Streets of Panic Park Read online

  A gray neon sign flickered over the glass door. The sign read: SHAKE SHACK.

  The shadow people forced us inside. The door slammed shut behind us.

  I gazed around. The walls were covered with large posters of hamburgers and milk shakes in tall glasses.

  Beneath his red mask, Dr. Maniac had a wide grin on his face. “Everyone here?” he shouted. “Okay. Enjoy your shakes!”

  He moved to a lever near the door and pulled it down.

  I heard a low hum. The hum grew louder.

  “Hey!” I felt the floor lift up. No — wait. The whole restaurant was rising.

  Kids cried out as the walls started to vibrate. The floor shook — gently at first, then harder.

  The diner tilted hard to the left. Kids stumbled to the wall. Michael and Julie fell to the floor. I struggled to keep my balance.

  But the room rocked the other way. And then the whole diner started to shake.

  I screamed and tried to grab on to Luke. But we both fell to the floor.

  Before we could scramble up, the room tilted sharply — and we tumbled into the wall.

  I let out a cry as my arm smashed against the solid plaster. Pain shot up my arm … my neck.

  Kids were shrieking and crying out as the room shook harder.

  “It’s … like an EARTHQUAKE!” Sabrina cried. She grabbed my shoulder. We tried to balance. But another jolt sent us crashing into Matt and Boone.

  I turned and saw Dr. Maniac floating calmly above the rattling, vibrating floor. “Nothing like a good SHAKE!” he exclaimed. Then he laughed his ugly, shrill laugh.

  “Owwww!” I let out another cry as Michael stumbled into me. We both slammed against the wall.

  “I think I broke my arm!” someone wailed.

  “Stop! I’m so … dizzy!” Julie yelled.

  Another hard jolt — up, then down — and we bounced like rubber balls on the floor.

  My stomach lurched. I felt sick.

  I pressed my hand over my mouth. Tried to force my stomach to stop heaving. And my head slammed against the wall again.

  I dropped to my knees. My knees bounced hard on the quaking floor.

  “STOP it!”

  “PLEASE! STOP!”

  “That’s the way the ball BOUNCES!” Maniac cried. Then he tossed back his head and giggled at the trembling ceiling.

  “NOOOOO!” Boone screamed as his head rammed into the wall. He bounced on the floor, eyes shut in pain, holding his head.

  Shaking against the wall, Abby’s knees buckled. She leaned over the floor and puked loudly.

  I staggered from side to side. Looking up, I saw Maniac’s eyes on me.

  “OH!” I felt a jolt from his hard stare.

  And I went flying backward. My head smacked the counter. Pain shot down my body.

  I saw stars. I actually saw stars.

  And then everything faded to black.

  “Lizzy — wake up. Wake up.”

  I heard Luke’s voice. It sounded very far away.

  Slowly, I opened my eyes, groaning from the pain. Luke was on his knees beside me. His hands were on my shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  “I … I guess.” My voice came out in a hoarse whisper.

  I sat up. Slowly, the room came back into focus. The shaking had stopped.

  Kids were sprawled everywhere. They looked dazed, in pain. Boone still had his hands pressed against the top of his head. Matt stood doubled over against the counter.

  Carly Beth and Billy hovered close together in the middle of the room. Still shadows, they had faded to a pale gray, like smoke from a dying campfire.

  Julie and Abby had their backs against the lunch counter. Both girls were trembling hard. Their knees quivered. Their arms were shaking. I could hear their teeth chattering.

  “I … I can’t stop … sh-shaking!” Julie stammered.

  They both hugged themselves tightly. But their whole bodies trembled as if the room was still going crazy.

  Dr. Maniac laughed at them. “That’s a really BAD case of the shakes!” he cried. His grin faded. “Don’t worry, girls. If you DIE, you’ll probably stop shaking after a few weeks in the grave!”

  Abby moaned. “I … I … I …” She was trembling too hard to talk.

  Maniac laughed again.

  Robby climbed unsteadily to his feet. He held his arms out, trying to balance. He stumbled toward Dr. Maniac.

  “I created you!” Robby shouted angrily. “I drew you in my comic strip. And I know how to destroy you!”

