The Evil Lives! Read online

  Amanda glanced over at Natalie and saw Victoria put an arm around her shoulders. Natalie sat stiffly, with her eyes squeezed shut.

  “Still, Luke loved basketball,” the principal continued. “Being a Tiger was an important part of his life. And that’s why we decided to honor him by dedicating tonight’s game to him. We know the Tigers will play their best, but they need our support. Let’s give it to them, the way Luke would have wanted.”

  The principal stepped down and everyone clapped. Another drumroll sounded and the cheerleaders ran out to begin their second routine.

  “Okay everybody, let’s do it!” Amanda cried. “Let’s make it perfect!”

  “Tigers on the loose,

  Tigers on the prowl,

  You better run for cover

  When you hear the Tigers growl!”

  In perfect formation, the cheerleaders did back handsprings, landed on their feet, and cartwheeled forward.

  The routine ended with all the cheerleaders in splits, arms high above their heads. Breathless, Amanda smiled up at the crowd. It went great, she thought. Better than ever.

  Then she noticed the silence. No clapping or cheering. No whistling.

  What’s going on?

  Suddenly, screams of horror echoed through the huge gym.

  Amanda hopped to her feet, confused and frightened. What was happening?

  Amanda gazed up at the stands. Kids were on their feet, shrieking, pointing down at the cheerleaders.

  Amanda turned quickly to the rest of the squad. All of them were on their feet.

  All except Natalie.

  Natalie sat where she’d landed, in a split.

  “Natalie—?” Amanda cried. Then she gasped.

  Over the cries of the crowd, Amanda heard a loud crack, crack.

  Natalie’s arms flew up above her head—and snapped back.

  Her elbows—Amanda realized to her horror—her elbows were bending the wrong wayl

  And then with two more loud cracks, Natalie’s arms broke off and dropped to the floor.

  “Ohhh!” people moaned and cried out.

  Amanda uttered a sickened cry—as Natalie’s face split apart. The skin opened and her skull began to crack.

  Crack . . . Crack . . .

  Crack. . . .

  Chapter 15

  THE NEXT VICTIM

  Such an eerie silence.

  Everyone gaped, sick with horror as a bright red lake of blood pooled around Natalie.

  Then the screaming broke out again. A white-faced Ms. Oakley shouted into the microphone, ordering everyone to stay calm and file out through the far doors.

  No one paid attention. Screams drowned out the principal’s voice as the kids began scrambling down from the bleachers. Gagging and crying, they stampeded across the floor in every direction, desperate to get out of the gym.

  Amanda wanted to run, too, but she couldn’t make herself move. She stood frozen with shock as the hysterical crowd swarmed around her.

  “Amanda!” Victoria shrieked. She clamped her hands on Amanda’s shoulders and clung to her. Tears ran down her face and her teeth chattered so hard she could barely speak. “First Luke and now poor Natalie. It’s so horrible! What is going on?”

  “I don’t know.” Amanda put her arms around the taller cheerleader and began walking her toward one of the doors. “Come on, Vicki, let’s go home. We can’t . . .” She paused, swallowing hard. “. . . We can’t help Natalie now.”

  Victoria sobbed as she and Amanda pushed their way through the hysterical crowd. Out of the corner of her eye, Amanda spotted Keesha.

  The tiny cheerleader sat slumped on one of the benches, her eyes squeezed shut. Her shoulders shook as she cried. Andrew sat beside her, holding her tightly.

  The rest of the basketball team had scattered, lost in the churning, hysterical mass of people struggling to get out.

  When Amanda and Victoria had pushed halfway across the floor, Amanda caught sight of Janine. She stopped suddenly, confused and frightened by the expression on her best friend’s face.

  Janine stood still, staring at the spot where Natalie lay. The crowd surged around her, bumping and shoving, but Janine didn’t move.

  The look in her eyes gave Amanda a chill. No tears. No terror.

  She seems so calm, Amanda thought.

  Almost cold.

  How can Janine look like that? Is she in shock? Or is it something else?

