is here. How do you know what he wants or doesnât want? Have you had a conversation with him?â
âWell, yes. We did.â Maggie sighed. âWe talked with his ghost!â
âReally? And were Simon and Sophie there when you had your little chat?â
All eyes turned to the other two kids. Simon looked at the two girls, then at his mom.
âWe all believe Maggie now,â Sophie finally said.
âSimon?â Mr. Kim turned to his son.
âIâm with them,â Simon replied weakly. âThis house is definitely haunted.â
âAnd what do you base this on?â Mrs. Kim asked.
Simon glanced at Maggie and Sophie. He took a deep breath and then began his confession. âI have to tell you guys something, but youâre not going to like it,â he said to his parents. âI disobeyed you and went skiing today.â
âI am so disappointed in you, Simon. I specificallyââ
âWait, Mom, thereâs more.â
Simon proceeded to tell his parents the story of the entire dayâhow heâd disobeyed his parents, his almost deadly encounter with Old Man Whartonâs ghost, and his being possessed at their séance just now.
âThere are many reasons you could have fallen, Simon, even though you are a good skier,â Mr. Kim spoke up. âWeather conditions, slope conditions . . . but a ghost pushing you? Please. By the way, youâre grounded, forever, for disobeying us so blatantly. We really thought we could trust you.â
âThis nonsense is over,â Mrs. Kim said firmly. âWe are buying this house. Period. End of conversation.â
The rest of dinner passed in uncomfortable silence. When she finished eating, Maggie brought her plate into the kitchen, then headed upstairs. Sophie followed.
âWhat are we going to do?â Maggie wondered, flopping onto her bed.
âSorry, Mags. I thought Iâd be coming to visit you a lot, but Iâm really afraid of this house, and of him.â
There was nothing else to say. Maggie felt doomed and terrified about what the future would bring. She rolled over and stared up at the canopy. She felt likecrying, but the tears didnât come. Finally she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.
âHELP! HELP!â
Maggie was awakened by shouts of terror.
âSTOP! HELP ME! SOMEONE HELP ME!â
She sprang from her bed and saw Sophie hurrying toward the bedroom door. She looked out the window. Still dark. Not yet morning.
âWhatâs going on?â Sophie asked.
âHELP!â
âThatâs Simon!â Maggie cried. âSomethingâs wrong with Simon. Come on!â
The two girls flung the bedroom door open and ran into Mr. and Mrs. Kim in the hallway.
âHELP ME!â
The cries came from downstairs.
âSimon!â Mrs. Kim shouted, dashing down the stairs, followed by the others.
When Maggie reached the bottom of the stairs, she was stunned by what she saw.
Simon was being pulled around the house by anunseen force. He was awake, his eyes wide with terror. His arms were being jerked back at the elbows, then thrust forward, then pulled back again, as if he were using ski poles to speed himself down a slope.
His knees were locked so that he was moving through the house with his feet scraping along the floor. He was unable to lift his feet or take a step or do anything to slow himself down.
âWhatâs happening?â Maggie shrieked. âSimon!â
âHelp me!â Simon cried. âSomethingâs pulling me and dragging me. Forcing me to act like Iâm skiing. I can feel it. Stop it. Someone stop it.â
Mr. Kim rushed to Simonâs side. He reached out to put his arms around his son in an attempt to stop whatever was dragging him around. But before he could reach his son, Mr. Kim was thrown backward, flung away from Simon.
He was knocked off his feet and crashed to the ground ten feet away.
âPaul!
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