The Beast

  It was like a dream. Swirling shadows in the thickening mist. Dim yellow light casting looming, eerie forms.

  No one in sight.

  The huge park stretched out on all sides of me. Deserted. The stores and restaurants dark and empty.

  “Ashley?” Her name escaped from my throat. My voice came out shaky and high.

  This is a dream, I told myself.

  This has to be a dream. And I’m going to wake up and find that I haven’t really lost my cousin.

  I shook my head hard, trying to shake the nightmare away.

  But it wasn’t a dream.

  I had run halfway to the tall, dark tower before I stopped.

  Why was I doing this? Where did I think I was going?

  My heart was thudding in my chest. The heavy rock in my stomach grew even heavier.

  I have to get back to the front gate, I told myself. I have to call home. I have to—

  “Hey—James!”

  I heard the familiar voice. But staring into the heavy mist, I saw no one.

  “James!”

  I spun around and was surprised to see Ashley come running from the side of a darkened pastry shop. In the pale light through the heavy fog, she looked like a ghost, her bare arms white, her blond hair fanned out behind her.

  She stopped a few feet in front of me, breathing hard. “Where were you?” she cried breathlessly.

  “Huh?” My mouth dropped open.

  “Where were you?” she repeated angrily.

  “Where were you?” I cried shrilly. “I got off the roller coaster—and you were gone!”

  “No. You were gone!” she insisted. She shoved me hard with both hands. “What a jerk!”

  “You’re the jerk!” I cried, stumbling backward. I was so angry, I moved forward to shove her back. Then all at once I realized how funny the whole thing was.

  “I was searching for you, and you were searching for me!” I exclaimed, laughing.

  “It’s not funny!” Ashley cried. “I got off The Beast and started for the exit. I glanced back to make sure you weren’t there. So I thought you’d gotten ahead of me. I started running to catch up to you. But—but . . .” Her voice trailed off. She took a deep breath.

  “I wasn’t ahead of you. I was behind you,” I explained.

  “I got turned around. I thought I was heading toward the front gate,” Ashley continued. “But I ended up at The Vortex. By the time I got back in the right direction—”

  “Let’s just get out of here!” I cried.

  We began running to the main gate, our sneakers thudding on the pavement.

  “The park is so weird looking!” Ashley cried as we ran.

  She was right. The fog had grown even heavier, thicker. The dimmed light from overhead landed at strange angles. It got tangled in the mist, made the ground appear to shimmer and smoke.

  “It—it’s really hard to see,” I called to her. I was staring straight ahead but couldn’t see the front gates through the fog. Glancing down, I saw that my shadow had completely disappeared.

  We moved quickly, silently, through the fog. Past the dark and still reflecting pool.

  We ran faster when the front gates came into view.

  The heaviness in my stomach had vanished, replaced by a sharp ache in my side as I ran.

  “Finally!” Ashley cried.

  She reached the exit first. She gripped the bars of the gate and pulled.

  It didn’t budge.

  She pulled again. Then she tried pushing.

  When she turned back to me, her expression revealed her panic. “James—we’re locked in!” Ashley cried.

  6

  The next gate was locked, too. And so was the next.

  We ran from gate to gate, trying to find one unlocked. But the entire row of metal exit gates was locked.

  The vast parking lot had become empty and dark. Far in the distance I could just see the red taillights of the last cars.

  “Hey—let us out!” Ashley cried.

  But there was no one to hear her.

  The fog closed in on us, swirled around us, blanketed us in darkness. I knew there had to be security guards somewhere nearby. But the fog had become so thick, it was hard to see even a few feet in any direction.

  Ashley stepped close beside me. Her hair fell in tangles over her forehead. She rubbed her bare arms, trying to warm them in the wet, cold fog.

  “Your mom is going to have a cow!” she cried unhappily.

  My mom! Of course!

  In all the confusion I had forgotten about calling. The pay phones were right behind us. All we had to do was call my mom and she’d come rescue us.

