by R. L. Stine
“HELP US!”
“SOMEBODY — HELP!”
The kids’ screams jolted me from my panic. My heart pounding, I ran to see if I could help.
A few feet away, I realized I was wrong. I wasn’t staring at snakes.
The kids were trapped inside a web of long purple vines. The vines had twisted all around them. They were trapped together — and the vines were moving!
I could see the long tendrils growing … curling around the struggling kids. Tightening around them.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. How was this possible?
“HELP US!”
“I … CAN’T … BREATHE …”
A girl stretched her arm out toward me. The purple tendrils quickly wrapped around her wrist. “Help … me …”
“Okay! I’ll try!” I shouted.
I dove forward and grabbed the vine around her arm. I tugged it with all my strength. I wanted to rip it away.
The girl let out a shrill howl of pain.
“STOP!” she screamed. “Don’t pull it! It’s growing FROM me!”
“Huh?” I gasped. I dropped the vine and stumbled back a step.
I peered in through the thick tendrils. I could just see the girl’s eyes. “What do you mean?” I said. “I … don’t understand.”
“The vines … they’re growing out of our HANDS!” the girl wailed. “They’re … attached to us!”
I didn’t know what to think. Was this really happening?
The girl screamed in pain again. The others shouted for help.
I decided it was real.
I grabbed the vine around the girl’s arm again. “I’ll be more careful,” I said.
I tried to slide it away from her arm. I was being very gentle. I unwrapped a few inches of it. But the tendrils were tangled and twisted together.
I worked at it for a minute or two. “Can you slide your arm out?” I asked her.
“No. It’s still tangled,” she said.
Kids were squirming and thrashing beneath the vines.
Suddenly, I felt something move around my waist. I glanced down — and let out a horrified gasp.
A vine had wrapped around my middle.
“No! No!” I cried. I tried to jerk free. But the vine closed around me — and pulled me in with the other kids.
I grabbed it with both hands. But before I could tug it off me, another vine curled around my neck.
The vines were warm, and they were dry, like snakes. They moved quickly, curling and choking me.
Trapped. I couldn’t even struggle against them.
Tightening … tightening … they pulled me down.
I dropped to my knees. I couldn’t pull them off. And I couldn’t twist away from them.
I tried biting one — and heard a boy scream.
Were the vines really growing from the kids? It was too creepy to think about.
“Unnnh.” I let out a groan as the tendrils pulled me down to the asphalt.
Kids screamed and moaned. And then their cries were drowned out by a roar.
I glanced out from the net of vines. The roar came from a purple bus. It pulled up beside us and stopped with a squeal of brakes.
A green-and-purple monster jumped off the bus. He was short and thin and had tiny stubs of horns growing from the top of his head. I guessed he was a Horror.
He walked up to the net of vines and stood with his furry paws on his waist. Four bigger Horrors lumbered up behind him. They were muscular and nasty looking and scowled down at us.
The kids all grew silent. No one moved. The vines continued to slide and curl.
“That Horror … it’s Ned,” a girl whispered to the others. “Remember him? Ned?”
“I’m so sorry you Very Special Guests tried to leave the park,” Ned said. His voice was soft. He didn’t sound like a monster. He sounded like my English teacher.
“Let us out!” a boy cried.
“We’re suffocating!” another boy shouted. “Can’t breathe!”
“It hurts! It’s too tight!”
“You brought this on yourselves,” Ned said. “You gave us no choice.”
“Let us out!”
“You can’t DO this!”
One of the big Horrors handed Ned a tool. It was silvery and had a wide bell at the top, then a handle with a trigger. It looked a little like a hair dryer.
“I’m going to free you now,” Ned said. “Don’t anyone try to run away. I need you to return to the park.”
He pushed the trigger on the handle. The silvery tool started to whir. He aimed it at the vine around my throat.
I felt the vine loosen. It instantly shrank.
I took a long, deep breath.
Ned moved the whirring tool from vine to vine. The tendrils slid off the kids and quickly vanished.
Two boys jumped to their feet. They scratched their hands. They took deep breaths and gazed around.
A big Horror moved close to them. He stood with his muscles tensed. Alert. He wasn’t going to let the two boys try to escape.
A short while later, the kids were all on their feet. They were stretching their arms and taking deep breaths and rubbing the backs of their hands.
“Onto the bus!” one of the Horrors boomed. The big Horrors started shoving kids onto the purple bus.
Ned handed the silvery tool to a Horror. I stepped up to him. He studied me. “You’re new?” he asked.
I nodded. “Yes. I don’t belong with this group.”
He frowned at me. “Really?”
“I … I just came over to help them,” I said. “I thought they were being attacked by snakes.”
“Snakes?” a big Horror cried.
“Did he say he saw snakes?”
The Horrors all spun around to stare at me.
“I’m terrified of snakes,” I heard one Horror mutter to the Horror next to him.
“Me, too,” his partner whispered.
“Let’s not talk about snakes,” Ned said to me.
“Okay, okay,” I said. “But look. I just got here. I … I have this invitation.”
I pulled the card out of my jeans pocket. “I just got off the bus. Two minutes ago.”
“Boone Dixon.” Ned read my name on the invitation.
