The Third Horror

by R. L. Stine

  She struggled to open the trailer door. Stepping into the darkness, she shivered and wiped rainwater from her eyes and forehead.

  The door slammed behind her. The wind howled, making the trailer shake.

  Kody clicked on the overhead light.

  The script. There it was on the low leather couch.

  She bent to pick it up.

  The rain pounding on the metal trailer roof sounded like a steady roar of thunder.

  But over the drumming, she heard a knocking at the door.

  Three taps.

  Rob?

  Why would Rob get out of the car?

  Was it just the wind?

  Holding the script away from her so she wouldn’t get it wet, Kody listened.

  Tap tap tap.

  Silence.

  Then: Tap tap tap.

  Not the wind.

  Not the patter of windswept rain against the door.

  Swallowing hard, Kody made her way to the door. And pushed it open.

  And stared into the curtain of rain at the darkness.

  No one? No one there?

  Kody rolled up the script to help keep it dry. She squinted into the hard rain, searched for the Mustang’s headlights.

  And realized the light was gone.

  “Rob?” she called. Not loud enough, she realized, to be heard over the steady rumble of rain against the trailers, against the pavement.

  Where was the car? Had he pulled up ahead to park at the curb?

  She stepped out of the trailer, closing the door behind her. The wind blew her wet hair against her face. Sweeping it back with her free hand, she searched for Rob’s car.

  Not there.

  Her heart began to pound as she stepped off the bottom step. She felt cold water against her ankle, glanced down, saw the deep puddle she had stepped in.

  “Rob? Where are you?” she called.

  He wouldn’t leave her in the rain. He wouldn’t.

  And then, as the wind howled through the shivering trees, Kody heard the whisper: “Kody—here I am.”

  “No!” Kody covered her mouth with her free hand. The cold rain washed over her. “No!”

  Just the wind.

  Just the wind and my imagination.

  “Kody—I am here. Kody—I am with you.”

  Kody held her breath, struggled to see through the dark, shifting curtains of rain.

  It’s Rob, she thought suddenly. Rob playing some sort of cruel joke.

  But as the whispers rose over the wind once again, Kody recognized her sister’s voice.

  “Kody—I am with you. Kody—it’s me. Cally.”

  “Cally? Is it really you?” Kody screamed. She felt all her muscles tighten. She felt as if her chest were about to burst.

  Happiness. Excitement. Fear. All at once. All mixed together.

  “Cally!” she cried. “Cally—I can’t see you! Where are you?”

  Chapter 15

  The rain swept down, the wind howled, and the voice whispered again, “Follow me. Follow me, Kody.”

  The trailer shook behind her. Kody watched a jagged bolt of lightning crack over the trembling trees.

  “Follow me—now!”

  Water ran down Kody’s face. She squinted through the raindrops, trying to catch a glimpse of her twin sister. “Wh-where are you?” she stammered. “I can’t see you, Cally!”

  “Follow me. I am with you. Follow me now.”

  The script fell from Kody’s hand into the deep puddle at her feet. As she began to follow the voice toward the house, a strong gust of wind rushed forward to meet her. It pushed her back as if trying to keep her away.

  But Kody knew she had to follow her sister’s whispered commands.

  Kody had no choice. This was why she came back. She had made a promise to Cally. And no wind or rain or bolts of lightning would stop her from keeping that solemn promise.

  Bending against the swirling wind, Kody made her way through sheets of rain up the gravel driveway. “Cally, are you still here? Is it really you?” she shouted over the thunderclap that shook the trees.

  No reply.

  Rainwater poured through a broken gutter over the porch, splashing noisily onto the walk. Orange light flickered in the rain-smeared living room window.

  “Cally? Are you here?”

  Again Cally’s voice rose on the wind, a whisper, a faint beckoning whisper that Kody had to struggle to hear over the roar of the rain.

  “This way, Kody. Come this way.”

  Kody stepped around the splashing water from the broken gutter. Onto the porch. Out of the wind.

