Streets of Panic Park

  The head spun around. “Shut up!” the dark face barked. “Shut up! Shut up! When I want your opinion, I’ll rattle your cage!”

  The head spun again. “You’re not too big to SLAP!”

  “Who’s going to do it? YOU? Please don’t make me laugh. I’ve got chapped lips!”

  “Think I can’t give you a SLAP that’ll set your head spinning?”

  “Go ahead. See who it hurts!”

  Imprisoned in the chair, I sat staring as the two faces argued. I couldn’t move. Could hardly breathe.

  The man is a MONSTER, I told myself.

  Look at him, fighting with his second face. A monster.

  Did he do that to himself? Give himself a second face in his experiments in fear?

  He will do anything. Anything …

  How can we survive a total monster?

  The spotlight went out. The movie started again.

  I saw a white building. A sign above the entrance read: RIDE THE WHIRLWIND.

  The camera went inside. Dark at first. And then the picture brightened, and I saw people in a long tunnel. People being blown off their feet. Lifted by a powerful, roaring wind.

  A boy flew across the screen. His shirt had blown over his head. A girl held on to his leg as the wind carried them down the tunnel. Her hair blew high above her head. They were both screaming in horror, helpless in the powerful, raging wind.

  And then I felt a burst of cold wind brush my face. Another strong gust blew my hair up high on my head.

  A swirling wind blew through the movie theater. Some kids screamed as the wind pressed us back into our living seats … pushed against us as if trying to blow us away.

  “Can’t … breathe …” The words escaped my throat.

  And then I heard kids screaming all around me.

  “I can’t breathe!”

  “Stop it! Please — STOP it!”

  “Turn it off! Can’t you turn it off?”

  “Experience The Whirlwind!” The Menace screamed from beside the screen.

  I could hear people shrieking and wailing in the movie. But I couldn’t see them. My eyes were shut tight against the roaring wind.

  “Experience The Whirlwind!” The Menace repeated. He laughed his cold laugh. “Live it! Live it!”

  My chest was about to burst. I couldn’t suck air in or out. The raging waves of wind were too powerful.

  And then I heard The Menace’s other face shout: “Stop it, you fool! You’ve gone too far! You’re going to KILL them all!”

  The wind stopped.

  Gasping for air, I pressed my hands to my frozen cheeks. Then I tried to smooth my hair down.

  I could still hear the roar of the wind gusts, rising and falling like ambulance sirens in my ears. I took a long breath and let it out slowly.

  “Were you watching the film?” The Menace demanded. “Did you see those people struggling against the winds? They were terrified! It was beautiful! What a beautiful sight!”

  The chair pulsed around me. I could feel its heartbeat against my back. Thinking about it gave me the shivers.

  “When people stumbled from The Whirlwind,” The Menace continued, “their brains were a little scrambled.” He sneered. “Big deal — right?”

  His head spun, and the bright red face spoke up. “You went too far. You turned their brains to mush!”

  “And what’s your excuse?” the dark face snapped. “Okay, okay. Maybe my experiments with fear and reality went too far. Something went wrong, guys. The Fear Level in the park was so high, it hurled us into another reality.”

  He sighed. “Yes, I closed Panic Park. And then my beautiful park went spinning away … whirling away to a parallel universe. The world moved on. The years passed. But we stayed in 1974.”

  He picked up his hat and twirled it in his hands. “I loved it at first,” he said. “It gave me time to do more experiments in fear. My experiments were brilliant. I learned the true path to terror.”

  The head spun. “A lot of people disappeared because of you,” the red face said. “A lot of people became shadows.”

  The first face spun back. “You can’t make chicken soup without breaking a few chickens!” he boomed. “My experiments in fear were exciting. But I got bored. I decided I wanted to return to the real world.”

  He kept twirling the wide-brimmed hat between his gloved hands. “How to get back? I began studying the problem. And guess what, people? I discovered that HorrorLand park was built on the same spot where Panic Park had stood.

  “I discovered I could use mirrors to travel back and forth between Panic Park and HorrorLand. I could travel to HorrorLand through even the tiniest mirror. It was an amazing discovery. But then … I had a little accident.”

