Escape from HorrorLand Read online

  “This is a waste of time,” Robby said.

  “Give it a chance,” Matt said, paddling hard. “We don’t know how long this tunnel is. The others could still be lost in here.”

  “That’s stupid,” Robby snapped.

  Matt stopped paddling. “Who are you calling stupid?” he shouted.

  The canoes bobbed side by side.

  “Don’t start arguing,” Jillian said.

  “Shut up!” Matt screamed at her.

  “YOU shut up!” Jillian cried. “What’s your problem, Fat Face?”

  “Don’t call us names, Dirt Breath!” Robby shouted at Jillian.

  Suddenly, Billy took a swing at Matt. Matt ducked, and Billy nearly toppled over the side of the canoe.

  “Stupid jerk!”

  “You want a piece of me?” Matt screamed. He punched Billy hard in the chest. Billy groaned and slumped to the canoe seat.

  Everyone started screaming at once.

  Luke turned to me angrily and shook his fist. “This is all your fault, Lizzy. I never wanted to come here.”

  “My fault?” I cried. “You little mouse-faced wimp!”

  Luke grabbed at me. The canoe rocked hard to one side.

  “Stop it! Stop it!” Carly Beth screamed. She turned to Julie. “Stop shoving me, you big baby.”

  “I’M a baby?!” Julie shrieked. “You idiot! YOU’RE a big baby — and a scaredy-cat. You think you’re so cute because you look like a little elf. But you’re a total CREEP!”

  “Jerk!” Carly Beth screamed at Julie. “Big Butt Face!” She gave Julie a hard shove with her elbow.

  “Stop it!” I screamed. “Stop it, you morons!”

  “I HATE you!” Luke shrieked at me. He began pounding his fists against my back. “I HATE you! I HATE you!”

  “Luke, you’re the biggest jerk here!” I shot back.

  “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” he screamed.

  “YOU shut up! YOU shut up!” I screamed back at him.

  I couldn’t help myself. I knew what was happening. The Tunnel of Hate was for real. It made people hate each other.

  I could see it happening. But I couldn’t stop it. And I could feel myself hating everyone, even my brother, Luke.

  In the other canoe, Julie grabbed Carly Beth’s hair and gave it a hard pull.

  Carly Beth uttered a cry of pain. Then she wrapped her hands around Julie’s throat and tried to choke her.

  Julie slapped Carly Beth’s hands away. Then she let out a long, shrill animal wail — “AAAAIIIIIIEEEEE!” She dove at Carly Beth, tackling her around the waist.

  Their canoe tipped to the side.

  Grunting and sobbing, Carly Beth and Julie wrestled.

  “Stop it, you stupid idiots! STOP!” I screamed.

  “Shut your ugly FACE!” Robby shouted at me.

  And then I gasped as Carly Beth and Julie went tumbling out of their canoe.

  They hit the water with a loud splash. It sent a tall wave rolling over the canoe as the two girls plunged out of sight.

  “Good riddance!” Robby cried.

  “I hate you!” Jillian screeched at Robby. “Why don’t you jump in with them?”

  “Why don’t YOU?” Robby shot back. He swiped the paddle from Jackson’s hands and swung it at Jillian’s head.

  Missed.

  I grabbed the side of the canoe and leaned over the edge. I peered down into the dark water. Waiting for Julie and Carly Beth to come splashing up to the surface.

  Waiting …

  The water so flat. So still.

  As if no one were down there.

  I squeezed the side of the canoe so hard, my hands ached. I stared down without blinking. Without breathing.

  My heart started to pound. I cupped my hands around my mouth and shouted: “Carly Beth? Julie? You stupid jerks!”

  Where were they? Where were they?

  No splashing. No air bubbles. Nothing at all.

  I let out a shuddering sob. The two girls weren’t coming back up.

  I yelled to Matt. “Listen to me, moron! Someone has to jump in!” I cried. “Someone —”

  Matt had his hands wrapped around Billy’s throat. Billy swung both fists, pounding Matt’s chest.

  Then the two canoes crashed into each other.

  Still no sign of Julie and Carly Beth.

  “Stop it, you dumb geeks! Stop it!” I screamed to the two boys.