  No problem.

  “The phones! Come on!” I cried. I turned and started to make my way through the swirling fog toward the phones. “Have you got a quarter?” I called back to her.

  She searched the pockets of her baggy shorts. “Yeah. Here.”

  I took the quarter from her and stepped up to the phone booth. I lifted the receiver and started to drop the quarter in the slot.

  Suddenly a hand grabbed my wrist.

  “Don’t!” Ashley said softly.

  I spun around, startled. “What’s your problem?” I demanded.

  “Don’t call,” Ashley repeated, her eyes lighting up excitedly. She still hadn’t let go of my wrist.

  “Huh? What are you talking about?” I asked shrilly. “You want to get out of here—don’t you?”

  She shook her head. A mischievous grin spread over her face. “No,” she whispered.

  Then she grabbed the quarter out of my fingers. “No.”

  I held out my hand. “Ashley—give me back the quarter. You’re not funny.”

  Grinning at me, she backed away. She dropped the coin back into the pocket of her shorts. “Let’s stay, James,” she pleaded. “Let’s stay in the park all night.”

  I gaped at her. My mouth dropped open. “Huh? Are you for real?”

  “Come on—it’ll be cool!” she exclaimed. She tried to tug me away from the phones. But I pulled out of her grasp.

  “We’ll get caught,” I told her. “We’ll get into big trouble.”

  “We’ll hide,” she replied. “It’ll be a real adventure.”

  “I don’t like adventure,” I confessed. “There are security guards all over this place. We’ll get caught, Ashley. Give me the quarter.”

  I reached out for it. But she backed away, shaking her head, flashing me that devilish grin.

  What a pain.

  “You’re crazy,” I told her.

  “You’re no fun,” she replied.

  “It’s cold and foggy. It’s creepy here at night,” I said. “What’s the fun part?”

  “I want to see the ghost,” she confessed.

  So that was it!

  “Ashley, you didn’t believe that dumb story about some ghost riding The Beast at night. Those guys were just goofing,” I told her.

  “No, they weren’t. They were serious,” she insisted.

  “Ashley, there’s no ghost,” I said firmly. “Now, if you won’t give me the quarter, I’ll call home collect.” I started back toward the phones.

  “Prove there’s no ghost,” she called after me.

  I turned around. “What do you mean—prove it?”

  “Prove it,” she repeated, tossing her hair back over her shoulders. “Let’s go watch. Let’s see if anything happens.”

  “Ashley!” I moaned. “Don’t be a jerk.”

  “I’ll bet you ten dollars,” she said.

  “Huh?” She caught me off guard. “You’ll bet me ten dollars what?”

  “That the ghost comes out,” she replied, her eyes wide, challenging me. “If it doesn’t appear, I’ll pay you ten dollars.”

  It was a stupid bribe. But Ashley knew that I can never turn down a bet. It’s a real weakness.

  I once had to stand on my head and whistle “Oh, Susannah” on the beach in front of a crowd of girls for ten minutes just because I bet my older brot
her that I could. It was so embarrassing! You’d think I’d learn my lesson.

  But I never did.

  “Okay, it’s a bet,” I told Ashley. I couldn’t believe I was agreeing. I knew we could get into major trouble if a security guard found us. And what about our parents?

  Ashley had that all figured out. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the quarter. “Here. Call your mom and tell her we’re staying at one of your friend’s houses tonight. Tell her we met him here and his parents drove us home,” she said, tossing me the quarter.

  I missed, and it hit the ground. I bent down and grabbed it quickly, before it rolled away in the heavy darkness.

  “Clever,” I said. “Very clever.”

  Why was I going along with this? Just to win ten dollars? I knew it was a horrible idea. I had that heavy feeling in my stomach again.

  Why was I going to spend the night in a foggy park, hanging out, hiding, waiting for a ghost to ride The Beast?

  Because of a ten-dollar bet?

  I guess I was doing it so Ashley wouldn’t call me a jerk again.

