Read Spooksville 17: The Thing in the Closet Online
Authors: Christopher Pike
Spooksville 17: The Thing in the Closet (8 page)
'Have they tied her up?' Adam asked grimly.
'Yes. They have built a huge fire close to here. They are preparing to eat her alive.'
'I knew it,' Sally muttered.
'Can we slip into the camp with you?' Adam asked. 'Can we be of more direct help?'
'No. Humans move too slowly. The Shadows would be all over you in a moment.' Zeta paused. 'I want you to follow me by holding on to my hand. Save your light for now. I will tell you when to command it to shine.'
'I don't know about this,' Sally said. 'How do we know you are not leading us to our deaths?'
'I can prove nothing to you right now,' Zeta said. 'You can remain here or follow me. The choice is yours.'
'I want to follow this guy,' Adam said.
'Me too,' Watch said decisively.
'Great,' Sally complained. 'We haven't even seen the guy's face and we're going to visit a bunch of Shadows with him.'
Zeta spoke carefully. 'What is your name, female?'
'Sarah Wilcox. Why?'
'You are different from Cindy Makey.'
'Are you trying to insult me?'
'I am merely stating a fact,' Zeta said.
Adam took Zeta's hand, Watch took Adam's, and Sally took Watch's. In a chain of four they moved through the black woods. Zeta did not like the way they moved. Several times he told them to be quieter. Indeed, he ordered Sally to keep her mouth shut, not that it did much good. Zeta clearly thought Sally must be from a different dimension from the rest of them. She kept muttering about cannibals and other such things.
They saw a yellow glow up ahead.
In the faint light they caught a glimpse of Zeta's profile.
'This guy has pointed ears,' Sally complained.
Zeta gestured for quiet It was amazing he knew the gesture.
'We are near the Shadows' camp,' he said. 'Now I must circle around to the right. You who carry the light must creep straight towards their fire. Settle in the trees not far from the burning wood. You will hear a whistle sound. It would sound like a bird sound. That is my signal. At that moment command your light to shine on the faces of the Shadows. It should scare them for a short time. During that time I will be able to free Cindy.'
'Then the Shadows will come after us,' Sally said.
'That is a possibility,' Zeta agreed. 'But I can think of no other way to save Cindy from a horrible death.'
'Not that you would mind seeing me die horribly,' Sally said.
'Zeta,' Adam said. 'You have a sword as well as a bow and arrows. Can we borrow one of the weapons? While Watch is shining the light, I might be able to hold off any charging Shadows.'
Zeta offered his sword to Adam. 'I have a knife I gave to Cindy — which she dropped —
that I can use to untie her bonds. But to kill a Shadow you must stab them in the heart. It is the only place where they are vulnerable.'
'What if you cut off their heads?' Adam asked.
'It will only slow them down,' Zeta said. 'They are not like normal living creatures.'
'I should say not,' Sally remarked.
Zeta looked at them. 'It is not the custom in my world to wish people good luck, but I understand from Cindy that you have such superstitions. So I wish you good luck now, all of you.'
'Good luck to you too,' Sally said.
They all stared at her in amazement
Zeta vanished into the woods. Watch and Adam crept slowly forwards. Sally tagged along behind them.
'You don't have to come with us,' Adam told her.
'Like I would enjoy waiting in the pitch dark for you to return,' Sally said.
They drew closer to the bonfire.
They could hear the Shadows hooting and hollering.
'Now I wish you still had your laser pistol,' Watch said.
'I will beg the witch for it the next time I see her,' Adam said.
They saw the Shadows — there must have been ten of them. They danced around their fire, the slobber flowing from their mouths. It seemed they were waiting for the big black pot in the centre of the fire to start boiling. Off to the far side lay Cindy. She was tied up, bound to a tree. It was even possible she was unconscious. Certainly she was not moving. The three of them stared in horror.
'I hope she is still alive,' Sally whispered.
'Zeta says that she is,' Adam said quickly.
'This fire is pretty bright,' Watch said. 'I don't know if this flashlight will make that much impression on these creatures.'
'But it gives off a white light,' Adam said, lifting the sword. It was heavier than it looked.
'They have probably never seen anything like it.'
'Let's hope not,' Watch said.
They heard a faint whistle sound.
The Shadows ignored it
The three humans stared at each other.
Then Watch jumped to his feet and shone the light in the faces of the Shadows.
Sally also jumped up and began to howl like a wolf.
Watch and Adam looked at her as if she had lost her mind.
'They might think I am a werewolf,' she paused long enough to say.
