CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
About the Author
1
The car clattered to a stop on the wooden tracks. I let my breath out in a long, satisfied whoosh.
Then I turned to my cousin, Ashley Franks. “What did I tell you?” I croaked.
My throat was raw from screaming and laughing nonstop for the last four minutes.
Grinning, she unglued her hands from the safety bar. “You’re right, James. That was superb!” she exclaimed.
Ashley and I hadn’t been to Paramount’s Kings Island together in almost a year. We were making up for it fast. Already we had ridden The Beast three times.
This last time we did something a little different. We closed our eyes going down the steepest hill.
It sounds easy, but it isn’t. With your eyes squeezed shut while the car pitches straight down the tracks, it feels as if the world has dropped out from under you. And you’re falling through the air. Just falling.
I grinned and pointed to Ashley’s hair. It was standing up around her head. Sort of like a cartoon character that’s free-falling off a cliff.
Laughing, she reached up to smooth it down. The Beast did that. Snarled your hair. Scrambled your insides, too.
It’s the longest, scariest wooden coaster there is.
We climbed out of the car. My legs felt rubbery on the concrete platform. Everybody was talking about how great the ride was as they staggered dizzily toward the exit ramp.
As I weaved along, Ashley darted in front of me.
“Let’s do it again, James.” Her eyes sparkled mischievously as she danced along backward in front of me.
I turned on the ramp to stare up at the enormous roller coaster. It loomed big and black against the purple night sky.
Floodlights beamed down from the massive wooden scaffolding. They outlined the swirling, swooping, diving, soaring shape of The Beast.
I shivered.
People said that a ghost haunted The Beast at night.
Of course, people only make up that story to scare themselves. People love to scare themselves.
But deep down, they didn’t really believe there was a ghost. It was just a story, right?
Well, my cousin and I knew differently.
Not that you could tell from the way Ashley was bubbling over tonight. She was all eager and excited to get back on The Beast.
I guess you could say that Ashley is the adventurous type—at least until she gets caught up in a for-real adventure. Then she sometimes wimps out.
Me, on the other hand, I don’t exactly invite adventure. But when it comes my way, I’m pretty excited by it.
“It’s getting late. . . . ” I told her.
“Come on, James.” She slapped me on the back.
I winced. “I’m tired,” I complained.
I glanced at my watch. “Almost time for the park to close.”
“Come on, James,” she wheedled me. “One more time won’t hurt. What’s the matter? Full moon got you scared?”
I shrugged and looked up. The big orange moon was not quite full.
I heaved a sigh. “Okay, one more time.” I held up a single finger.
“Yes!” Ashley exploded and started dancing me around in a circle.
“But first,” I added, removing myself from her clutches, “I’ve got to go to the snack bar. I need an energy boost, big-time.”
Ashley punched me on the arm. “Go for it.”
She spun me around and shoved me in the direction of the snack bar. “Go reenergize. But hurry. I think they’re starting to load the cars.”
Ashley trotted over to the end of the line, her shiny pink clogs clip-clopping.
I hurried to the snack bar. Luckily, there was only one kid ahead of me in line. Unluckily, he was moving in slow motion.
Staring at the green Day-Glo brontosaurus on the back of his T-shirt, I tried to burn two holes in his back so he’d hurry up. I mean, how long could it take to pick out a snack?
I glanced back. The line feeding into The Beast was beginning to move.
Ashley stamped her clogs and waved at me. I read her lips.
Hurry up!
I shrugged helplessly. I wasn’t about to brave The Beast again without my Karamel Kreemies.
Karamel Kreemies is my favorite candy this summer. Last summer I liked Marshmallow Bombs. But for some reason, the company stopped making them.
So I’ve switched to Karamel Kreemies in a big way. Just as the commercial says, “if I don’t get my Kreemies, I get the screamies.”
Bronto-boy ahead of me was trying to decide between the Mango Mango Munchies and the Frootie-Toot-Toots. Personally, I like the Mango Mango Munchies better. The flavor lasts twice as long.
Two girls got in line behind me. One was tall with a long brown braid. The other was short with punkish red hair. They were a little older than me and wore red checked shorts and identical short white T-shirts. Their socks and sneakers matched, too.
Why is it that girlfriends sometimes think it’s so cool to dress exactly alike? Do they think people will mistake them for twins? These two couldn’t even pass for distant cousins.
“Come on, Tiffany, I bet it’s not that scary,” the short one was telling her friend.
“Bet it is,” Tiffany insisted.
Tiffany turned to size up The Beast. From where we stood, it was almost completely hidden by thick, dark woods.
You could hear it, though—the rattle of the wheels on the wooden tracks, the high-pitched squeals of the people in the cars. The screams rose and fell at the same time, like one great big shrill scream.
An amazing sound.
I guess that’s why some people like to call it a scream machine.