  I mean, that’s a pretty good reason—isn’t it?

  I made my call. It seemed to go okay. My mom was annoyed that we didn’t call when we were supposed to, but she was tired and didn’t ask too many questions.

  Then, huddling close, we made our way through the dimly lit park toward the woods that hid The Beast.

  The fog swirled around us. The soft light got caught up in the fog and barely made it to the ground.

  I gazed around at the dark shops and restaurants, the empty game booths, closed and silent. It was all so eerie. And the heavy fog made it even more dreamlike and unreal.

  “This is creepy,” I whispered. “Too creepy.”

  “It’s exciting,” Ashley corrected me. “It’s the perfect night for a ghost to come out, don’t you think?”

  “Yeah. Perfect,” I muttered.

  I didn’t believe in ghosts. And I didn’t think Ashley did either.

  But Ashley believed in adventure. In a big way.

  I always thought it was just a stage she was going through. But I guess she hadn’t made it through it yet.

  We were passing a frozen lemonade stand, its window closed, when we heard footsteps. Nearby.

  “Quick—over here!” Ashley whispered.

  She grabbed my arm and pulled me behind a tall shrub beside the lemonade stand.

  But she was too late.

  A blue-uniformed security guard moved quickly out of the fog. He was in front of us before I could duck behind the shrub.

  “Hey—caught you!” he shouted.

  7

  With a silent gasp I dropped to my knees behind the shrub. Ashley huddled beside me.

  The security guard laughed as he stepped forward.

  We’re in major trouble now, I thought.

  Then I heard another laugh.

  “Caught you,” the guard repeated.

  Peering over the top of the bush, I saw two blue-uniformed guards, both tall and powerful looking.

  The guard stepped right in front of Ashley and me to greet his friend.

  “Just taking a breather,” the second guard said. “Some fog, huh?”

  “Yeah. My flashlight hardly cuts through it,” the first man replied. “Weird.”

  Behind the pine shrub, Ashley and I grinned at each other. We realized the guard hadn’t even seen us. I had been holding my breath the whole time. Now I let it out in a long whoosh and started breathing normally again.

  “Where are you tonight?” the first guard asked.

  “Rivertown,” his friend replied. “It’ll be a quiet night.”

  They chatted for a little while longer. I couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  I practically jumped out of the bush when Ashley tapped my shoulder. I spun around angrily. Why did she have to scare me like that?

  “Come on,” she whispered. “We’ll be late.” Late? Late for what?

  I shook my head and pointed to the two guards, who were still chatting away.

  “They won’t see us,” Ashley whispered. “It’s too foggy and dark.” She yanked on my arm so hard, she nearly knocked me over.

  “Stop pulling me,” I protested in a loud whisper. But I obediently climbed to my feet. Ducking low, I began to follow her.

  A row of low bushes and trees followed the path. We stayed behind them as we tiptoed away.

  I could still hear the two guards talking, somewhere behind us now.

  A sudden gust of wind made the bushes shiver. My heart was pounding in my chest. My legs felt as if they each weighed a thousand pounds.

  My sneakers sank into the wet grass. The bushes shook again. The trees began to whisper. Wisps of fog swirled just above our heads.

  “Hurry,” Ashley urged a few yards ahead of me.

  I began to feel a little better, a little more relaxed.

  That had been a close call. But we were getting away from the guards.

  Then I tripped over something hard—a low metal fence.

  I cried out in surprise as I fell out onto the pavement.

  The fence clattered loudly beneath me.

  I landed hard on my elbows and knees.

  “Hey!” Both guards shouted at once.

  I frantically tried to scramble to my feet. But this time I knew we really were caught.

  8

  I struggled to my feet.

  Both knees throbbed with pain as I started to run. Stumbling, staggering forward.

  I could hear the startled shouts of the guards close behind me. White beams of light from their flashlights bobbed along the path.

