Mystery James Returns from the Grave

ONE

“Blooooood!”

In the murky light of the Spotlight movie theater, Mystery jumped.

As she looked up from her phone, she had just enough time to stop herself before she collided with the vampire.

A ghastly creature with pale skin and fangs towered over her. Its eyes glowed a menacing red, and its hands curled in front of it, like the paws of a rabid rat, ready to strike out at her with its long, knobby fingers that came to sharp points.

From off to her left a voice called out, “It’s fake.”

A kid with bronze skin and a black baseball cap that said The Spotlight Theater above the brim stared at her from the box office.

The Spotlight was Ellis Town’s independent movie theater. Except for the updated recliner seating and the arcade games in the lobby, the theater hadn’t changed much since opening in the late 1970s, including the glass box office where visitors could buy movie tickets from employees like Wes, who had just turned fourteen and had recently started working there. (Mystery knew Wes from school—­and because he was the only kid with a job, he was the talk of the eighth grade—­but she didn’t know much more than that.)

“It’s fake,” Wes repeated.

Mystery expelled a breath. Stupid, she thought—­even though the vampire mannequin had scared her a little. She swatted at its swishy black cape. “I know it’s fake,” she mumbled as she sidestepped the vampire and made her way to the box office.

“Did that scare you?” Wes asked. Through the silver window intercom, Wes sounded like a robot on the verge of powering down.

Mystery lied. “No. Why would it scare me?”

Wes shrugged as if he didn’t care, but Mystery thought he looked like he was holding back a laugh. “You’ve already fought the real thing,” Wes said.

Mystery raised an eyebrow.

“The vampire? The Vampire of Olde Ellis Town Cemetery?” Wes explained.

Mystery had caught on, of course, but instead of responding, she stared back at him because she couldn’t tell if he was being genuine or making fun. She could never tell. An awkward silence filled the space between her, the box office glass, and Wes. Mystery stared until eventually Wes squirmed and rubbed the back of his neck. He seemed to realize that she wasn’t going to talk about vampires, so finally he said, “What movie?”

“One for Ghouls of Dead Town.”

Wes pressed a few buttons on his screen and then handed Mystery a flimsy paper ticket through the small hole at the bottom of the window.

“Thanks,” she said. And even though it looked like Wes wanted to say something else to her, she turned away from the window and went to sit on the benches beyond the theater doors, out of Wes’s sight.

As she passed the dummy vampire, she had a chance to read the sign next to him: The Spotlight Theater presents Ellis Town FANG-­tastic Fest! 72 hours of nonstop vampire movies. Coming soon.

Mystery rolled her eyes.

A year ago, she might have enjoyed the festival, but she didn’t like vampire movies anymore.

Not since she and her best friend, Garrett, had battled a vampiric ghost named Baron and a graverobber named Raymond Wright—­a ghoul of a man—­in the Olde Ellis Town Cemetery months before.

Something about the FANG-­tastic Fest advertisement left a sour taste in her mouth.

The theater had always been one of her favorite locations in Ellis Town, but now it seemed like the place was trying to make a quick buck from the terror she had experienced. Or worse—trying to make fun of her. She and Garrett had defeated Baron, but sometimes, especially when Mystery was alone in the cemetery, she still worried about the vampire. Whether he might be lingering in some afterlife limbo, waiting for his chance to take his revenge on her and Garrett . . .

Deep down, Mystery knew that the FANG-­tastic Fest wasn’t a personal attack on her. After all, Ellis Town was a tourist spot, and now, in addition to architecture, scenic views, and quaint shops, it had spooky lore. The Spotlight Theater was only following in the footsteps of other popular tourist destinations, just like Point Pleasant, West Virginia, or Salem, Massachusetts.

Unlike Baron, the vampire film festival wasn’t trying to attack Mystery.

But still . . .

She didn’t dwell on the matter for too much longer because her phone buzzed with a text from Garrett.

Garrett

Outside. Getting my ticket.

Any ugly feelings that Mystery had been holding on to about Wes’s comment and FANG-­tastic Fest and Baron melted away, because she was excited to see her best friend.

In the weeks after the showdown with Baron, Garrett’s photo of the incident had gone viral, and he had attracted the attention of other kids around town. Now Mystery had to arm wrestle her way toward Garrett at school. He still saved a space for her at lunch, but it was just that . . . a space for her to sit as he talked about photography with some of the kids who were only pretending it was one of their hobbies.

Overnight, Garrett had turned into a ghost-­hunting celebrity, and Mystery—­who wanted to be a caterpillar, not a social butterfly—­had stood beside him because he was her best friend. But she often missed the days when it had been just the two of them exploring the cemetery, hanging out around town, or doing homework together.

So when Garrett had texted her to ask if she wanted to celebrate the start of spring break by seeing Ghouls of Dead Town, she had agreed right away.

The Spotlight Theater door opened, and Garrett strolled in, his hands resting in the front pocket of his hoodie and a relaxed smile on his face.

“Myst!”

Mystery met him halfway and they did their complicated secret handshake with interlocked fingers, snaps, and claps.

Mystery had just opened her mouth to ask Garrett if he wanted to share the jumbo bucket of popcorn because her aunt had given her extra money when the theater doors opened again.

“Oh look! It’s Mystery James! Hi, Mystery!”

Mystery stood on her toes and peeked over Garrett’s shoulder.

She had started to sigh, but she caught the puff of breath in her cheeks before it could escape. She wasn't able to stop the eye-­rolling, though.

She lowered herself. Over the last five months, Garrett had grown almost another inch, so her eyeline was at his chest, and she had to look up to meet his eyes.

She had thought this was supposed to be a horror-­movie hangout with her best friend. She had thought the two of them would share popcorn and jokes. She had thought things were on their way back to normal.

But Garrett had invited Shane and Dominique, two members of his new crew, and he hadn’t told her. And as Mystery looked into his eyes, she knew that he could read her mind.

“Seriously?” Mystery said.

Through clenched teeth, Garrett said, “Don’t make a big deal. It’s cool.”

Mystery started to respond—­to say that it absolutely was a big deal because the two of them hadn’t had a chance to hang out together in months, at least not without Garrett’s new entourage following them around—­but instead, she closed her mouth and tightened her lips as Shane and Dominique approached.

“Mystery James, we can’t believe you actually came,” Dominque said. The girl smiled wide, revealing two rows of straight white teeth against her light-­brown skin. Flashing arcade lights turned her sandy-­brown hair dull shades of red, purple, and blue. “Finally decided to join the living for a bit?”