Chapter 5

Carl, Cody, Gwen, Heather, and Lou sat on their pillows and wrapped themselves in blankets. Then they all played cards for an hour and had a good time. When they finished, they all dropped their cards and hit the sack. Then they laid down on their pillows, covered themselves with their blankets, and slept there for the night. Carl said, "Goodnight, everyone." Cody said, "Goodnight." Gwen said, "Goodnight." Heather said, "Goodnight." Lou said, "Goodnight."

The following day, everyone woke up safe and sound. Then Lou thought someone should go upstairs and get some food. Everyone got scared and looked around, wondering who would leave the basement and go upstairs and risk getting killed. Gwen said, "Fine. I'll go, but someone has to come with me." Carl raised his hand and said, "I'll do it." Gwen said, "I need you here; stay with the others. Lou, you're with me. After all, it was your idea." Gwen and Lou unlocked the door and went upstairs to the kitchen. Then Gwen opened the freezer, got them some ice cream, and grabbed some spoons. Lou opened the fridge and got them a carton of milk and a few glasses. While collecting their food, the lights turned off, and the stove turned on itself. Then Gwen and Lou quickly grabbed the brownies and apples on the counter and took them to the basement.

Once they returned downstairs, Gwen and Lou set the food they collected on the ground, slammed the door shut, and locked it. Then Gwen and Heather played a game of checkers while Carl, Cody, and Lou played cards. After a while, Lou had to go to the bathroom, so she unlocked the door and went upstairs. Once Lou got upstairs, she left the kitchen and looked for the restroom. Meanwhile, Gwen jumped Heather's last checker and won the game. After the game, they looked around but didn't see Lou anywhere. Heather said, "Hey, has anyone seen Lou?" Cody said, "I think she had to pee." Carl said, "But that was hours ago. Maybe we should check on her." Heather pointed up and said, "Go up there and risk becoming ghost food, no way." Gwen said, "Fine. Then you can stay here in the basement, all alone." Carl, Cody, and Gwen went upstairs while Heather stayed alone in the basement. Heather said, "You're not scaring me, Gwen." Then the lights went off, and Heather quickly ran up the stairs after Carl, Cody, and Gwen. Heather said, "Um, guys. Wait for me."

Once all four of them got upstairs, they saw that the place had torn apart and a message on a fogged-up mirror. Gwen read the writing on the mirror and said, "Lou's not with us anymore. She told me she had to go and tell you she's in a better place now. And unless you want to join her, leave this house immediately. Psycho Killer." Cody said, "The psycho killer took Lou." Carl said, "And no argument from me with that message. I'm getting the heck out of here." Gwen grabbed Carl's arm and stopped him from running away. Gwen said, "Oh no, you don't. Unless we want to end up like Lou and the others, we have got to stick together." Heather said, "I got to go to the bathroom." Carl, Cody, Gwen, and Heather all walked to the bathroom. Heather went in, and the others waited outside the door for her. When Heather came out, she was just fine, so she joined the others, and they all stuck together.

Since they were too scared to go upstairs to their rooms, the kids decided to sleep in the basement again. Once they got downstairs, the kids tried turning on the lights, but they wouldn't work, so they lit a candle instead. Since they could see again, the kids covered themselves in blankets, laid on their pillows, and slept. Before they went to sleep, Cody tried blowing out the candle they had lit since the lights wouldn't work, but it didn't go out. Cody blew as hard as possible, but the candle stayed lit. Cody said, "Hmm. The ghosts are trying to scare us with a trick candle." Heather said, "It's fine; leave it on. After all, ghosts can't come into the light; they must stay in the shadows."

After deciding to leave the light on, the kids slept, hoping they were safe from ghosts. While they were asleep, they heard horse sounds coming from outside. Gwen woke up and listened to the horse's noises. Then she grabbed her pillow and whacked Carl, hoping to wake him. Gwen said, "Carl, wake up." Carl woke up, and so did Cody and Heather. Gwen said, "Quiet. Let's go upstairs and check those sounds out." Carl, Gwen, and Heather took out their flashlights, and Cody took the candle they had lit. Then the kids headed for the door and looked out it. Then they saw a headless man carrying a jack-o-lantern head riding a horse right towards them. Heather screamed, "Headless Horseman!" Carl yelled, "Everyone, back inside the house!"

Everyone ran inside the house and slammed the door on the headless horseman. Once they all got in, two skeletons fell from the ceiling, and they all screamed in terror while the skeletons shook their bones at them. Then they all ran outside, slammed the door shut, and stood against it. Then they all looked around but didn't see Cody with them. Gwen said, "Cody? Where's Cody?" Carl, Gwen, and Heather looked down the path and saw Cody on the headless horseman's horse with the headless horseman. Gwen said, "Cody got taken by the Headless Horseman." Heather said, "I guess that just leaves the three of us." Gwen left the house and ran down the path. Carl said, "Where are you going?" Gwen said, "We have to save Cody. And maybe these horseshoe prints will lead us to him." Heather said, "But that horseman is a ghost." Gwen said, "I know." Carl said, "And he'll take us too." Gwen said, "I know, but we must save Cody and the others." Heather said, "OK, OK."

Carl, Gwen, and Heather quietly walked into the mist and followed the tracks while scared. Gwen said, "Whoever would have thought this could ever happen." Carl said, "Nobody who would have guessed our friends would go missing and leave us to find them." Carl, Gwen, and Heather followed the tracks through the mist until they stopped. Gwen said, "That's odd; the tracks stop. It's like they vanished into thin air." Heather thought about it for a minute, and then a black cat hopped in front of them, and they screamed and held onto each other. Gwen looked at what it was and saw the cat sitting ahead of them. Gwen said, "Oh, it's just a cat." Then, the black cat hissed and laughed evilly. Gwen said, "Did that cat just laugh?" Heather said, "Give me a break. Cats can't laugh."

After the black cat left, Bobby snuck up behind them and followed them. While he was following them, Bobby pointed his rifle at them. Gwen said, "The last thing we need right now is more trouble." Bobby said, "Never jinx yourself." Carl, Gwen, and Heather turned around, screamed, and ran for their lives when they saw Bobby. While they were running, Bobby shot at them while chasing them. Gwen said, "Let's split up." Carl ran to the left, Gwen ran straight down the path, Heather ran to the right, and Bobby chased Gwen. Gwen hid behind a bush, and Bobby lost her. Bobby looked around for Gwen and figured she was hiding in the bush behind him, so he pointed his rifle at it. Bobby said, "Come on out. I know you're there." Then Heather ran by and accidentally hit Bobby down. Then Bobby shot his rifle, and it cut down part of a tree's branch, which hit him on the head afterward. Bobby got up and kept firing at Heather, but one of his bullets bounced off a tree and cut a more extensive branch down, hitting him on the head. After getting hit, he accidentally shot his rifle, which shot down a whole tree, turning it into a stump. Bobby then saw Carl and ran after him. Then Carl stopped and saw the tree tipping over. Bobby said, "OK, you die in 3 seconds. 3, 2, 1." Carl said, "0." Then the tree Bobby shot down fell on him, and Carl, Gwen, and Heather ran off while Bobby was down.