  With a hard shiver, she pushed open the front door. And stepped into the warmth of the house.

  “This way, Kody.” The voice sounded stronger in the hallway, out of the wind and rain.

  “Cally! It really is you!” Kody forgot her fright as her excitement took over, the excitement of this impossible reunion.

  “This way. Don’t stop.”

  “Cally—I saw you in that window,” Kody called out to her. “After you died, I saw you watching from the window. I promised I’d come back. Did you hear me then, Cally? Did you hear my promise?”

  Silence.

  Kody realized she couldn’t stop shivering. She pushed both hands back through the soaked tangles of her hair, sending a shower of raindrops to the carpet. Then she wrapped her arms around herself, struggling to stop the cold, wet chills.

  “Cally? Where are you? Can I see you?”

  “Follow me, Kody. I want to see you too.”

  “Cally—it sounds like you!” Kody cried, her voice trembling from the shivers that convulsed her body. “It really does!”

  Why can’t I warm up? Kody wondered, following the voice to the back hall. Why can’t I stop shivering?

  “I’ve missed you so much, Cally,” she told her sister. “I thought about you every day. Every single day. Somehow, you were always there. Always beside me. Always in my mind.”

  “I thought about you too,” the voice replied. But without any warmth. “I thought about you too, Kody.” The words came out icy and hard.

  Kody hesitated at the door to the basement. “Are you down there, Cally?”

  No reply.

  Kody raised both hands and wiped rainwater from her forehead and eyebrows. If only I could stop shaking! she told herself.

  She pulled open the basement door and peered down the dark stairs. Pale light reflected off the gray stone basement walls. “Are you down there, Cally?”

  “Yes, I’m down here. Come down, Kody. Come and find me.”

  Holding tightly to the railing, Kody began to lower herself down the steep, narrow steps. Her sneakers squished on each creaking stair.

  She stopped halfway down, remembering the rats.

  “Cally? Are you really down here? Can I see you?”

  “Come and find me. Hurry!” the voice urged sharply.

  Yes. Cally was down in the basement.

  Kody’s temples throbbed. Her legs felt weak as she made her way to the basement floor.

  Shadows moved in the pale light. The gray walls appeared to tilt as Kody took a step, then another. “Cally?” Her voice came out small and frightened. “Can I see you?”

  A scraping sound. Close by.

  Was it a rat?

  Rain pounded against the small windowpane above Kody’s head at ground level. “Cally?” Kody took another step into the basement. She saw several large wooden storage crates piled one on top of the other over the floor.

  A wisp of light flickered behind a tall tower of crates.

  “Cally—are you back there?” Kody asked meekly.

  Silence.

  The light flickered.

  Something scuttled across the concrete floor.

  The wind splattered rain against the tiny basement window.

  “Here I am, Kody. I’ve waited so long for you.”

  “Oh, Cally!” Kody exclaimed, her voice trembling with emotion. With a hard shiver, she rushed toward the
flickering light—but her leg struck something hard, and she stumbled over it.

  A low wooden crate.

  “Ow!” Kody cried out, landing hard on one elbow.

  Pain shot up her arm and down her right side.

  Rubbing her elbow, she pulled herself up to her knees. “Cally? Are you here?”

  Staring toward the cartons, still on her knees, Kody saw a dark shadow roll across the floor.

  As the shadow rolled over her, Kody started to scream.

  But a hand clamped itself tightly over her mouth.

  Chapter 16

  “Shhhhhh.”

  She felt hot breath on her cheek.

  She wanted to scream. But the hand held on tightly.

  Kody tried to duck away. But she felt so panic-stricken, her muscles wouldn’t cooperate.

  She lowered herself to the floor in surrender.

  The hand loosened its grip.

  She turned and gazed into Bo’s stubbled face.

  He had a finger raised to his lips. His eyes flared excitedly in the eerie, pale glow of his penlight.

  “Kody—what are you doing down here?” he whispered.