  I dived over a clump of tall flowers and started running across the grass. Through the fog I caught glimpses of Ashley up ahead, running, running at full speed, her arms thrashing the air as she moved, almost as if she were swimming through the misty darkness.

  “Hey—stop!” The guard’s shout rang out from the path.

  The sharp voice cut through me like a saw’s blade. I uttered a frightened gasp. And somehow kept running.

  My sneakers squished over the soft ground.

  I could hear the two guards close behind, their flashlights darting wildly over the bushes as they ran.

  Suddenly I found myself running between tall trees. We were in the woods now. I followed the crunch of Ashley’s sneakers somewhere up ahead.

  The fog grew thicker, wetter. Beads of cold water ran down my face.

  I was gasping for breath. I tried to ignore the sharp pain in my side. But it had forced me to slow down.

  Ashley had stopped. I caught up with her. She had her back against a tree. She was bent forward, hands pressed on her knees, trying to catch her breath.

  I stopped in front of her and rubbed my sides, trying to rub the pain away.

  “Nice move, ace,” she whispered, making a face at me.

  “I couldn’t help it. I tripped,” I whispered back.

  We both listened hard.

  We couldn’t hear the guards.

  Off to the right, I could see two flickering beams of light. The light appeared to be moving in the other direction.

  “I—I think we lost them,” I whispered. My throat felt as dry as cotton. I could barely choke out the words.

  We stood watching the lights until they disappeared in the darkness. A cold chill ran down my back. My sneakers were soaked. The bottoms of my jeans were wet, too.

  “What are we doing here?” I asked Ashley bitterly.

  “We have a bet—remember?” she replied.

  She stepped away from the tree. “Come on. This is fun.”

  “Fun? Fun?” I cried, hurrying to keep up with her as she slipped quickly through the trees. “So far, Ashley, I’m not having fun.”

  A few minutes later the trees ended and we found ourselves in a flat clearing. I gazed around, struggling to see through the fog. The sky seemed to grow darker. The only sound was the chirping of crickets in the trees.

  “Now we’re
really lost,” I grumbled, shoving my hands into my jeans pockets.

  “No, we’re not,” Ashley replied quietly.

  “Huh? Then, where are we?” I demanded.

  “Look,” she said. She pointed straight ahead.

  I suddenly realized it wasn’t the black sky I’d been staring at. It was The Beast. It rose up in front of us, blacker than the night.

  The roller coaster hovered over the woods like an enormous creature ready to pounce.

  Ashley and I stood staring up at the dark tracks for a long time. Black against the fog-covered sky, the tracks stretched up like a mountain, then curved away.

  “Cool,” Ashley murmured. “Let’s go.”

  We crossed the clearing, ducked through an opening in a wood fence, and stepped onto the pavement. Tall spotlights overhead cast dim light over the area. I realized we were standing where the lines formed for The Beast.

  Staying in the shadow of the fence, we searched for security guards.

  None around.

  Then we went running up the ramp onto the platform.

  “This is totally weird!” I exclaimed. It had been so crowded an hour earlier, filled with laughing, shouting, screaming people. And now it stood before us, so empty and silent.

  “Yeah. Weird,” Ashley agreed. Her eyes flashed excitedly.

  We followed the platform to the front, our eyes searching the empty tracks.

  The roller coaster cars stood at the far end. They looked bigger without people in them.

  A gust of wind rolled over the platform, whistling through the tracks. I heard a soft flapping sound overhead.

  A bat?

  I glanced up to the platform roof. But it was too dark to see.

  “I’ll bet we’re the only kids ever to see The Beast like this,” Ashley said softly. She walked over to the first car and climbed inside.

  “Ashley—what do you think you’re doing?” I cried in alarm.

  “If we’re going to wait for the ghost, we might as well get comfortable,” she replied. She scooted over, making room for me. “Come on, James.” She patted the seat.

  “No thanks,” I told her, staying back from the tracks. “I’d rather stand.”

  “Come on. Sit down,” she urged. “We can pretend we’re roaring over the tracks.”