In the Land of the Lawn Weenies by David Lubar Page A

wasn’t what stopped me. There was a low block of stone
in the middle of the floor. A box lay on the block. I knew right away what it was.
    â€œLet’s get out of here,” I said, grabbing Jay’s arm. The leather of his jacket felt almost alive beneath my fingers.
    Jay pulled away from me and moved to the coffin. He walked all the way around it, shining the light over every inch of the polished wooden box. “I’d heard stories,” he said.
    â€œLet’s go,” I said again.
    â€œLook what I have.” Jay reached into his pocket. He pulled out an object and held it up for me to see. It was a cross on a chain. Jay laughed. “Just in case. But wait, there’s more.” He reached inside his coat and pulled out a long wooden stake.
    â€œJay, you’ve been watching too many vampire movies.”
    The rest happened very fast.
    There was a muffled thump. The lid of the coffin flew open.
    I felt every muscle in my body try to leap up the stairs. But I couldn’t move.
    A dark shape burst from the coffin, snarling. It hit Jay from the side with such force he was knocked off his feet. The flashlight flew from Jay’s hand and bounced along the floor, spinning crazily.
    The light swept across them—Jay and the vampire.
    They were on the ground, struggling. Jay was pinned facedown. The vampire had his arms
around Jay and his head buried in Jay’s neck. Jay was screaming.
    I took a step back.
    The flashlight spun slower. Near my feet, something reflected the passing beam.
    The cross.
    Jay was trying to hit the vampire. He’d managed to hold onto the stake, but all he could do was stab at the air.
    I stepped forward, grabbed the cross, and ran to the struggling figures. I held the cross out, my hands shaking so badly I thought my bones would tear loose from their joints.
    I pressed the cross against the side of the vampire’s head. The skin that touched my fingers felt old and dry and dead.
    There was a hiss of scorched flesh, and the room filled with a dreadful stench. The vampire sprang up, its hands clutched over its face. It stumbled against the open coffin and let out a cry unlike anything I had ever heard. Whether hunger or sorrow or anger, I couldn’t tell.
    Screaming his own howl, Jay struggled to his knees, the stake still gripped in his hand. He staggered to his feet, then rushed at the vampire and plunged the point into the monster’s chest.
    I turned my head away, but I heard the sound of the stake, like a shovel slicing into mud. When I looked again, the vampire had fallen back into the box. I ran forward and slammed down the lid, then placed the cross on top. The instant it touched the wood, it was as if a lock had snapped shut on the coffin.

    I reached over to help Jay. I was afraid to take my eyes from the lid of the coffin, afraid it would fly open again. I felt leather. I grabbed and pulled and backed off, guiding Jay, leading him away. I found the flashlight with my other hand and we stumbled up the stairs.
    Jay was almost all deadweight at first. By the time we reached the front room, he had recovered enough to walk without my help. We made it out of the house.
    I never realized how much I loved the smell of the outdoors.
    Down the street, the flashlight died. I guess something had been damaged when it fell. But we didn’t need it anymore.
    â€œAre you … ?” I started to ask. “Did it … ?”
    Jay felt his neck. Then he swore.
    â€œDid it bite you bad?” I asked. There was no doubt the creature in the basement had been a vampire. The cross, the stake, the coffin—there was no question what we had faced. And I knew that anyone bitten by a vampire would turn into one. I moved a step away from Jay, afraid he might change before my eyes.
    â€œRelax.” Jay turned and showed me the damage. His collar, in a flipped up position covering his neck, was ripped and torn. There were two holes in the leather.