20 The Horror at Chiller House by R.L. Stine

Author:R.L. Stine [Stine, R.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Sam and I stood gaping at the big clown. His eyes were big and black. His eyebrows were shaped like upside-down V’s. It made him look totally evil. His huge red-painted mouth was locked in an ugly grin.

The ax blade was buried halfway into his bald head. The handle stuck out at an angle behind him.

Jessica and Marco came walking into the room. They both seemed very surprised to see Sam and me.

“Know how I got this hatchet buried in my head?” Murder demanded.

“No,” Sam and I said together.

“Neither do I!” he screamed. “Hahahaha. That joke KILLS the audience! I murder them! I murder them!”

Marco and Jessica rushed up to Sam and me. “We have been trying to talk to him,” Marco said. “But we can’t get a word in.”

“What are you guys doing here?” Jessica asked.

“Our Helper led us to a red chest,” I said. “But it was a joke. A stupid jack-in-the-box. No Horror inside.”

“Chiller may not be playing fair,” Sam told them. “And a Hunter started firing at us. The hunting game has started.”

“You think Chiller hid a bunch of joke chests all over?” Jessica asked. “Just to keep us busy while the Hunters hunt us?”

I shrugged. “I hope not. We have to keep searching. It’s our only hope of getting out of here.”

Murder acted as if he hadn’t heard us. “You know what’s really funny?” he demanded. “I’ll give you a hint. It rests on your neck! Maybe it’s your face? HAHAHA.”

“Hurry. Show him your card,” I told Marco. “Maybe he’ll help us find a real chest.”

“You want card tricks?” Murder said. He pulled out a deck of cards and shoved it in front of my face. “Pick a card. Go ahead, kiddo. Pick a card.”

I didn’t want to stand there doing card tricks. I was desperate to find out if there were chests with Horrors in them so we could get home. But what choice did I have? I pulled a card out of the deck. A three of clubs.

“Okay, tear it in half,” Murder said. “Go ahead. Tear it.”

I tore the card in half.

“Now tear the halves in half,” Murder instructed. I did it. “Now tear them in half again. Go ahead. Tear them into tiny little pieces.”

I did it.

“Okay,” Murder said, “hold the pieces over your head. Now let them fall. HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hahahaha! That joke KILLS. It kills!”

“Very funny,” I said. “But don’t you wonder why we’re here so late at night? We’re on a scavenger hunt. And we’re in a real hurry.”

Marco shoved the trading card at Murder. “You’re our Helper, right? You’re supposed to help us?”

The clown took the card into his white-gloved hand. He studied it for a moment. “Who is this handsome dude?”

“Can you help us?” I asked.

“Yeah, I can help you,” he said. “Follow me. All of you. The more the scarier!”

“You can help us find a treasure chest with a Horror inside it?” Jessica asked.

He nodded. “Sure I can. You can trust a man with an ax buried in his head — right?”

No one replied.

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