  “Put a sock in it!” Jackson snapped at me. “Shut your stupid yap!”

  “But … but … they’re DROWNING!” I cried.

  I turned to my brother. He stared back at me, his face filled with hate. “You stink out loud,” he muttered.

  I ignored his anger. “We have to jump in, Creep Face,” I said. “We have to find those girls. Maybe it will prove to those other idiots that we’re on their side.”

  “Go take a hike,” Luke replied. He stuck his tongue out and spit at me.

  A wave of anger swept over me. I wanted to punch the little punk’s teeth down his throat.

  Instead, I grabbed his hand — tugged — and pulled him over the side of the canoe with me.

  “HEEEEEY!” He let out a fierce scream.

  We both hit the water at the same time.

  I shuddered, startled by how cold it was. Water seeped into my mouth, and I started to choke.

  Luke slapped my hand away and began thrashing his arms furiously, struggling to pull himself back up to the surface.

  But I turned and dove down, squinting into the dark waters.

  Where were they?

  The canal was narrow. Not much room to swim. But deeper than I’d thought.

  It didn’t take long to find Carly Beth and Julie. They were down at the bottom. Still wrestling. Still punching each other and pulling hair and wrestling.

  They hate each other so much, they don’t care if they DROWN, I told myself.

  My chest started to ache. I couldn’t hold my breath much longer.

  I turned and saw Luke at my side. He kept fading in and out, ghostly in the dark water.

  I motioned to him, and he followed. He grabbed Julie by the shoulders and tried to pull her away.

  I wrapped my hands around Carly Beth’s waist. And pulled.

  The girls tried to shove Luke and me away. They were furious that we were trying to break up their battle.

  But I wouldn’t let go. My chest felt about to burst. Every muscle ached.

  I pulled Carly Beth away from Julie — and rose up … up to the surface.

  We both burst over the water, sputtering and choking. I gasped in breath after breath.

  I gave Carly Beth a big push. She slumped limply into our canoe. She didn’t have any fight left in her.

  Brushing my wet hair from my eyes, I turned and helped my brother shove Julie into the other canoe. Then I grabbed his hands and tugged him into our canoe.

  I was drenched. Cold and shivering. My wet clothes clung to my body. I couldn’t catch my breath.

  I glanced up to see Matt in his canoe holding the paddle above his head. “Toss the girls back in!” he shouted to me. “Go ahead! If they want to swim, throw them back in. DO it!”

  “Matt — please,” I begged. “Sit down.”

  “Shut up!” Robby snapped. “Don’t tell Matt what to do.”

  “Yeah. Who do you think you are? A big hero?” Jillian sneered. She moved toward me. “Want to go for another swim, Lizzy?”

  “Stop it, you dumb clucks! Everyone just go die!” I cried.

  “You want a piece of me?” Matt cried again. “You’re going down, Lizzy.”

  “You whiny baby!” Jillian screamed. “You total loser!”

  “Don’t you morons see what has happened?” I cried. “The Tunnel of Hate is making us hate each other. We have to get out of here — as fast as we can.”

  Carly Beth was still slumped against the side of our canoe. She groaned. Her eyes were half shut and her arms hung lifelessly at her sides.

  In the other canoe, Juli
e stared straight ahead, dazed. She hadn’t even brushed the matted tangles of wet hair off her face.

  “Do you see? Do you see what the tunnel has done to us?” I repeated.

  “We can see, you stupid idiot!” Robby shouted.

  The canoes drifted side by side, moving slowly through the tunnel. Eerie gray lights darted under the surface of the water, like glowing minnows.

  I couldn’t stop shivering. Didn’t this ride ever end?

  Everyone was shouting angrily. Matt and Jackson were going at each other with the canoe paddles. Matt toppled backward and nearly fell into our canoe.

  Suddenly, everyone stopped. And stared in shocked silence up ahead.

  “It’s another canoe!” I whispered.

  I squinted into the inky light. A long canoe was wedged against the side of the tunnel.

  “Hey! There they are!” Carly Beth cried.

  Yes. As we drifted closer, I saw four kids turn their faces to us.

  I recognized them from my research. Sabrina, Michael, Boone, and Abby.

