16
“Once you’ve used all your wishes, one of you must take my place in the bottle,” Gene said calmly.
For a second I couldn’t breathe. I felt as though someone had kicked me in the stomach.
“Wh-what are you talking about?” I finally choked out.
The genie narrowed his purple eyes at me. “One of you must take my place in the bottle,” he repeated. “You must choose which of you it will be.”
“But—why?” My legs felt all wobbly. I flopped down into the old armchair.
“That is your payment for the three wishes. One of you will live in the bottle . . . until the end of time!” The genie rose up over Jesse and me. “A deal is a deal.”
“But you never told us that!” I shrieked. “You never explained that!”
He rubbed his chin. “Didn’t I? Oh . . . guess I forgot. Sorry about that.”
“But—but—but—” I sputtered, feeling total panic sweep over me.
“I explained now,” Gene said, frowning. “Better late than never, huh?”
He grabbed the bottle from my hand and held it up. “Who is it going to be? Hannah or Jesse?”
I swallowed hard. My throat felt as if it had been tied in a knot.
I turned to Jesse. The color completely drained out of his face. “We never would have agreed to that!” Jesse cried.
“How could you do this to us?” I demanded. “We thought you were our friend!”
“I’m a genie. Not a friend,” Gene replied with a shrug. “It’s a job, you know.”
“But we can’t!” Jesse protested.
“It’s not so bad,” Gene told him. “It’s a perfectly nice bottle. A little cramped, maybe. But it’s warm and dry in there. After a while you forget your old life completely.”
I rubbed my hands over my face. My skin felt cold and clammy.
“Maybe you’ll get lucky,” Gene continued. “Maybe your bottle will smash against some rocks someday. Set you free. It could happen.”
We’re doomed, I thought glumly.
“You can’t do this to us!” Jesse shouted. “We’ve been your friends! We let you stay in our house! And now—”
Gene clapped his hands sharply. “Quiet! I’m getting a headache from all this talk.”
“But, please—” I started to say.
“You are no longer my masters,” the genie said sternly. “I do not have to listen to you any longer.”
Gene floated up from the floor. And as he floated, he grew. Purple waves of energy sparked off him. His face turned dark and menacing.
“You must choose now!” he roared. “Which one of you goes into the bottle? Which one?”
17
“We—we need time to decide,” I said.
I was stalling for time. Jesse and I had to go somewhere and think. Think of a way out of this mess.
“Fine. I can give you until midnight,” the genie replied.
He rose up over Jesse and me. I stared into his watery purple eyes. All I saw there was evil. Pure evil. Why hadn’t I seen it before?
“Till midnight,” the genie offered. “That’s fair enough.”
“What if we refuse to go along with this?” Jesse demanded in a trembling voice. “What if we don’t decide who goes in the bottle?”
Anger crossed the genie’s face. “Then I shall make the decision for you!” he bellowed. “There is no way out of this. One of you must go in the bottle.”
He waved his arms in the air. His body slowly faded into a thick purple cloud of smoke.
“Wait! Where are you going?” I cried.
“Don’t worry,” he whispered as the cloud floated out the door. “I’ll be back at midnight!”
* * *
Jesse and I headed up to my room. I brought the bottle and set it on my dresser.
I sprawled tensely on my bed with my hands behind my head. Barky curled up next to me.
“It’s all your fault!” Jesse cried. He straddled my desk chair and stared at me angrily.
“My fault? How is it my fault?” I demanded.
“You just had to pick up that bottle, didn’t you? If you didn’t fish that bottle out of the lake, we wouldn’t be in this mess.”
“Do I need to remind you who opened the stupid bottle?” I shot back. I sighed. “It doesn’t matter whose fault it is. What matters is finding a way out of this. What are we going to do?”
“We have no choice,” Jesse replied solemnly. “We need help. We have to tell Mom and Dad the whole story.”
* * *
The two of us sat at the dinner table in silence.
“You two are awfully quiet,” Mom said. “Anything wrong?”
I glanced across the table at Jesse. He was shoveling a big forkful of spaghetti into his mouth. I guessed I was going to have to tell them.
I cleared my throat. “Well, actually, there is something wrong,” I began to explain.
Mom and Dad stopped eating to look at me.
“Remember that kid Gene?” I asked.
They nodded.
“Well, he’s not really a kid,” I continued. I took a deep breath. I wanted to get it out all at once. “He’s really a genie. A genie who lives in a bottle. I found the bottle in Fear Lake. Jesse and I opened it and Gene popped out. He gave us three wishes, and now he wants one of us to go live in the bottle!”
I stopped—and stared at my parents. Waiting for them to react.
Dad laughed first. Then Mom joined in.
“That Gene was a pretty weird kid,” Dad declared. “But he’s a little too big to fit in a bottle!”
That made Mom and Dad laugh even harder.
They don’t believe me, I realized. Of course they don’t believe me! Who would believe such a crazy story?
“Um, Jesse?” I whispered. I hoped he would back me up. Tell them I wasn’t joking.
But to my shock, Jesse’s eyes were wide with fear. His mouth hung open.
I turned to the dining room window to see what he was staring at.
