Ghost Writer Read online

  Chapter 1: Simon Skull

  Chapter 2: Blank Book

  Chapter 3: The Second Package

  Chapter 4: The Milky Eye

  Chapter 5: Apartment 13

  Chapter 6: Gibbon and Skull

  Behold the Library of Doom! The world’s largest collection of deadly and dangerous books. Only the Librarian can prevent these books from falling into the hands of those who would use them for evil.

  CAN A BOOK BE WRITTEN BY SOMEONE WHO’S ALREADY DEAD . . . ?

  Chapter 1

  Simon Skull

  Josh steps into the bookstore and out of the pouring RAIN. He rushes up to the counter.

  “Do you have any more books by Simon Skull?” Josh asks.

  The young man behind the counter sneers. “Skull?” he says. “Why would you want to read that garbage?”

  “It’s been years since Simon Skull wrote a new book,” the man adds. “He’s disappeared off the face of the earth.”

  “I know,” says Josh, NODDING sadly. “His last book was Seven Cold Fingers. “But I was hoping there were more. Maybe there were some books I didn’t know about.”

  “Don’t waste your time reading his books,” says the man. “There are a lot of better writers out there. Besides, his books will ROT your brain. He only wrote about ghosts and zombies . . .”

  “ . . . and nameless creatures and ALIEN monsters,” Josh adds. “I know! Isn’t it great? Are you sure there aren’t any more?”

  LIGHTNING flashes through the windows.

  The door opens.

  A woman stands in the doorway.

  She has long dark hair. She wears a long coat over her clothes.

  “Excuse me,” says the woman. “Do you sell BLANK books?”

  The bookseller looks DOWN at the counter.

  “No. Sorry,” he says. “No blank books.”

  The woman stares hard at the bookseller.

  “Are there other bookstores on this street?” she asks. “They must be WARNED.”

  “Warned?” asks the bookseller.

  “There’s one on the corner,” says Josh.

  Lightning flashes again and the woman is gone.

  Chapter 2

  Blank Book

  Josh RUSHES out into the storm.

  He races to the bookstore on the corner.

  What did that woman mean? he wonders.

  Josh steps inside the second store and brushes the rain from his sleeves.

  The bookstore is SILENT. The woman is not here.

  “Hello?” calls Josh. No one answers.

  There is no one behind the counter.

  Maybe the owner is helping another customer, Josh thinks.

  The bookstore is crammed full of TALL shelves and shadowy passages.

  A dim lamp burns on the old counter.

  Josh notices a package on the counter. The wrapping paper is torn open. A book lies inside.

  He sees a small title stamped in GOLD on the cover.

  The book RISES a few inches into the air.

  It falls back down onto the counter with a thump.

  Josh steps back. Then he hears a soft SCRATCHING sound.

  “Who’s there?” croaks Josh. His throat is dry.

  The scratching, crinkling sound GROWS louder.

  The brown wrapping paper on the counter is moving.

  It slowly crunches itself into a ball.

  Josh stares in HORROR.

  Then the paper unfolds itself and lies FLAT on the counter.

  On the paper, Josh sees words that weren’t there before.

  Chapter 3

  The Second Package

  Josh races back to the other bookstore. He bursts through the door.

  “HELP!” he shouts.

  But the young man behind the counter is gone.

  Josh’s skin begins to tingle.

  On the counter he sees a package. Its wrapping paper is torn open too.

  “Is anyone here?” shouts Josh.

  The bookstore is SOUNDLESS.

  Nothing moves. The paper lies still.

  Josh moves slowly toward the counter.

  He wants to see if there is a book inside this wrapping paper, too.

  Josh steps behind the counter for a closer look.

  His shoe hits a book. Josh bends down and picks it up.

  It is a blank book.

  Another one, Josh tells himself.

  He places the book on the counter.

  Then he carefully pokes the torn wrapping paper.

  It doesn’t move.

  Josh leans closer to the paper.

  A return address is WRITTEN on one of the corners.

  “Simon Skull!” shouts Josh.

  Skull’s address is written underneath his name.

  “I don’t believe it,” Josh whispers.

