Page 85 of The Neighborhood Ghost

The light grew brighter and brighter. They were almost free. Only a few turns left of the staircase.

“Alright. On the count of three, Gally, you dump us to the side. I’ll curl into a ball, and then, Alice, you cover me up.”

“Got it.”

The light grew closer and closer.

“One!”

Freedom was within reach.

“Two!”

The sounds of birds and other wildlife echoed through the last remaining steps.

“Three!”

Galahad zoomed through the opening and banked to the right, spilling Hugo and Alice into the plush grass of the clearing. Hugo curled into a ball, his head tucked under his arms.

“Cover me!” Hugo yelled. “Cover me. Cover me.”

Alice rolled and sprung to her feet. She flung off her coat and threw it over Hugo. She jumped on top of him, shielding him from the sun’s rays. “Are you okay? Does it burn?” she asked. “Help. He needs to get out of the sun. He’s still a vampire. Help!”

Hugo pulled the coat tightly around himself, sealing off the attack of the sun—the evil, cruel sun seeking to boil his blood and destroy him. He dug his face into the soft, plush grass to conceal as much of himself as possible.

“Welcome back to the land of the living,” the Oaken King said. “While you are in my kingdom, you shall find solace under my sun, for it shall not burn your friend.”

“What?” Alice asked. “He’ll be okay?”

“Kiddo, I think you can let him up,” Ez said.

Alice rolled off Hugo. She breathed heavily, leaning against Hugo’s back. He could sense her blood pumping through her body. He smelled it. He could smell everyone. Hugo never thought he would be so happy to smell blood pumping through people’s veins, but he was.

“Hugo, darling, I think you can come out now.” Alice sat up and rose to her feet.

A cold, wet nose dug under the black tailcoat. It sniffed and searched for its query. Finding its target, the rest of the playful golden retriever followed. Her whole body shook. A happy whine with numerous kisses greeted Hugo as she sought refuge under the coat.

“Hey, good buddy,” Hugo said.

He threw the coat off and rolled over. The sun’s warmth greeted him on his second chance at life—a far cry from the cold breeze whipping around in the land of the lost souls. The ground was like a pillow, soft and forming. It cradled him and soothed him. He could sleep on the ground for a long, long time.

The impish golden retriever threw her whole body on top of his chest. She wormed her head as close to his as possible, pressing harder and harder. Her tail thumped off the ground. Her front paws outstretched, pushing against the ground to move closer to Hugo. He caught a glimpse of her brown puppy dog eyes.

“Yeah, I missed you,” Hugo said. “I missed you too.”

Ez stood over Hugo with a smile on her face. Her blue eyeshadow-covered eyes beamed down at him. “I want you to tell me everything about the land of dead. Every detail about who was in charge. How you escaped. Understood?”

Hugo stared right back at her. “Yes, ma’am. Maybe I could catch my breath for a moment.”

Ez laughed. “Of course. In due time. Welcome back to the land of the living.”

“Good to be back.” He shifted to the side. “You’ve got to let me up, Max. Come on. Watch out.”

The golden retriever popped to her feet, excited at the prospects of going home or for a walk or throwing the ball. Maybe all three.

Galahad swooped in and greeted his best friend. The golden retriever and broomstick were reunited once again. Galahad tapped the pup on the back, scratching down her back. Max barked thanks in return. They both spun around in circles in excitement.

Guinevere floated over to introduce herself to the other broomstick. Max bounced up and down, tapping her feet on the ground. Galahad and Guinevere met face to face. The bent,charging horse like head of his hickory stick to the straight, ash broom handle of Guinevere. Galahad backed away, as if he were taking off, and stopped. He repeated the process a few times until he took off, and Guinevere followed. They spun around the clearing, chasing each other. Max barked and joined in the chase. The woodland sprites and fairies giggled from the tree line.

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