The purple genie, hovering in the evening air, glaring through the window at us angrily.
I started to choke from fright. I grabbed my water, took a long gulp, and pointed to the window.
Barky growled from under the table.
“Hannah—what’s wrong?” Dad asked.
“Dad—look!” I frantically pointed to the window. “There he is! There!”
But the genie had vanished.
“I—I don’t see anyone,” Dad said, staring hard.
“Why are you two so full of jokes tonight?” Mom demanded. “It isn’t April Fools’—is it?”
“No,” I replied softly. I stared down at my uneaten spaghetti. It was no use. I would never get my parents to believe us.
Jesse and I helped with the dishes. Then we trudged back up to my room.
“That was a complete waste of time.” Jesse sighed. He plopped down on the edge of my bed. “We need a Plan B.”
I glanced over at my night table. My eyes went wide. “Hey—I think I’ve got one!” I told my brother.
18
Jesse sat straight up. “You do? What is it?”
I crossed the room to the night table. I picked up Gene’s bottle. “If Gene can’t find the bottle, he can’t put us in it—right?”
“You’re right!” Jesse cried. “He left the bottle with us! How stupid of him! Let’s get rid of it—right now!”
I tensely twirled a strand of hair around my finger. Where was the best place to hide the bottle?
My bedroom was pretty messy, but it was way too small. Gene could search it in a second.
“Ark! Ark! Ark!” Barky yapped, trotting into my room.
I smiled. I thought of a place Gene would never find his bottle.
“What if we buried it?” I asked my brother. “We’ll dig a hole in the backyard and bury it there.”
“Perfect!” Jesse agreed.
We grabbed the bottle and raced out to the garage, where we found two old shovels.
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I handed a shovel to Jesse. “Better dig behind the garage so Mom and Dad won’t see,” I instructed.
We crept behind the garage and chose a spot. I pushed my shovel into the dirt. We worked as quickly as we could, digging a hole behind some bushes.
By the time we finished, the hole was at least two feet deep.
Jesse wiped his damp face on his sleeve. “Okay, dump the bottle in there.”
I tossed the bottle into the hole. We stared down at it for a second. Then we covered it with dirt.
I wiped my dirty hands on my jeans. “Done!” I cried, slapping Jesse a high-five.
Then we carried the shovels back into the garage.
What a relief! I thought. I trudged up the stairs to my room. “I can’t wait until Gene shows up at midnight!” I declared. “I can’t wait to see the look on his face when he sees that the bottle is gone!”
“Me too!” Jesse replied, grinning.
I opened the door to my room.
And gasped in horror.
“No!” I moaned. “This can’t be happening! It can’t be!”
19
“How did that get here?” Jesse cried.
“I—I don’t know,” I replied in a quivering voice.
We both stared at the brown bottle. It stood on my night table. Right where it had stood before.
“Oh, Jesse.” I sighed. “What are we going to do now?”
He shook his head. “Maybe we can find a better hiding place. You know. Someplace a lot farther away.”
I swallowed hard. My mouth felt as dry as cotton. “But what if that doesn’t work? We don’t have much time left!”
Jesse opened his mouth to answer. But he stopped—and gaped at the open bedroom window.
I turned to see wisps of purple smoke drift in from outside.
Oh, no! I thought. Please—not yet! We’re not ready!
The purple smoke filled the room. Then the genie began to take shape.
“Why are you here?” I demanded. “It’s not midnight yet! We still have time!”
The genie rose up over us. He held a gold pocket watch in his gnarled hand. He held it up to his ear.
“Hoo. Guess my watch is fast,” he said, shaking it. “I’ve got twelve midnight—on the nose.” He held it up to show us.
“Well, you have to go away!” I cried. “You said you would give us more time!”
The genie slid the watch into his loose purple robe. He narrowed his eyes at us. “I changed my mind. You’ve had enough time.”
He floated over us. “Which will it be? Hannah or Jesse?”
I uttered a gasp of horror.
He’s going to put one of us in that bottle right now! I realized.
I have to do something!
My eyes darted around the room. The bottle! I’ll break it into a million pieces.
I took a deep breath. And dove to the night table.
My fingers curled around the bottle. I drew my arm back—and heaved it at the wall.
“Nooooooo!” the genie shrieked.
20
The bottle shattered. Shards of glass flew everywhere.
“What have you done?” the genie shrieked.
My heart beat wildly. I did it! I really did it!
“Go, Hannah!” Jesse cried.
Gene shook his head sadly. “Don’t you realize what a waste of time that was?”
I gaped at him. “Excuse me?”
He waved his hands and did a short dance.
“Oh, nooo!” Jesse and I groaned.
Jagged pieces of brown glass flew up from the floor. As the genie danced and waved his hands, the glass rose up to the night table.
And formed a perfect bottle again.
The genie stopped his dance. His smile faded. His eyes glowed with anger. And evil.
“Don’t try anything else,” he warned. “I’m losing patience with you. A deal is a deal—remember?”
“Right,” I agreed. I glanced at my clock. “A deal is a deal. And it’s only ten till midnight. Jesse and I have ten more minutes. You gave us till midnight. A deal is a deal.”