  “Is THAT what you call me?” the red face screamed. “An ACCIDENT?”

  “Shut up! Shut up!” the first face cried. He turned back to us. “I was doing an experiment with a two-way mirror. The experiment went wrong. And I ended up with that ugly face attached to my head.”

  “You’re not winning any beauty prizes!” the other face said. “Come on, people. Check out my blue eyes, my adorable blond eyebrows. Let’s vote on which of us has the prettiest face.”

  I looked down the row of kids. No one moved. We were trapped in the pulsing, living chairs. Staring in silent horror at this insane monster with two faces.

  “Now I need your help, people,” The Menace said. “I need your Fear Level to go so high that Panic Park returns to its place in the real world. Fear brought us here, and fear will bring us back.”

  Michael sat at the end of my row. I could see the anger burning in his eyes. Finally, he spoke up. “No way!” he shouted, swinging his fist at The Menace. “No way we’ll help you!”

  We all started shouting at once. “No way!” Matt shouted. “No way! No way!”

  “Let us go!” I cried.

  The Menace waved a hand in the air. And I felt my chair arms tighten around my waist. The arms raised themselves to my throat and began to choke off my breath.

  Choking, gasping for air, I grabbed the chair arms and struggled to pull them off me.

  The Menace waved his hand again — and the chair arms sank back to my sides.

  “Save your voices for SCREAMING!” The Menace cried. He turned to the side of the stage. Byron appeared, pushing the tall Fear Meter in front of him.

  “The meter is still only at twenty-five,” The Menace said. “You people aren’t trying!”

  Only twenty-five, I thought. We’ll never survive what he has in mind.

  “More fear! More fear!” the red face shouted. “I get all tingly just thinking about it!”

  His words sent a chilling jolt of fear over the room. The Fear Meter needle jumped a little. We were all afraid. Because we knew he was serious. And crazy.

  “Keep your eyes on the Fear Meter, guys,” Byron chimed in. His big hand thumped the side of it. “We’re going to get that red needle up to the TOP!”

  Byron led us up a long staircase, then down a winding, dark hall, and up another steep staircase. The windows were caked with dust and thick layers of dirt. Almost no light seeped in.

  Rows of grinning skulls gazed up at us, embroidered in the black carpet. Tangles of cobwebs dangled from the ceilings, brushing our faces as we passed by.

  Low moans followed us down one hallway. Were those human sounds?

  I shuddered and stayed close to Luke.

  We walked in silence. I knew we were all thinking the same thought: Will we ever get out of this terrifying old mansion alive?

  Door after door revealed only darkness. One wall was filled from top to bottom with hideous, grinning animal heads. Another wall had a collection of thin, rubbery things nailed to it. They looked like human tongues!

  My stomach heaved. I turned away from the ugly sight.

  We climbed another endless stairway. Then Byron led us into the bright light of a huge room.

  My eyes adjusted slowly. When I could focus, I saw wooden tables
and chairs. Several rows of bunk beds against one wall. A bathroom. Two long wooden benches under narrow, dirt-stained windows.

  A brick fireplace took up one wall. I squinted hard. Were those bones piled on the fireplace floor?

  An enormous painting of The Menace, in a flowery silver frame, stared at us from above the fireplace. His hat was pulled over one eye. The other eye glared coldly. The rest of his face was lost in shadow.

  I shuddered. A Fear Meter stood against the wall to the right of the bunk beds.

  “This is your room,” Byron said. “Make yourselves at home.”

  “Is there room service?” Matt joked. He always put on a brave face.

  “Yes,” Byron replied. “And a maid will come to turn down your beds and leave chocolates on your pillows at night.” He laughed. “What’s wrong? No one else is laughing? I don’t blame you.”

  “Byron, how could you work for that … that creep?” Carly Beth demanded.

  Byron shrugged. “It’s not a bad job,” he said. “Especially if you like to see kids scream and cry. And think how powerful I’ll be when Panic Park returns to the real world!”

  He shook his head. “Good luck, guys. You’re going to need it!”

  He disappeared out the door.

  Two seconds later, he was back. He came striding up to Matt with his paw outstretched.

