What Scares You the Most?, Page 8

  Help! Oh, help! April thought.

  I can’t move him. I can’t stop him.

  He’s sucking my breath out. Sucking my life out.

  Like the woman in the blue cloak. Like the woman on the island.

  This is crazy! Why is this happening?

  Oh…help.

  27

  “What’s going on in here?” a voice called.

  Pam burst into the room, followed by April’s mom.

  Thank goodness, April thought. I’m rescued.

  Mrs. Powers let out a startled cry. “You’re wrestling with the dog? Is that what all the bumping and thumping was?”

  Alfy licked April’s cheeks.

  “Pam and I thought the ceiling was about to fall in!” Mrs. Powers declared. “And you were just playing—”

  “You don’t understand,” April broke in.

  She struggled to push the big sheepdog away. But he hovered over her, licking her face playfully.

  “Alfy…he…he…” She felt too weak to talk.

  “Alfy loves to wrestle,” Pam said. “And he loves to lick.” She laughed. “Your face is a sticky mess, April.”

  “You…you don’t understand,” April stammered. “He wasn’t playing. He…”

  “The big goof just doesn’t realize that he’s part elephant!” Pam said. She pulled Alfy away from April and gave the dog a hug.

  April stared up at Pam. She felt a chill at the back of her neck.

  It’s weird, she thought. Every time one of these frightening things happens to me, Pam is there.

  Pam is always there.

  April and Pam flew to Los Angeles. From there, they would fly to the main island. Then they would take a boat to the tiny island to join Marks and the others.

  On the flight to Los Angeles, Pam chattered the whole way. April tuned her out and thought about the reunion.

  She couldn’t wait to see the other kids. She was dying to ask them if strange things had been happening to them too.

  And she was eager to solve the mystery about Marlin.

  Kristen was right, April decided. We had to come to this reunion.

  The boat rocked gently in the sparkling ocean waters. The bright sun made the waves shimmer like gold.

  At the pier, there had been lots of hugs and happy cries as the kids all greeted one another.

  Even that sourpuss Anthony is cheerful today, April thought. Everyone is so excited about being on TV.

  She searched for Donald Marks, but he was nowhere to be seen. Pam was busy introducing herself to everyone and chatting everyone up.

  It was a beautiful summer day, but April felt cold and frightened. As the island came into view, she stared at the strange blue rocks—and felt a shiver of dread.

  She and Kristen huddled together, away from the chattering, laughing kids. “Only nine showed up for the reunion,” Kristen said softly.

  “No sign of Marlin,” April said, frowning.

  “Did you notice? There’s one kid missing from each team,” Kristen said.

  April shivered again. “I have the worst feeling about this,” she told Kristen. “I really didn’t want to come back here. Do you think something terrible is going to happen? Do you think we are in danger?”

  Kristen shrugged. “What could happen?” she replied. “It’s all a TV show—right?”

  A few miles away, the sun beat down on the island. The palm trees swayed in a hot breeze.

  Donald Marks stood near the top of the hill of blue rocks. He gazed at the cave opening, dark as night. Like a gaping black hole in the world, he thought.

  Then he turned to Katherine, who stood on a rock ledge above him. Despite the heat, her blue cloak was wrapped tightly around her.

  Her blond-brown hair fluttered in the breeze. Her silvery eyes narrowed on him. “Well?” she sneered at him.

  Marks wiped sweat from his bald head. “I’m keeping my part of the bargain, Katherine,” he said, returning her stare. “I’m keeping my promise. I’m bringing your daughter back to the island.”

  Katherine smiled bitterly. “Now, at last, I will have my revenge.”

  TO BE CONTINUED…

  Take a look at what’s ahead in

  THE NIGHTMARE ROOM

  Thrillogy #3

  No Survivors

  April leaned close to Kristen. “Are we the only ones who aren’t here to have a good time?” she whispered.

  Kristen nodded. “No one else realizes the danger….”

  April turned as everyone started to cheer. Donald Marks came lumbering across the sand, followed by Mira and Blake, his two new assistants.

  All three of them wore khaki shorts and white T-shirts with ACADEMY STAFF printed on the front in bold, black letters.

  Marks was the director of The Academy. He was a huge man with a round, bald head and bushy black eyebrows over round, dark eyes.

  He had a bulging stomach that bounced as he strode over the sand to the campfire. And a booming voice that came from deep in his belly.