  Suddenly, the blank book floats above the counter. Then it hurls itself through the store’s window.

  Chapter 4

  The Milky Eye

  Lightning crackles above the city streets.

  As Josh runs toward King Street, he sees a shadow up ahead.

  The dark shape reminds him of the STRANGE woman back at the bookstore.

  She was looking for blank books, thinks Josh.

  Several minutes later, Josh finds the address.

  It is an old, CRUMBLING building.

  A doorman in a faded uniform stands outside.

  The man is all skin and BONES.

  He smiles at Josh.

  As Josh nears the building, the doorman leans toward him. He has one green eye and one that’s white as milk.

  The doorman stares at Josh.

  He opens the HEAVY door and Josh steps inside.

  A list of names covers the wall of the narrow entrance.

  Beside each name is the apartment number.

  Josh runs his finger down the list.

  “There’s no SKULL anywhere,” he says.

  Then he looks for Apartment 13.

  Next to the number is the name:

  HARRY GIBBON

  Josh frowns.

  Could that be his real name? Josh wonders. Maybe he uses a fake name so people won’t bother him.

  Josh puts his hands in his jacket pockets. I wonder if he’ll think I’m bothering him.

  But I’m his biggest fan, thinks Josh. I just want to tell him how great he is. How he needs to writ
e another book.

  That wouldn’t be bothering him, would it? Josh is not sure.

  The outside door opens with a LOUD sucking sound. The doorman sticks his head inside.

  “You know where you’re going?” he asks Josh.

  His milky eye gleams in the dim light.

  “Sure, sure,” says Josh. “I just wanted to dry off before I went upstairs.”

  The doorman slowly nods his head. Josh steps into the huge, DARK lobby.

  His wet shoes squeak against the smooth marble floor.

  “Are you sure you know where you’re going?” repeats the doorman.

  “I’m going upstairs now,” says Josh.

  He puts his hand on the cool stone railing and CLIMBS the steps.

  Chapter 5

  Apartment 13

  Josh hears something scratching in the hallways.

  Rats?

  The sound reminds him of the wrapping paper that crunched itself into a ball.

  The sound GROWS louder as Josh nears a door at the end of a hallway.

  It is Apartment 13.

  The door is partly open.

  Josh hears the SCRATCHING sound. It’s coming from inside the apartment.

  He also hears a woman’s voice.

  “Scribble, scribble, scribble, Mr. Gibbon?”

  Josh recognizes the voice.

  As he steps into the apartment, he sees the strange woman from the bookstore.

  She is speaking to a man sitting at a desk. His face and hands are hidden in shadow.

  The man holds a pen in his right hand. He is WRITING in a blank book.

  A stack of blank books sits next to him on the FLOOR.

  “You must stop this,” says the woman.

  The man looks up at her.

  “I thought you liked books,” he says. “You like lots and lots of BOOKS. Here. Have this one!”

  He throws a book into her hands. As soon as her fingers touch the blank book, the woman begins to FADE.

  The man laughs. HA! HA! HA! HA!

  “All those people who hated my Simon Skull books — they said I was nothing! Said I was just a blank!” shouts the man. “Well, now they’re all blank! Everyone who touches these books turns into a big, fat nothing. A zero! A ghost!”

  Josh stares in horror.

  The blank book hovers above the floor.

  The woman must still be holding it, he thinks. She’s still there, but she’s not there. A ghost.

  Chapter 6

  Gibbon and skull

  Josh feels the HAIR on the back of his neck standing up.

  The shadowy man turns and stares.

  “You!” cries the man. “Who are you?”

  Josh’s throat feels DRY.

  “Uh . . . uh . . .” he croaks. “I’m just a fan . . .”

  A hand grips his shoulder.

  Josh looks up and sees a man standing behind him.

  The man is TALL. He wears a long black coat and dark glasses.

  The man looks down at Josh and smiles. “I think,” he says, “that Mr. Gibbon was talking to me.”

  The shadowy writer JUMPS up from his chair.

  “You’re the Librarian,” he says.

  The DARK stranger nods.

  “And you have my blank books,” the Librarian says. “And my friend.”