  “You—you scared me to death!” she managed to choke out angrily. She jumped to her feet and crossed her arms protectively over her chest as she glared at him.

  “Answer my question,” he insisted, his eyes studying her, her wet clothes, her disheveled hair. “What are you doing down here?”

  “I—I—” Kody stammered. How could she explain that she had followed her sister’s ghost? “What are you doing down here, Bo?” she demanded instead.

  “I have a right to be down here,” he said softly, still studying her. “I have work to do for the production. But, Kody—”

  “You’re here all by yourself? So late?” she insisted.

  “Kody, I work very late hours. It’s part of being the director. But I really have to ask you to explain yourself,” Bo said, his expression growing stern.

  “I—well . . .”

  “The security guard said he caught you in the house the night before last,” Bo said, rubbing his stubbled jaw thoughtfully. “And now, here you are again. I don’t want to believe anything bad about you, Kody. But I have to know what’s going on.”

  “I can’t really explain,” Kody started to say.

  He shook his head. “You have to explain,” he told her. He took her hand and squeezed it between his. “Ooh. You’re so cold, Kody. Cold and wet.”

  “I know. I was out in the rain. I—”

  “Perhaps we should get out of this house,” Bo suggested. “Perhaps we should go back to the hotel, and you can tell me why we keep finding you in places where you don’t belong.”

  He held on to her hand. But Kody realized it wasn’t a friendly gesture. He was trying to frighten her.

  He suspected her of doing something wrong, of being up to no good. And he was trying to intimidate her, to frighten her into confessing.

  “Should we talk back at the hotel?” he repeated, holding her hand tightly.

  Kody hesitated.

  “This picture is very important to me, Kody,” Bo said, squeezing her hand. “It’s very important to my career. I won’t let anything ruin it for me. Anything— or anyone. I’m a very understanding guy. I always try to think the best of people. But finding you down here—”

  “It’s hard to explain,” Kody interrupted. “But my sister—”

  She stopped when she saw the light flash on the label on the wooden crate that Bo was leaning on. She squinted at it to make sure she had read it correctly. Then she saw the same label on the crate beneath it.

  “Bo!” she cried, unable to hide her surprise. “These boxes—they’re filled with explosives!”

  His expression changed instantly. His eyes narrowed, and his mouth tensed. “Kody,” he whispered, leaning toward her menacingly, “I’m really sorry you saw these.”

  Chapter 17

  Kody drew back. “Bo—you’re frightening me. Why are you staring at me like that?”

  His expression seemed to soften in the dim light. “I’m sorry,” he said. “It’s just that—you weren’t supposed to see this.” He patted the top of the wooden crate gently.

  “But I don’t understand,” Kody choked out. “So many boxes of explosives.”

  “I don’t want anyone to know,” Bo repeated, scratching his hair, tugging back his ponytail. “It’s supposed to be a secret, Kody. I just moved these crates down here tonight.”

  She lowered her eyes to the label on the crate. The first word up at the top was DANGER.

  “I don’t want the cast to know the ending of the film,” Bo said, leaning on the crate. “That’s why I didn’t pass out the last ten pages of the script.”

  “You mean—?” Kody started to ask.

  He pulled off the blue glasses. “I’m going to blow up the house,” he revealed. “It’s going to be an incredible explosion. I mean, I’m really going to do it. Boooom!” He gestured with both hands, the light weaving drunkenly.

  Kody stared at him, startled by his sudden enthusiasm.

  “But you’ve got to swear to keep it a secret,” Bo said, lowering his voice. “I want genuine surprise on the faces of my actors. I want to see real horror on their faces when the house goes up. Do you understand?”

  Kody nodded. “Yes, but—”

  She heard scuttling sounds behind her in the darkness. Scratching. A soft hiss.

  The sounds sent chills down her back.

  I have to get out of here, she thought. I have to get back to the hotel and into some dry clothes.

  “I won’t tell anyone, Bo,” she promised. “Really. My lips are sealed.” She ran a hand across her mouth in a zipper motion.

