@page { margin-bottom: 5.000000pt; margin-top: 5.000000pt; } 9 “Does this mean I’m off the paper?” I asked meekly. Tasha scowled and turned the camera over in her hands. “The lens is cracked,” she murmured, shaking her head. “The whole camera is soaked and bent.” Her voice trembled. “It—it...
Evan nearly dropped the can of Monster Blood. The sticky green substance tightened its grip on his fingers, making loud sucking sounds. But Evan only cared about the sounds coming from downstairs. “I’m home!” he heard Conan shout. “We’re home, too!” It was a woman’s voice, probably Conan’s mother...
It took me a few seconds to realize that the dragonfly had turned and buzzed off in the other direction. My imagination was running away with me. That’s what always happened when I got overtired. I took a deep breath, grateful to still be in one piece. I decided I had to use my remaining strength...
And I searched for my brother all morning. I knew he’d be playing hard at one of the sports. But I walked from the soccer field at one end of the camp to the driving range at the other end, and I didn’t see him. Had Elliot disappeared, too? The frightening thought kept tugging at my mind. We’ve g...
@page { margin-bottom: 5.000000pt; margin-top: 5.000000pt; } 13 No one was hurt in the explosion. Some strange gases escaped, and it smelled pretty weird in the gym for a while. A lot of worms went flying across the room. And there was a lot of broken glass to be cleaned up. But it was a m...
Then we took off after Luka, into the clump of trees. “Luka—! Hey, Luka!” I called. My voice bounced off the trees. It echoed all around me. “Luka—! Hey, Luka!” The cry repeated and repeated, echoing loudly. I could hear his growl up ahead. And I could hear him thrashing his way through the trees...
The snake felt warm and creepy against my arm. I shook my arm hard. The snake clung to me! I gritted my teeth and shook my arm again. And again. I brushed at my sleeve with my free hand. It wasn’t working! I shook my arm once more, as hard as I could. The snake uncoiled and slithered out of the s...
“Hannah, stay away. Stay away from DANNY!” “Noooooooooo!” In her panic, Hannah didn’t even realize that the howl came from her own throat. The red eyes glowed brighter in reaction to her scream. The fiery stare burned into her eyes, forcing her to shield her face with both hands. “Hannah—listen t...
Shana said. “Not the same old pumpkins and skeletons.” “Yeah. Something scarier,” Shane chimed in. “I think jack-o’-lanterns are plenty scary,” I insisted. “Especially when you put candles in them. And their dark faces light up with those jagged, evil grins.” “Jack-o’-lanterns are babyish,” Walke...
Her hands shot away from the camera. She let out a startled cry. “Oh! Sorry!” I cried, backing away. “Sorry! Really! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to—” The camera felt warm in my hands. I reached for the square photo that slid from the slot. “Give me that!” Shari demanded. She swiped the snapshot away...
I grabbed the wooden railing on the side. Gears clanked noisily. The floor vibrated beneath my shoes. We stared at each other, realizing what was happening. Neither of us spoke. Ben finally broke the silence. “This is impossible,” he murmured. His words came out in a choked whisper. “Where is it ...
“You—you can’t do that!” I stammered. “Oh, yes, we can,” Wayne said. “And we will,” Bruce added. “No!” I shouted. I leaped to my feet and dove for the door. But Bruce and Wayne were ready for me. They grabbed me and held my arms behind my back. “You’re not going anywhere, kid,” Wayne said. “Let g...
The monster lumbered toward me, panting loudly. Once again, my fear tried to paralyze me. I tried to push myself up with both hands, but my body felt as if it weighed a thousand pounds. I’m dead meat! I thought. Finally, I pushed myself up and freed myself from the cart. Dead meat. Dead meat. The...
With another frightened groan, I grabbed the flashlight off the floor. I planned to use it as a weapon. To shine it in the caped man’s eyes. Or swing it at his head. But I didn’t get a chance. I froze in horror as the beam of light bounced down the tunnel—and I saw the rats. Hundreds of them. Hun...
“Hi, Kermit,” Evan called, tossing his backpack down and stepping up to the table. Kermit didn’t glance up. He was busy stirring ingredients in a large mixing bowl, using a large wooden spoon. Evan peered into the bowl. It looked like pie dough in there. It was thick and gooey and yellowish. Kerm...
Gray. To my shock, he was grinning. “They—they’ve trapped us!” I stammered. He shook his head. “Sometimes they move like that. But don’t be scared, Dana. They’re harmless.” “Harmless?” I cried. My voice came out shrill and tiny. “But—but—” “What can they do?” Dr. Gray asked, placing a comforting ...
The moonlight made Lucy’s eyes sparkle like dark jewels. But the light faded from her eyes as the fog covered the moon. I didn’t blink. I didn’t move. I suddenly felt as wooden as the trees hiding behind the swirling fog. “You—you’re joking, right?” I stammered. “This is one of those great Camp S...
