Tina shuddered.
Still holding on to Holly, she started for the door.
“What—what’s that?” Holly stammered. “Is someone else in here?”
Tina heard it, too. Footsteps.
Tina spun around.
Chris!
Chris! Alive!
He staggered from the darkroom, bright red blood streaming down his face.
He raised long, pointed scissors into the air.
“Good-bye, Judy,” he choked out, swinging the scissors in front of him, snipping the blades in the air.
Snip. Snip. Snip.
“Good-bye, Judy.” Blood dripped from his mouth and down his chin, as he rasped the words.
He moved with surprising quickness.
Tina tried to back away.
She stumbled.
Hit the wall.
Chris raised the scissors over her head.
The studio door burst open.
Carla and a tall blond-haired boy rushed in.
“Carla—help us!” Tina shrieked. “Carla—thank goodness you’re here!”
Chris lowered the scissors. He turned to Carla. He breathed a sigh of relief. “What took you so long?” he demanded. “They almost got away.”
chapter 22
“Carla—?” Tina gasped. “Carla—you’re not on Chris’s side—are you? Have you been helping Chris this whole time?”
“What took you so long?” Chris demanded sharply. He wiped blood off his chin with the back of his hand. He rubbed the back of his head—the spot where Tina had hit him—and groaned.
“Carla—?” Tina cried.
Carla brushed past Holly and Tina and made her way toward Chris. “Chris—the blood. Your head. Are you okay? You’re totally cut.”
“What happened here?” the blond boy demanded. “How did you get hurt? Should we get a doctor?”
“I’m okay, Steve,” Chris replied softly. He gestured with the scissors. “Just a little trouble here. But it’s all under control now that you and Carla are here. What took you so long?”
Tina felt so hurt, so furious, she thought she might explode. “Carla—how could you help him?” she shrieked. “How could you be so evil?”
Steve and Carla ignored her, acted as if she weren’t in the room, acted as if she weren’t holding on to her cousin, screaming at them.
“Hey, man, let me see your head,” Steve said, moving toward Chris.
Chris raised the scissors menacingly. “Get back. I told you I’m okay.”
Steve raised both hands. “Okay. Okay.” He backed off quickly.
Carla turned and pointed to Tina and Holly. “What’s with them?”
“He killed Josh!” Tina wailed. “He’s a murderer! He killed Josh. How can you help him now? He’s a murderer! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?”
Carla continued to ignore Tina. She moved toward Chris. “I’m here to help you, Chris. You know that. You do know that—don’t you?”
“We’re both here to help you,” Steve said. “What can we do?”
Chris rubbed the back of his head. He winced in pain. Tina could see him struggle to keep his eyes in focus. “Judy won’t pose for me anymore,” he told his friends. “I want to get a few more shots.”
“Okay,” Carla replied. “Steve and I will help. How about if I take a shot of you and Judy together? For your portfolio.”
“No!” Tina cried. “You’re both crazy! I’m not Judy, and I’m not posing with him!”
Carla shot her an angry look.
“Better do what she says,” Holly whispered.
I can’t sit next to him, Tina thought. I won’t. I’d rather die than have him touch me again.
“Steve, bring me a camera,” Carla instructed, keeping her eyes on Chris.
Steve walked over to the table, picked up a camera, and handed it to Carla.
“Here.” Carla held it out to Chris. “You adjust the settings, and I’ll take the picture.”
She turned to Tina. “Judy, stand over here.” She motioned Tina over toward Chris. “Hurry.”
Tina swallowed. I can’t. I can’t.
“Take your camera,” Carla urged Chris. She held it out to him.
Chris reached for the camera.
Carla grabbed the scissors from his hand.
“Grab him!” she shouted to Steve. “Quick!”
Steve dived forward.
Wrapped his arms around Chris.
Dragged him to the floor.
As Tina stared in shock, Chris slumped to the floor. He didn’t struggle. He curled up, covering his face with his hands. “Why’d you have to ruin it again? Why?” he wailed. “Why?”
Carla hurried over to Tina and Holly. “I’m so sorry.” Carla slid her arm around Tina. “I didn’t know. I didn’t know what he was doing. I can’t believe he killed Josh. I really can’t!”
“You—you didn’t work with him?” Tina demanded. “You weren’t helping him with the whole thing?”
“No!” Carla cried. “No. You’ve got to believe me! Steve and I played along with him now—just so we could get the scissors away from him, just so we could make sure you were safe.”
Tina sighed. “I … believe you.”
Holly wrapped Tina in a hug. The three girls clung to each other.
Steve stood guard over Chris, never shifting his gaze away.
Tina sobbed. “You should see Josh’s face.”
“I’m calling the police,” Holly said.
“I feel so horrible,” Carla murmured. “Chris told me Josh was with another girl this weekend. He said Josh had been secretly going out with her for months. Oh, Tina, I’m so sorry. Chris said we had to keep you from finding out about the other girl.”
