behind him, of course she couldn’t see inside his helmet.

  “Lucy, look inside and tell me what you see in there,” Daria ordered.

  “How?” Lucy asked. “I’m nowhere near tall enough to see in there.”

  Besides, thought Jane, what if she peeks inside and a mummy pops out? That would just about scare me to death.

  But Daria wouldn’t accept any excuses. “Jane can hold you up.”

  “What? No, I can’t,” said Jane.

  “I’m not coming down until you look inside this knight’s helmet,” said Daria. “I dare you.”

  “Not again. This is ridiculous,” said Jane in despair. “Lucy, let’s just get out of here.”

  “No, no,” said Lucy. “Just hold me up for one second. I’ll look inside the visor.”

  Jane sighed. The night wasn’t going to go very well if Daria kept daring Lucy to do things. “Well, I’m not lifting you,” she told Lucy. “I’ll get on my hands and knees and you can stand on my back.”

  “Ouch,” she said a second later, as first one and then the other of Lucy’s feet pressed heavily down on her back.

  Above her, she heard a metallic creak as Lucy lifted the knight’s visor again. Then a metallic clang as she dropped it shut. Then the welcome thud as Lucy jumped back onto the floor.