  Dr. Maniac raised a long gloved finger and picked his nose with it. “That’s what I think of your threat.”

  “Help us get out of here,” Robby said. “Help us — and I’ll let you live!”

  Maniac picked his nose some more, his eyes on Robby. “Think you’re a big-deal comic-book artist?” he said, sneering. He moved behind the lunch counter. “I’m an artist, too, Robby Boy. Watch this.”

  He pulled up a large paintbrush. He carried it over to Robby. “I like to work with a brush,” he said. “Just like you. Watch an artist at work!”

  He swept the brush over Robby’s face — and Robby’s face disappeared.

  I gasped as the Maniac smoothed the brush over Robby’s neck. Down the front of his chest.

  With each stroke, part of Robby vanished!

  In a few seconds, the supervillain had brushed Robby away.

  “How do you like my brushwork?” Dr. Maniac bellowed. “You taught me everything I know! HAHAHAHA!”

  I stared in horrified silence. Stared at the spot where Robby had stood.

  I couldn’t hold myself in. I screamed, “Robby — are you there? Are you still there?”

  And then I turned to the grinning Maniac — and cried, “What have you DONE to him?”

  Dr. Maniac didn’t answer me. He stood there waving his paintbrush in the air. “Would anyone else like me to do their portrait?” he cried. He was staring right at me.

  The room grew silent.

  Maniac dropped the brush to the floor. He walked to the lunch counter. He bent over and pulled something out from behind it.

  A Fear Meter.

  My breath caught in my throat. The red line had risen to 75.

  Maniac gazed at the screen. “Very good,” he muttered. “Good work, guys.”

  He turned to us. “Lots of fear here in my little diner. I guess I’ve done my job well. Bye-bye, everyone!”

  He tossed his cape behind him and hurried out the door.

  “Robby? Are you still here?” I tried again.

  “Can’t you see me?” Robby’s voice sounded tinny, far away. “I’m here. Can’t you see me?”

  Then he let out a moan of horror. “Ohhhhhh. My hands. I can’t see my hands. I …”

  We stared in silence at the spot where the voice came from.

  Robby wailed at the top of his voice. “What did he DO to me? I can’t see myself! What did he DO to me?”

  “We can hear you,” I told Robby. “You’re still here. But you’re invisible. We’ll get you back. I know we will.”

  Carly Beth and Billy floated around the spot where Robby stood. Their shadowy faces couldn’t hide their fear.

  “Look at us!” Matt cried. He waved his arm around the room. “Look what The Menace has done to us!”

  I followed Matt’s gaze. Robby was invisible. Carly Beth and Billy were shades. Julie and Abby hugged themselves, unable to stop trembling.

  Boone shook his head. “I know we’re all trying to be brave and tough it out,” he said. “But … maybe we WON’T survive. Maybe we’re not going to make it.”

  “We have to survive,” I said. “The Menace needs to keep us alive — right?”

  “She’s right,” Sabrina agreed. “The Menace wants us to hit one hundred on the Fear Meter. So he has to keep us alive. As long as we haven’t reached one hundred yet, he has no choice. He has to keep us alive.”

  “Some of us,” Robby muttered.

  “Robby, stop talking like that
. We can’t give up,” Carly Beth said. “Our only chance is to get out of Panic Park.”

  Matt helped Abby and Julie to their feet. They could barely stand, their legs were wobbling so hard. Their teeth chattered. Hugging themselves, they took a few shaky steps.

  We made our way out of the Shake Shack. In the park, the sky was solid gray as always. The shadow people had disappeared. I didn’t see anyone around.

  We started walking, keeping close together. We passed more empty shops … all dark and silent … a game room … a small park with withered, bare trees.

  Michael led the way. He stopped and pointed. “Another white building,” he said. He turned to Britney and Molly. “Could that be the one you escaped from?”

  The girls shook their heads. “Maybe.”

  We walked closer. The building had a stained glass window, all shades of gray and black. The door was shaped like an arch.

  “It looks like a church or something,” Luke said. “But that can’t be right.”

  A sign on the wall beside the door read: WHAT A SHAME.

