Read Spooksville 17: The Thing in the Closet Online
Authors: Christopher Pike
Spooksville 17: The Thing in the Closet (7 page)
Zeta withdrew a knife from his back pocket and handed it to her. At last there was compassion in his eyes.
'You must fight,' he said. 'But if the fight goes poorly, then you must not let them take you alive.'
Cindy pushed away the knife in horror.
'No,' she gasped. 'I can't do that. I can't take my own life.'
He shoved the knife back at her.
'And you can't let them take you,' he said gently. 'You do not understand what they would do to you. Death is better.'
Cindy shook her head desperately.
The sounds in the dark woods were getting closer.
Yet an unlooked for wave of courage flowed through her.
'Death is never better,' she said, finally taking the knife and tightening her grip on the handle. 'I will fight but I will not surrender. To the Shadows or to death.'
Zeta for once smiled. 'You are brave for a human, Cindy.'
But her brave words did not serve her in the next few minutes.
Cindy saw a green mass off to her left. Zeta pivoted and let fly an arrow. The tiny spear flew through the forest. The creature let out a gut-piercing cry and toppled. But two more creatures appeared off to their left. They were hideous; their eyes seemed to burn with flame and hunger. Zeta managed to get off another arrow, and kill another one of them.
But the third one was on them before he could fit another arrow in his bow. Zeta managed to draw his sword but the Shadow jumped him. Everything was happening so fast. Cindy raised her knife to try to stab it in the back, but then she sensed a huge shape at her back.
She whirled to see a thick arm swinging towards her face.
Then she felt a hard blow.
It almost felt as if her head exploded.
Then there was darkness.
Eight
For Sally, Watch, and Adam it was as if they fell from the sky. Toppled from darkness into night. Yet when they hit the ground they didn't actually hurt themselves. They were on their feet in a moment. The green beast they had pursued through the rear of the closet stood in front of them. Sally quickly picked up a rock and threw it at the thing, hitting him on the head. The creature had had enough of them. With a growl, it turned and fled into the forest
What forest?
Where were they?
The three of them looked at each other in wonder.
'We made it,' Adam gushed.
Sally was gloomy, as gloomy as the dark forest.
'Somehow I don't feel like celebrating just yet,' she said.
Watch studied the environment, particularly the sky. It seemed to hang directly above their heads, and shone with a faint green light.
'We are definitely in another dimension,' he said. 'I hope it is the same one Cindy vanished into.'
'I hope one of those monsters didn't eat her the moment she arrived,' Sally added.
'We agreed not to talk about Cindy being dead,' Adam said.
Watch studied the ground. He pointed.
'There are two sets of footprints here,' he said. 'One of them looks like it could belong to Cindy.'
Adam knelt beside the impressions in the soft ground.
'One set of footprints belongs to a four-toed person,' he said.
Watch crouched beside him and nodded. 'They could not have been from earth.'
'Could the prints be from one of the monsters?' Sally asked.
'No,' Watch said leaning over the prints and pushing his thick glasses back on his nose.
'This person was too much like a human.' He paused and searched around. The prints led off to their right. Because the ground was largely soft mud and grass, it seemed it would be no problem to follow them. 'It is possible Cindy ran into help when she arrived here.'
'I hope she did,' Adam said with feeling.
'That would be just like Cindy to take advantage of the natives,' Sally said.
Watch stood up. 'We must follow her.' He drew out a flashlight from his back pocket and turned it on. The white beam pierced the surrounding gloom. 'I'm glad I brought this with me.' He glanced at the strange sky. 'I think it's getting darker.'
Adam also stood up. 'I wonder how far ahead of us she is?'
'Assuming time works parallel to time in our dimension,' Watch said, 'she's got to be at least two hours in front of us.'
Sally studied the footprints. 'One thing's for sure, she doesn't have shoes on.'
'She probably just has her pyjamas on,' Adam said.
'I bet the native boys like that,' Sally remarked.
'Aren't you relieved that she might still be alive?' Adam demanded.
'I will be relieved when we are all home and in bed,' Sally said. 'You guys were clever enough to get us here. Wherever here is. But how are we supposed to get back?'
Watch clutched the flashlight. 'We'll have to worry about that later.'
'Famous last words,' Sally muttered.
They started off in the direction the prints led. From the length of the strides, it looked as if Cindy and her partner were walking at a fast clip. Watch commented on that fact
'It's possible Cindy's guide was anxious to get her out of this place,' he said. 'That might mean there are a lot of those creatures around.'
'Let's hope they are afraid of your flashlight,' Adam said.
