The girls pushed and shoved their way down a very long, very dimly lit hallway.

"Everyone stay close" whispered Mary. "Ow!" she continued, after being slapped in the head, "Not that close."

She turned to see Olivia, whose eyes were tightly shut. She waved her arms wildly around. "Oli, open your eyes."

"I can't," said Olivia as she threw an arm back smacking Kay squarely in the face.

"Ow!" shrieked Kay.

Mary asked calmly "And why can't you open your eyes?"

"I'm too scared," she replied.

"Now, Oli, think this through. Whatever is out there probably doesn't have its eyes closed. Right?" Mary continued.

"Right," said Olivia. "So what's your point?"

Kay and Carol chanted, "You're gonna be monster meat. You're gonna be monster meat."

Olivia shouted, "Missy Hyde always says 'What you can't see, can't hurt you.'"

Kay answered, "Oli, she was talking about ghosts."

"GGGhh...hic...sssts...up!" hiccuped Carol.

"Kay!" yelled Mary.

"Hic...up!" continued Carol. "Sorry," she replied meekly.

Mary sighed deeply, turned to Olivia, and said "Okay, listen. Oli, what you can't see with your eyes open, can't hurt you."

Then she turned to Carol and said, "Carol, it is impossible, no matter what Gerald told you, to be allergic to ghosts."

"Hic...up!"

"All right, let me think," said Mary. "First we have to rescue Gerald, then we have to defend all of Jackson Parish from a man-eating..."

"And girl... hic... eating... up... mmm... mmm... mmm...." interrupted Carol.

"Don't interrupt," said Mary. "First we have to rescue Gerald, then we have to defend all of Jackson Parish from a people-eating-what's-it. We have to cure Carol of her..."

"Hic-up!"

"Right," continued Mary. "And we have to cure Oli of her fear of... fear of... what exactly are you afraid of?"

Olivia quickly rattled off "The dark, monsters, shellfish, ghosts..."

"Hic...cup!"

"...sharks, teachers, haircuts, boys, public speaking, getting caught doing something completely stupid and embarrassing..."

"Hic...cup!"

"Is that it?" asked Mary

"Oh, no," continued Olivia, "there's also..."

"This is gonna be harder than I thought," Mary said, cutting Oli off.

"We're doomed!" screamed Kay.

Mary quickly clamped her hand over Kay's mouth "No screaming."

"Guys!" Olivia said in a small voice.

"Hic...cup!"

Mary quickly clamped her other hand over Carol's mouth, "No hiccuping!"

"Guys!" Olivia said again.

If only Mary had another hand, "No, guying."

"But guys, look," and Olivia pointed down to the end of the hall which had another set of stairs. At the top of the stairs they could see a very large, very dark door, delicately carved, and decorated with images of odd little creatures.

"What do you think?" asked Mary.

"Hnush ghfl dlkjgs," replied Kay.

"Hiugj... uppp," replied Carol.

"I agree," said Mary as she removed her hands.

"We're here," said Kay in a creepy voice.

"Whe... hic... re... up?" hiccuped Carol.

"Yep, this is definitely it," said Mary.

"It what?" asked Carol.

"Now, what do you suppose is behind that door?" asked Olivia.

Mary, always quick to take action, grabbed to doorknob, pulled open the door, shoved Carol through, and slammed the door shut.