Series 2000- Headless Halloween by R. l. Stine

Author:R. l. Stine [Stine, R. l.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, fiction, Horror, Horror & Ghost Stories, Horror tales, Horror stories, Halloween, Holidays & Celebrations, Parties
ISBN: 9780590767811
Publisher: Apple
Published: 1998-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

71 Cal?

Cal?

My whole body trembling, I dropped to my knees. Leaned over the side to

see better.

Cal?

Cal must have followed me out of Mr. Benson’s house. He must have tried

to jump the ravine too.

And missed. Missed.

And now my friend - my best friend - lay there, crushed, stretched out

over the rocks, lifeless and unmoving.

“Cal?” I called down to him, my voice hoarse and trembling.

“Cal? Are you alive? Can you hear me?”

No.

“Cal? Can you move? Can you - “

Whoa.

Wait.

I grasped the dirt edge of the ravine and leaned farther over the side.

Leaned until I nearly fell in.

“Cal?”

No.

Not Cal.

Squinting hard, leaning as far as I could, I saw that it wasn’t Cal

sprawled on the rocks below.

Not Cal. Not Cal. Not Cal.

It was me.

72 My breath burst from my chest like an explosion.

My whole body lurched from the shock.

And before I could pull back from the edge, I started to fall.

As I toppled forward, strong hands grabbed my shoulders. Someone pulled

me back. Hoisted me back onto solid ground. And flung me - flung me with

incredible strength - onto my back.

Whimpering in shock, my chest heaving up and down, I stared up at Norb.

“Problem?” he asked calmly, eyeing me through the ugly mask.

Over his shoulder, I saw the others appear. Max in his skeleton costume,

the vampire, the girl

73 dressed as a monkey. Still in costume, they stepped out of the woods

and made their way to the ravine’s edge.

I forced myself to sit up. “What …” I choked out. I couldn’t finish my

thought.

They all laughed. Norb stood over me, hands on his waist.

I tried again. “What … happened?”

Norb shook his head. “Brandon, don’t you get it?”

“No,” I told him. “What is happening? Down there … ” I pointed to the

ravine.

“It’s you,” he said flatly.

“I know. But - ” I swallowed.

“You didn’t make it,” he said softly.

“Huh?”

“You tried to jump the ravine, and you didn’t make it.” He hunched down

next to me. “Try to remember.”

“I - I can’t,” I stammered. “I jumped and … ” I thought hard. I

remembered landing hard … everything going dark.

Was it true?

I didn’t make it across the ravine?

“You died,” Norb said flatly, with no emotion at all. “Your body died

down there, Brandon. But your spirit made it to the other side.”

“The other side,” a girl murmured.

“The other side … The other side …”

74 “My spirit!” I gasped.

Norb nodded. “You’ve joined us on the other side.”

“No. No way,” I murmured weakly. I shook my head. “I don’t believe it.”

“You’re with us now, Brandon,” Norb repeated. “You will stay with us on

the other side.”

“Forever,” the skeleton chimed in.

“Forever,” a girl repeated.

“No!” I protested. I grabbed the front of Norb’s jacket with both hands.

“No!” I cried. “You’ve got to let me go. Please - let me go!”

He shook his head. “Can’t.”

“I promise I’ll be good. I’ll never scare anyone again! Promise!” I wailed.

They all laughed. Cold, scornful laughter.

“Can’t do,” Norb said softly.

He brushed my hands away. “You’re frightened - aren’t you?” he demanded.

“Yes,” I confessed. “I’m frightened.”

“Now you know what it feels like,” he replied. “Now you’re on the other

end.

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