  He studied her in the low light. “It doesn’t matter that you know the ending,” he said, thinking out loud. “You’re Cally. You’re already dead when the house blows up.”

  Cally! Kody thought. Cally led me down here. Her voice . . .

  “Of course, Gaily is still in the house,” Bo continued, staring hard at her. “You blow up in the house. Hey—maybe we see you explode too. You know. Your head shoots up in the air. Your arms and legs go flying in different directions. . . .”

  Kody let out a low cry..

  “Sorry,” Bo said quickly. “You have too many real memories here, huh?”

  Kody nodded. “Yes. My sister—”

  He reached out and took her hand again. “If you’re having trouble dealing with all this, Kody, I could make a cast change. Persia is ready to step into your role, as you know. You could take a smaller part. You could play yourself. Then the pressure would be off, and—”

  “No!” Kody interrupted shrilly. “No! No way! I know Persia is dying to take my part away from me. But I’m playing Cally, Bo. I’m playing the part. It—it’s very important to me.”

  “Okay. Okay.” He backed off. “I’m just trying to understand you, Kody.” His expression hardened. “You still haven’t explained why you’re down here. I explained why I’m here. I was checking to make sure these explosives were stored properly. But I still haven’t heard why—”

  “It’s because of my sister!” Kody blurted out.

  Bo’s mouth dropped open. He started to say something, but changed his mind and waited for Kody to continue.

  “Cally called to me,” Kody told him. “Outside. I heard her voice. She told me to follow her. She led me into the house. I mean, her voice led me. And— and—”

  Kody stopped. “You don’t believe what I’m saying, right? You think I’m totally messed up.”

  Bo shook his head. “Go with it,” he said enthusiastically. “I like it. Maybe we can add it to the script. You know. The scene when you come home after Cally’s funeral. Go on, Kody. Go with it.”

  “I’m not making it up!” Kody screamed, feeling herself lose control. “It’s real Bo! It’s not part of the movie!”

  She heard the soft scuttling, the scratching sounds again.

  Closer
this time. And in front of her. Somewhere in front of her.

  “Finish the explanation,” Bo insisted. “The voice led you down here and—”

  They both saw the dark form leap off the top of the crate.

  A fat gray rat.

  Kody saw its red eyes first. Then its pointed teeth.

  Before she could raise her hands to protect herself, she heard its shrill hiss—as it leaped for her throat.

  Chapter 18

  Kody uttered a loud shriek and stumbled backward.

  The rat, its teeth bared, sailed at her.

  Missed.

  Hit the hard floor with a disgusting plop.

  Momentarily stunned, it gazed up hungrily at Kody. Its long, pink tail twitched back and forth over the floor.

  It pulled itself to its feet.

  And before the rat could leap again, Kody kicked out at it.

  Her wet sneaker caught the rat in the belly.

  It let out a startled shriek as it went flying into the wooden crate. Then it dropped heavily to the floor and scuttled away, its nails scratching over the concrete.

  “Ohhh.” Kody uttered a sigh of relief. Her heart thudded loudly in her chest. She could still feel the heavy rat against the toe of her sneaker, still hear the soft plop the ugly creature made as it hit the floor.

  She shut her eyes, trying to fight down the waves of nausea that rose from her stomach. And felt Bo’s arm go around her shoulders.

  “Come on,” he whispered, guiding her to the stairs. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Gratefully, Kody let him lead her out of the basement.

  “I hired that guy to get rid of the rats,” Bo muttered unhappily. “I thought he knew what he was doing. But I guess the job was too much for him.”

  Kody’s legs trembled as she made her way up the steep, narrow stairs.

  I’ve got to get out of this house, she told herself. I’ve got to get away from here. I’ve got to go someplace— safe.

  “If one more disaster occurs on this picture . . .”Bo was saying. He shut the basement door tightly behind them. “This film is so important to me. If one more bad thing happens, I—I really don’t know what I’ll do!”