We now return to our Creepytime Theatre presentation of The Haunted Treehouse.

“Chuck, are you sure we should watch this?" Bomb asked nervously.

“We're adults, there's no ‘should' with us," Chuck assured him. “No scary movie's gonna freak me out!"

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Chuck couldn't sleep a wink that night. The movie freaked him out too much. The following morning, every inch of his body trembled in terror.

“Ghost! Oh, my gosh!" he screamed, only to find it was just the new window curtains. Suddenly, he heard a popping noise. “Don't possess me!"

As he raised his wings above his head, two pieces of toast landed in his hands. He let out a sigh in relief.

“Morning, Chuck!"

Chuck threw his toast in the air, screaming, only for both slices to land on his younger sister's face.

“Silver, why are you wearing my breakfast on your face?" he asked absentmindedly.

“I was just going to ask you if you wanted to go roller skating with me and my friends, but you seem a bit jumpy," Silver answered, cleaning her face. “Wanna talk about it?"

“What's to talk about?" Chuck asked, trying to sound confident. “I only watched a scary ghost movie with Bomb last night. He cried like a hatchling, but it didn't scare me, of course."

“Well, tell Bomb he has nothing to worry about," Silver said reassuringly. “Ghosts don't exist."

“Are you crazy?!" Chuck shouted, grabbing his sister's face. “Of course they exist! They have whole books, TV shows, and podcasts about their existence!"

“Well, I'm a scientist and your sister, so you'll have to just trust me."

“Well, if you're such a scientist, why don't you prove it?" Chuck suggested.

“I'll take that as a challenge," Silver replied. “Now, what was that movie of yours called?"

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That evening, Silver took Chuck to the place The Haunted Treehouse was filmed.

“You are gonna get us both killed!" Chuck whispered.

“Oh, calm down. Now, what happened in the movie as the ghost showed up?"

“Well, first, the lights flickered on and off, then..."

“Hi!" a Mighty Eagle Scout greeted. “Would you like to buy some cookies?"

“Oh, okay," Chuck replied, paying for two boxes. He returned his focus to Silver. “Then, there was this moaning, followed by creaking noises. And finally, a ghostly apparition appears, and everyone runs off screaming... but one of them was never seen again! I wanna go home now..."

“Chuck, we're not going anywhere until we actually see this ‘ghost,'" Silver argued. “And if it doesn't show up by morning, we'll go home."

“Don't you have an exam to study for, or something?" Chuck asked.

“I studied trice, actually," she pointed out.

Chuck sighed. “We're gonna have nightmares for the rest of our lives..."

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While they waited for something to happen, the two siblings decided to treat themselves to some activities.

“Okay, so I wager five thin mints against your eight almond butter patties," Chuck said as he drew one last card.

“Feels kinda childish to use cookies instead of money," Silver pointed out.

“I would bet money, but I used it to buy the cookies," Chuck reminded her. “Two pair."

“Hmm, it's a good thing you're not allergic to nuts..." Silver began. “... but I hope you're not allergic to losing. Full house!"

“Aww..."

After eating all the cookies, they ended up finding another game to play.

One! Two! Three! Four!

I declare a thumb war!

“I'm winning! I'm winning!" Silver cheered, before Chuck had the upper hand.

“Ha! No, you're not!" he said triumphantly. If Silver was gonna win, she had to act fast

“Uh... Hey, look! It's DaHatchling!"

“Where?!" Chuck screamed, pulling away a little too hard. Silver accidentally punched herself in the eye... really hard.

“Ow!"

“Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry, sis!" Chuck apologized. “Are you okay?"

“I think so. How does it look?"

Chuck wasn't sure how to answer. It was beginning to swell up and turn black. Chuck looked around the old treehouse and found some pain-relieving ointment and bandages. He ran back to Silver, applied the ointment to her black eye, and wrapped the bandage around it.

“It's like nothing happened."

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At 1:40 in the morning, Chuck and Silver were still killing time.

“So, if we're descended from giant, carnivorous reptiles, how did we end up like this?"

“I don't think dinosaurs were technically reptiles," Silver said. “They were more of an evolutionary stage from reptile to bird. Because only herbivores, or vegetarians, looked more like lizards. Most carnivores appeared more like giant birds, but with tiny arms with claws instead of wings."

“Good point," Chuck agreed. “I'm gonna see if there's any food in here."

“Wouldn't be surprised if there isn't," Silver muttered. “It looks like no one's lived in here for years."

Suddenly, the lights began flickering.

“Very funny, Chuck," she said sarcastically. Chuck returned with a bag of pretzels and raised an eyebrow. “‘First, the lights will flicker on and off.'"

“Silver, I'm not doing it, honest."

“Well, you're fast enough to beat time itself in a footrace. How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Chuck smirked. “You'll have to just trust me."

Silver gave him a deadpanned stare. Suddenly, they heard a strange moaning. The voice was low and gravelly.

“What was that?" Chuck whispered.

“For once, I'm not sure," Silver replied.

She heard a loud, creaking noise, and tried to use her Silver Vision to figure out where it was coming from, but it was near impossible with just one good eye.

“Okay, I think I got this..." she tried to reassure herself, but everytime she made something close to a calculation, the word “ERROR" just kept popping up.

“Silver, look!" Chuck whimpered. Up the stairs was what appeared to be a large, ghostly white figure. The two siblings screamed in terror as it made its way down.

“See? This is what I tried to warn you about!" Chuck shrieked.

“Chuck, I'm sorry I let my pride get us in this mess!" Silver apologized, believing this was the end.

“Silver, I used your toothbrush to clean my toilet!" Chuck confessed.

“What?"

Silver and Chuck begged for mercy as the figure approached them.

“Did your screaming make you deaf? I said, get out."

“You're not gonna haunt us, are you, Mister Ghost?" Chuck asked nervously.

“I'm not a ghost... or a mister, for that matter," she assured them. “I may be the oldest bird on the island, but it'll be a long time before I'm a ghost."

“We're sorry, ma'am," Silver apologized to the plump, elderly bird. “We didn't know anyone lived here."

“Neither did those filmmakers from ten years ago," she said. “Good thing I'm old and fat, and these walls are old and thin. They never came back."

“Don't worry, we won't bother you anymore," Silver said, and turned to Chuck. “See, Chuck? Ghosts aren't real."

“Too bad," the old bird said. “If I saw my ex husband's ghost, I'd give him something to moan about."

“Wait," Chuck interrupted. “If that was you making the moaning and creaking... then who was flickering the lights?"

Suddenly, the lights began flickering again. They all turned their heads to find...

“Nostferatu!"