CHAPTER 6

Enter If You Dare!

As the car stopped in front of Chloe’s house, my stomach did a few flips. The party planners she had been talking about every day at lunch sure did a great job. It looked as if we had just pulled up to Dracula’s castle.

“This is so cool!” Robbie said as he jumped out of the car and raced toward the door.

“Freddy, honey, don’t you want to go with Robbie?” my mom asked.

“Uh, yeah, Mom. I’m just fixing my costume,” I lied. Actually, I was stalling for time. I really didn’t want to go anywhere near that haunted house. Just looking at it gave me the creeps.

“Don’t worry. Your costume looks great. Have a good time. I’ll be back to pick you up at eight o’clock.”

I guess I couldn’t put it off any longer. I opened the car door and carefully got out, making sure I didn’t bump my hammerhead on the roof of the car. “Bye, Mom.” I slammed the door and started to walk slowly up to the house. “It’s all fake. It’s only people in costumes,” I whispered to myself. Just then something grabbed me from behind, and I jumped about three feet in the air.

I turned around and saw Jessie smiling at me. “Sorry, Freddy. I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought we could go in together.”

Walking through with Jessie actually sounded like a great idea since she wasn’t afraid of anything.

“I love your costume, Freddy.”

“I love your costume, too. You really look like Dracula.” Jessie’s face was painted white, and she was wearing bloody fangs. Her silky cape was black on one side and red on the other, and she had a little fake bat sewn onto her shoulder.

“Thanks. My abuela, you know, my grandma, made it for me. She makes my costumes every year, and she always does a great job.”

“My mom makes mine, too.”

“Well, let’s go,” she said, grabbing my hand. “I can’t wait. It’s going to be super cool.”

“Yeah,” I mumbled. “Super cool.” With my free hand, I rubbed my lucky shark’s tooth in my pocket really hard as Jessie practically flew up the front steps, dragging me with her.

When we got to the front door, everyone was already there.

“What took you guys so long?” Chloe whined. “We’ve been waiting.”

“Well, we’re here now,” said Jessie. “Let’s get going!”

A Frankenstein monster appeared in the doorway and said, “Welcome to Dracula’s castle. Enter if you dare.”

Oh, why did they have to say stuff like that? It gave me the creeps. But there was no turning back now. I didn’t want Jessie to think I was a fraidy-cat. I had no choice. I had to go. I squeezed Jessie’s hand tight. The door opened with a CREEEEAAAAAK, and we all followed Frankenstein inside.

That dry-ice fog that Robbie had talked about was swirling around our feet, and spooky music was playing. Next, Dracula appeared and said, “Welcome to my castle. Follow me. I will be your tour guide through this house of horrors.” My heart was beating so hard I thought it was going to come out of my chest. “You can do this. You can do this,” I whispered to myself.

Dracula led us into a room where there were skeletons dancing and ghosts floating above our heads.

“OOOOOOOOOOO,” Max howled. I was scared enough. I really didn’t need his special sound effects.

As we entered the next room, Chloe let out a scream: “AAAAHHHH!”

“What are you screaming about, you little baby?” Max snarled.

“Something … just … grabbed … my … leg,” Chloe stammered.

“I wish something would grab my leg,” Max said. “That would be awesome.”

I really didn’t want anything grabbing me. If I screamed like Chloe, then Max would think I was such a fraidy-cat.

This next room was full of zombies and coffins. Some of the coffins were closed, and some were open. Every once in a while, one of the closed coffins would pop open when you least expected it, and some horrible creature would pop out and make a terrible screeching sound. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Every time one of those things yelled, my whole body shook.

Then Dracula took us into a room where we had to stick our hands in jars and touch worms and brains and eyeballs. I know the stuff was fake, but it sure felt real. I thought I was going to puke.

“EEEEWWW! EEEWWW! EEEWWW! This is so slimy and gross,” said Chloe, shaking her fingers in the air. “I don’t want to touch it anymore. I think I’m going to be sick,” she said, covering her mouth with her hand. “I don’t want to throw up all over my pretty pink princess dress.”

“If you’re going to barf, don’t do it on me,” Max snickered. “Why don’t you just leave, and go back to your little tea party?”

“This is my party, Max Sellars. You can’t tell me what to do!” Chloe huffed.

“Now we are entering the final room,” Dracula said. “It is my favorite. I want you to meet some of my friends.”

“Final room? Did he say final room?” I asked Robbie.

“Yeah, isn’t that a bummer?” Robbie said. “I could stay in here all night.”

“Me, too,” Jessie agreed.

“Not me,” I thought. “The sooner we’re out of here the better.” I was so proud of myself that I had almost made it through without screaming. Now Max couldn’t call me a fraidy-cat.

As we entered the final room, something flew right past my head. “What was that?” I whispered to Jessie.

“I don’t know,” she whispered back.

I ducked, just as another one flew by.

“Don’t look now,” she said, “but I think one just landed on your shoulder.”

I started jumping around like crazy. “Get it off! Get it off!” I yelled.

“What are you screaming about, wimp?” Max laughed. “It’s just some stupid, fake, rubber bat,” he said, lifting it off my shoulder. “You are such a fraidy-cat!”

So much for making it through the night without screaming.

“That is the end of our tour,” Dracula said. “I hope you liked visiting my castle. Please come again.”

He opened a door that led out into Chloe’s living room where all the games had been set up.

“Oh, bobbing for apples,” Max yelled. “I’m first, and I challenge the fraidy-cat over there,” he said, pointing to me.

I gulped. I didn’t think the night could get any worse.