The short one jerked her chin at me. “Why don’t you ask him, Tiff. He just got off The Beast.”
“Really?” Tiffany turned to stare at me as if I’d just returned from a trip to the moon.
I nodded modestly.
“Is it as scary as everybody says?” Tiffany asked eagerly.
I pretended to think about it. “Yeah. It’s terrifying,” I informed her.
Tiffany’s eyes grew wider still, and she nudged her friend. “What did I tell you? No way are you getting me on that monster.”
I sighed and smiled sadly. “Why come here if you don’t want to be terrified? It’s fun!”
I turned away from Tiffany and her friend to find that Slo-mo Day-Glo bronto-boy was still at it. Ashley was now signaling to me with frantic little jumping jacks as the line inched closer to the gate.
I finally tapped the kid on the shoulder. “Go for the Mango Mango Munchies,” I told him. I really had the screamies now.
The kid turned, gnawing his lip uncertainly. His cheeks were sticky and pink from cotton candy.
“You really think so?” he asked.
“Trust me,” I insisted.
I guess the kid knew an expert when he heard one, because he put down the Frootie-Toot-Toots and paid for the Munchies. Plus five other pieces of candy.
And I thought I had it bad.
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I scanned the rows of candy for the familiar screaming pink-and-purple roll. The jingle from the TV ad ran through my head: “Karamel Kreemie, smooth and dreamie!”
“Got them!” I grabbed the roll and almost threw the money at the lady behind the counter.
I tore back just in time to catch the tail end of the line being swallowed up by the gates.
I hurried up the ramp and onto the platform, scanning the cars for my cousin.
When I saw her, I stopped short and gasped.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
2
My cousin Ashley was sitting in the very first seat of the very first car.
She was grinning, looking extremely pleased with herself.
Everybody wanted to sit in those seats.
I mean, they were absolutely the best. Sitting in those seats, you could feel every twist and turn, every climb and swoop, ultra-magnified. Nothing stood between you and the terror.
And yet, my cousin had been practically the last in line. How had she managed to get the very best seats on the ride?
“Smooth move,” I congratulated her.
Her blue eyes twinkled. “The kids who were sitting here before chickened out at the last minute,” she explained. She patted the seat next to her.
I nodded, impressed.
“Especially,” she added smugly, “after I told them that the first car is haunted.”
A creepy feeling made me shiver.
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it?” she asked.
I didn’t answer. Instead, I jumped in just before the safety bar slammed down.
“What took you so long?” she demanded as I got settled. “I was afraid you wouldn’t make it.”
“It’s a bnfnff nnnewry.”
She leaned in toward me. “What?” she asked.
I guess I wasn’t speaking very clearly. My teeth were glued together with gooey caramel. I swallowed.
“It’s a long story,” I repeated, then popped a second Kreemie in my mouth and chewed.
The incredibly sticky sweetness filled my mouth and slid down my throat like syrup.
Sugar heaven.
Smooth and dreamie.
But I was being rude.
“Want one?” I held out the roll to my cousin.
She shook her head and flashed me a mouth full of braces. They were the new kind that came in bright colors rather than just plain metal. Hers were pink and purple.
It was sort of unfair. I mean, I couldn’t even call her tinsel-teeth.
“I keep forgetting you have braces now,” I told her.
She rolled her eyes. “How could anyone forget? I certainly can’t. I can’t eat candy or apples or corn on the cob or any of my favorite foods. I hate them.”
Ashley is not too happy about the braces. Even though they’re the new, cool kind, I think they embarrass her. She tries not to smile or laugh as much as she used to, but she pretty much can’t help herself. She happens to be the laughing, smiling type.
I tell her she looks okay, braces and all, even though she doesn’t believe me.
My cousin and I don’t look at all alike. She’s blond, blue-eyed, freckled, and peppy. I’m dark, brown-eyed and serious. At least that’s how I come across.
Deep down, I think I’ve got a pretty good sense of humor. And I don’t have braces. Or a single cavity in my head.
My mother says it’s a minor miracle, considering how much candy I eat. I guess I’m just lucky.
I popped one more Karamel Kreemie into my mouth while I still had a chance and jammed the roll into the pocket of my jean shorts.
I felt a gentle tug as the car started to move forward.
“Here we go!” I heard the redheaded girl in the car behind us tell her boyfriend. The boyfriend sort of whimpered.
Ashley and I exchanged grins as the car began to pick up speed. Our heads thudded back against the headrests as we began to climb the first and steepest of the three hills. Higher and higher we crawled up the creaky wooden platform.
I took my eyes from the track long enough to shoot a glance at Ashley. She was staring wide-eyed at the top of the hill. It seemed to drop off into space. The car slowed to a standstill.
We teetered at the tip-top for a heart-stopping instant.
Far, far below us the dark treetops danced. As the cool wind whipped our hair and clothes, I felt a sudden surge of happiness. Then we swooped straight down.