The flashlight, or maybe the howling, scared the Shadows. For a moment there was panic around the fire. Several of the creatures ran into each other, bumping their comrades into the flames. A couple actually caught fire and began to howl worse than Sally. On the far side of the clearing, they saw Zeta kneel beside Cindy and begin to cut into her bonds.
Then the Shadows suddenly stopped fussing and stared in the direction of the flashlight.
Even the ones who were on fire managed to put themselves out and regain their nerve. The three humans began to worry.
'Now we're in trouble,' Sally muttered.
Slowly the Shadows seemed to come back to life.
They moved towards them.
'Sally,' Watch said, 'do you have your Bic lighter with you?'
'Sure,' Sally said. 'What do you want me to do with it? Light them an after dinner cigar?'
'Throw it into the fire,' Watch said. 'The flames will cause it to explode. That might scare them more than the flashlight.'
Sally whipped out her lighter. 'I hope you're right. You know this thing cost me fifty cents.'
Sally threw the lighter into the fire.
Zeta had already freed Cindy.
He disappeared into the woods, carrying her in his arms.
It took a moment but then the lighter exploded.
The sound was loud. It seemed to startle the Shadows.
Watch turned off the flashlight and whirled.
'Let's get out of here,' he called.
The others chased after him.
'Where are we going?' Adam asked.
'Back to the river,' Watch said. 'Remember Zeta said he would meet us there.'
'But what if the Shadows follow us?' Sally asked.
'Then everything you have always worried about and complained about all your life will happen to us all at once and then you will never have to worry or complain again because you will be dead,' Watch said.
'Oh,' Sally said.
Yet, strangely, the Shadows did not follow them.
Soon they were reunited with Zeta and Cindy. Zeta led them all across the river, to a nearby cave where he thought they would be safe for the night Cindy was all right. She was overjoyed to see them.
'I can't believe you guys came after me,' she exclaimed, giving each of them a big hug, even Sally. 'How did you do it?'
'You have George Sanders to thank,' Sally said.
Cindy was puzzled. 'George?'
'It's a long story,' Adam said.
Nine
The next morning broke dark and gloomy. The gang woke to find Zeta sitting guard at the cave entrance.
'Did you sleep at all?' Cindy asked, worried.
Zeta smiled faintly. He seemed fond of Cindy.
'I do not need as much rest as you humans,' he said.
Cindy laughed and punched his arm. 'Don't start that stuff again. You are finally learning some manners.'
Watch peered outside the cave. 'Your days are dark. Is there any danger of the Shadows attacking at this time?'
'Yes,' Zeta said. 'But this is their slow time. They usually rest right after night. We would be wise to hurry towards Centrae while we have the chance.'
'What are we going to do there?' Sally grumbled. She did not like sleeping on hard rock floors, particularly without her favourite pillow.
'Zeta is going to get us a meeting with Furma, the High Lord of all Cetine,' Cindy said.
'Furma is Zeta's uncle. Zeta is royalty.'
'And what is this Fur guy going to do for us?' Sally asked.
Cindy glanced doubtfully at Zeta.
'We're hoping he can help us get back to Earth,' Cindy said without conviction. The others noticed her lack of enthusiasm, and the fact that Zeta lowered his head as she spoke.
'Can he help us?' Adam asked Zeta.
Zeta glanced up. 'First he has to want to help you. To be honest, I am not sure if that is the case. He has never been fond of humans.'
'So others from Earth have been to this dimension?' Watch asked.
'Yes,' Zeta said.
'How did they get here?' Adam asked.
Zeta shrugged. 'I assume the Shadows kidnapped them from your world. Is that not how you got here?'
'That's how I got here,' Cindy said.
'We used a similar route,' Watch admitted. 'But what I want to know is, what is your uncle's relationship to the Shadows? Cindy said during the night that you told her your uncle was reluctant to move against them.'
'That is true and I do not understand why,' Zeta admitted.
'Is it possible he is in league with them?' Watch persisted.
'No,' Zeta said firmly. 'You saw them. The Shadows are the enemies of all living beings.'
'But does your uncle have other political enemies?' Watch asked. 'You call him the High Lord and all that, but are there other factions in the land?'
Zeta was quiet for a moment. The questions disturbed him.
'There is a land beyond Cetine called Gilbrare,' Zeta said finally. 'It is not as large as Cetine but its people are powerful. Lately we have battled with them. Not a full-scale war, but repeated skirmishes.'
'What is the fighting about?' Adam asked.
'They refuse to recognise my uncle as King,' Zeta said. 'They refuse to pay their rightful share of taxes.'
'I can understand that,' Sally muttered.
'If Cetine were to have a full-scale war with Gilbrare, is it possible it could lose?' Watch asked.