شبی با عروسک زنده فصل 24

Night of the Living Dummy - Chapter 24

“I warned you,” Mr. Wood snarled over the howls of the little black terrier. “You will do as I say—or one by one, those you love will suffer!” “No!” Kris cried.

Barky let out a high-pitched whelp, a bleat of pain that made Kris shudder.

“Let go of Barky!” Kris screamed.

The dummy giggled.

Barky uttered a hoarse gasp.

Kris couldn’t stand it any longer. She and Lindy leapt at the dummy from two sides. Lindy tackled his legs. Kris grabbed Barky and tugged.

Lindy dragged the dummy to the floor. But his wooden hands held a tight grip on the dog’s throat.

Barky’s howls became a muffled whimper as he struggled to breathe.

“Let go! Let go!” Kris shrieked.

“I warned you!” the dummy snarled as Lindy held tight to his kicking legs. “The dog must die now!” “No!” Kris let go of the gasping dog. She slid her hands down to the dummy’s wrists. Then with a fierce tug, she pulled the wooden hands apart.

Barky dropped to the floor, wheezing. He scampered to the corner, his paws sliding frantically over the smooth floor.

“You’ll pay now!” Mr. Wood growled. Jerking free from Kris, he swung his wooden hand up, landing a hard blow on Kris’ forehead.

She cried out in pain and raised her hands to her head.

She heard Barky yipping loudly behind her.

“Let go of me!” Mr. Wood demanded, turning back to Lindy, who still held onto his legs.

“No way!” Lindy cried. “Kris—grab his arms again.”

Her head still throbbing, Kris lunged forward to grab the dummy’s arms.

But he lowered his head as she approached and clamped his wooden jaws around her wrist.

“Owww!” Kris howled in pain and pulled back.

Lindy lifted the dummy up by the legs, then slammed his body hard against the floor. He uttered a furious growl and tried to kick free of her.

Kris lunged again, and this time grabbed one arm, then the other. He lowered his head to bite once more, but she dodged away and pulled his arms tight behind his back.

“I’m warning you!” he bellowed. “I’m warning you!”

Barky yipped excitedly, hopping up on Kris.

“What do we do with him?” Lindy cried, shouting over the dummy’s angry threats.

“Outside!” Kris yelled, pressing the arms more tightly behind Mr. Wood’s back.

She suddenly remembered the two steamrollers she had seen moving over the yard next door, flattening the ground. “Come on,” she urged her sister. “We’ll crush him!” “I’m warning you! I have powers!” the dummy screamed.

Ignoring him, Kris pulled open the kitchen door and they carried their wriggling captive outside.

The sky was charcoal-gray. A light rain had begun to fall. The grass was already wet.

Over the low shrubs that separated the yards, the girls could see the two enormous yellow steamrollers, one in the back, one at the side of the next-door lot. They looked like huge, lumbering animals, their giant black rollers flattening everything in their path.

“This way! Hurry!” Kris shouted to her sister, holding the dummy tightly as she ran. “Toss him under that one!” “Let me go! Let me go, slaves!” the dummy screamed. “This is your last chance!” He swung his head hard, trying to bite Kris’ arm.

Thunder rumbled, low in the distance.

The girls ran at full speed, slipping on the wet grass as they hurried toward the fast-moving steamroller.

They were just a few yards away from the enormous machine when they saw Barky. His tail wagging furiously, he scampered ahead of them.

“Oh, no! How’d he get out?” Lindy cried.

Gazing back at them, his tongue hanging out of his mouth, prancing happily in the wet grass, the dog was running right into the path of the rumbling steamroller.

“No, Barky!” Kris shrieked in horror. “No! Barky—no!”