“Fang’s NOT gone,” I said, trying to ignore the fact that my stomach felt like it was full of jumping beans. “He’s just hiding, like he was earlier. Snakes like to hide. Right, Bernard?”

Bernard came over and looked in the tank. “I don’t see him, Sam,” he said. “Look under his rock!”

“You look under his rock!” I didn’t want to lift up the rock in case Fang was actually under it. He is, after all, the most dangerous pet snake in the galaxy.

“You just said you didn’t see him!” said Bernard.

“YOU GUYS! THE TOP OF HIS TANK IS OPEN!” said Zoe. “FANG IS DEFINITELY GONE!”

“Nobody would open Fang’s tank . . . nobody except THE GHOST,” I said.

Zoe and Bernard gasped. Zoe actually nearly fell over.

Bernard nodded. “That is the most logical conclusion. I should have thought of it myself.” Bernard is always disappointed when someone else figures out the answer to a problem before he does.

“What would a ghost want with a snake?” Zoe asked.

“Why do ghosts want anything?” replied Bernard. “To SCARE people! And what is scarier than a ghost? A GHOST WITH A SNAKE.”

Bernard was, once again, proving he is the brains of our group.

“So what are we going to do?” I asked. I didn’t know what I was more worried about:

1. The fact that my new snake was loose

2. The fact that there was a ghost in my house

3. The fact that the ghost had let my snake out

4. The fact that my parents would find out about my missing snake and ground me forever

I had promised, after all, to take care of Fang. And it was like my dad always says:

A Wu is only as good as their word.

Just then, my mom called out, “Sam! It’s getting late — time to take everyone home!”

“You mean, what are YOU going to do. You heard your mom — we should probably be going,” said Bernard.

“What? You two can’t leave me alone!” I said. “There is a GIANT predator on the loose. And a GHOST.” I didn’t know the size of the ghost yet.

“Five minutes, Sam!” my mom called up.

“We’ll be right down, Mrs. Wu!” Zoe yelled back. “Just . . . getting our stuff.” She came over and looked me in the eye. She had to crouch down a little to do it because she is so much taller than I am.

“You’ll be all right, Sam,” she said. “And we’ll come back over to help you find the ghost AND Fang.”

“But . . . what am I supposed to do tonight?”

“Well,” said Bernard, “I did just read that pickles are apparently a natural ghost repellent.”

“Pickles?” I said.

Bernard nodded wisely. “Yes. I just read it on this ghost website, NaturalGhostRemedies.org. Some man named Bob runs it, and he sounds like a ghost expert. If I were you, I’d sleep in pickle juice.”

“And maybe wear a protective suit,” said Zoe. “You know, just in case.”

“Okay,” I said. “That sounds . . .” It sounded crazy, but I didn’t have any better ideas. And if Bernard said it was a good idea, it probably was. Like I said, he’s the smartest kid I know. “All right. I’ll do it.”

“Good luck tonight,” said Zoe solemnly.

I looked at them the way that Spaceman Jack looks at Captain Jane and Five-Eyed Frank right before he has to leave on a secret mission.

“If I don’t make it through the night,” I said, “I want you both to know that you are the best friends in the whole world. And you two can split my collectible cards.”

“Really?’ asked Zoe. “Wow, thanks, Sam. I know how much those mean to you.”

“Yeah, thanks, Sam. I call dibs on the limited edition Five-Eyed Fred!” said Bernard. “He’s my favorite character so far.”

I glared at them.

Zoe coughed. “I mean, we hope you survive.”

“You’ll be fine,” said Bernard. But then he hugged me, which he NEVER does. Zoe hugged me, too. All the hugging was starting to freak me out.

“I’ll definitely see you guys at school tomorrow,” I said in my bravest voice.

Zoe and Bernard nodded nervously.

“Good luck,” they said.

And then they left me. All alone.