What Scares You the Most?

by R. L. Stine

  The auditorium rang out with startled cries as the stage lights exploded. Lights burst apart. Glass shattered and fell to the stage.

  “Come with me, April!” the woman called.

  “NOOOOO!” April wailed.

  Kids screamed as April leaped off the stage.

  She landed hard on the concrete floor. Her knees bent and she almost fell.

  Pain shot up her legs. But she kept her balance and took off, running up the long auditorium aisle.

  “Stop her!” Mrs. Harper was shouting from the stage.

  But the startled kids in the audience didn’t move. April ran up the aisle and out the door. Her heavy footsteps echoed in the empty front hall.

  A secretary from Mrs. Harper’s office called out to her. “April? What’s wrong?”

  April kept running. Out the front door. Into the bright, sun-drenched morning. Everything glowing. Gold and bright blue and green.

  She ran into the colors.

  Where was she running? She didn’t know.

  She wasn’t thinking. She lost all sense of time, of where she was, of what was happening.

  It was as if she were moving through a dream of bright, shimmering colors.

  And then strong hands grabbed her from behind.

  She’s caught me! April thought.

  April spun around. “Pam!”

  “April—what happened? Where are you going?” Pam cried breathlessly.

  “The chopping sounds—” April gasped, struggling to catch her breath.

  Pam’s face twisted in confusion. “The what?”

  “The lightning—” April croaked.

  “You mean the lights popping?” Pam asked. “Yeah. That was weird.”

  “And she was there, Pam,” April said. “She was there. Running after me.”

  “You mean Mrs. Harper?” Pam asked, still holding on to April’s shoulders. “Yes. I saw Mrs. Harper running across the stage to you. She thought you were having trouble.”

  “NO!” April protested. “It wasn’t Mrs. Harper! It was the woman in the blue cloak. The woman from the cave who—”

  “Calm down,” Pam said gently. “Please. Let me take you back to school. Maybe the nurse—”

  “No!” April tugged free of Pam. “I—I can’t.”

  “You know, you probably shouldn’t go back to the island,” Pam said suddenly.

  “Huh?”

  “I’m really worried about you, April. I don’t think you could handle the reunion. I think I should go in your place. I really do.”

  The two girls stared at each other, both breathing hard.

  Finally, April spoke. “You’re a real friend,” she said bitterly.

  Then she turned and ran.

  “April—wait!”

  She heard Pam’s shout, but she didn’t turn back. She ran back into the bright colors of the day. Floating over lawns and streets.

  Where am I going? she asked herself. It’s as if I’m being pulled…Pulled away from school. Pulled somewhere new. Pulled out of my own control.

  At times she slowed to a walk to catch her breath. Then she would run again.

  Not looking. Not seeing anything but the shifting colors. The clear sky above, clear as the ocean waters. The trees, waving in a soft wind like the palm trees on the island.

  I’m not on the island, she told herself. I’m back home.

  The island is thousands of miles away from here. Thousands…

  So why am I running? Where am I going?

  And then she heard a voice calling to her. A boy’s voice, sounding very far away.

  “April…April…” He called.

  April stopped running. She glanced around. She didn’t see anyone. “Who’s there?”

  “April…it’s me!” the voice called.

  “Huh? Marlin?” Again she gazed in a circle. “Where are you, Marlin?”

  “Help me, April!” he called. So far away. His voice a whisper on the wind. “Come back for me. You have to come back for me!”

  A chill prickled the back of April’s neck. “Marlin? Come back? What do you mean?” she called shrilly. “Where are you? Marlin?”

  Silence now.

  April stood trembling, waiting for the voice to return.

  Silence.

  She leaned over, pressed her hands against her knees, and waited for her heartbeat to slow. Then she stood up and glanced around.

  I’m at a mall, April realized. But which mall? I don’t recognize it. This isn’t the Applegate mall.

  How did I get here? Why don’t I remember?

