The Key To Ghost World Read online

  “Do we have to sit in this room?” Jaedon asked. “It reminds me of my room.”

  “I guess we could go sit on the porch.” Randy suggested. “It doesn’t look at all like your porch. When my parents bought the house, they took the bushes out and planted flowers. Your mom and John haven’t had time to change anything out there.”

  Rascal followed them to the front door and hopped on Jaedon’s lap when Jaedon settled into the heavy rocking chair on the porch.

  “It’s so dark.” Jaedon commented.

  “You get used to it.”

  “Do you think I’ll ever get home?” Jaedon asked.

  “If you got here, you will get home. Mort will find someone who knows what to do.”

  The boys sat silently thinking of the mistake they had made. Jaedon was looking at the neighboring houses comparing them to the houses in his world when he caught a movement across the street.

  He sat up and looked harder. Soon he was able to make out the shape of a man. It was the Fat man. He moved towards Jaedon and Randy.

  “Randy!” Jaedon whispered. “Look. That ghost is coming over here.”

  “Maybe he hasn’t seen you yet.” Randy whispered back. “Quick. In the house.”

  But, the Fat Man was standing next to them before they could get out of their chairs. Rascal was in Jaedon’s arms growling ferociously. Jaedon held on tight to keep him from jumping away.

  Chapter 21 - More ghosts find Jaedon and Jaedon finds the key

  “Not so fast,” he snorted. “Where is the key? I need the key.”

  “I don’t have any keys, sir.” said Jaedon. “We have to go in now. Excuse me.”

  “Stop lying.” the Fat Man demanded leaning down so his face was inches from Jaedon’s. “I need the key.”

  “But I don’t have any keys,” explained Jaedon. “Now, please let me pass.”

  “You will pass when I tell you to pass. The key.” The Fat Man stared into Jaedon’s eyes, breathing hard. Jaedon smelled a rotten smell and gagged.

  Taking a step back, he lost his grip on Rascal. Rascal leaped out of his arms and started biting at the Fat Man’s feet.

  “Get away!” the Fat Man kicked at Rascal.

  Jaedon saw his opportunity and slipped past the man and into the house. Randy popped in after him. A second later, Rascal popped in and landed in Jaedon’s arms.

  “Holy crap! That was close!” said Randy.

  “What if he pops in here?” Jaedon asked.

  “He can’t. Ghosts can’t go where they don’t belong. He never lived here so he doesn’t belong here. He can only come in if he’s invited. I’m not going to invite him. Are you?”

  “No.” Jaedon was trembling from the scare. “Where’s Mort? I thought he was going to be right back.”

  “Come on,” Randy said. “Let’s go wait in my room like Mort told us to. And don’t tell him that we were on the porch. How was I supposed to know that someone would see us?”

  Jaedon carried Rascal to the bedroom and put him on the bed. Glancing out the window, his breath caught in his throat.

  “Oh no!” he moaned. “Randy, look.”

  There were at least 30 ghosts milling around the front yard. Every one of them was staring at the very window that Jaedon and Randy stood by.

  Jaedon backed away from the window until the back of his legs touched the bed. He sat down and let Rascal jump onto his lap.

  “I don’t like this,” he told Randy. “I don’t like this at all.”

  “I’ve never seen so many ghosts in my life. Um. Or in my death.” Randy exclaimed. “They all must want to know how you got here. Stay away from the window. Don’t let them see you again.”

  “I just want to go home. There has to be some way back. Let’s try it again.”

  “We’ve already tried. I don’t know how you got here. How can I take you back?”

  “Well, I’m not just going to sit here and wait for those ghosts to find a way to get in here. Let’s try it again.”

  “Alright,” Randy sighed. “But it won’t do any good. Let’s see… I was standing here. So you just grab me and we’ll try to pop back to your room.”

  Jaedon stood next to Randy and held onto his arm.

  “Now pop.” he said.

  With a faint pop and a odd smell, Randy disappeared leaving Jaedon standing alone in the dark room.

  “Randy! Come back. Don’t leave me here by myself.” Jaedon crawled to the window and peeked over the sill. The ghosts were still mingling on the front lawn. One pointed at the window and they all turned to stare at Jaedon.

  Dropping to his knees, Jaedon crawled to the bed and let Rascal crawl on his lap. He scratched the little dog’s ear and listened intently for sounds of intrusion.

  Randy appeared next to him. “Your mom is going crazy.” he said.

  “She knows I’m not there?” Jaedon asked.

  “She went to check on you before she went to bed. When I popped in, she was on the phone with Hannah’s dad asking if you had gone over there. He told her to calm down and wait for him to come over. He should be there in a couple of minutes.”

  “I’ve got to get home. Let’s try again.”

  “It’s not going to work, I tell ya.” But seeing Jaedon’s face, Randy relented. “Come on. We were standing right here. Let’s try it again. Wrap your arms around me.”

  Again Randy disappeared with a faint pop and an odd smell leaving Jaedon alone.