'I wouldn't count on that,' Sally said, 'Adam, why didn't you bring your laser pistol?'
'Don't you remember?' Adam said. 'The witch, Ann Templeton, took it on Halloween night.
I don't have it any more.'
'You need to get that thing back,' Sally said.
'Shh,' Watch warned. 'It might be wise not to attract attention to ourselves. We should talk quietly or not at all.'
'I have to talk a little,' Sally said. 'Talking for me is like breathing for most people. I will explode if I can't talk. I even have to talk in my sleep.'
'Then whisper,' Watch said firmly.
They hiked for seemingly ever. Over the next few hours, overhead, the green glow dimmed further and then the sky eventually turned black. Without Watch's flashlight they would have been stuck in one spot Now they just hoped the batteries held up, even though Watch said he had changed them not long ago.
'But I put cheap batteries in the flashlight,' Watch admitted.
'There should be a rule against buying cheap batteries in Spooksville,' Sally said. 'We are always ending up in dark and dangerous places.'
Adam breathed hard as they ploughed up still another hill.
'These two really covered some ground,' he said.
Watch nodded. 'I am convinced her guide was trying to reach a certain place before night fell.' He paused. They could hear water in front of them, and below them. They had already passed several streams but this sounded like a full-blown river. 'Do you guys hear that?'
Watch asked.
'Of course,' Adam said. 'It sounds like water.'
'No,' said Watch, going still. 'There is something in the woods, near us.' He turned off the light. The absolute darkness was suffocating.
'Turn that back on!' Sally hissed.
'Shh,' Watch warned. 'We cannot necessarily see them with the light on but they can definitely see us. I think it is better to play it safe.'
'Somehow I don't feel very safe at the moment,' Sally said.
'Listen,' Watch said softly. 'The sound is coming closer.'
'Turn on the light,' Sally said desperately. 'It might be one of those monsters. The light might scare it away.'
'But you just said we couldn't count on that,' Adam said.
'I've changed my mind!' Sally croaked.
'Be still,' Watch advised in the perfect blackness. 'I don't think it is one of the creatures.
Those sound like human feet.'
'Human feet with four toes or with five toes?' Sally asked anxiously. 'I would prefer five toes.'
'Should we call out to it?' Adam asked.
'No,' Watch said, 'it already knows where we are. It is moving our way.'
'Maybe we should scream,' Sally said through chattering teeth. The tension was unbearable.
'It might be Cindy,' Adam suggested hopefully.
'If it is then she has learned to see in the dark in the last few hours,' Watch said.
They waited. They sweated. Their hearts beat loudly.
The sound — it was really faint — drew closer and closer.
Finally they heard a voice in the blackness.
'Do you three know Cindy Makey?' it asked.
Adam spoke cautiously. 'Yes. We are her friends. Who are you?'
'My name is Zeta. I met Cindy several of your hours ago. I have been travelling with her.'
'Where is she?' Watch asked. 'Is she with you?'
Zeta hesitated. 'No. She has been captured by the Shadows.'
'The Shadows?' Sally said. 'Are they those horrible slimy green monsters?'
Again Zeta paused. 'Yes. They are horrible. Cindy is in extreme danger. I have been circling around the Shadows' camp. I was going to try to rescue her.'
'How did you let her get captured in the first place?' Sally demanded.
There was a note of sorrow in Zeta's voice.
'We were attacked at the river below. There were too many of them. I had to fight off half-a-dozen. When I turned to get Cindy, she had already been dragged off.'
'A likely story,' Sally said.
'Sally,' Adam warned. 'Don't be rude.'
'Don't be rude?' Sally complained 'This weird guy with four toes shows up in the middle of the night and says he was travelling with our friend but now she has been captured by the Shadow creatures, and you just decide to trust him. We don't know this guy from Adam . . .
I mean, from anybody. He could be working with the Shadows.'
'I am not in league with them,' Zeta said firmly. 'They are my sworn enemies. If you do not want to help me try to rescue Cindy, then that is up to you. I will try anyway.'
'Why?' Watch asked, curious. 'You just met Cindy. Why risk your life for her?'
For the third time Zeta paused.
'She is my concern,' he said finally. 'She is my friend.'
'How can we help you?' Adam asked.
'A moment ago you carried a powerful light in your hand,' Zeta said. 'Is this light at your command? Can you bring it at will?'
'Yes,' Watch said.
'That is good,' Zeta said. 'We can use that light to startle the Shadows. If we can scare diem for even a few moments, then I should be able to slip into their camp and set Cindy free.'