  Her throat ached. Her mouth was so dry, she couldn’t swallow.

  Across the aisle, two women with shopping carts were staring at her.

  I’ve been running so long, I must look horrible, April thought. She brushed back her hair with both hands and straightened her bangs. Or maybe those women are wondering why I’m not in school.

  Well, I’m wondering too, she thought unhappily.

  She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. A sign a few stores down caught her eye: YE OLDE ICE CREAM PARLOR.

  I’ve got to get something to drink, April thought. She made her way into the small restaurant—all white, white as vanilla ice cream—white walls, white ceiling, white tables, and white booths.

  She ordered a raspberry iced tea and a bottle of water. Then she started to carry her tray to a table.

  But she stopped halfway across the restaurant—and stared at a girl sitting alone in the back booth.

  I know that girl, she thought. She looks so familiar.

  And then April screamed, “Kristen—what are you doing here?”

  24

  Kristen had an ice cream sundae in front of her. She dropped her spoon to the table, and her mouth opened in shock as April came hurrying over to her booth.

  “April?” Kristen cried. “No way! I don’t believe it!”

  She jumped up, and the two girls hugged as if they were old friends.

  “This is impossible!” April exclaimed. “Impossible! What are you doing here?”

  “We don’t have school today,” Kristen explained. “My mom dropped me off here at the mall. I’m meeting some kids at the movie theater later.”

  April set her tray on the table and slid into the white booth across from Kristen. “But—but—” She felt too shocked to speak.

  Kristen laughed. “Calm down. Look at you. You’re drenched with sweat.” She handed April a paper napkin. “What’s your problem anyway?”

  “I—I’ve been running,” April replied. She mopped her forehead, then her cheeks. “But I don’t believe you’re here. I know you don’t live in Applegate.”

  “Applegate?” Kristen squinted across the table at April. “You’re kidding—right? This isn’t Applegate. This is New Town Village.” She picked up the spoon and took a chunk of chocolate ice cream.

  April’s mouth dropped open. She tried to say something, but only a squeak came out.

  Kristen spooned up her sundae, staring hard at her, studying her.

  “New Town Village?” April finally managed to speak. “But that’s two towns away from Applegate.”

  Kristen nodded. “So?”

  April felt panic tighten her throat. “I—I must have run all the way. I don’t remember. I mean, that’s so far. What time is it?”

  Kristen glanced at her watch. “Two-fifteen. Hey—are you all right? Did you really run through two towns? Why? Why did you do it?”

  April stared back at her, thinking hard.

  Kristen reached across the table and squeezed April’s hand. “April, you’re shaking!”

  “I don’t know why I did it,” April murmured. “I…I don’t know.”

  And then the room began to spin in front of her. The white walls, the white floor, the white booths…

  “April? Hey, April?” Kristen was squeezing her hand. “What’s up with you?”

  “I…don’t know,” April said. She took a long drink of the iced tea. “Everythi
ng is crazy, Kristen. Crazy and frightening. Did you get your invitation to the reunion?”

  Kristen nodded. “Are you going?”

  “I really don’t want to,” April replied. “Since we got back from the island, the strangest things have been happening to me.”

  Kristen spooned up the last of the chocolate syrup in her sundae bowl. She set the spoon down and gazed hard at April. “Strange things? Like what?”

  And then it all burst from April in a breathless stream of words.

  She told Kristen about that morning—the chopping sound behind the cardboard trees, and the lightning, and the woman in the blue cloak on the stage. And about the woman singing in her headphones. And hearing Marlin call to her for help. And the night the police found her on the playground rock hill.

  When she finally finished, her heart was pounding. April gulped down the iced tea.

  “You think I’m crazy—don’t you?” she said, returning Kristen’s stare. “You think I’ve totally lost it.”

  “No way,” Kristen said softly. Her expression grew solemn. “The same things have been happening to me.”

  25

  “Wow,” April murmured. “Are you serious?”

