خیابان های پارک وحشت فصل 29

Streets of Panic Park - Chapter 29

I pulled a worm from my hair and tossed it to the floor. Worms slithered around our shoes. Sabrina pulled one from her nose.

I kept licking my lips. I couldn’t get the worm taste from my mouth.

My brain leaped crazily from thought to thought. We had to do something. We were as good as dead.

And suddenly, a joke popped into my head. A joke Luke had told me.

I turned to him. “What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple?” I asked. “Finding half a worm!” He stared at me. Then he giggled.

I gasped. Did the room shake? Did I really see everything shrink a little?

“Luke — keep laughing!” I said.

I glanced at the Fear Meter. The red line had dropped to 98.

“Lizzy,” Luke said, “what’s the last thing that goes through a bug’s mind when it hits a windshield?” I shrugged.

“The rest of its body!” Luke said.

We both laughed.

Again, I felt the room jolt. This time, I was sure. I really did see everything in it shrink.

Sheena and Sabrina laughed. “Tell that one to the others,” Sabrina said.

Luke repeated his joke. Everyone laughed.

The red line on the Fear Meter sank to 90.

“STOP!” The Menace screamed. “Stop it! You’re making us shrink!” We kept laughing.

I kicked worms off my shoes, tossed back my head, and laughed.

“What do you get when you cut a worm in two?” Luke shouted. “The Menace!” It didn’t make much sense. But we all laughed anyway. We laughed and laughed.

“Stop it! STOP it — right now!” Both of The Menace’s faces were screaming now. “I’m warning you! We’re shrinking! Growing tinier …” Our laughter washed away our fear. And as our fear faded, the red line on the meter sank lower and lower. 80 … 70 … “Stop it!” The Menace screeched again. “Can’t you see? Can’t you see what’s happening?” And then his words sent a chill of horror over the room — and silenced us all.

“Don’t you fools realize what you are doing? Don’t you see that if Panic Park shrinks away, you’ll be nowhere? If Panic Park disappears, you disappear with it!”