خیابان های پارک وحشت فصل 24

Streets of Panic Park - Chapter 24

Michael’s second face opened its long snout in a monster growl.

I screamed. I couldn’t hold it in.

Some kids stampeded to the exit door and pounded on it frantically.

Michael gazed into the mirror, turning his head from side to side. His eyes were wide with horror, but he didn’t say a word or cry out.

“Michael, my boy,” The Menace called. “If you act like a monster, you should LOOK like one!” He laughed.

“Good one!” The Menace’s other face declared.

Michael just kept twisting his head around. Studying the monster face on the back of his head. Staring as if he didn’t believe it.

“Let us out! Let us go!” kids screamed.

The Menace peered out at us from under the shadow of his hat. “I’m enjoying this, people,” he said. “I’m feeling it. Yes, I’m feeling it! Could you scream a little harder?” The Fear Meter flashed into the mirrors. I stared at the red line. It was bouncing near 95.

“Almost back!” The Menace cried. “My beautiful park is almost back! I can’t wait!” “What will happen to us?” Carly Beth called. Her voice floated out softly from her shadow. “If we bring your park back, what will happen to us?” The Menace pulled the brim of his hat lower over his face. “You don’t really want to ask that question — do you?” The red face whirled around. “FTD!” it shouted. “FTD! FTD!”

I gasped as gray light flooded the narrow aisle. It took me a few seconds to realize the exit door had opened.

We all stood blinking, gazing at the open door.

“Don’t just stand there, people!” The Menace said. “You know how I get when I’m kept waiting.” Kept waiting …

The last time The Menace was kept waiting, he vacuumed up that shadow person. He killed that person just for being slow.

I shuddered just thinking about it. Would he do that to us?

And then suddenly, different thoughts whirred through my brain….

What would happen if we FORCED ourselves to be calm?

What could The Menace do if he saw the Fear Meter drop lower and lower?

If he couldn’t make us afraid, would he let us go?

No time to think about that. Both of The Menace’s faces were screaming at once: “Go out and be afraid! Be VERY afraid! Go! Go! Go!” We stampeded out the door. Into the eerie, gray light.

“We need a place to hide!” Michael shouted.

His monster face uttered a low grunt.

“Michael is right,” Matt agreed. “We need to regroup. We need —”

He stopped. He was staring straight ahead. He let out a sigh.

I turned. I saw the ventriloquist dummy first. Slappy, in his gray suit and red bow tie.

The dummy stood on his own, knees slightly bent, arms dangling at his sides. The painted grin on his lips seemed to spread as he stepped forward.

And then the others came into view. Moving toward us in a line — an ugly line of evil villains we had seen before. But never in one place. Never moving together … never moving as one evil force.

Luke huddled close. We all froze with our backs to the Hall of Mirrors. Froze in frightened silence and gazed up and down the line of advancing villains … Dr. Crawler, the venomous snake, with his head raised, snapping his jaws. The snake was wrapped around the arm of Inspector Cranium in his white lab coat.

As if watching a terrifying nightmare, I saw the green lizardlike monsters from the giant eggs staggering toward us…. Captain Ben, his wooden leg tapping the pavement, his skeletal pirates behind him.

The ugly, muttering evil mask floated above the others. Beside it, a staggering, ragged mummy. And Dr. Maniac, cape flying, hovered off the ground as he came forward, his yellow-feathered boots kicking the air.

We had no choice. We backed up. Backed up till we were pressed against the wall.

My brother raised his face to me and whispered in my ear. “We’re going to be scared to death, just like the kids in that chapel — aren’t we, Lizzy.” I opened my mouth to answer, but no sound came out.

I saw Abby and Julie at the end of the wall. They couldn’t stop trembling. Carly Beth and Billy were gray clouds, fluttering in front of us. Britney held her wooden head in her hands. Tears rolled down her painted cheeks.

“Well, well,” Inspector Cranium said, rubbing his hands together. A thin, unpleasant smile spread across his bearded face.

“Well, well. Here we all are. The last chapter.”