Ghost Hunter: CyberNerf (Alternative Draft)

Chapter 11

His foot slipped but he quickly found a hold for it on the gable roof. Slow yet firm, he kept moving, until he reached the valley in the roof. He slid down and let himself be fetched up in the rain gutter. He climbed up the other gable to the ridge and looked down at the trampoline in the backyard.

Without hesitating he leapt and landed straight into its center. It dipped precariously before rebounding. Ned yipped with thrill and delight as he rocketed upward.

The inertia in his body wore out and he fell down again toward the trampoline. He jumped in similar fashion straight up and down a few times before he was ready to angle his ascent.

One, down, and back up.

Two, down, and back up.

Three!

The canvas sent him flying over the roof's ridge over to the other side of the house. He landed on the roof of the porch at the front of the house.

A cloud of dust puffed up under his weight as he tried to stand.

"Ouch!" he shouted. He had aimed to grab the lintel of one of the windows on his way down, only to hurtle past it.

Shifting his weight on his haunches he raised his foot to check for a sprained ankle. As he moved his foot in a snug circle, a loud groan rose from under him.

Before he could act, the roof of the porch caved and he tumbled through.

"Fudge the fiddlesticks!" he gasped as timber and dust rained down on him.

"Someone drove their car up our front steps!" He heard his dad from inside the house.

He jumped to his feet and shook himself. The soft cast on his wrist felt a little sore but he had managed to escape any real injury. No time to wait now. He rushed into the house.

He crashed smack in the middle of his dad's belly.

"What? Ned? You got out of the attic?" his dad hollered, eyes bulging with surprise.

"Later, dad!" Ned wove around his dad and ran.

"Ned, I take back my offer of the trampoline match!" Dan stumbled into his way with an indignant face.

"You wouldn't have won anyway," Ned retorted and dashed past.

Jessie was coming down the main stairway holding Dan's flashlight. "This was working when I saw Ned holding it and n—" she pulled up short on seeing Ned, "how did you get down here before me?"

"What is that crazy boy doing when the lights are all out in the house?" His Dad looked out the front door and yelled with shock. "The porch is half gone!"

That is when everyone heard Ned scream with cold rage. "Get away from my family!"

Ned's mom looked at the hulking monster and she tuned white with fright. "Ned! Joan! Jeff!" she yelled.

Dan rubbed his eyes at the sight of the gruesome looking thing and then he knew he wasn't dreaming. "My God! Dad, get your gun. NOW!"

The flashlight suddenly came to life in Jessie's hand and she shone it at the foul-looking eyes. The unnatural glare in those owlish eyes made her shake all over. She pointed at the thing and opened her mouth but there was only a choking noise deep in her throat.

The candle in Jeff's hand was about to die out under the breath of the thing hovering over his head. Joan felt the presence behind her and let out a shrill scream.

"Jeff! Duck!" were the last words out of Ned's mouth just before he took aim. The big jutting eyes of Barky Face shifted to Ned and it uttered a sound that seemed to rock the house on its foundations. It echoed loud, hollow and deep. To Ned's ears, it even sounded bewildered.

Jeff and Joan flung themselves to the floor and Ned pressed the trigger. He kept pressing as he advanced. A spasm took hold of Barky Face as it floundered backward.

It was whining now, instead of bellowing; no more floating, but flapping its limbs on the floor to find its balance. Yet Ned did not give it the smallest chance of escape.

When the thing's whining died down and the lights in the house came back on, everyone gathered around Jeff and Joan. The candle previously held by Jeff still flicked on its side against the wall and Joan lifted a whimpering head from her arms.

"Don't worry, Joanie. I took care of it. It won't hurt any of us anymore," said Ned.

Mom, Jessie and Dan looked at Ned, their mouths hanging with tremendous surprise.

"What is going on with the lights in this house?" His dad groused as he elbowed his way through and then saw what others were seeing.

Ned stood with the muzzle of his Foam Blaster resting upon his shoulder, one foot propped over the dead mass of Barky Face.

"Ned!" his dad shouted. "Who said you could drag a tree into the house?"

Dan's gaze was stuck on the dead monster and he mumbled something. "I can't hear what you saying," Dad said to him.

"Dad, that's no tree. That thing would've hurt us if Ned didn't get it on time." Dan sucked in a long breath and wiped a palm over his face. "What is that awful smell?"

"It smells like mold and rot." Jessie scrunched her nose.

"That's Barky Face checking out of existence," Ned announced.

"Barky Face?" Dad tromped up to the dead mass and studied it. "Gosh! It's going rank." Dad's eyes frittered from Ned to Dan and back to the monster lying cold on the floor. "How did this thing get in here?"

"It was here before us. None of you listened when I tried telling you about the ghost invasion." Ned looked sourly at his family. Then he felt a sudden spasm under the cast on his wrist. "Ouch!" he cried.

"Are you okay, Ned, dear?" Mom walked over to Ned. She checked the soft cast and pulled her son to herself, planting a kiss on his head.

"I must've roughed it up some during the trampoline jump. No big deal," Ned said.

"Ned! You're the winner!" cried Dan. "I'm proud to have a brother like you."

"Hurray!" Joan and Jeff shouted with glee.

"Thanks to Super Ned, it's finally over." A big smile lit up Dan's face.

Ned frowned. Dan noticed unease shadowing his brother's face. "What is it, Ned?" he asked.

"We can only be sure it has just begun."