  Jaedon thought he heard a sound on the porch. Venturing a look out the window again, it seemed like the horde of ghosts were closer to the house than they had been a few minutes ago. He couldn’t tell if there were any on the porch, but he knew that once a ghost got in, he had no defense against it.

  Randy popped back in.

  “Crap!” Jaedon jumped back from the window. “Stop scaring me!”

  “Sorry.”

  “There are more ghosts in the front yard.” Jaedon told Randy. “Some of them are calling my name.” He wiped his face with his hand. “Why do they want me?”

  Randy came to stand by Jaedon at the window. “I don’t know. Where’s that guy who came on the porch? He looked familiar.”

  “I don’t see him. He said he wanted the key. Why would a ghost need a key? Maybe all these ghosts think I have a key.”

  He unlatched the lock on the window and pushed it open. “Hey!” He yelled. “I don’t have any keys. Leave me alone!”

  The ghosts pushed closer. “Please Jaedon,” a pretty ghost in a red dress called. “Please share the key with us.”

  A voice from behind the boys startled them. “Jaedon, what are you doing?” Hannah’s grandmother stood in the doorway with Mort.

  Jaedon’s eyes welled with tears. “I don’t know how I got here. I just want to go home. Can you help me?”

  Carolyn eyed Jaedon. She smiled gently and brushed the hair from his face.

  “Jaedon,” she said. “There are only two ways that you could be here. The first way is to be dead. I know you aren’t dead. The second way is to be the Key Master. You must be the Key Master.”

  “No!” he screamed. “I’ve been trying to tell them that I don’t have any keys. My mom doesn’t even let me have a key to the house. Sometimes I have to crawl in the basement window to get in. I don’t have any keys!”

  Carolyn smiled. She crossed the room and sat on the bed. “The key isn’t a key like you use to get in your house. The key to Ghost World is an object. There are six of them. Each one is held by a Key Master. The Key Master can move between both worlds.

  “Each Key Master is chosen by the key he holds. His job is to right wrongs between the living world and the ghost world. Holding the key, the Key Master is able to do many things that other living people can’t do – like pop. You must have the key.”

  “But I don’t.” Jaedon leaned against the dresser and let his body slide down until he was sitting on the floor. “I don’t have any key. I’m not a master. I’m just a kid.”

  Mort, who
had been standing in the doorway, stepped forward. “Jaedon, you have the key. You must have had it with you when you crossed over. Think hard. What were you holding?”

  “I wasn’t holding anything - just Randy.”

  “No,” Carolyn said. “Randy isn’t the key. The key is an object. A very old object. Now think. What were you doing when you crossed.”

  “Well,” Jaedon said. “Randy found my gold watch and he was playing keep-away….”

  “That must be it!” Carolyn exclaimed. “Where is the watch?”

  “I don’t know. Randy was keeping it away from me and I grabbed it and, all of a sudden, we were here. I don’t know where the watch went.”

  Randy knelt down and looked under the bed. “Here it is.” Reaching under the bed, he pulled the watch out and held it up. “This must be the key.” He handed it to Jaedon.

  Holding the watch gave Jaedon a warm feeling. “Now what?” he asked.

  Carolyn smiled. “I’m not the Key Master. You are. Tell the watch what you want.”

  Jaedon looked at the watch. “I feel stupid.” he said. “O.K. I want to be in my own bedroom.”

  Jaedon heard a soft pop and looked around in amazement. He was sitting next to his dresser in his own bedroom. Three more soft pops followed him. Then another soft pop and Rascal landed in Jaedon’s arms, his whole body wiggling with delight.

  “I’m home!” Jaedon sighed.

  “You’re the Key Master!” Randy yelled. “You rock! My friend is the Key Master! How cool is that!”

  “I need to go tell my mom I’m home. She’s probably freaking out. She’s never gonna believe this.” Still holding Rascal in his arms, he started down the stairs.

  Chapter 22 - The key master

  Jaedon’s mom was seated at the kitchen table with both Hannah’s parents. Hannah’s mom had her chair scooted close to Jaedon’s mom’s chair.

  Jaedon’s mom sat hunched in her chair with her face in her hands. Hannah’s mom had her arm draped around his mom’s shoulders. She held her face close to his mom’s ear while she whispered soothing words.

  Jaedon stood in the doorway and cleared his throat. Three heads swiveled to face him. His mom’s mouth dropped open and a slender hand rose to her cheek.

  “Jaedon!” she cried. “Where have you been? And what’s wrong with your arms?”

  “Nothing’s wrong with my arms.” Jaedon looked down at Rascal, and then realized that his mother couldn’t see the small dog. To her, it looked like Jaedon was holding his arms crossed in front of him.

  He leaned over and let Rascal down.

  “Jaedon, are you O.K?”

  “I’m fine, mom.”

  “Why are you bending over like that? Where were you?” she moved across the kitchen to take Jaedon in her arms. “I was so scared. Tell me where you were.”