“Whoop!”
Down, down the car clattered.
My cousin flung up her arms, opened her mouth wide, and shrieked.
Down, down we dipped into the whirling, churning sea of trees.
We were hurtling through a jumble of lights and shadows and terrified screams.
I gripped the bar, arms stiff, screaming my head off.
Each time I ride The Beast, I tell myself this time I’ll get through the ride without screaming.
Then I realize, halfway down the first hill, that screaming is what it’s all about. And I open my mouth and out it comes. It feels great.
We whirled into an underground tunnel, the blackness billowing around us, swallowing us totally.
“Whoooooaaaa!” I heard Ashley cry.
Just as suddenly, we broke out of the tunnel, and zoomed around a sharp bend. Ashley grabbed my arm.
“Ooomph!”
Her long blond hair streamed into my eyes, blinding me. I reached up to brush it away just as we zipped the other way.
She was laughing, shouting something about “my favorite part, James!”
Before I could reply, we tipped backward with a bump and started climbing another hill.
Then down we roared, stomachs churning, into the deep, dark valley. The wind pounded my cheeks and stung my eyes.
Bright lights rippled over me.
The car jolted level, whipping us into a tunnel so dark, I didn’t know where I stopped and it began. It was like hurtling through deep space.
Out of the tunnel, we exploded in a burst of blinding bright light.
I panted, gasping for breath as the car scaled a hill, up and up toward that big orange moon. Then down again, tossed topsy-turvy through a tunnel.
And then we slowed.
My face felt chapped, almost wind-burned. Every tooth in my head tingled.
The car clattered to a stop on the wooden tracks.
I sat completely still with my eyes closed.
You know the way you feel after a day of swimming in the ocean surf? You lie in bed and you can still feel the waves tossing you every which way?
Well, there’s a moment, right after the ride ends when, if you just sit there, with your eyes closed, you can relive every twist and turn, every climb and drop of the three-minute-and-forty-second ride.
I opened my eyes and exhaled.
“Great idea, Ashley. I’m glad you suggested it!” I exclaimed as I turned to my cousin.
I couldn’t believe it.
This couldn’t be happening.
Not again!
I shook my head and blinked. But it didn’t change a thing.
The seat beside me where my cousin Ashley had been sitting seconds ago was empty.
Ashley was gone!
3
My heart was hammering in my chest.
Where was Ashley?
I put my hand over my heart to try and slow it. I needed to be calm. I needed to think clearly. I took deep breaths. Slower, slower.
I remembered Ashley beside me. I remembered her flinging her arms up going down that first hill.
I remembered her hair flying in my face.
And her screaming. My right ear was practically deaf from the sound of her shrill, sharp screaming.
Was there a point when her screaming stopped?
Had she had fallen out as we hurtled through one of the tunnels?
Impossible.
She couldn’t fall out of the car with the safety bar down.
I felt the seat. It was still warm from her body. Could
she have slipped out quickly just as the ride ended, before I opened my eyes?
If she was playing one of her cute tricks on me, I was going to kill her.
Well, maybe not kill her exactly. But seriously pound her, for sure.
I lifted the safety bar and climbed out of the car. I elbowed my way through the crowd up to the man in the blue uniform.
“Did you see a girl with blond hair and white shorts get off the ride?” I asked. My voice came out sounding pip-squeaky.
“Son,” he replied sadly, “do you have any idea how many blond girls in white shorts I see here every day?”
I didn’t think he expected an answer to that question, so I didn’t give him one.
“She might have gotten off the ride early,” I suggested hopefully. “Before it slowed down?”
He shook his head. “Not while I’m on duty! The safety bar is locked until the car comes to a complete halt.”
I glanced back into the cars, measuring with my eyes the distance between the bar and the seat.
“My cousin is pretty skinny,” I explained. “She might have slipped out, even with the bar down.”
“Impossible,” the man said flatly. “Check down by the exit gate, why don’t you?”
I nodded gloomily.
“Or check at the message center,” he continued, pointing out over the heads of the exiting crowd. “Better make it snappy, though. The park’s closing soon.”
My eyes followed the direction of his finger to the tall replica of the Eiffel Tower that stands at the center of the park.
I nodded numbly and staggered down the ramp.
Ashley wasn’t at the exit gate. She wasn’t standing anywhere near it.
Might as well head for the message center near the tower.
But why was I even bothering?
There was no way she could have gotten off the ride and gone over to the message center in time to leave me a message. I mean, why would she do a thing like that?
Besides, what sort of message would it be, anyway?
Dear James, I’ve disappeared into thin air. Just try and find me. Your Cousin Ashley.
My anger started boiling up again. My face felt hot. My hands were clenched in the pockets of my denim shorts.
I made my way past the Vortex. The Vortex is a giant steel roller coaster that turns you upside down and every which way. We’d ridden it before lunch, while our stomachs were still pretty empty.