  “Why are you stopping?” Victoria cried. “We’ll be trampled if we don’t keep going.”

  “You go ahead,” Amanda told her.

  “But . . .”

  “Go on, Vicki.” Amanda gave her a little push. “I’ll be out soon.”

  As Victoria let the rush of people carry her away, Amanda turned back to Janine.

  Janine hadn’t moved.

  Coach Davis fought his way through the crowd and covered Natalie with a large piece of canvas.

  Janine watched, still perfectly calm.

  She has to be in shock, Amanda told herself. That’s what it is. She’s just in shock because of Natalie’s death. Not everyone cries and screams when something terrible happens. Everybody reacts differently.

  But as she gazed at her friend, she couldn’t stop the frightening thoughts that swirled through her mind.

  Luke got the starting position. Then he died.

  And Brandon took his place.

  Natalie threatened to tell the principal about calling up the evil spirit.

  Now she was dead. Her skull cracked in half while the whole school looked on.

  Before she could talk to the principal.

  Amanda’s pulse pounded in her ears as she stared at Janine.

  Both deaths helped her, she realized. And there was no way Janine could have killed Luke and Natalie—they both died too horribly.

  But an evil spirit could have killed them. An evil spirit living inside Janine’s body.

  Could this be true? Amanda wondered. Is the Evil inside Janine, not Judd?

  Amanda felt herself begin to shake. Did we really call up the Evil? If we did, is it just going to keep killing and killing?

  And who will be next?

  I don’t know for sure if the Evil is really here, Amanda reminded herself. I can’t just accuse Janine of being possessed. Not yet. I have to find out if it’s true.

  But how do I find out?

  And what if it is true?

  As if she suddenly felt Amanda’s eyes on her, Janine turned and stared at her.

  Amanda’s mouth went dry. Her heart raced even faster. Why is she looking at me like that?

  Does she know what I’ve been thinking? Am I the next one to die?

  Eyeing Amanda steadily, Janine began to walk toward her.

  The crowd had thinned some, but the gym still hadn’t emptied. Ignoring the kids who nudged and bumped her, Janine kept coming toward Amanda.

  Amanda couldn’t make herself move.

  Am I next? she wondered.

  Am I next?

  Chapter 16

  BIG SURPRISE IN THE CEMETERY

  “Come on.” Without waiting for Amanda to say anything, Janine pulled her toward the locker-room doors.

  As they left the gym and entered the quiet, empty locker room, an image of Bobbi Corcoran flashed into Amanda’s mind.

  Scalded. Blistered.

  Dead on the shower-room floor.

  Amanda eyed the shower door warily, then snapped her attention back to Janine.

  Janine paced the narrow passage between the bench and the lockers, clenching and unclenching her fists.

  She’s my best friend, Amanda told herself. She won’t hurt me.

  But what if the Evil is inside her?

  Janine finally stopped pacing and spun around to face Amanda.

  Amanda stayed close to the door, ready to run if she had to. “What is it?” she asked. “Why did you drag me in here?”

  “The Evil,” Janine announced.

  Amanda licked her dry lips. “What . .
. what about it?”

  “I read Corky Corcoran’s letter again,” Janine went on. “And I’m scared, Amanda. Scared stiff!”

  Was that the expression on her face before? Amanda wondered. Fear? Fear so strong she couldn’t scream or cry?

  “I know we were just kidding around when we called up the Evil. But what if it worked?” Janine asked. “Corky said her friends died in horrible ways—just like Luke and Natalie. Maybe we brought the Evil back!”

  Amanda sagged against the wall, feeling relieved. Janine wouldn’t talk like this if the Evil possessed her, would she? “I’ve been wondering the same thing,” she admitted.

  “You have? Thank goodness!” Janine closed her eyes and sighed in relief. “I was afraid to tell anyone. Afraid they’d think I’m crazy.”

  “Then we’re both crazy,” Amanda told her. “Because I can’t stop thinking about it.”

  “Me either!” Janine cried. “When Luke died, I tried to tell myself it was just a horrible accident. Like maybe his brain went haywire or something and he couldn’t stop himself from running straight into the bleachers.”