  He stepped into the circle of kids, wiping sweat off his broad forehead with a handkerchief. “Hot night,” he said. “It’s great to see you all. Great to be back on the island.”

  The video crew member with the blond ponytail moved in close to Marks. Marks waved him back. “No close-ups—please!” he said, laughing.

  He turned back to the circle of kids. “I hope you will all just act natural. Ignore the cameras, okay? It won’t be easy. They are everywhere. But just pretend these guys don’t exist.”

  That will be hard for Pam, April thought. She has been following the video guys around since the moment we arrived.

  “You’re all going to be TV stars,” Marks said, grinning at them. “We are going to hold our Life Games competitions again for the cameras. And once again, there is a big cash prize to the winner.”

  Everyone except April and Kristen cheered at the announcement. I don’t care about winning more money, April thought. I just want to learn what is really going on here.

  “Are you going to make new teams?” Clark asked, shouting over the crackling campfire. “Some kids are missing.”

  Marks mopped his forehead again. “We have some changes in the rules to make the games more exciting this time,” he announced. “No teams. Everyone is on his own.”

  That brought another big cheer.

  A grin spread over Marks’s round face. “Watch out,” he said. “Because of the TV cameras, we’ve added more excitement—and more danger.”

  “How is it more dangerous?” Kendra asked.

  Marks stepped closer to the fire. The darting flames cast an orange glow over his face. His tiny, round eyes reflected the light.

  He lowered his voice as if sharing a secret. “We have someone new on the island,” he said. “We are not alone here anymore.”

  He grinned into the video camera. “We have a witch living on the island,” Marks said. “You will recognize her by her blue cloak.”

  April felt a chill freeze her back.

  Marks’s grin grew wider. “If you see her—run!” he declared. “She isn’t friendly. In fact, she is your enemy.”

  It grew very silent. Even the fire seemed to hush.

  “Every day,” Marks continued, speaking softly, “the witch is going to eliminate one contestant. Until there is only one of you left.”

  Some kids laughed. Other muttered to each other.

  “Ooh, a real witch. I’m scared! I’m scared!” Anthony cried. He shook all over, pretending to be frightened.

  “Maybe she’ll turn you into a frog!” Kendra joked.

  “She already did!” a boy named Phil shouted.

  That made everyone laugh.

  April turned to Kristen. “I don’t believe it. Marks is making a joke of it,” she whispered.

  Kristen nodded. “He wants everyone to think the witch is part of the TV show. But we know she is real. And dangerous.”

  “We—we can’t let him get away with this,” April whispered. “We have
to warm everyone. We have to let them know the danger is real.”

  Across the fire, Pam jumped to her feet. “Do I just have to watch?” she asked Marks. “I know I wasn’t here the first time. But can I play in the games too?”

  “Yes, you can,” Marks replied. “Since some of the kids didn’t make it—”

  “Where are they?” April broke in. The words sounded more shrill than she had intended. “Where are Marlin, Dolores, and Jared? Do you know why they didn’t come to the reunion?”

  Marks’s grin faded as he turned to April. “I invited them,” he replied. “But I didn’t hear back. I really don’t know why they didn’t want to come, April. I just don’t know.”

  He’s lying, April knew.

  I can tell that he is lying. And why is he staring at me like that?

  Is he trying to warn me to shut up? To stop asking about those missing kids?

  Later, April and Kristen waited until all the lights were out in Marks’s cabin. Then they ran quickly to the other cabins, waking kids up, dragging them outside.

  April led them all down to the beach. Past the purple embers of the dying campfire. Around a bend out of sight of The Academy Village.

  Moonlight poured down on the frothy waves as they splashed over the shore. A warm, salty breeze fluttered April’s hair.

  “April? What’s the big idea?” Anthony asked. “I was already asleep.”

  “Is this being taped?” Phil asked, looking around.

  “Kristen and I want to talk to you,” April began. “We think Marks is lying. About the missing kids.”

  “Oh, wow. Here we go again,” Anthony groaned, rolling his eyes.

  “Let her talk,” Clark said.

  “But she’s crazy!” Anthony insisted.

  “We’re not crazy,” Kristen broke in. “Something very strange has been happening to us.”

  “Back home,” April said. “Things from the island followed us home.”

  “I had nightmares about the island every night,” April told them. “They were so real. And I saw the woman in the blue cloak. She isn’t pretend. In fact, she’s dangerous.”

  “All kinds of disturbing things happened to me too,” Kristen said. “How about the rest of you?”