  Over her shoulder, Jaedon saw Hannah’s parents talking to Carolyn and Mort. Hannah’s mom was shaking her head in disbelief. Hannah’s dad looked at Jaedon and gave a weak smile and a thumbs up.

  “Answer me!” his mother demanded. “Where were you?”

  “I was here.” Jaedon said, so quietly his mom had to lean in to hear him.

  “You were not here. I looked everywhere. Now, where were you?” She wagged a finger at him.

  Jaedon felt his cheeks grow hot. “I was right here. Honest.” He looked at Hannah’s dad, his eyes pleading for help.

  Hannah’s dad walked over and put his hand on Jaedon’s shoulder. “He’s telling the truth.” he said.

  Samantha turned to Mark Newton and blurted. “You looked through the house yourself. You know he wasn’t here. He needs to tell the truth.”

  “Come sit back down with your coffee. There is something you need to know.” he led her back to the kitchen table, poured more coffee into her cup and slid it in front of her. “It’s going to be hard to understand at first, but you’ll need to trust us. Are you ready?”

  She chewed her lip, glanced at Jaedon, and then nodded.

  “Jaedon was here the whole time.” Hannah’s dad began. “But we couldn’t see him because he was in Ghost World.”

  Jaedon’s mom’s eyes grew wide. She took a deep breath before picking up her coffee cup. The cup was half empty before she looked at Mark.

  “You must think I’m completely dense.” she said slowly. “Not only do you want me to believe that ghosts exist, you also want me to believe that my son was in a different world. Get real.” She slammed the coffee cup on the table and coffee sloshed out on her hand.

  “Mom, there are three ghosts right here in this room.” Jaedon said. “Well four, if you count Rascal.”

  “Who is Rascal?”

  “Rascal is the dog I was holding when I walked in here.”

  At the sound of his name, Rascal came running, jumped into Jaedon’s arms, and began licking his face enthusiastically.

  Samantha watched her son, his arms crossed in front of his chest, scrunching his face up. “Stop this nonsense right now!” she demanded.

  Carolyn tapped her foot on the floor. “Jaedon, you’ll have to show her,” she said.

  “Show her how, Carolyn?” asked Jaedon.

  “Show who how? Who is Carolyn?” his mom demanded.

  “I’m talking to Carolyn, Hannah’s grandmother.”

  “Hannah’s grandmother is not here.”

  “Yes, she is. She’s standing right behind you.”

  Samantha whirled around, but saw nothing. She jumped to her feet, the chair crashed to the floor behind her. She advanced towards Jaedon, her face twisted in anger.

  “Show her,” Carolyn urged. “Use the key. Pop over.”

  Jaedon put his hand in his pocket and touched the gold watch. He closed his eyes and thought about Ghost World. He felt a strong pull. When he opened his eyes, he was standing in the Ghost World kitchen.

  He walked to the living room and looked out the window. A few ghosts still lingered in the yard. Fat Man was standing in the middle of the yard looking right at the window.

  Jaedon raised his hand and the Fat Man nodded. He didn’t look as scary as he looked before Jaedon found out about the key.

  Jaedon walked to the front door and stepped onto the porch. The Fat Man appeared in front of him.

  “I need the key,” he huffed.

  Jaedon looked at the Fat Man and smiled. “I’m sorry about earlier. I think I can help you. What do you need to do?”

  The Fat Man’s scowl turned into a look of surprise. “You’ll help?”

  “I’ll try.” Jaedon said with more assurance than he felt.

  “My family,” the Fat Man began. “They don’t know about some money I’ve hidden away. I need to use the key to tell them where to find the money.”

  “I’m sorry,” Jaedon told him. “I can’t give you the key. But, I’ll pass the message on to your wife. Just tell me where you hid it and who your wife is. I’ll make sure she finds it.”

  “No!” screamed the Fat Man, his face turning redder than it normally was. “You’ll steal the money. Give me the key.”

  Jaedon crossed his arms and tapped his foot. “I’m not sure exactly how this works, but I’m pretty sure the key wouldn’t do anything for you. It chose me to be the Key Master and you can either trust me or not, but I don’t have all day.”

  The Fat Man stepped back. “I still don’t trust you. How about if we go together?”

  “Fine by me.” Jaedon hopped off the porch. He was halfway across the yard when he realized that the fat Man wasn’t beside him. He took a step towards the porch and almost ran into the Fat Man who had appeared directly in front of him.

  “I thought you said you were in a hurry.” The Fat Man demanded.

  “I am.”

  “Then let’s just pop.”

  “I don’t know how.” Jaedon admitted.

  “Come on,” the Fat Man said gently. “Hold my hand. We’ll go together.”

  Jaedon felt a strong pull and suddenly they stood together on a wide porch tha
t wrapped around a two story house. Jaedon could smell cherry pie through the open window.

  His knock was answered by a small blonde haired woman. She looked at him curiously wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “May I help you?” she asked.