COLISEUM GAMES

Josh’s eyes swept the stadium. Protectors were stationed all around the field, including the ones who’d been briefly held in the Catacombs. They were putting on little shows for the audience, taunting the Ghoulies nearest them and making them do tricks. Josh could see Farrel stabbing at one wounded Ghoulie with a long pole. The boy kept trying to drag himself away, but Farrel followed, snorting like a pig. A group of spectators cheered him on.

What’s happening? thought Josh. What the hell is happening? He scanned the crowd, looking for someone, anyone, who might help them. But even the kids he knew were almost unrecognizable, their faces warped by fear and anger.

And then he spotted the Little Wizards. Dozens of kidlets, jumping up and down as their Protectors laughed, pointing to the desperate Ghoulies.

“Look!” Josh heard one of the Goons yell. “King Neptune caught the bogeymen!”

“Get ’em,” a little boy cried. “Get the bogeymen!”

Josh felt sick. Then he saw Maddie. She was standing with Sam and Devon in the middle of the laughing mass of children, holding tightly onto Giz’s hand. Devon held Shana. She was crying, but the rest of them were utterly still, horrified by what they saw in front of them.

Suddenly Maddie spotted him.

“Josh!” she shrieked, letting go of Giz’s hand and starting to struggle down the aisle. Devon saw Josh, too, and pushed Maddie back. Then he shoved Shana into her arms and tried to force his way past the Protectors who guarded them.

“No!” shouted Josh. “Devon, go back! Take care of the kids!” Devon ignored him, but one of the Protectors grabbed him, shoving him roughly back into the crowd of kids. Devon stared down at Josh, helpless.

“Get the bogeymen!” the boy yelled again.

Now the kids around him began to chant, joined by their Protectors.

Get the bogeymen! Get the bogeymen!

Within seconds the cry spread through the stadium.

GET THE BOGEYMEN! GET THE BOGEYMEN!

On the north side, the chant suddenly died and a cheer rose from the stands. All faces turned toward the Emperor’s Box. Milo had just emerged from the doorway, his trident in his right hand, Moira at his side. They were followed by Evan, Toad, and Eli. Milo smiled and waved at the crowd, which responded by whistling and stomping, applauding with hands held high over their heads.

Milo stepped up onto a speaker’s platform at the edge of the box. He grinned broadly, holding the trident high in the air.

“VICTORY!”

“VICTORY!” the crowd echoed, mimicking his gesture with their fists. They continued cheering until Milo lowered his scepter.

“Today is a great day,” Milo said, his voice echoing around the stadium. “Nightmare has been destroyed, and our enemies have been captured.”

The crowd shouted wildly, hooting at the prisoners below.

“And now we know the mastermind behind it all, the one who planned every horrible thing that happened, maybe even back to the Riots. But know this: he’ll never harm us again.”

Milo pointed dramatically to the center of the stadium. The ground there separated, two of the hidden panels sliding backward. A metal box rose from the opening. A cage.

Inside was Shadow. His arms were bound, and there was a gag across his mouth. The platform rose higher in a twisted parody of his rise from the flames just a few hours before.

Josh gasped and started to struggle to his feet.

“Don’t,” said Cassandra, her own eyes wide with horror. “Or you’ll be in there with him.”

“I give you the leader of the Ghoulies, the ruler of Nightmare Island,” said Milo. “Shadow.”

Angry shouts rose from the mob, everyone leaning in toward the arena, shaking their fists and screaming at Shadow, at all the Ghoulies. And Josh, despite everything he’d seen, was astonished at what they’d all let themselves believe.

Something flew through the air, landing with a dull thud just a few feet from Cassandra. A chip of concrete. Another came only seconds after that, hitting a smaller Ghoulie that Josh suddenly realized was Spike. The boy screamed in pain.

The crowd cheered and applauded, then began searching the areas around them. Soon hundreds of objects were streaking toward the Ghoulies, who cowered beneath raised arms in a futile attempt to protect themselves. The Protectors backed off to the edges of the arena to avoid the hail of stones. Josh glanced at the Emperor’s Box and saw Milo smiling triumphantly at Moira.

He’s not going to have to do a thing, Josh thought dully. The mob’s going to do it for him.

He heard dozens of the missiles striking metal and realized that Shadow’s cage had become the main target. The boy stood motionless, trying not to flinch even when fragments of rock made it through the bars. Josh staggered toward the center of the field, not sure what he was going to do when he reached Shadow, only knowing that he had to do something. Cassandra was immediately at his side.

Josh reached Shadow’s prison and stood on one side of it, facing the crowd, his arms stretched along the bars as though his body were impervious to rock. Cassandra stood next to him and did the same. Then dozens more Ghoulies struggled toward the cage, surrounding it completely as more rocks and shards of concrete flew toward them.

Josh felt a kick on his right shoulder. Glancing up and behind him, he saw Shadow shaking his head furiously, trying to scream them away through the gag in his mouth.

Josh looked away. A rock hit his forehead, and blood dripped into his eyes.

Suddenly there was a new sound—a blast of air horns and plastic trumpets. Josh looked toward the noise, wondering what fresh amusement Milo had planned for the crowd. The answer thundered in through three of the side entrances. A new group of warriors had arrived, all of them carrying weapons—spears and swords and clubs and staffs. Most were dressed as Roman soldiers.

The crowd went wild.

They’re really going to do it, thought Josh. They’re going to kill us.

The soldiers scanned the field, searching out their first victims. A group of them spotted the cage and pounded toward it, yelling a battle cry. Josh braced himself, unable to take his eyes off the heavy weapons they carried in both fists. One of them slowed as he reached Josh.

“Better late than never, right?” Startled, Josh looked up into the grinning face of Matt O’Bannion.