  Kristen nodded. “Yes. The same things. It’s as if…something followed me back from the island. Something won’t let me get back to my normal life.”

  “That’s just how I feel!” April exclaimed. “But I thought it was only me. Oh, I’m so glad I ran into you. You’ve made me feel so much better.”

  “Me too,” Kristen said.

  “What about the others?” April wondered. “Do you think these frightening things are happening to them too? Have you heard from anyone else?”

  Kristen nodded. “I got an e-mail from Anthony a week or so ago,” she replied. “He said everything was great. He loves all the TV interviews and attention he’s been getting. He didn’t mention anything weird going on.”

  “What about Marlin?” April asked.

  “I haven’t heard from him,” Kristen said.

  “I haven’t either,” April said. “And he promised that he’d write to me.”

  She grabbed Kristen’s hand. “Do you remember the woman in the blue cloak? The woman by the rock caves? I didn’t make her up—did I?”

  “I remember her,” Kristen replied softly. “I remember her, April. I tried to rescue you from her. Oh, yes. I remember. How could I forget her?”

  “Well…what if she’s the one who’s been doing these things to us?” April asked, her voice shaking. “What if she hypnotized us or something? And that’s why these weird things are happening to us. What if she has Marlin? What if she’s captured him and kept him on the island?”

  “Whoa,” Kristen murmured. “Take it easy. That’s crazy! Marks told us that Marlin was okay—remember? He told us that Marlin was being flown home.”

  “But what if Marks lied?” April asked. “After Marlin disappeared, we never saw him again.”

  “I’m sure he’s home and he’s fine,” Kristen replied. She rummaged in her bag and pulled out a cell phone. “Let’s call Marlin right now.”

  “You have his number?” April asked.

  Kristen nodded.

  She searched the bag till she found a tiny scrap of paper. “Here it is. Let’s just call Marlin and ask him what’s going on with him.”

  She handed the phone to April. “You do it. You were his pal.”

  Kristen read off the phone number, and April pushed the buttons. She pressed the little phone tightly to her ear and listened.

  Please pick up, Marlin, she thought. Please, please—be okay.

  Please—let that voice on the wind be just my imagination.

  But a woman answered the phone.

  “Amanda Davis.” She had a low, husky voice.

  “Is this Marlin’s mom?” April asked.

  “Yes, it is,” Mrs. Davis answered. “Who is calling, please?”

  “Is Marlin there?” April asked. She crossed her fingers. “My name is April. I’m a friend of his.”

  “No, April. Marlin isn’t home,” Mrs. Davis replied. “Do you know about The Academy thing Marlin got into? On an island? He’s still there. He’ll be there another week or so.”

  April swallowed hard. A chill shook her body. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  She clicked off the phone. Then she turned back to Kristen. “Marlin never came home,” she said softly.

  Kristen’s mouth dropped open. Her face turned pale. “I don’t believe it,” she whispered.

  April took a long, shuddering breath. “We’ve got to go back there,” she said. “We have no choice, Kristen. We’ve got to go back to that island and find him.”

  26

  April had just enough money to take a taxi home. On the way, she decided what she had to do.

  I’m going to call Donald Marks, she decided. I’m going to make him explain exactly what is going on.

  She sneaked into her house through the back door. She didn’t want to run into Pam.

  In her room, she searched the desk until she found the original invitation from The Academy. Her eyes glanced over the bold black letterhead at the top of the letter.

  Yes!

  Here it is. The phone number of The Academy in New York City.

  April picked up the phone. Downstairs, she could hear Pam telling Alfy to “sit, boy. Sit.”

  Mom and Dad won’t be upset if I make a long distance call to New York, April decided. I mean, this is really important.

  She stared at the phone number. If I tell Donald Marks all the weird things that have been happening, maybe he’ll know why, she thought.

  Maybe he can help me.

  April’s heart started to pound as she punched in the number and listened to the phone start to ring.