The genie tossed up his hands. “Okay, okay. I can take a hint. I’ll go. But I’ll be back. Don’t try to escape. And don’t try to bury the bottle again. Hoo. I’ll have to get tough with you. No more Mr. Nice Guy.”
In a swirl of purple smoke, he floated back out the window.
I ran to the window, slammed it, and locked it.
“Now what?” Jesse cried in a tiny voice.
I had only one thought. We had to run. We had to get out of there—as far away from the genie as we could.
I sprinted over to my closet, tugged out a sweat-shirt, and pulled it on. “We have no choice. We have to run,” I told Jesse.
“But—but—” Jesse started to protest.
“Can you think of anything else?” I demanded.
He shook his head. He knew I was right. It was the only thing left for us to do.
“Go get a sweatshirt,” I ordered. “We don’t have much time.”
“But where can we go?” Jesse cried.
Think, Hannah. Think hard. Where can you go?
“We’ll head for the woods,” I decided. “There are lots of good places to hide there.”
“The Fear Street woods?” Jesse whispered with a shudder.
I nodded solemnly. “The Fear Street woods.”
* * *
Barky wagged his tail furiously when he saw us sneaking down the stairs.
“Oh, no,” Jesse moaned. “He’ll bark like crazy when we leave. He’ll wake Mom and Dad.”
“I already thought of that,” I replied in a whisper. I went into the kitchen and took three doggie treats out of the box.
“Here you go, Barky,” I called, setting the treats down on the floor.
As Barky gobbled up the treats, I motioned for Jesse to follow me out of the house. Barky didn’t even raise his head when we left.
Neither of us said a word as we jogged toward the woods.
We got there quickly. Moonlight washed over the black, gnarled trees, casting eerie shadows. Animals cried and howled all around us. Strange howls that sent cold shivers down my back.
“I don’t know, Hannah, maybe this isn’t such a good idea,” Jesse whispered.
I glanced at my watch. Nearly midnight. “We don’t have any other choice,” I told Jesse, pushing a branch out of my way.
I gasped when something brushed up against my leg.
“What was that?” I leapt back.
Two green eyes glowed up at me in the darkness.
A cat. Only a cat.
“Go away, kitty.” I nudged it away with my foot. It scampered off into the trees.
“Hannah, do you hear something?” Jesse asked.
I stopped and listened. The wind whispered through the trees behind us. An animal howled somewhere nearby.
“Hey, let’s go back,” Jesse pleaded. “I don’t like this, Hannah. This is a bad plan.”
“Yes, it is a terrible plan,” a voice rasped.
I whirled around.
The genie floated right behind us!
“It is midnight,” he said softly.
21
The genie reached a gnarled hand toward me.
“No!” I wailed.
I could feel the shock of purple waves that vibrated around him. The woods glowed eerily. We were all bathed in purple light.
“We won’t go—” Jesse cried, stepping up close to me.
The genie shook his head. His eyes glowed like giant fireflies. “Hoo. I was afraid of this. I’ll have to make the choice myself.”
He grabbed me by the shoulders. “Hannah—into the bottle.”
“No!” I shrieked. With a desperate jerk, I tugged free.
“Jesse—run!” I screamed.
We both turned—and ran.
But a swirl of purple followed us. The genie floated in front of us.
“This way!” I cried, spinning my brother around.
We turned and ran toward a clump of low willows.
The genie floated easily in front of us.
He shook his head almost sadly. “Trying to run from a genie? Can you think of a bigger waste of time?”
Jesse and I ignored him. We leapt over a fallen log and dove behind a thick clump of evergreen bushes.
But the genie was ahead of us, hovering over the ground. Waiting for us.
“I can turn you to stone,” he threatened, eyes glowing brightly, lips curled in a sneer. “It’s one of my better tricks.”
Jesse and I huddled together, gasping for breath.
Stone, I thought.
Stone.
Yes. Stone.
The genie had given me an idea.
But how could Jesse and I escape in order to try it?
“Hannah—” he rasped. “Hannah—it’s time.”
The genie raised the brown bottle up to me.
“Say good-bye to your brother,” he whispered. “And make it quick. Your new home is waiting for you.”
22
I stared at the bottle hovering in front of my face.
I tried to picture myself folded up inside it. Floating. Bobbing in the water. Forever and ever.
“But I get seasick!” I blurted out.
The genie didn’t reply. He shoved the bottle closer.
How can we escape? I asked myself. How can we get to the garage so that I can try my plan?
No way, I realized.
Jesse and I were trapped. Defeated.
It was over. . . .
“Hey—yo!” A voice interrupted my terrifying thoughts.
“Yo!”
I turned to see the Burger brothers leap out from behind the evergreen bushes.
“Hoo!” the genie cried, as startled as Jesse and I. “It’s the bunny boys!”
Mike and Roy stopped in shock as they saw the genie.
“What are you two doing out in the woods?” I cried.
“Looking for people to scare,” Mike replied.
“We howl like animals and frighten people,” Roy explained.
Mike raised a big net. “And I like to capture insects and torture them,” he said. “It’s kind of a hobby.”
“I liked you better as bunnies,” the genie chimed in.