Say Cheese And Die

Chapter 1

"There's nothing to do in Pitts Landing," Michael
warner said,his hands shoved into the pockets of
his faded denim cutoffs.
"Yeah. Pitts Landing is the pits," Greg
Banks said.
Doug Arthur and Shari Walker muttered their
agreement.
Pitts Landing Is the Pits.That was the town
slogan ,according to Greg and his three friends .
Actually, Pitts Landing wasn't much different
from a lot of small towns with quiet streets of
shady lawns and comfortable old houses.
But here it was , a balmy fall afternoon, and the
four friends were hanging around Greg's driveway ,
Kicking at the gravel,wondering what to do
for fun and excitement.
"Let's go to Grover's and see if the new comic
books have come in ," Doug suggested.
"We dotn have any money ,Bird ,"Greg told
him.
Everyone called Doug Bird because he looked
a lot like a bird . A better nickname might
have been "Stork." He had long ,skinny legs
and took long ,stork like steps .Under his thick
tuft of brown hair ,which he seldom brushed,
he had small, birdlike brown eyes and a long
nose that curved like a beak. Doug   didn't
really like being called Bird, but he was used
to it .
"We can still look at the comics ," Bird
insisted.
"Until Grover starts yelling at you,"Shari said.
She puffed out her cheeks and did a pretty good
imitation of the gruff store owner:" Are you paying
or staying .
"He thinks he's cool," Greg said,laughing at her
imitation. "He's such a jerk ."
"I think the new X - force is coming in this
week,"Bird said.
"You should join the X - Force ," Greg said, giving
his pal a playful shove."You could be Bird
Man.You'd be great! "
"We should alll join the X force ," Michael said.
"If we were superheroes, maybe we'd have something
to do ."
"No ,we wouldn't ,"Shari quickly replied.
"There's no crime to fight in Pitts Landing. "
"We could fight crabgrass, " Bird suggested .He
was the joker in the group.
The others laughed . The four of them had been
friends for a long time . Greg and Shari lived next
door to each other,and their parent were best
friends. Bird and Michael lived on the next
block.
"How about a baseball game?"Michael suggested .
"We could go down to the playground,"
"No way,Shari said. "You can't play with only
four people. " She pushed back a strand of her
crimped back hair that had fallen over her face.
She was wearing an oversized yellow sweatshirt
over bright green leggings .
"Maybe we'll find some other kids there,"
Michael said, picking up a handful of gravel from
the drive and letting it sift through his chubby
fingers . Michael had short red hair ,blue eyes ,and
a face full of freckles .He wasn't exactly fat,blue ut
no one would ever call him skinny.
"Come on,let's play baseball,"Bird urged."I
need the practise .My Little League starts in a
couple of days ."
"Little League?In the fall?"Shari asked.
"It's a new fall League.The first game is Tuesday
after school,"Bird explained .
"Hey--we'll come watch you,"Greg said.
"We'll come watch you strike out,"Shari added.
Her hobby was teasing Bird .
"What position are you playing ?"Greg asked.
"Backstop,"Michael cracked .
No one laughed. Michael's jokes always
fell flat .
Bird shrugged."Probably the outfield. How
come you're not playing ,Greg ?"
With his big shoulders and muscular arms and
legs,Greg was the natural athlete of the group.
He was blond and good -looking ,with flashing
gray -green eyes and a wide ,friendly smile.
"My brother,Terry ,was supposed to go sign
me up,but he forgot, " Greg said,making a
disgusted face.
"Where is Terry?" Shari asked .She had a tiny
crush on Greg's older brother .
"He got a job Saturdays and after school .At the
Dairy Freeze ,"Greg told her .
"Let's go to the Dairy Freeze !" Michael
exclaimed enthusiastically.
"When don't have any money ----remember? " Bird
said glumly.
"Terry 'll give us free cones," Michael said ,turning
a hopeful gaze on Greg.
"Yeah .Free cones .But no ice cream in them,"
Greg told him . "You know what what a straight arrow
my brother is."
"This is boring ,"Shari complained ,watching a
robin hop across the sidewalk. "It's boring standing
around and talking about how bored we are ."
"We could sit down and talk about how bored
we are ré ," Bird suggested, twisting his mouth into
the goofy half smile he always wore when he was
making a dumb joke.
"Let's take a walk or a jog or something, "Shari
insisted. She made her way across the lawn and
began walking ,balancing her white high tops on
the edge of the curb ,waving her arms like a
high wire performer.
The boys followed ,imitating her in an
Impromptu game of follow the leader,all of them
balancing on the curb edge as they walked.
A curious Cocker spaniel came bursting out of
The neighbours 'hedge.yapping excitedly .Shari
Stopped to pet him.The dog ,it's stub of a tail
wagging furiously, picked her hands a few times.
Then the dog lost interest and disappeared back
Into the hedge.
The four friends continued down the block ,
Playfully trying to knock each other off the curb
As they walked . They crossed the street and continued
On past the school . A couple of guys were shooting
baskets ,and some little kids played kick ball on practise
baseball diamond ,but no one they knew.
The road curved away from the school.
They followed it past familiar houses.Then ,just beyond
A small wooded area ,they stopped and looked
Up a sloping lawn , the grass uncut for weeks ,tall
weeds poking out everywhere, the shrubs ragged
And overgrown .
At the top of the lawn ,nearly hidden in the
shadows of enormous old oak trees,sprawled a
large ramshackle house.The house ,anyone could
see,had once been grand .It was gray shingled ,
three stories tall,with a wraparound screened
porch , a sloping red roof, and tall chimneys on
either end.But the broken windows on the second
floor,the cracked ,weather -stained shingles ,the
bare spots on the roof ,and the shutters hanging
loosely beside the dust smeared windows were
evidence of the house's neglect.
Everyone in Pitts Landing knew it as the
Coffman house . Coffman was the name painted on
the mailbox that tilted on it's broken pole over the
front walk .
But the house had been deserted for years---------
ever since Greg and his friends could remember .
And people liked to tell weird stories about the
house:ghost stories and wild tales about murders
And ghastly things that happened there .Most
Likely ,none of them were true .
"Hey---I know what we can do for excitement, "
Michael said, staring up at the house bathed in
shadows .
"Huh?what are you talking about? "Greg asked
warily.
"Let's go into the Coffman house," Michael
said,starting to make his way across the weed chocked
lawn.
"What. Are you crazy ?"Greg called,hurrying
to catch up to him .
"Let's go in ,"Michael said ,his blue eyes catching
the light of the late afternoon sun filtering
down through the tall oak trees ."We wanted an
adventure. Something a little exciting, right?
Come on-----let's check it out ."
Greg hesitated and stared up at the house.  A
cold chill ran down his back .
Before he could reply, a dark for leaped
up for the shadows of the tall weeds and
attacked him!