  April listened to two rings…three.

  Then a woman answered. “Good afternoon. The Academy. How can I direct your call?”

  April told the woman who she was and asked to speak to Donald Marks.

  After a long wait, he picked up the phone. “Hello, April. What a nice surprise. How are you doing? So nice to hear from you,” he boomed.

  “Hi. I…uh…I’m not doing so well,” April started to say. “I wanted to ask you—”

  “Your mother called me and asked if your friend could come along with you to the reunion,” Marks cut in. “I said yes, of course. The more the merrier. Especially if she’s a friend of one of our winners.”

  “Well, I didn’t really call you about that,” April said. She took a deep breath. “You see, Mr. Marks, some strange things—”

  “I’m so excited you will be coming to the reunion,” Marks interrupted again. “I have some amazing things planned. I can’t believe we’re all going back to that beautiful island so soon—can you?”

  “No, I really can’t,” April said. “But the reason I’m calling—”

  “And it’s all going to be on TV,” Marks said. “By the way, April, I’ve seen some of the TV interviews you’ve done. You are very good on camera. Have you ever thought of going into TV or performing when you are older?”

  “No. Not really,” April replied.

  She squeezed the phone. Why won’t he let me get a single word in?

  “I hope you and your family are enjoying the money you won,” Marks said. “Our time on the island was an amazing experience for everyone. I hope you’re looking forward to the reunion, as I am.”

  April couldn’t take it anymore. “I called to ask you about Marlin!” she screamed. “Why didn’t Marlin come home? I talked to his mother and she said he was still on the island. So I was wondering—”

  “Oh, sorry,” Marks cut in. “I have another call. April, I have to get off. It was good to hear from you. I’ll see you and your friend very soon at the reunion. Say hi to your mom for me.”

  The line went dead.

  April sat with the phone pressed to her ear. He didn’t listen to a word I said, she thought angrily.

  Was he really tha
t excited about the reunion? Or was he trying not to answer any of my questions?

  I have to phone Kristen and tell her what happened.

  April heard heavy footsteps in the hall. She turned, expecting to see Pam, but Alfy came lumbering into her room. His tail was waving furiously, and he bumped his big, furry head against her leg.

  “Alfy—did you come up to visit me?” April said, petting his head, running her fingers through his long, thick fur.

  She climbed off her chair and dropped beside the dog on the rug. “You’re such a friendly guy. Do you want to play? Is that what you want?”

  Alfy bumped her again, as if saying yes.

  April wrapped her arms around him. “You’re just a big teddy bear, aren’t you!” His fur felt so good, like a thick, warm shag rug.

  She started to wrestle around with him playfully. She put him in a headlock and pulled him onto his back. Tail still wagging, the big dog kicked his paws in the air.

  Then he flopped himself around—on top of April.

  “Ow! You weigh a ton! Get off me, you big lug!” April cried, laughing.

  The dog didn’t budge. Instead, he turned and lowered his head to April’s and sniffed her face.

  “Get off! You’re squishing me!” April exclaimed. She was laughing too hard to shove the dog away.

  “Stop! Hey—stop!”

  Alfy lowered his face and licked her cheek.

  “Yuck!” April cried. “Gross!”

  Alfy licked her cheek again. Then he pressed his snout to her mouth.

  “Hey—no lips! No lips!” April pleaded.

  To her surprise, the dog pressed down hard, pushing his wet snout to her mouth.

  April stopped laughing.

  What is this big goof doing? she wondered.

  And then she felt the dog take a strong, powerful breath.

  “Hey!”

  She shoved hard with both hands, trying to push Alfy away.

  But he didn’t budge. He pressed his open mouth against hers—and inhaled.

  April felt her breath being sucked out.

  Noooooo! She tried to call out—but the dog smothered her voice. His head pressed over her face, heavy as a bowling ball.

  Alfy sucked in another deep breath. And another.