Nightmare King by Daka Hermon

Author:Daka Hermon
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.

I’m walking through the castle’s narrow tunnels. It’s dark except for an occasional flickering of light from above. My bare feet slap against the cobblestone walkway.

I sense something behind me. When I peek over my shoulder, a heaviness settles in my chest. The air crackles, and a wave of heat hits me. I walk faster as the presence behind me closes in. My speed increases to a jog, then I’m running, racing through a tunnel that seems endless. Almost like an optical illusion, the tunnel widens and narrows. The walls tease me as I try to escape.

I hear giggling. It’s shrill and loud.

The tunnel abruptly disappears, and I’m standing in the castle courtyard.

Several coins roll past me and burst into flames. They melt into small puddles that slowly shift, morphing into figures. Kids. Statues. Gold. Silver. Copper. There are hundreds, maybe more.

Up close, I notice that each statue is distinct—various sizes and shapes, tall, short, slim, bigger.

A copper boy statue rises in the air and drifts over to a silver girl statue. The boy slowly raises his arm, and it touches the girl.

“Tag.” The voice so robotic, emotionless.

The boy and girl statues rise and land together on another square, next to a gold boy statue. The statues touch one another.

“You’re it.”

I gasp as all around me, statues rise in the air and shuffle toward one another.

“Tag. You’re it. Tag. You’re it. Tag. You’re it,” they repeat until it’s a creepy chant.

A beam of light suddenly hits all the statues, and I’m blinded by the sparkle of their bodies. The ground shakes, causing me to stumble. I catch my balance and back away on shaky legs.

Clink. Clink. Clink. The sound becomes a rumble. I glance behind me, and a tsunami of coins races toward me. I’m caught up in the tide and tossed around. The coins beat at my body, and I’m submerged.

The wave I’m riding crashes against the side of the castle with such force I fly through the air and hit the ground hard. Swoosh! Air rushes out of my lungs. Pain radiates through my body.

Dazed, I push away piles of coins and sit up. I freeze. I’m now surrounded by gold kid statues. I scramble to my feet, slipping on the coins lying on the ground. My gaze darts around. The statue kids tilt their heads, studying me with their blank expressions.

A sharp pain pierces my palm. I glance down and open my hand. I’m holding my gold coin. A thought trickles through my mind. I wanted to do something with it. What was it? Return it? Why did I want to return it? I frown, trying to grasp a thought. It’s causing me problems. It’s dangerous. It’s not helping me, it’s hurting me. No, that’s not right. It makes me strong. Supports me.

The coin leaps out of my hand and rolls a few feet away. It wobbles on the ground, then it enlarges until it’s about four feet wide. It tilts upward so it’s standing. I suck in a loud breath as it sprouts thin, spidery arms and legs.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.