The Final Nightmare Read Online Free PDF Page A

neck.
    Something rattled in the box and I rolled away, panicked with a vision of hundreds of razor-sharp teeth.
    The witch cackled in triumph as her fingers dug into my shoulder.
    She started to drag me back into the shadows of the basement.
    I knew I was a goner.
    Then Lucy grabbed the box and heaved it. Missing my head, it connected with the thing behind me.
    There was a cry of pain and I was free.
    â€œTake that you—you—you old witch!” Lucy shouted.
    Steve jerked me to my feet and Lucy charged for the stairs, pulling us along behind her.
    I stumbled again at the bottom of the stairs but Lucy kept going, tugging on the rope while Steve pushed me from behind.
    We fell into the kitchen, our chests heaving with exhaustion.
    I slammed the door behind us and bolted it.
    â€œI can’t believe I really saw it,” said Lucy, getting her breath back. “It was even more horrible than you said, Jason.”
    I rubbed my neck where the witch had squeezed me. “I was wrong about her having less power in the daytime,” I said, slumping against the wall. I felt defeated. “I don’t know what we can do to stop her.”
    â€œWe could nail the basement door closed,” Lucy suggested.
    But I knew that wouldn’t work. “Ghosts get through locked doors,” I said. “That won’t stop them.”
    â€œLet’s try it anyway,” Lucy said. “It can’t hurt.”
    Steve wasn’t paying attention to us. He got to his feet and heaved a deep sigh of relief.
    â€œAmazing,” he said to himself. “I didn’t wet my pants after all.”

13
    â€œWhat on earth are you kids doing?”
    Startled, I whirled around and almost dropped the hammer on my toe. We’d been making so much noise nailing the basement door shut I hadn’t heard the car or the front door.
    â€œMom! I didn’t expect you so early. How is Katie?” I asked, dropping the rest of the nails in my pocket.
    â€œHello, Mrs. Winter,” said Steve with a guilty look on his face.
    â€œHi, Mrs. Winter,” said Lucy. “How was your trip?”
    â€œFine, Lucy, thank you,” said Mom, looking distracted. She turned to me. “Jason, your dad and I need to talk to you. The doctors say Katie’s head injury isn’t serious but for some reason she’s still not making sense—babbling about ghosts and witches. What exactly happened here last night?”
    Lucy and Steve exchanged glances. “We’ll be going now,” said Steve, edging toward the back door.
    â€œBut what is this?” said Mom, her glance catching on a half-hammered nail. “Jason, what are you up to? Why are you nailing the basement door?”
    â€œIt’s the witch,” Lucy blurted. “She’s in the basement. She’s real. We saw her. Didn’t we? Tell her, Steve, we saw her. She would have got Jason if we hadn’t all been roped together. It was the witch who attacked Katie.”
    Steve nodded, his eyes on the floor. “It’s true, Mrs. Winter. This house is haunted.” He looked up at her and finished in a rush, “You shouldn’t stay here!”
    My heart soared! Mom had to believe us now. She couldn’t think we were all making it up!
    Could she?
    Mom had a strange, baffled expression on her face as she looked at each of us, one after the other. She didn’t say anything. Her hair looked limp and there were dark circles under her eyes.
    â€œWe saw it, Mom,” I burst out. “Really we did.”
    â€œYou children better go now,” she said to Lucy and Steve. “Jason’s dad and I have some catching up to do.”
    After my friends left Mom gestured at me to sit down at the kitchen table. “Dad will be right down,” she said. “He’s checking on Sally.”
    It was kind of solemn waiting for Dad. Mom poured us each some juice but she didn’t say anything, just kept giving me