  We stared at it, shaking our heads. What could that mean?

  Only one way to find out.

  We stepped through the arch into the open doorway. We were in another long, narrow room. Rows of wooden seats filled the center. Candles along both sides provided the only light.

  I heard solemn organ music from the far wall. It sounded like funeral music. The deep notes made the walls vibrate.

  “It is some kind of chapel,” I whispered to Luke. “Weird.”

  We stepped in farther to examine the walls. They were covered with photographs. The photos were all of kids about our age.

  Row after row of small framed photographs. Under each photo, a little tag had the kid’s name.

  I read the names as I moved deeper into the chapel. April Smith … Travis Newton … Carlos Garcia …

  And under each name, I saw the letters FTD.

  “Wow,” Luke muttered from beside me. “None of these kids look too happy.”

  “Why are their pictures on the wall?” I asked. “And what does FTD stand for?”

  Suddenly, Sabrina gasped. The sound echoed through the narrow chapel.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  She was staring at a silver plaque on the wall next to a row of kids’ photos.

  “Sabrina — what’s wrong?”

  She pressed a hand to her mouth as she read the plaque. Then she turned to us.

  “I … I see what FTD stands for,” she stammered. “It isn’t good.”

  Sabrina pointed to a little tag beside one of the unhappy-looking kids’ pictures.

  I gasped when I read the tag. “FTD stands for Frightened To Death,” I said.

  Kids uttered shocked cries.

  I felt the metal bracelet on my wrist tingle and grow warm. It meant my Fear Level was rising. But what could I do? The sad faces on the wall gazed out at me.

  “You mean —?” Sheena started.

  I waved to the wall of photos. “None of these kids survived The Menace,” I said. “Look at the little sign beneath this photo. It says the kids all died when the Fear Meter hit one hundred. They couldn’t survive the fear.”

  Huddled close beside me, Luke sighed. “What makes us think we stand a chance?” he demanded.

  “Stop it!” Carly Beth cried. She slid up to Luke. “Stop talking like that. Do you think I want to stay a shadow forever?”

  Luke jumped back, surprised by her anger.

  “We’re going to survive — even if it hits one hundred,” Carly Beth said. “And we’re going back home. And we’re all returning to normal.”

  “She … she’s right,” Julie agreed. She was trembling so much it made her voice shake. “We’ve all had scary times be-before. And we … we won. We can d-do it again.”

  “Let’s go,” Matt said. He started to the door. “We’re not going to get anywhere staring at these photos.”

  We followed him back outside. The air had grown cooler. The sky was a dark charcoal gray. A flock of blackbirds flew overhead, chattering loudly.

  Matt and Michael trotted up beside Britney and Molly.

  “Are you sure you can’t remember where that building was?” Matt asked them.

  “Can’t you remember anything else about how you returned to HorrorLand?” Michael demanded.

  And then I heard Robby’s voice, close by me. “Think hard,” he pleaded. “You both came to the arcade. You were going to bring me back with you to Panic Park….”

  The two girls shut their eyes, thinking hard.

  “It’s all a fog,” Britney said finally.

  “I remember the white building,” Molly said. “I remember we walked inside. And then …” She shook her head. “I’m so sorry. It’s all a blank.”

  “Hey, wait!” Sheena cried. “I don’t believe it!”

  I followed her gaze. She was staring at a tiny building across the path.

  It looked familiar. And then I saw the sign over the entrance: HALL OF MIRRORS.

  Some kids gasped. Some cheered.

  “Yes!” Boone cried, pumping his fists in the air. “That’s how we got here! The mirrors will take us back!”

  We didn’t hesitate. We all started running.

  The doors were closed. Was the building locked?

  Boone got there first. He spread his hands over the doors and pulled them apart. They slid open easily.

  We piled into the long, narrow room. Dark mirrors on both sides.

  My heart thudded in my chest as I stared at a long row of my reflections.

  “Okay, everyone!” Matt cried. “Into the mirrors!”

  I glanced at my brother. He had a frightened look on his face. But he flashed me a thumbs-up.

  I took a deep breath — and leaped into the glass.

  “OWWWW!”

