6. The Kids Get Help!

Chapter 6 The Kids Get Help! The three kids backed away from the giant cardboard ogre. It stared at them with red eyes. The basket of candy sat on the ogre's tongue. "I don't want to disappear," Nate said. "Wait a minute! I just remembered something," Bradley said. "Brian said we should all meet back at that couch. So maybe he's waiting for us." "Let's go and look," Lucy said.

"Good idea!" Nate said. "Rubber snakes and killer spiders are better than disgusting ogres!" The kids slipped through the black curtain again. They followed the glowing footprints past the fake trees and cobwebs. They found the couch with the fake-fur blanket, just the way they'd left it. The tiny ceiling lights twinkled. The red exit sign glowed through the mist. "No Brian," Lucy said. "I'm getting scared," Bradley said. "Where could he be?" "I'll bet he's with Luke and those other kids," Nate said. "Inside the ogre's fat tummy!" "What do you think we should do, Lucy?" Bradley asked. "Keep looking, I guess," Lucy said. "How about you, Nate?" Bradley asked. "Want to keep looking?" "No," Nate said. "I think we should go to the police station. We need to tell Officer Fallon what's going on!" "But we don't know what's going on," Lucy said.

"A bunch of kids disappeared. That's what's going on!" Nate insisted. Bradley sat and thought about Brian disappearing. He thought about Luke's red hat on the floor. Then he had another thought: Maybe Nate is right! Maybe that big green ogre out front wasn't someone in a costume! Bradley left the cowboy hat on the couch. "I don't know if Officer Fallon will still be in his office," he said. "I think it's pretty late. I wish we could find a clock!" "Let's go look behind Mr. Linkletter's desk," Lucy suggested. The three kids hurried across the dark room. After a few minutes, they saw the plastic skeleton again. Then Bradley had an idea. "Maybe we can call Officer Fallon!" he said. "If we leave the hotel, we might not be able to get back in again." "There's no phone," Nate said. Lucy poked around behind the desk. She pulled open drawers and searched on bookshelves.

"Here it is!" she said, holding the phone over her head. She called information and asked for the Green Lawn police station. She looked at Bradley and Nate. "What should I tell him?" she asked. "Tell him Brian is missing," Bradley said. Bradley and Nate could hear the phone buzzing in Lucy's ear. Then she said, "Hello, is this Officer Fallon?" Lucy began to explain how Brian and the other kids had disappeared inside the haunted house. After a minute, she hung up. "He's coming right over," she told the others. Bradley looked around. He spotted the exit sign over the door. "Let's wait there," he said. Three minutes later, they heard banging on the door. "Who is it?" Nate asked. Bradley giggled. "A ghost," he whispered in Nate's ear. "Officer Fallon!" a deep voice shouted from outside. "Open up!"

Bradley pulled open the door, making a loud creak. Officer Fallon stepped inside. He looked brave and determined. "Mr. Linkletter should oil this door," Officer Fallon said. "He isn't here, either!" Bradley said. "Hmph," Officer Fallon said. "Mr. Linkletter's gone, too? Very mysterious!" "We saw a witch and a ghost and a zombie," Nate whispered. "Did you?" Officer Fallon said. "I hate zombies!" "And they talked to us!" Lucy said. "What did they say?" Officer Fallon asked. "We tried to ask them where the other kids were," Bradley said. "But they just kept telling us to follow the green footprints."

"So we did!" Lucy said. The foggy mist floated in the air. The lights on the ceiling glimmered. "Can you show me exactly where you were when Brian disappeared?" Officer Fallon asked. "Easy," Nate said. "We followed these footprints. Come on, I'll show you!" The kids led Officer Fallon through the darkness. They kept their feet on the green footprints. Suddenly they all heard a scream. Officer Fallon froze in his tracks. "What was that?" he asked.