  “But you don’t think so anymore?”

  Janine shook her head. “I’m not sure. But I kept thinking about Corky’s letter. And the Evil. And after what just happened to Natalie, I’m terrified. What if the Evil did come back—and it’s inside one of us?”

  Amanda shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “What if it’s true?” she whispered, almost afraid to say it any louder. “What could we do?”

  “Corky’s letter,” Janine declared. “It said the only way to kill the Evil is to drown it, remember? The possessed person must drown for the Evil to die!”

  We don’t know who is possessed, Amanda thought. And even if we did, could we really drown someone?

  “I’m scared, Amanda,” Janine repeated. “I’m so scared.”

  Amanda clutched her arms and forced herself to stop shaking. “We can’t get hysterical yet,” she said. “We aren’t sure about anything. First we need to know if we really brought back the Evil.”

  “How?”

  Amanda thought a second. “Remember what Corky wrote about that bus that crashed? And that girl—Jennifer—who fell onto Sarah Fear’s grave?” Amanda asked. “I think we need to go there, to the Fear Street Cemetery.”

  Janine’s eyes widened. “That creepy place? Why?”

  “That’s where it all started,” Amanda replied. “Corky said the Evil came from Sarah Fear’s grave. We have to go there. We have to see if the grave has been disturbed.”

  Janine nodded reluctantly. “You’re right. When should we do it?”

  “Now,” Amanda declared. “Let’s go now, before we chicken out.”

  Amanda quickly changed out of her uniform, then grabbed her jacket, and hurried out of the locker room with Janine.

  The gym had emptied out now. Natalie’s body was gone. Amanda glanced at the spot where it had fallen.

  The wood was stained a rusty brown color. Stained with blood, Amanda thought.

  She glanced away and followed Janine to her car in the student parking lot. They passed a few police officers who were on their way into the school.

  “It’s starting to get dark,” Janine murmured as she drove down Park Drive. “Are you sure you want to do this now?”

  “No,” Amanda admitted. “But if we wait, I might never do it. Let’s get it over with.”

  “Right.” Janine turned onto Fear Street and drove several blocks until she reached the Fear Street Cemetery.

  Amanda took the flashlight from the glove compartment and climbed out of the car. She turned on the light and gazed over the low stone wall into the graveyard.

  Away from the street, up on a hill, were the neat, even rows of tombstones in the new section of the cemetery. In the spring and summer, the grass would be green and clipped, Amanda thought. Flower beds would bloom with color.

  She shifted her gaze lower, to the old section. The crumbling gravestones tilted and sagged, as if the earth were trying to drag them down. Weeds and brambles grew wild. Branches torn from trees lay scattered across the graves like dark, twisted bones.

  A cold wind gusted down the street. Amanda pulled up the hood of her sweatshirt. “Come on,” she murmured. “Let’s do this fast and get out of here.”

  “Real fast,” Janine agreed, her teeth chattering.

  Mud mixed with snow had turned the narrow path into a swampy mess. Amanda walked slowly, shining the flashlight beam over the old gravestones. Age and weather had worn the names and dates from some of them.

  Amanda’s breath steamed in the chilly air as she stepped through the muck under her feet. The wind made her eyes tear. Every time a branch creaked, her heart leaped with fear.

  Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea, she told herself. I’m cold and I’m scared, and I don’t even know what I’m looking for. What can Sarah Fear’s grave tell me, anyway?

  Behind her, Janine gasped.

  Amanda spun around. “What? What?”

  “I thought I heard something,” Janine whispered. “Listen.”

  Amanda held her breath. Bare branches creaked in a light wind. Dead leaves rustled as they scattered over the gravestones. Amanda’s heartbeat thudded in her chest.

  Janine shrugged. “I guess I’m freaked.”

  “You’re not the only one,” Amanda admitted. “Five minutes, okay? If we don’t find it by then, we’ll get out of here.”

  Janine nodded.