  “Give it back,” Byron said.

  Matt stared at him. “Excuse me?”

  “Give me back the key card I gave you when you first arrived at HorrorLand. The card that got you into all those locked places.”

  “No way I’m giving it to you,” Matt said. He took a step back. “Why did you give it to me?”

  A smile spread over the Horror’s fur-covered face. “Why? I told you. To make you start thinking about Panic Park,” Byron said. “You know. A little clue. To get you interested.”

  Byron waved his paw in front of Matt’s face. “Give it back. Now.”

  Matt sneered at him. “No way, Furball.”

  An ugly roar escaped Byron’s throat. “Tough talk, Matt my lad,” he growled.

  His eyes turned fiery red. He balled his big paws into tight fists. “Don’t you know I can TEAR you in two?”

  Matt tried to dance out of his path. But the big Horror lunged forward. He grabbed Matt by the front of his T-shirt. “Give the card back,” he snarled.

  Matt shoved Byron’s paws away. “I … lost it,” he said. “I don’t have it. I lost the stupid card.”

  Byron’s fiery eyes locked on Matt. “Oh, really?” He grabbed Matt again — wrapped his paws around Matt’s waist and lifted him off the floor.

  “Let’s see if you lost it,” Byron rasped. “I hope you’re not lying to me, Matty Boy.”

  “You heard me!” Matt shouted. But his voice trembled. “I lost it! Really!”

  “Let’s see what falls out of your pockets,” Byron said. Then he flipped Matt sideways like he was a baton and twirled him.

  “Hey —” Matt let out a sharp groan.

  Byron held him by the ankles. And started to shake him up and down.

  Matt’s face turned red. His eyes bulged.

  Byron shook him harder, shook him as if he were trying to get salt out of a saltshaker.

  “Let’s see what you’ve got, boy,” Byron said. “Let’s see what tumbles out of those jeans pockets.” He shook Matt harder.

  “Ohhhhh …” Matt uttered a long, low moan.

  “Let go of him!” Carly Beth cried. “Stop it!” She grabbed Byron’s thick paw and tried to pull it off Matt. She wasn’t strong enough to budge him.

  Michael and Boone dove at Byron. They grabbed him around the waist and tried to wrestle him down.

  But Byron gave one hard shake of his body — and both boys went flying to the floor.

  Matt groaned again. His voice vibrated as Byron shook him even harder.

  Matt shut his eyes.

  “Where is it? Where is it?” Byron demanded. “I can shake your brains loose, boy. This isn’t a joke. Where IS that card?”

  Carly Beth leaned down to Matt. “Give it to him!” she screeched. “Matt — listen to me! Please! Give him the card! Make him stop!”

  Matt’s face was tomato red. His eyes were shut. His tongue flapped out of his mouth.

  Byron shook him, shook him harder.

  Panic tightened my throat. “Stop it! Stop it!” I choked out. “Stop it!”

  The big Horror slammed Matt’s head into the floor.

  Matt’s eyes rolled up into his head.

  Ignoring our cries, Byron shook him some more.

  “Whoooooah.” Matt let out a long groan. He opened his eyes. “Okay.” His voice came out in a whisper. “Okay. Okay. You win.”

  Byron gave him one last shake. Then he set him down on his back and let go of Matt’s ankles.

  Matt lay sprawled on the floor for a long moment. Finally, he stretched his arms, then his back. He raised his head slowly, blinking hard.

  “So dizzy …” he murmured. He pressed both hands to his forehead. “Ow. What a headache.”

  Abby and Julie dropped beside him. “Can you stand up?” Julie asked.

  “Stop stalling,” Byron snapped. He gave Matt a kick in the ankle. “Move it.”

  The two girls helped pull Matt to his feet. Matt’s eyes were still rolling in his head. He leaned on Abby as he reached into his jeans pocket.

  “Okay. Here,” he said. He pulled the gray card from his pocket.

  Byron snatched it from his hand. He ripped it into two pieces and tossed the pieces to the floor.

  He grinned at Matt. “Man, you gave up easy!” he said. “I thought you’d put up a better fight than that! Ever think of changing your name to Wimp?”

