R. L. Stine_Mostly Ghostly 07 Read Online Free Page A

side of town. You only have to stay a few minutes to meet Mr. Harvey. Then I will take you anywhere you want to go.”
    Nicky, Tara, and I huddled on the curb. I heard a cat crying from the house behind us. An SUV rolled past, loud rap music blasting from its open windows.
    “Is this guy for real?” Tara whispered.
    “I think he's telling the truth,” Nicky said.
    I glanced at Dr. Smollet. “It might be some kind of trap,” I said.
    “If it is a trap, Nicky and I will just go invisible,” Tara said. “No problem.”
    “It's one of the good things about being a ghost,” Nicky said.
    “If he
is
telling the truth,” I said, “this could be an awesome day for you. This is what you've been praying for!”
    “I don't want to get excited yet,” Nicky said. “But I am. I really am. If this scientist really knows how to return us to life …”
    He started jumping up and down. He couldn't hold back his excitement.
    Tara grabbed Nicky by the shoulders and held him down. “Don't get your hopes up.”
    “Too late,” Nicky said. “My hopes are already up. I can't
wait
to be alive again!”
    Tara turned to me. “Nicky and I will go with Dr. Smollet,” she said. “But you don't have to take the risk, Max. Go to the magic store. You don't want to be late for your audition.”
    “But—” I started.
    Tara stepped up to Dr. Smollet. “Nicky and I will go with you to your lab,” she said. “But Max has other things to do in town.”
    Dr. Smollet frowned and shook his head. He raised his blue eyes to me. “Oh no,” he said softly. “That won't do.”
    He motioned for me to follow him. “You come too, Max. We need you. You're going to be
very
important.”

D R . S MOLLET'S LAB WAS in a three-story white stucco building. A barbed wire fence surrounded the place. I saw empty lots on both sides. No stores or houses on the block.
    He opened the gate with a key and led us to the white front door. I saw rows of tiny windows rising up to the flat red roof. All the windows were barred.
    As soon as we stepped inside, I heard the shrill cries.
    Animal cries. Shrieks and howls. Muffled behind a long row of closed doors.
    Dr. Smollet noticed my surprise. “Don't pay any attention,” he said. “We do a lot of animal experiments here. The animals are all well cared for.”
    We started down a long white hall. Even the carpet was white. The animal cries became fainter as we turned a corner that led into another white hall.
    Nicky and Tara glanced around nervously. “Did our parents work here?” Tara asked.
    Dr. Smollet nodded. He led us into a big square room filled with computer equipment. The walls were solid white. Bright lights beamed down from the low ceiling.
    I saw rows of laptops on two long tables. Cables stretched above our heads. Large electronic machines beeped and hummed against one wall. Red and blue lights blinked.
    Flat-screen monitors filled another wall. The monitors flashed numbers and equations and formulas.
    Dr. Smollet pulled off his raincoat and suit jacket and tossed them on a chair. He tugged down the sleeves of his starched white shirt.
    I could still hear the animal shrieks in the distance. Sad, frightened cries. They made me feel frightened too.
    Had we made a big mistake?
    I swallowed hard. My mouth was suddenly very dry, and my hands felt as cold as ice. I jammed them into my jeans pockets—and felt the deck of trick cards.
    Will I get out of here in time to see Ballantine?
    The lab was neat and clean. The monitors blinked silently. The big electronic machines clicked and hummed. Dr. Smollet smiled as the three of us gazed around.
    “This lab belonged to your parents,” he toldNicky and Tara. “This is where they worked. And I worked here alongside them.”
    “Wow,” Nicky said, shaking his head. He walked up to a long table of laptops. “I think I remember being here. It's a faint memory. But it's coming back to me.”
    “Yes, I remember the computers,” Tara said. “And all those