  And then I spotted two girls slumped in the front of the canoe. Molly and Britney!

  We all started to cheer.

  Matt and Billy waved wildly to the other boat.

  “Hey — are you okay?”

  “Dudes, what are you doing there?”

  “Are you stuck?”

  “We’ve been searching everywhere for you, you stupid idiots!”

  The kids in the boat didn’t move. They didn’t cheer or wave back.

  Finally, Britney raised her face to us — and growled like an animal.

  Molly grunted and swiped her hands at us, like she was trying to claw us.

  I could see thick drool running down Boone’s chin. He growled like an angry dog — and snapped his jaws again and again.

  “Loooook out! He bites!” Molly screeched — and started to howl.

  The others grunted and barked and snapped their jaws. They tore at their hair and acted like deranged zoo animals. Yellow snot ran out of their noses.

  “They … they’ve been in the tunnel a long time,” Billy muttered. “Too long. We should leave them behind!”

  A shiver ran down my back. As we drifted closer to them, I stared in horror at the growling, snarling kids. “They’ve turned into animals,” I murmured. “Wild beasts. Disgusting!”

  “What are we going to do with these losers?” Matt asked. “What CAN we do?”

  Our canoes drifted closer to them.

  Boone stood up in the long boat and pounded his chest like a gorilla. He was big and strong looking. His eyes were wild and his face turned red with rage. He let out a roar and pounded his chest some more.

  Michael stood up and joined him, thumping his chest and grunting like a gorilla.

  Sabrina tossed back her head and screamed, a shrill hyena scream. Then she clawed her hands at us.

  Carly Beth gasped. “Sabrina? It’s me. You idiot — I’m your best friend — remember?”

  Sabrina glared at Carly Beth. Then she lowered her head and vomited something green into the water.

  “Ohhhh, this is HORRIBLE!” Carly Beth moaned. “We’ve been friends since kindergarten! And look at her. Look at her now! She’s a loser.”

  Sabrina giggled and vomited again.

  “Watch out!” I screamed.

  I saw Michael pull his arm back — and heave the paddle at us.

  “OWWW!” Matt cried out, and grabbed his shoulder as the paddle smacked him hard and splashed into the water.

  The kids on the other boat all hooted and bounced up and down. They clawed their hands at us and snapped their jaws.

  “We have to get them out of the tunnel,” I said.

  “But how, you moron?” Carly Beth asked. “They really want to hurt us.”

  “They’re … they’re dangerous,” Luke stammered. “And you’re stupid.”

  “How can we fight them?” Robby murmured. “They’re ANIMALS.”

  Our canoes floated closer. In a few seconds, the boats would touch.

  A shrill scream echoed through the narrow tunnel. I watched in horror as Britney sank her teeth into Molly’s throat. Grunting and snapping at each other like wolves, the two girls wrestled.

  “Stop it! STOP it!” Carly Beth screamed.

  Matt’s canoe bumped the back of their boat.

  With a terrifying roar, Michael reached into the canoe and grabbed Matt around the waist, lifted him into the air, and tried to toss him into the water.

  Then my canoe bumped into the back of Matt’s canoe — and both boys toppled to their knees.

  “Stop! Stop it, you jerks!” I cried. “We’ll DROWN in here! We —”

  I choked on my words as Sabrina wrapped her hands around my throat. Her eyes bulged. Her mouth was open in a high animal cry of fury. She started to squeeze.

  Tighter …

  I couldn’t breathe. I slapped at her hands.

  Couldn’t move her. Couldn’t breathe …

  And then everything froze.

  Was I dying?

  No. I slid out from Sabrina’s grasp. She didn’t move. Her hands stayed curled in the air.

  Gasping for breath, I saw that everyone in Boone’s boat had frozen in place. No one moved. No one blinked.

  “Huh?” My heart still pounding, I turned and saw Jackson staring hard at the frozen kids.

  His eyes were locked in a steady gaze. His jaw was clenched. He concentrated hard.

  “Stop staring at me, you loser. I’m using my powers to hold them still,” he said. “Quick — pull their canoe away from the side. We’ll push them out of the tunnel.”

  That’s just what we did.

