روزی در سرزمین وحشت فصل 16

One Day at Horrorland - Chapter 16

“You’re wrong!” I cried. “They wouldn’t leave.”

“About half an hour ago,” the Horror repeated. She shrugged her shoulders under the bulky monster costume. “I was at the gate when they left.” “But—but—” I sputtered.

The two Horrors turned and began walking toward a small white shed at the edge of the plaza.

“Hey, wait!” I called, chasing after them. “You made a mistake. Our parents wouldn’t leave without us.” • They disappeared into the shed. The door slammed behind them.

I turned back to Luke and Clay. They stared at me blankly.

“She was wrong,” I told them. “Mom and Dad are still here. I know it.”

“Then why did she say—” Clay started, but his voice broke. I could see that he was very worried and upset. Beads of sweat ran down his pink forehead.

Luke tried to make a joke. “I guess that means we have the whole park to ourselves!” he exclaimed, forcing a smile.

“Very funny,” I replied sarcastically. “We also have no money, and we’re about three hundred miles from home.” “We could call somebody,” Luke suggested.

“No phones,” Clay muttered. He lowered his head, shoved his hands into the pockets of his shorts, and turned away from us.

“Oh, right,” Luke remembered. “They told Dad there are no phones in the park.”

“That’s crazy,” I said heatedly. “They’re liars. The Horrors are all liars.”

“I guess that’s their job,” Luke said. “Telling us lies to scare us to death. That’s why they call it HorrorLand.” “They should call it DumbLand,” Clay muttered bitterly.

“But it’s so cool!” Luke protested. “I love being scared out of my wits. Don’t you?” He gave Clay a hard shove.

“No,” Clay replied softly. He made no attempt to shove Luke back.

“Well, she was lying about Mom and Dad,” I insisted, gazing at the white shed. “She was just trying to scare us. Mom and Dad are still here. We just have to find them.” “Come on, let’s go,” Luke urged. “I hope we find them soon. I’m getting really hungry.” We wandered through the park for what seemed like hours. We searched through dark, mysterious woods and strange monster villages. We passed through a carnival area with dozens of scary-looking rides.

On the other side of Vampire Village, we passed a building marked Monster Zoo. It was closed. But we could hear the most terrifying grunts, howls, and moans coming from inside.

A long yellow building had a sign outside that proclaimed: GUILLOTINE MUSEUM, PLEASE HOLD ON TO YOUR HEAD. Luke wanted to go inside, but Clay and I talked him out of it.

HorrorLand was surprisingly empty. We passed several Horrors scurrying along the paths in their bright green costumes. And we saw a few families wandering around, always with crying kids.

The rides in the carnival area were all running empty. All of the food stands and restaurants were empty, too.

We walked clear across to the other end of the park. I was feeling more and more worried.

Why hadn’t we run into Mom and Dad?

Surely we should have seen them by now.

Clay had become very quiet. I could tell he was really scared. Even Luke trudged along with his shoulders slumped and his head down.

By the time we found ourselves back at the Alligator Pond, I was feeling pretty bad. I crossed the grassy shore and walked up to the edge of the brown water.

“What do you think happened to those teenagers who went swimming here?” Luke asked, staring across the pond. “Think the alligators ate them?” “Maybe,” I replied. I wasn’t really listening to him. I was thinking about Mom and Dad.

“Hey, look!” Clay cried, pointing to the water.

I saw two long, greenish-brown logs floating toward us on top of the water. It took me a while to realize that the logs were alligators.

“Big ones!” Clay declared in a hushed whisper.

“Better step back,” I warned them.

All three of us were standing at the water’s edge. The alligators floated silently just below the surface of the still water, hardly creating a ripple.

“Mom and Dad didn’t leave without us,” I repeated for the thousandth time.

“But we searched everywhere,” Luke said quietly.

“They didn’t leave without us,” I said. “They would never leave without us. So…” I hesitated. I was thinking hard, and my thoughts were all frightening.

“So?” Clay asked eagerly.

“So if they’re not in the park,” I continued, “it means something happened to them. Something bad happened to them.” Clay gasped. Luke narrowed his blue eyes at me. “What do you mean, Lizzy?” he asked.

“I mean maybe this place really is evil,” I said. “And maybe the Horrors or somebody did something bad to Mom and Dad.” I stared down at the brown alligator backs gliding so smoothly, so effortlessly toward us.

“That’s crazy,” Luke muttered.

I knew it was crazy. But I had no other explanation.

“I have such a bad feeling about this park,” I told them. “A real bad feeling.”

And as I said that, I felt strong hands grab me from behind and push me into the Alligator Pond.