5. A Stunning Discovery

A STUNNING DISCOVERY 5 He spotted Lucy and Antonio on the swing set. Lucy was looking in an open book. "We've been doing research!" Lucy said as Sam ran over. Antonio tossed an apple to Sam. "Thought you might be hungry after missing lunch," he said.

Sam smiled and took a chomp. Then he looked down at the book in Lucy's hands, Eerie: A Town History. He saw the Eerie family tree. At the bottom was a photo of a young boy. The boy's name was Jasper Eerie.

"That's our substitute!" Lucy said, poking the page. "He just looks younger because this book is so old." Sam studied the page. "Unbelievable. This means our substitute is Orson Eerie's great- great-grandson."

Antonio crossed his arms. "I'm not buying it. I still think he's Zombie Orson." "He's not Zombie Orson!" Lucy said. "And why does it seem like you want a Zombie Orson?" Antonio shrugged. "Zombies are cool." "Guys, listen," Sam said. "I have to tell you what just happened!" Antonio and Lucy moved closer to Sam. "I followed Mr. Eerie —Jasper— to the music room," Sam said. "And he got attacked by the school!"

"If the school attacked him, that means he's not bad, right?" Lucy asked. "He's definitely bad," Antonio replied. "His last name is Eerie!" "I'm not sure if he's good or bad," Sam said. "Maybe Orson was battling Jasper like he battles us— to take him down. But... remember Orson Eerie's science book? It said Orson wanted to come back to life for real. Maybe Jasper's helping Orson, but Orson just got mad at him for some reason." "The only way to find out," Lucy said, "is to learn more about Jasper." Sam narrowed his eyes. He leaned close and said, "After school, we'll follow Jasper Eerie. We'll see where he goes. And we'll find out what he's up to."