  Matt and Sheena leaned over the side and tugged Boone’s canoe free. Then we paddled hard, pushing their boat ahead of us.

  Jackson kept his gaze on the frozen kids, concentrating his powers on them. I could see that it was a struggle. Sweat poured down his forehead. He gritted his teeth so hard, his cheeks turned bright red.

  It seemed to take days. The tunnel stretched straight ahead, black except for the tiny darting lights in the water.

  No one spoke. The only sound was the splash of the paddles and the gentle lap of the water against the sides of the canoes.

  Finally, I saw a circle of gray light up ahead. The tunnel exit.

  Dark trees came into view. A couple of buildings. Our three canoes bobbed out into the light.

  Jackson got us to a wooden dock. I jumped to my feet. I couldn’t wait to get on land!

  Jackson finally shut his eyes. He let out a long sigh. The frozen kids began to move, stretching their arms, their necks.

  Boone squinted at us. I could see the confusion on his face. “What … what happened back there?” he asked.

  “Where did you guys come from?” Abby demanded, brushing her hair into place with her hands. “I didn’t see you. How did you find us?”

  They didn’t seem to remember what the tunnel had done to them.

  I knew I’d never forget it.

  I took some long, deep breaths. I could feel the hate sliding off me, fading away.

  “Sabrina, I’m so glad you’re okay,” Carly Beth said. She rushed forward to hug Sabrina. “Do you feel … normal now?”

  Sabrina nodded. “I … I guess.”

  We all scrambled onto the shore. I gazed around.

  We were standing on the edge of a large grassy circle. On the other side of the circle stood rides and other attractions. All dark. All empty.

  Behind the rides, a tall building rose up. It looked like a castle. Wisps of fog swam in front of its twin towers. The black roof slanted sharply down with small round windows along the top.

  Carly Beth and Julie stepped up to Luke and me. “Thank you,” Carly Beth said. “You know. For jumping in after us.”

  “Thank you for saving our lives,” Julie said. “It was crazy in there. We … we just lost it.”

  “Maybe we were wrong about you two,” Carly Beth said.

  That mad
e me feel good. But behind them, I saw Jillian glaring at me suspiciously.

  “I’m just glad we made it out of that tunnel,” I said.

  “But now what?” Luke demanded.

  Everyone started talking at once. I took a step back and counted. There were sixteen of us now. Sixteen kids who had traveled here from HorrorLand.

  Were we the only living people in Panic Park?

  Britney and Molly hung back, away from the others. They talked quietly to each other. They both seemed dazed. They kept blinking against the harsh gray light.

  Billy and Sheena turned to them. “You two have been in Panic Park the longest,” Billy said. “Tell us what you’ve seen.”

  Kids began peppering Britney and Molly with questions.

  “What have you been doing here?”

  “Did you try to get back to HorrorLand?”

  “Have you seen anyone else?”

  “Did you find an exit?”

  The two girls clung together. They kept blinking and shaking their heads.

  “I … don’t remember much,” Molly said. “It’s like …”

  “It’s like being in a fog or something,” Britney said.

  “I remember going through a mirror in a café,” Molly said. “And we were here in Panic Park. And we were on a ride.”

  “Yes. A carousel,” Britney said. “It had flames coming out the sides. But it didn’t burn. And … and … I remember going back to HorrorLand once.”

  “Yes. We went back,” Molly agreed. “We saw Robby. Playing a game in the arcade.”

  “How?” Robby demanded. “How did you get back there?”

  “Tell us!” Matt stepped up beside Robby. “Tell us how you got back to HorrorLand. We need to know. We need to get out of Panic Park.”

  The girls stared blankly at us.

  “I don’t remember,” Britney said. Her chin trembled. “I feel so weird. Like my brain is in a cloud or something.”

  Molly shook her head. “I don’t remember, either. I feel like I’m sleepwalking. Or not really awake.”

  Then I saw the park guide. Matt had folded it up and stuffed it into the back pocket of his jeans.

  “Matt — the guide,” I said, pointing. “It will show us an exit.”

  He pulled the booklet from his pocket and opened it. The park map fell out with it.

  I picked it up and started to unfold it. But I stopped when I saw a flash of color.