  “Yes. Did anyone else have frightening things happen to them?” April asked.

  To her shock, everyone raised a hand.

  “Oh, wow,” April gasped. “We all were crused!”

  Silence again. Except for the whisper of the wind and the steady rush of waves against the rocky shore.

  The kids still had their hands raised. And then, as they lowered them, they burst out laughing.

  It took April a few seconds to realize they had all been joking.

  “April, don’t you ever give up?” Anthony demanded.

  “Do you really believe in evil witches?” Kendra asked. “Like in fairy tales?”

  April grabbed Anthony’s arm. “You heard the woman singing. We all heard her. Remember?”

  “Of course I remember,” Anthony said, tugging free of her grasp. “It was part of the Bravery test. None of it was real, April. It was all a game.”

  “It wasn’t a game!” April insisted.

  Clark groaned. “Did you really wake us up and drag us down here for this?”

  April balled her hands into tight fists. “Don’t any of you realize that three kids are missing?” she cried. “We spoke to Marlin’s mom. She said he never came home!”

  “That’s crazy,” Kendra muttered.

  Pam stepped up to April, her long blond hair fluttering in the wind. “I know what you’re doing,” she said. “You’re trying to make yourself the center of attention.”

  “Huh?” April gasped. “Me? Why? Why would I do that?”

  “To get the most camera time,” Pam said. “You went on all those TV shows back home because you won the Life Games. And you really got to like being a big star—didn’t you?”

  “Whoa. Wait a minute—” April started.

  “So now you want to be the star of this show too,” Pam accused.

  “I—I don’t believe you!” April gasped.

  “Lighten up, everyone,” Clark said. “We’re here to have fun—right? We’re here to party!”

  “Yeah! Party! Party!” The kids started to chant.

  Kristen pulled April aside. “Forget it,” she whispered. “They’re not going to believe us. They think it’s all fun and games.”

  April stayed behind on the beach after the other finally returned to their cabins. The wind off the ocean carried a late-night chill. And the moon blinked in and out behind thin wisps of cloud.

  Hugging herself to stay warm, April turned and gazed at the rock hills down the beach. The rocks glowed blue against the darkness.

  So strange, April thought, hugging herself tighter. Even at night the rocks glow.

  She remembered how cold they were to the touch. Even with the tropical sun pounding down on them, the rocks were always cold.

  And somewhere at the top of those rocks lived a woman in a blue cloak.

  A terrifying woman who sucked the breath out of her victims.

  A woman whose evil magic had followed April home.

  “I know you’re there,” April whispered. “The others may laugh. But I know the truth.”

  A sudden chill made April spin away. She started to jog back to her cabin. Her sneakers smacked the wet sand.

  She turned from the beach, running through the tall grass that led to the rows of cabins. She stopped when she saw the long object in the grass.

  Was it moving?

  Breathing hard, she bent to see it better.

  At first, she thought it was a stick or a rolled-up palm tree leaf.

  “Oh—!” April cried out when she saw that it was a long, pale snake.

  Before she could step back, the snake raised its head from the grass.

  April saw its eyes dart back and forth. She saw its tongue flicker.

  And then it opened its jaw and hissed at her. “No ssssssurvivors.”

  About the Author

  R.L. STINE says he has a great job. “My job is to give kids the CREEPS!” With his scary books, R.L. has terrified kids all over the world. He has sold over 300 million books, making him the best-selling children’s author in history.

  These days, R.L. is dishing out new frights in his series THE NIGHTMARE ROOM. When he isn’t working, he likes to read old mysteries, watch SpongeBob Squarepants on TV, and take his dog, Nadine, for long walks around New York City, where he lives with his wife, Jane, and son, Matthew.

  Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

  Read all the books in the Nightmare Room

  series by R.L. Stine

  #1 Don’t Forget Me

  #2 Locker 13

  #3 My Name Is Evil

  #4 Liar Liar

  #5 Dear Diary, I’m Dead

  #6 They Call Me Creature

  #7 The Howler

  #8 Shadow Girl

  #9 Camp Nowhere

  Thrillogy #1: Fear Games

  Credits

  Cover illustration by Richard Newton

  Copyright

  THE NIGHTMARE ROOM THRILLOGY #2: WHAT SCARES YOU THE MOST? Copyright © 2001 by Parachute Publishing, L.L.C. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

  Adobe Digital Edition June 2009 ISBN 978-0-06-190482-0

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