Shadow Girl
Page 9
I gasped. I could feel my stomach tighten. “Go without you?” I whispered.
Holding his arm, Ramos struggled to his feet. “I’m really sorry I won’t be able to help. But you guys can do it without me. I know you can.”
“But—if we get in trouble…” Erin started. “If we need help…”
“You’ll help each other,” Ramos told her. He groaned in pain. “Listen, guys—leave everything here. We’ll pick it up on the way back. Just have some breakfast. Get into your life jackets. Take the two canoes. And go.”
“But where will you be?” I asked.
“I’m going to start walking now,” he answered. “I’ll wait for you down below the falls. I’ll be watching the whole thing from the shore.”
“But, Ramos—” Erin started.
“No more questions,” he groaned. “Good luck, everyone. Make me proud.”
Holding his arm limply at his side, Ramos turned and started away, walking quickly. We watched him make his way out of the clearing.
When he reached the shore, he gazed at the canoes for a moment. Then he turned and started to follow the river.
He didn’t look back.
The five of us didn’t say anything for a while.
Marty kicked the crushed water bottle into the fire. The bottle sent up a cloud of ashes.
“Guess we might as well get going,” Charlotte said.
“Yeah,” I said softly. “Let’s get it over with.” A shiver ran down my back. “We can do it…right?”
Our paddles splashed the water. The canoe felt empty without Ramos.
I sat in the back. Charlotte took the middle. I raised the paddles, then pushed…. Raised the paddles, then pushed. Copying Charlotte’s rhythm.
Trying not to think about where we were headed.
My life jacket seemed to weigh a hundred pounds. Large drops of sweat started to roll down my forehead, stinging my eyes.
Through the morning gray, I saw a tall deer, watching us from the shore. The sun, trying to poke through the clouds, cast a white glare over the flowing water.
The canoe rocked as water splashed up in front of us. The current is definitely speeding up, I realized.
The river grew wider. The tangled trees along the banks suddenly seemed a lot farther away.
I leaned forward and paddled harder. Our two canoes slid through the water side by side.
“Whoa!” I cried out as we tossed over an onrushing wave. The canoe slapped the water hard as it came back down.
Swirls of water made circles of white foamy waves. The canoe bumped again, harder this time.
“We’re getting close,” Marty said. “The river is starting to get rough.”
A wave of fear swept over me. We need Ramos for this, I thought. It isn’t safe to be doing this on our own.
I wondered if the others were thinking the same thing.
I was so surprised when Erin spoke up. “Maybe we should turn back,” she said. “I don’t feel right without Ramos. I mean, what if one of us falls into the river? What if our canoes crack up on the rocks?”
“Erin, go climb in Russell’s canoe!” David joked. “The two of you could hold each other’s hands.”
“Not funny,” Erin snapped.
Our canoes tossed up, then slapped back down.
“Russell, are you getting seasick?” David asked.
“No way! This is fun!” I lied. “I hope it gets rougher than this. This is kind of babyish.”
I’m going to be the bravest one here, I vowed to myself. Even if it kills me!
Foamy, white water tossed up in front of us, then splashed down into the canoe. The canoe rocked from side to side as water slapped the sides.
I bounced into the air and nearly dropped one of my paddles. Charlotte’s hair flew wildly behind her head. Our faces were wet from the cold spray.
“Guys, I’m serious!” Erin shouted. “This is too scary! And we haven’t even come to the falls!”
I was so glad she was saying this, and not me. But would anyone listen?
“Erin, just keep paddling,” Marty said. “You’ll be okay. Really.”
“We won’t be okay!” Erin cried, her voice shrill and trembling. “We’re going over steep falls, and we’re going to crash into rocks below!”
Charlotte suddenly spoke up. “We have to do this!” she shouted, bouncing up as a wave tossed the canoe. “We can’t be the first senior campers in history not to go over Forbidden Falls!”
“But the others all had a counselor with them!” Erin protested.
“So we’ll be the first without a counselor!” I shouted. “We’ll be famous!”
Everyone turned to look at me. “Russell—you’re the man!” Marty yelled. “You’re the man!”
We all had to shout over the roar of the water. White-foamed waves tossed against the canoes on all sides. The canoes bounced beneath us.
Our canoe went into a wild spin. Charlotte and I stabbed the paddles harder and held firm. “Whooooaaa!” We both laughed as the canoe finally straightened itself.
Paddling hard, I turned to the other canoe. Marty sat in front. He was drenched with water. His hair was matted to his head. Water rose up into the canoe. Splashed against the front of his life jacket.
Erin, in the middle, leaned forward. She seemed to be ducking behind Marty, letting him shield her. Her face was very pale in the gray light. Even from my boat, I could see the fear tightening her face.
David stared straight ahead. His eyes were narrowed. His face was set. His body was tensed, alert, ready for anything. As the canoe bounced and rocked, his expression didn’t change.
Our canoe bumped down hard, then bumped again, as if going down steep stairs. “We—we’re almost there!” I shouted to Charlotte.
She shouted a reply, but I couldn’t hear her over the roar of the rushing water. The canoe shot forward, rocking harder. The current pulled us faster…faster.
“Look out!” I shouted as the swirling waves tossed the canoe at the shore. “Too close!”
Tall, gray rocks jutted up along both sides of the riverbank.
We struggled to paddle back to the middle. The river curved sharply here, and the current kept pushing us to the shore.
The falls are right around this curve, I remembered.
Cold water splashed over me. I gasped and sucked in a shuddering breath.
So close…
We’re seconds away, I knew. Seconds away from Forbidden Falls.
The river curved sharply. The rushing current carried us forward, faster…faster…
Charlotte and I stopped paddling. I gripped the sides tightly, holding on for dear life.
“Here we go. Here we go!”
I tried to remember Ramos’ instructions. But they had flown out of my head.
I couldn’t remember. I couldn’t think.
I couldn’t move.
The rushing water roared in my ears. Waves rose up all around us, as if reaching for us. The canoe tilted to one side, heaving me hard. I felt myself start to tumble out.
Then the canoe tilted to the other side. I fell back into place.
Charlotte’s hair flew in the wind, flapping behind her like a red pennant.
I turned to see the others. But their canoe had fallen behind us.
Charlotte and I were going down first!
The river curved…curved again…
And as the falls came into view, I couldn’t help it.
I opened my mouth in a deafening, shrill scream.
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, wher
e 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
Credits
Cover design by John Fontana
Cover illustration by Tristan Elwell
Copyright
THE NIGHTMARE ROOM #8: SHADOW GIRL. 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 978-0-06-190461-5
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