“I was camping in the mountains,” Steve said. “Carla told me Josh was off with some girl, and you were here with Chris.”
“That’s when Steve set me straight,” Carla interrupted. “Steve told me that Chris was lying. He told me that Josh hasn’t been with anyone but you. He said that Josh had been planning all week for your visit.”
“That’s why he didn’t go on the camping trip,” Steve explained.
Tina let the tears roll down her cheeks. Poor Josh.
“That’s when I panicked,” Carla told Tina. “Josh wasn’t with another girl and he wasn’t camping with Steve. So where was he? That’s when I figured Chris had done something to him.”
“He murdered Judy, too. He told me,” Tina choked out. “I should have suspected something. I—I—”
“Oh, I should have figured it out. He’d go into these deep depressions over Judy,” Steve broke in. “If you talked to him, he wouldn’t even hear you. He talked about Judy all the time.”
“The police will be here in a minute,” Holly announced, returning. “This weekend has been such a nightmare. Such a horrible nightmare.”
Slumped on the floor, Chris raised his eyes to Tina. “I’ll develop your pictures, Judy. Tomorrow. You’ll like them. This time you’ll really like them. You’ll be so happy, Judy. I’ll make you happy. I really will.”
Tina covered her ears with her hands and rushed out of the studio. I can’t listen to him anymore! she told herself. I can’t!
She didn’t stop running until she reached fresh air. Then she flung herself down on the grass and took several deep breaths.
The air filled her lungs. Her body relaxed. She heard sirens in the distance. Finally help was on its way.
Tina gazed into the darkening sky. Her eyes settled on the first star of the evening.
No wish tonight, she thought.
No wish at all.
Tina knew that no matter how hard she wished, she would never be able to erase this weekend from her memory.
About the Author
“Where do you get your ideas?”
That’s the question that R. L. Stine is asked most often. “I don’t know where my ideas come from,” he says. “But I do know that I have a lot more scary stories in my mind that I can’t wait
to write.”
So far, he has written over fifty mysteries and thrillers for young people, all of them bestsellers.
Bob grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Today he lives in an apartment near Central Park in New York City with his wife, Jane, and fourteen-year-old son, Matt.
THE NIGHTMARES NEVER END … WHEN YOU VISIT
Next, the first in a new trilogy …
THE CATALUNA CHRONICLES
BOOK #1: THE EVIL MOON
(Coming in August 1995)
They came from different worlds. Different times. But they were destined to meet.
1698, West Hampshire Colony
Catherine Hatchett longed to be accepted by the people of her colony. But they believed the red crescent-moon birthmark on her forehead brought them bad luck. They blamed Catherine for the crops that withered in the fields, and the animals that lay dying in the pastures.
And they came to hang her for sins she did not commit!
1995, Shadyside
Bryan Folger knew his rich girlfriend, Misty, looked down on him—even though she swore she didn’t. If he could just buy the Cataluna, everything would be different. The sleek white car would impress Misty and all his friends. And Bryan would do anything to get it.
Steal … even kill!
What powerful, dark forces bring Bryan and Catherine together? Discover the terrible truth in THE EVIL MOON.
presents
THE
1996 CALENDAR
Spend 1996 on
Vampires, evil cheerleaders, ghosts, and all the boys and ghouls of R. L. Stine’s Fear Street books are here to help you shriek through the seasons.
It’s the perfect way to keep track of your days, nights, and nightmares ….
Special Bonus Poster
A map of Shadyside showing where all the horrors of Fear Street happened. Take a terrifying tour of the spots where your favorite characters lived—and died.
Coming soon
1098
A Fear Street Calendar/Published by Archway Paperbacks
For everyone who believes—a romantic and suspenseful new trilogy
by Elizabeth Chandler
When Ivy loses her boyfriend, Tristan, in a car accident, she also loses her faith in angels. But Tristan is now an angel himself, desperately trying to protect Ivy. Only the power of love can save her … and set her free to love again.
Volume I
Kissed by an Angel
Volume II
The Power of Love
Volume III
Soulmates
Coming mid-August
Available from Archway Paperbacks
Published by Pocket Books
1110
R.L. Stine
THE NEW GIRL.....74649-9/$3.99
THE SURPRISE PARTY.....73561-6/$3.99
THE OVERNIGHT.....74650-2/$3.99
MISSING.....69410-3/$3.99
THE WRONG NUMBER.....69411-1/$3.99
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THE
SAGA
Where the terror began …
The Betrayal
The Secret
The Burning
When the cheers turn to screams …
The First Evil
The Second Evil
The Third Evil
Two trilogies from R.L. Stine you won’t want to miss.
Available from Archway Paperbacks
Published by Pocket Books
R.L. Stine, College Weekend
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