روزی در سرزمین وحشت فصل 12

Chapter 12

I couldn’t hear Luke or Clay anymore.

I could only hear my gasping, choked breath.

I shut my eyes.

And felt the floor drop away.

And before I realized what was happening, I was falling, falling rapidly down.

I opened my eyes in time to see the glass walls roll above me as I slid down, down, down through an open chute.

And in a few seconds, I was back outside. I landed sitting up on the grass with a gentle thud.

Luke and Clay came sliding out beside me.

For a long moment, we sat on the grass, blinking in the bright sunlight, staring at each other in disbelief.

“We’re okay,” Clay said uncertainly, finally breaking the silence. He slowly climbed to his feet. His round face was bright red, and his glasses were crooked and nearly falling off his nose. “We’re okay!” Luke let out a laugh. A gleeful laugh. He stood up and began jumping up and down for joy.

I didn’t exactly feel like jumping up and down. I was still picturing the crushed car.

Luke reached down, grabbed both of my hands, and pulled me to my feet. “What should we do next?” he demanded, grinning.

“Huh? Next?” I cried. “Are you for real?”

“That was really scary,” Clay said, his face still red. “I thought we were going to be scrunched flat.” “It was awesome!” Luke declared.

Once again, he was forgetting that a few seconds before, he’d been screaming in total panic.

“It was way too scary,” Clay murmured, shaking his head.

“Clay’s right,” I agreed. “It was too scary to be fun. One more second, and…” “Don’t you see? That’s the whole idea!” Luke cried. “That’s how they scare you here. It’s so awesome! They make you think that one more second and you’re a goner. But it’s all perfectly timed. They want you to be terrified—and then—poof—you’re okay!” “I guess you’re right,” said Clay doubtfully. He pushed up his glasses, then rubbed his chin.

“We’re not really going to get hurt or anything,” Luke continued. “This is an amusement park, remember? They want you to come back again and again. So they’re not going to really hurt anybody.” “Maybe,” Clay said.

“But, Luke, what if they mess up?” I asked him. “What if the machines get goofed up? What if the timing gets off? Let’s say the floor underneath us got stuck. Then what?” Luke didn’t reply. He stared back at me thoughtfully.

“What would have happened to us if the floor hadn’t dropped away at the right moment?” I demanded.

Luke shrugged. “They make sure everything works okay,” he answered finally.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. Sure.”