  My head smacked hard. My hands slapped the mirror.

  The glass was solid.

  In the long row of mirrors, I saw kids tumble back, surprised and disappointed.

  The room rang out with groans and unhappy cries.

  “Well, that went well!” Matt tried to make a joke.

  But we were all too disappointed to laugh. We stood there, gazing at our dark reflections.

  “Oh, no!” I uttered a cry as I heard the doors slam shut.

  The long, narrow room grew darker.

  Matt and Boone rushed to the door. I watched them struggle to slide it open.

  “We’re … locked in!” Boone cried. “Someone locked us in. We’re trapped in here!”

  I felt my bracelet tingle and vibrate.

  Lizzy, be calm, I told myself. Be calm.

  But how could I?

  My frightened face stared out at me from the mirrors.

  And then … my face disappeared.

  Kids cried out as their faces vanished. The mirrors went black.

  “Oh, no,” I moaned. I stared at the ugly green mask that popped into the mirror. It looked like one of the masks Carly Beth had battled in the maze.

  It rose up in one mirror, then another … then another. Until the hideous mask stared out at us all down the row.

  Its rubbery lips bobbed up and down as if it were speaking to us.

  And then Captain Ben, the one-legged pirate captain, appeared behind the mask. The pirate’s evil face grew larger as the mask faded back. He stared out from every mirror, uttering a crooked-toothed laugh.

  I screamed as an enormous snake rose up … so close … so close it appeared ready to leap from the glass. It raised its head and opened its mouth. Snapped its jaws, once. Twice. A hiss escaped its open mouth, the sound pouring like steam through the tiny room.

  “Dr. Crawler!” Boone shouted. “I thought he was poisoned. He’s still ALIVE!”

  Boone pounded the glass. But the gigantic snake didn’t fade away. It shot its head toward us, letting out another frightening hiss.

  Then a decaying mummy staggered forward in front of us. Its wrappings were stained and
peeling. Haunted eyes peered out from deep in its ragged head.

  The mummy reached its arms out stiffly. Grabbing … grabbing … Trying to escape from behind the glass.

  I saw Abby stagger back. “N-no! Please!” she cried.

  But there was nowhere to escape it. The mummy filled the mirrors in front of us and behind us.

  “It’s all our old enemies!” Carly Beth cried. “They’re all here! All working for The Menace! All here to frighten us!”

  My bracelet. Pain seared up and down my arm as the metal burned into my wrist. The Fear Meter rose in all the mirrors. And they all showed the red line bouncing over 80. Creeping higher … higher …

  “We have to get OUT of here!” Matt shouted.

  He tried the doors again. They wouldn’t slide open. He lowered his shoulder and heaved himself at them.

  No. No way.

  I turned back to the mirrors — and saw an evil-looking ventriloquist dummy loom up in all of them. His wooden hair stood up in a tall wave. His eyes darted wildly from side to side. He had a leering grin on his face. His jaw made a clicking sound as it moved up and down.

  “Slappy!” Britney and Molly screamed at once.

  “That’s MISTER Slappy to you!” he screeched.

  He could hear us!

  His evil face filled the mirrors. He turned his eyes on Michael. “Kid, I’ve got one word of advice for you. DEODORANT.” He laughed a tinny laugh.

  Then his eyes landed on Matt. “Do you know how to tell your face from your butt? No? Neither do I! HAHAHAHA!”

  “You’re not funny!” Britney screamed. “What do you want? Why did you follow us here?”

  Slappy’s mouth clicked open. He leaned forward, peering out at Britney with that evil grin. “Britney, I think you’re pretty — pretty ugly! Ha-ha. I love your nose. Do you open bottle caps with it? Ha-ha.”

  His eyes darted from side to side. “And where is Robby? Invisible? Ha-ha. Robby, you never looked better! Maybe you should all make this a more beautiful world — and DISAPPEAR!”

  I stared at the dummy’s reflections, my mind spinning. Why was he doing this? Was he just going to make bad jokes?

  “You’re all going to disappear like Robby!” Slappy cried in his raspy voice. “Your Fear Level is almost to one hundred. That means The Menace and all of us good guys will be returning to earth.”