Tara followed. They all acted as if they were really going to give me a birthday present. Dad opened the garage door. There it was. The bike. It was perfectly shiny and new-looking. No scratches anywhere. That must be the surprise, I thought. They figured out a way to get rid of the scratch someh...
Evan gripped the leash, pulled Trigger close. “Uh… how much is this?” he asked, holding up the can of Monster Blood. “Not for sale,” the owner said, lowering his voice, his mustache seeming to frown unpleasantly with the rest of his face. “Huh? It was on the shelf here,” Evan said, pointing. “It’...
The two werewolves uttered long howls of triumph. My heart pounding, I scrambled to my feet. “Get up!” I frantically pulled Marty up by both arms. We took off after the tram, our bare feet pounding the hard road. The last car bounced a few feet ahead of us. I reached it first. Shot out my right h...
Slappy said. His threat came out in a harsh, cold rasp. The eerie voice made me shiver. I stared back at him. I couldn’t reply. I gaped into those glassy blue eyes, that red-lipped smirk. “You read the ancient words that bring me to life,” the dummy whispered. “And now you will serve me. You will...
Before his arrival, Margaret had made herself breakfast, managed to pull on jeans and a T-shirt, had talked to Diane on the phone for half an hour, and had spent the rest of the time pacing back and forth in the living room, trying to decide what to do. Desperate to talk to her dad, she had bange...
I whispered. But it was. The pieces—the shreds of Grool—they were sliding across the desktop. Slithering. Rolling together. Coming back together. Forming a brown ball. A sponge. It didn’t take long. A minute at the most. And now the Grool stared up at me again. And it vibrated so hard that my des...
My hands shot out. I grabbed the dummy’s hands. I thrashed my legs. Kicked off the blanket. Kicked at the dummy. The big eyes stared at me as if startled. I grabbed his head. Shoved him down. I sat up, my entire body trembling. Then I grabbed the dummy’s waist. And flung him to the floor. The cei...
I couldn’t move. Couldn’t back away. Couldn’t take my eyes off him. A living, breathing monster. At least ten feet tall. Standing inside the locked room. I gaped at his big, furry body. A body like a gorilla—with leaves and tree roots and sand tangled in his fur. His head was scaly, with snapping...
I screamed and tried to dodge away. The rat clawed at the bottom of my shorts. It held on for a second, gnashing its teeth. Then it lost its hold and slid to the floor with a wet plop. Another rat leaped to attack. I thrashed my leg wildly—and kicked the rat across the room. Red eyes glowed up at...
Dad asked, shaking his head. “Huh? No way!” I cried. “They were right behind me. One almost bit me, and—” “And then they disappeared into thin air!” Dad declared. “Come into the woods with me,” I pleaded. “They’ve got to be there.” I ran to the edge of the woods, desperately searching for some si...
He screamed so loud, I cried out and nearly fell off the ladder. I leaped off the ladder, my heart pounding, and stepped beside him. Staring straight ahead, his mouth wide open in horror, Mike backed away from his bed. Mikewhats wrong? I asked. What is it? S-snakes! Mike stammered, starin...
I landed hard on my back in a pile of snow. “Unh!” I grunted, stunned. I struggled to catch my breath. Then I stared around me. I had fallen down some kind of deep crevasse. I sat shivering in the pile of snow, surrounded by narrow cliffs of bluish ice and rock. I stood and looked up. The opening...
I took a step toward the door. Then another. I heard sharp gasps. Someone breathing hard. Close behind me. It took me a few seconds to realize it was Stephanie. Keeping my eyes on the head, I made my way into the dark corner. My heart started to pound as I bent down and reached for it with both h...
I gaped at the old ghost in disbelief. His smile faded. “I’m telling you the truth,” he said softly, rubbing his pale cheek with a bony hand. “You’re trying to trick us,” Terri replied. “Those three kids—” “They’re not kids,” the old man interrupted sharply. “They’re over 350 years old!” Terri an...
I froze. I felt a cold chill zigzag down my back. The lid slowly pushed open another inch. The eyes stared out at me. Cold eyes. Evil eyes. Ancient eyes. My mouth dropped open. And before I even realized it, I started to scream. Scream at the top of my lungs. As I screamed, unable to turn away, u...
Kelsey screamed. “It’s driving me crazy!” Then she snatched up the card and stomped off. “Hey! Wait up!” Drew yelled. “Where are you going?” “Back to the Amazing Zandra,” she hollered. Kelsey broke into a run. Drew chased after her. But she didn’t stop until she burst through the door of the Amaz...
No one there. The laughter repeated. Soft, but cruel. My eyes darted around the lobby. I couldn’t see anyone. “Wh-who’s there?” I choked out. The laughter stopped. I continued to search. My eyes went up to the wall above the elevator. A small, black loudspeaker poked out from the yellow wall. The...