  Matt rubbed his head. “Give me a break,” he muttered angrily.

  Byron laughed. “You guys will have to be tougher than that if you plan to survive Panic Park!”

  Chuckling to himself, he stomped out of the room and slammed the door hard behind him.

  Matt staggered to one of the long benches and sat down, rubbing his head some more. The rest of us gathered in front of him.

  “Do you believe that guy?” Matt muttered. “I’d like to shake him … make his fur fly!”

  Billy Deep moved beside me. I could barely see him. His body was made of smoke. It billowed as he moved. His eyes peered out from the shadow.

  “I don’t feel so well,” he told his sister, Sheena. His voice sounded soft and far away. “I feel so … cold, Sheena. I can’t feel my hands or my feet.”

  “We’ll get you back to normal,” Sheena told him. She looked away. “I hope.”

  “We made a terrible mistake,” Julie said, tugging at the ends of her hair. “We were so desperate … so desperate to escape HorrorLand and get to Panic Park. But it was all just a trap.”

  Michael stepped up beside Matt’s bench and turned to face us. His expression was angry. He was breathing hard.

  “Okay, okay. Now we know about Jillian and Jackson,” he said. “And Byron. Who ELSE is a spy for The Menace?”

  His eyes moved slowly from face to face. “We trusted those three,” he said, “and they were traitors. Who else is a traitor? Who else is working for The Menace?”

  He raised a fist. “Who else?”

  Then he stepped up to me and bumped me back with his chest. “Who else is a spy?” he shouted angrily.

  “Michael, stop —” I pleaded.

  He bumped me again with his chest, forcing me back. “Who else? Who else, Lizzy? How about you and your brother? How about it? How about it?”

  “No. Please —” I choked out.

  Michael bumped me again.

  “Leave her alone!” Luke shouted. “We’re not spies!”

  Michael spun around and leaned over Luke. “We don’t know you,” he shouted. “You’re not Special Guests. You arrived just in time to follow us to Panic Park.”

  Boone stepped up beside Michael. He scowled at me. “Michael is right. Why are you an
d your brother here? You’re working for The Menace — aren’t you!”

  “You’re WRONG!” I screamed. I shoved Michael back. “You’re wrong about Luke and me. We’re the ones who tried to warn you — remember?”

  They stared at me. Michael lowered his fists.

  “I tried to warn you about Panic Park,” I said. “I said we should all stay in HorrorLand. But then Jillian pretended to read my mind. Remember? She said I was lying.”

  Luke chimed in: “Now we all know who was lying. It was Jillian. So leave my sister alone.”

  Michael angrily gazed around the room. “Who else is a spy? Who else is a traitor?”

  Carly Beth grabbed him by the shoulders. “Michael, listen to me,” she said softly, calmly. “We’re in terrible danger. We have to trust each other.”

  “She’s right,” her friend Sabrina said. “We can’t stand here arguing and turning on each other. We have to get out of here!”

  Michael grumbled to himself. Then he let out a sigh and dropped beside Matt on the bench.

  “We’re in a horrible jam,” Carly Beth said. “If we survive The Menace’s scares, he wins. Panic Park returns to the real world. Imagine the terrible things he could do then!”

  “But what choice do we have?” Robby asked. “NOT to survive?”

  “If we survive, we help him,” I said. “And if we don’t survive … we’re DEAD.”

  “There’s one more choice,” Matt said. “We get OUT of here.”

  He jumped to his feet. “If we escape Panic Park, The Menace loses!” he said. He pointed to the Fear Meter against the wall. “If we can get ourselves back to HorrorLand before that meter hits one hundred, The Menace loses big-time. His park is stuck here in 1974.”

  “But how?” Sheena asked in a trembling voice. “How can we escape? Look at my brother. Billy is a shadow. If The Menace can do something like that to us, how can we ever hope to escape?”

  “Matt is totally right,” Michael said, jumping up. “So The Menace is powerful. And evil. And crazy. That doesn’t mean we just sit here and wait for him to terrify us. We’ve got to ACT!”

  Matt bolted toward the door. “Let’s go.”