  The Librarian raises his arm and points to the blank book, still floating in midair. It flies into his hand.

  The Librarian pulls a pen from his pocket. He crosses out the word that the Skull had written.

  Then he writes another word: SPECIALIST.

  The woman reappears in the middle of the apartment.

  She looks at the Librarian. “Thanks,” she says.

  “Sorry I didn’t WRITE earlier,” he replies. “I’ve been busy.”

  Josh notices something. The shadowy author has VANISHED. “Simon Skull!” cries Josh. “He’s gone!”

  Josh looks up at the two strangers. “You have to find him. You have to stop him!”

  The Librarian looks grim. “Don’t worry. That was only his shadow,” he says.

  He nods toward another door in the apartment. Josh peeks into the room.

  A body is lying on a dirty bed.

  “It’s Skull,” says the Specialist. “Or Gibbon. Whatever his real name is. And he’s been there for quite some time.”

  Slowly, Josh ENTERS the room.

  He sees the man’s head lying on the pillow.

  The man does not move. The man does not breathe.

  His eyes stare at the ceiling. One green eye and one as white as milk.

  AUTHOR

  Michael Dahl is the author of more than 200 books for children and young adults. He has won the AEP Distinguished Achievement Award three times for his nonfiction. His Finnegan Zwake mystery series was shortlisted twice by the Anthony and Agatha awards. He has also written the Dragonblood series. He is a featured speaker at conferences around the country on graphic novels and high-interest books for boys.

  ILLUSTRATOR

  Bradford Kendall has enjoyed drawing for as long as he can remember. As a boy, he loved to read comic books and watch old monster movies. He graduated from Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Illustration. He has owned his own commercial art business since 1983, and lives in Providence, Rhode Island, with his wife, Leigh, and their two children Lily and Stephen. They also have a cat named Hansel and a dog named Gretel.

  GLOSSARY

  alien (AY-lee-uhn)—a creature from another planet

  creatures (KREE-churz)—living beings

  disappeared (diss-uh-PIHRD)—went out of sight

  doorman (DOR-man)—a person who works at an apartment building and lets people in or out

  grim (GRIM)—gloomy, stern, or unpleasant

  horror (HOR-ur)—great fear, terror, or shock

  nameless (NAYM-less)—having no name

  recognizes (REK-uhg-nize-iz)—sees or hears someone and knows who the person is

  return address (ri-TURN AD-ress)—the address of the person who sent a letter or package, written so that the mail can be returned to them if necessary

  sneers (SNIHRZ)—smiles in a hateful, mocking way

  warned (WORND)—told a person about a danger or something that might happen

  Real name: unknown (may begin with a T or a G)

  Parents: unknown

  Birthplace/birthdate: unknown

  Questions: Has he always existed? Will he ever be defeated? Are there books he doesn’t protect?

  Weaknesses: Water, crumbs, dirty fingers

  Strengths: Speed reading, ability to fly, martial arts

  Real name: Sophia (last name unknown)

  Parents: unknown

  Birthplace/birthdate: America, 20th ce
ntury

  Questions: What is her role in protecting the Librarian? Can she be stopped?

  Weaknesses: Bad listeners

  Strengths: Does not need sleep, can research anything

  After the Librarian defeated it, Harry Gibbon’s shadow retreated to wherever shadows go. But the legend of Gibbon himself lives on.

  Though his books, written under the pen name Simon Skull, were all bestsellers, many critics said that he could tell a great story, but that he wasn’t a good writer. Gibbon, who had received a PhD. in English, hated hearing those comments. He became stranger and stranger, eventually refusing to leave his tiny apartment for months at a time.

  Eventually, it seems, Harry Gibbon got his revenge. But the Librarian — who prefers a good story to perfect grammar any time — had to defeat Harry Gibbon’s shadow, for fear he’d make more books blank.

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  What happened to Harry Gibbon/Simon Skull?

  Do you know the difference between a good story and a well-written story? Which do you prefer to read? Talk about it.

  Josh wants to tell SIMON SKULL that Skull is his favorite author. But he worries that it would be bothering Mr. Skull. What do you think? Is it impolite to tell a well-known person your opinion of his or her work?