خیابان های پارک وحشت فصل 15

Streets of Panic Park - Chapter 15

I felt my stomach tighten. I stared at the elevator doors. No one spoke.

Every second seemed like an hour.

Finally, I heard a soft hum — and the doors slid open.

Some kids cheered. I started to laugh. Crazy, tense laughter.

I darted out of the elevator. Luke nearly tripped me, stumbling out beside me. We all bolted out of there as fast as we could.

Where were we? I gazed around.

We were outside. Staring into the gray sunlight. Standing in the shadow of a back wall of The Menace’s mansion.

“Let’s go,” Matt said.

He didn’t have to say any more. We all took off running. We were desperate to get as far from the mansion as we could.

We ran back into the park, which was as grim and gray as before. I could see the Ferris wheel in the distance, black against the gray sky. We ran past dead, empty shops … silent rides … abandoned food carts.

“Where are we going?” Carly Beth asked. “We need a plan.”

Before anyone could answer her, a shadow person floated in front of us.

She was so gray and misty, it took me a few seconds to recognize her. The little girl. The sad little girl shadow we’d seen when we arrived.

She held both hands up to Carly Beth. “Find me,” she said in a tiny whisper I could barely hear. “Can you find me? Can you find me?” Carly Beth let out a sigh. She reached for the girl. She tried to wrap her arms around her and hug her.

“Can you find me?” the little girl cried.

Another shadow appeared. Another little girl. “Can you find me, too? Do you know where I am? Can you hug me, too? Can you hug me, too?” Another shadow floated next to her. And then four or five more shadows swept around Carly Beth.

“A hug … a hug … a hug …” they all whispered.

Frightened, Carly Beth staggered back. “No, please —” she started.

But the shadow people swarmed over her.

“A hug … a hug … a hug …”

“Carly Beth —” I called to her. I couldn’t see her. She was buried behind the whispering shadows.

“Can you find me?”

“Can you hug me?”

“A hug … a hug … Please! A hug!”

They covered her in a curtain of heavy shade.

I froze, staring at the swarming shadows. All chanting and pleading so sadly.

And then Carly Beth’s scream rose over the muffled voices. “HELP me! HELP me! Get them OFF me! They’re SMOTHERING me!”