  Amanda turned around and walked a few more feet. The flashlight picked out a small grouping of headstones on her right. Four of them were worn so badly she couldn’t make out the names.

  But she could read the fifth one clearly, SARAH FEAR: 1875–1899.

  “Janine!” she called. “I found . . .” She broke off, staring in shock as the flashlight beam dipped down to the bottom of the stone.

  The grave was open!

  Mounds of dirt were heaped on either side of it. But not neatly. Not as if it had been dug with shovels.

  It’s like something burst up from the earth, Amanda thought.

  Amanda’s hand shook.

  The flashlight beam wavered, creating weird shadows. Beside her, Janine gasped. “Look! Look in the grave!”

  Clutching the flashlight with both hands, Amanda aimed the beam into the dark, gaping hole.

  A wooden coffin lay deep in the muddy earth. Rotting. Worm-eaten.

  Open.

  And empty.

  Chapter 17

  A NASTY FALL

  Amanda stared down, terrified. How could this happen? How could the grave be empty? It was impossible, unless . . .

  Janine clutched Amanda’s arm. “Listen!” she whispered. “Somebody’s coming!”

  Amanda didn’t need to hold her breath to hear the sound. A snapping twig. A soft thump. Another snap.

  Footsteps.

  Another twig snapped. Another footfall squished on the muddy path.

  It can’t be true, Amanda thought.

  But the grave is open. The coffin is empty.

  “It’s the Evil!” Janine repeated, tugging frantically at Amanda’s arm. “Come on! Run! Run before it gets us!”

  Amanda’s legs unlocked. She spun away from the open grave and crashed into Janine, who was still trying to pull her along.

  They staggered apart, almost whimpering with fear. Amanda’s arm shot up as she tried to keep her balance. The flashlight beam waved wildly over Janine’s terrified eyes, the twisted tree branches, the soggy path.

  And Dustin’s face.

  “Dustin!” Amanda cried.

  “Huh?” Janine gasped. When she saw Dustin, she sagged against Amanda, shaking all over.

  Dustin shaded his eyes against the beam of the flashlight. “You want to take that thing out of my face before I go blind?”

  Amanda lowered the light. “What are you doing here?” she demanded. “You scared us to death!”

  “I didn’t mean to,” Dustin protested.
He wore his maroon-and-white letter jacket and an old baseball cap over his sandy hair.

  Janine straightened up and tucked her tangled hair behind her ears. “What’s the matter with you? Why didn’t you call out or something?”

  “Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Dustin stuffed his hands in his pockets and hunched his shoulders against the chill. “What are you two doing here?”

  “You first,” Amanda insisted. “What did you do—follow us?”

  “Sort of,” he admitted.

  Janine snorted. “How can you ‘sort of’ follow somebody? Either you did or you didn’t.”

  “Okay, I did.” Dustin stepped closer to Amanda. “I have to talk to you,” he told her. “I tried to get to you after the pep rally, but the place had gone wild. And then I saw you and Janine leaving, so I came after you. I had to.”

  “This isn’t exactly a good time. Or place,” Amanda snapped, taking a step back.

  “Don’t!” Dustin cried sharply. “Don’t run away from me. We have to talk! Now.”

  Amanda froze, frightened by the intense expression in his eyes. “Please, Dustin. I’m cold and tired and freaked out about Natalie. We can talk later. You can call me.”

  Dustin shook his head. “Now,” he repeated.

  “This sounds like a major personal discussion,” Janine declared as she started down the path. “I really don’t want any part of it.”

  “No—wait, Janine,” Amanda called. “I’m coming with you.”

  Janine stopped and glanced back, waiting.

  Amanda began to step around Dustin.

  He quickly moved in front of her, blocking her way.

  “Dustin, I want to go home,” Amanda told him.

  “I’ll drive you,” he offered. “We’ll talk in the car.”

  “I don’t want to talk now!” she cried. “Get out of my way.”

  Amanda tried to step around him again, but he blocked her path.

  “Move!” she shouted angrily. “Dustin, move!” Furious and frightened, she wrenched her arm free and shoved him.

  Dustin staggered back.