2 A STRANGE NEW HAUNT

CHAPTER 2 A STRANGE NEW HAUNT Kaz tried to backstroke away from the hole in the wall. But the wind was even stronger than he expected it to be. It pullllllled him into the Outside and flung him head over heels. Above him, Mom, Pops, Little John, and Cosmo drifted higher and higher, each one moving in a slightly different direction. Below him, the heavy wrecking ball banged into the old schoolhouse again. Kaz watched in shock as the walls of his haunt crumbled into a pile of rubble. He pumped his arms, kicked his legs, and tried to swim toward his mom. But the wind held him

back. He tried swimming toward his dad. It was no use. He was powerless in the wind. They all were. Mom cupped her hands around her mouth and yelled, "You can't fight the wind, Kaz. Just let it carry you to a new haunt. I love yooooou!" At least that's what Kaz thought his mom had said. She was so far away now that it was hard to hear. The wind carried Kaz farther and farther away from what was left of his haunt. And farther away from the rest of his family. Tears dribbled down Kaz's cheeks. "Mom... Pops... Little John... Cosmo..." He couldn't even see his haunt anymore. Or his family. He was all alone in the Outside. It was so bright. The sun felt warm on Kaz's head, arms, and back. Too warm. The wind tossed and blew him over fields... trees... houses... a lake. Then more trees... a

city with tall buildings. Fields again. Lots and lots of fields. Kaz rode the wind all afternoon. Would it ever let him go? Finally, the wind slowed and Kaz drifted down... down... down. A big white house with a wraparound porch loomed ahead. The wind thrust Kaz straight toward the house and in through an open window. Now that he was away from the Outside wind, Kaz could swim again. He paddled hard to the far corner of the room. As far from that open window as he could get. His whole body trembled in fear. Once he was sure the wind wouldn't pull him back into the Outside, Kaz slowly turned and

looked around. Where am I? he wondered. He was in a brightly lit room. It was almost as bright as the Outside. The room was full of bookshelves. Rows and rows of tall bookshelves, just like the library in his old haunt. Except these bookshelves didn't have any dust, and they held way more books. Kaz swam to the next room. A sign on the door read: NONFICTION ROOM. There were more books in there. Books... magazines... newspapers... tables... chairs. And solids. Real, live solids. Kaz had never seen so many solids all at once, and he'd never been this close to them before. Some of them walked around with their feet actually touching the floor. When they walked, their feet made noise. Other solids sat on chairs. They sat there without floating away. What would it feel like to walk on the floor or sit on a chair? Kaz wondered. He didn't notice the solid woman walking

toward him until it was too late. "Aaaaaaah!" he shrieked as she walked right through him. Passing through any solid object felt strange to Kaz. But passing through a solid person, or having one pass through him, felt even worse than passing through a wall or a door. It felt like the person was swimming around inside of him. Ick. Ick. Ick. The solid woman shivered, then turned to her friend. "I just felt a sudden chill. Do you feel it, too?" "Everyone says this library is haunted," said the friend. Haunted? Does that mean other ghosts live here? Kaz had never met any ghosts outside of his family.

"There are always strange things going on around here," said a third solid woman. "I've heard about books opening and closing by themselves. Lights blinking on and off. And some people have even seen and heard the library ghost." None of those solids could see Kaz. Kaz glided into the next room. It wasn't really a room; it was more of an entryway. It had a bench