Professor Gargoyle

FIFTEEN





“What do you mean, that’s Karina?”

Robert didn’t know what he meant. But when he presented all the evidence to Glenn, it followed a certain pattern. Robert had never seen Karina in any classes. He had never seen her beyond the property of Lovecraft Middle School. And they had managed to squeeze into that tiny dark closet without bumping into each other.

Glenn was incredulous. “What are you saying? She’s some kind of ghost?”

Robert tapped the photo on the screen. “I’m saying I know this girl. I’ve talked to her. And this photo is almost thirty years old. What other explanation is there?”

Glenn sat back in his chair. “This is just getting stranger and stranger. I’m starting to wish you’d just let those tentacles carry me away.”

“We need to find her,” Robert said. “We need to get back in that attic.”

“I thought you already tried,” Glenn said. “You told me you couldn’t find it.”

“That’s true,” Robert told him. “But I think I know someone who can.” He glanced at the clock. There were just fifteen minutes until lunch ended, and then there was a mandatory school assembly to discuss the disappearance of the Price twins. Apparently a police officer was coming to give a lecture on stranger danger. “We better go now if we’re going to make it.”

The boys grabbed their backpacks and left the computer lab. Out in the hallway, two teachers were speaking in low whispers. They stopped talking as the boys approached. Their eyes seemed full of mistrust. One of the teachers brought out his cell phone and punched in a number.

“Don’t panic,” Glenn whispered, clapping Robert on the shoulder, like they were two old pals taking a friendly stroll. “Just keep moving.”

From out of nowhere, Mr. Loomis shoved his way between them. “Glenn Torkells!” he exclaimed. “What did I tell you about hitting Robert?”

“Me?” Glenn asked. “What?”

“Last time, you got a warning. This time, it’s a suspension. Come on, I’m taking you straight to the principal’s office.”

“Mr. Loomis, it’s okay,” Robert said. “Glenn and I are friends now.”

Mr. Loomis looked exasperated. “Stop protecting him, Robert. If he doesn’t get punished, he’s never going to leave you alone.”

“I’m not lying this time, I promise.”

Mr. Loomis crossed his arms over his chest. “All right, fine. You’re friends? Prove it.”

Prove it? Robert didn’t know how to prove it. What did Loomis want them to do? Shake hands? Hug?

Glenn cleared his throat. “Uh, I had dinner at Robert’s house last night? And his mother still cuts his spaghetti into little pieces. Like he’s four years old. But I didn’t make fun of him, because we’re friends.”

Robert thought this was a weird thing to say. Didn’t everyone serve spaghetti cut into little pieces? Because it was easier to eat that way?

“Well, here’s something you don’t know about Glenn,” Robert told Mr. Loomis. “On the way to school this morning, he decided to rescue ten thousand worms. He picks them off the sidewalk after rainstorms and moves them to the grass so they don’t bake in the sun. I thought it was a little weird, but since we’re friends now I didn’t say anything.”

Mr. Loomis looked from one boy to the other, astonished. “You really are friends, aren’t you? How the heck did that happen?”

“Can we tell you later?” Robert asked. “We need to get to the library before the assembly starts.”

“Fine,” Mr. Loomis said, stepping aside. “I hope you find some good books. Have fun.”

The boys hurried on their way.

When they arrived at the library, Ms. Lavinia was in her usual perch at the circulation desk. She saw the boys enter, picked up her telephone, and whispered a few words before hanging up.

Robert and Glenn had to walk past her to reach the fiction section.

“Can I help you find something?” she asked.

“Just looking,” Robert said.

He turned down the nearest aisle, following it until they were out of Ms. Lavinia’s line of sight.

“What now?” Glenn asked.

Robert knelt down and unzipped his backpack. Pip and Squeak scrambled out onto the floor. “Guys, we need your help. You have to take us to the attic. Can you do that?”

Pip and Squeak cringed. After escaping the attic via Robert’s backpack, it was clear they didn’t want to return.

“Please, guys,” Robert said. “I know it’s not safe there, but we’re not safe here, either. We need to go back.”

Pip and Squeak chattered at each other for a few moments, as if they were actually debating the decision. It seemed like Pip was willing to go, but Squeak needed some persuading. Finally they turned and set off down the aisle.

“Come on,” Robert told Glenn. “They’re going.”

It was the same route he’d taken last time, through FICTION then MYSTERY then PARANORMAL. The shelves stretched upward as they advanced deeper and deeper into the maze. Books blurred past them. Pip and Squeak were running, and Glenn and Robert ran after them.

“Are you sure this is the right way?” Glenn asked.

“Definitely.” The air was thick with the odor of moldy mothballs. “We’re almost there.”

After another minute or so, they arrived at a dead end. In the corner, barely visible, was the old wooden doorway that led to the attic. Pip and Squeak were standing at the base of it.

“Thanks, guys,” Robert said, unzipping his backpack so they could climb inside. But Pip and Squeak shook their heads. They may have been willing to lead Robert to the attic, but they weren’t going any further. “Fine,” Robert said. “Wait here. We’ll be back in five minutes.”

Glenn hesitated. “You want me to wait with them?”

“Come on,” Robert told him. Once again, he nearly stumbled walking through the doorway. He told Glenn to watch his step but it was too late; he tripped and fell to his knees.

“What just happened?” Glenn asked.

Robert thought he knew the answer, but he wasn’t going to say anything. If Glenn knew the truth, there was a good chance he’d turn around and never come back.

They climbed the rickety stairs leading to the attic. When they reached the top, Robert pulled back the patchwork curtain and there was Karina, sitting at the round wooden table reading a book.

“What are you doing here?” She was even more surprised to see Glenn. “And why is he here?”

“We’re looking for you.”

Robert took a chair beside her. “I know your secret, Karina. It took me a while to figure it out, but I know.” He reached out to touch her wrist, and his fingers passed right through it. “You died in the explosion, right? With your parents?”

“You shouldn’t have come,” Karina said.

“We need your help.”

She shook her head sadly. “You’ve walked right into his trap.”

“Whose trap?”

The patchwork curtain moved again, and Professor Goyle stepped out, blocking the exit.

“Thank you for coming, gentlemen. I believe you have something that belongs to me.”