His eyes narrowed as he handed it back to me. He grabbed my bag in one furry paw. “Well, guess what, Boone.” he said. “You DO belong with the others. Get on the bus — now!”
Two big Horrors moved toward me, flexing their muscles. I had no choice. I turned and climbed onto the bus.
My head was spinning. What was going on here? I thought HorrorLand was a place to have fun. These other kids were Very Special Guests, too.
Why were they being treated like prisoners?
The bus was old and beat-up inside. Some of the seats were ripped. The bus smelled like sweat and ripe fruit.
I found a seat in the third row next to a dark-haired boy about my age. He told me his name — Matt Daniels. Then he introduced the two girls in the seat in front of us. Carly Beth and Sabrina. He pointed out a brother and sister across from us — Billy and Sheena Deep.
So many kids. I struggled to keep the names straight.
“What’s going on?” I asked Matt.
He sighed. “It’s a long story, Boone.”
All the kids were on the bus now. The big Horrors squeezed in. One of them dropped into the driver’s seat. The others took seats in the back. They were so heavy, the bus bounced when they sat down.
Ned stood at the front, holding on to a pole. He motioned for the Horror to start the bus.
The engine roared. The bus moved forward with a hard jolt. Ned grabbed the pole with his other paw to keep from falling into the aisle.
The bus turned out of the parking lot and sped through the entrance gate into the park. I saw several startled people leap out of the way.
“Where are we going?” Matt shouted to Ned. “Where are you taking us?”
“You need to stay in the park,” Ned replied.
The bus hit a bump, and he bumped with it. “I can’t have you wandering off on your own.”
“You can’t keep us here against our will!” Carly Beth cried.
“I only want to keep you safe,” Ned replied.
“Safe? Did you say safe?” Matt jumped to his feet. “Three kids have disappeared! Gone — just like that.”
“Where are they? What happened to them?” Billy demanded.
“Calm down, everyone,” Ned said. “We’re looking for those kids. We don’t want you to worry about them. Those kids aren’t in any danger. Take my word.”
“Take your word?” a boy shouted from the back. “Why should we take your word?”
“Where are Molly, Britney, and Michael?” Sabrina asked. “Tell us!”
“Let us talk to Byron,” Matt said, still standing. “Bring us to Byron. Let him explain.”
“Yeah. Byron is our friend,” Billy said.
Ned shook his head slowly. “Byron no longer works for the park,” he said.
There were shocked cries all over the bus.
“We were very sorry to lose him,” Ned said. “Very sorry indeed.”
I watched the park roll by outside the window. I saw a theater and a row of small shops. A sign read: WELCOME TO ZOMBIE PLAZA.
I was totally confused.
Byron? Missing kids? What were they talking about? I didn’t have a clue.
Why were these kids so upset and angry?
Carly Beth jumped to her feet and jabbed a finger at Ned. “I have some questions for you,” she said.
“I’ll try to answer them,” Ned replied.
“Tell us about Panic Park,” Carly Beth said. “What is it? Where is it? And tell us why there are no mirrors in HorrorLand.”
“I’m sorry,” Ned said. “I’m happy to answer all your questions. Really, I am. But what you are asking about will take a long time to explain.”
“Tell us!” Matt demanded. “Tell us the answers. We don’t care how long it takes.”
“Tell us! Tell us!” Kids started to chant.
Ned raised a hand to stop them. “The most important thing,” he said, “is to keep you here in the park. To keep you away from harm.”
Harm? What kind of harm?
“I just got here,” I said. “Five minutes ago. I’m totally confused. Where are you taking us?”
“Where am I taking you? You’ve given me no choice,” Ned replied.
He tightened his grip on the pole and leaned closer to us.
“I didn’t want to do this,” Ned said. “But I have to take you all to … The Keeper!”
Everyone began to shout and argue.
I watched them, trying to figure out what they were talking about.
Was Ned crazy?
He waved both paws to get everyone quiet. “I’m very sorry it has come to this,” he said. “The Keeper’s methods are … harsh. He can be unpleasant.”
Ned shook his head. “Sorry,” he said softly. “You have given me no choice.”
Next to me, Matt was still on his feet. He ignored the bounces and bumps of the bus. He kept his eyes on Ned.
“How long do you think you can keep us prisoners here?” Matt demanded.
“You are not prisoners. You are Very Special Guests,” Ned replied.
The kids all laughed scornfully.
“I need to keep you here until we know you are safe from certain … things.”
“What things?” Matt cried.
Ned ignored the question. “When it is safe we will return you to your parents,” he said.
“It’s not true!” Sheena Deep shouted. “Byron warned us we’re not safe in HorrorLand!”
Her brother, Billy, jumped up. “If this park was safe, you wouldn’t have to hold us prisoner!”
“Do not try to fight this,” Ned said softly. “I’m giving you fair warning. Do not anger The Keeper. He can be … difficult.”
That got all the kids shouting again.
I glanced out the window. The bus passed a fenced-in area of tall trees. A sign read: WEREWOLF VILLAGE.
I wanted out. I had come here to have fun. I felt as frightened as the others, even though I didn’t really know what was happening.
Suddenly, I had an idea. A crazy idea to help us all escape from this weirdo, Ned.
Would it work?
“SNAKE!” I screamed. “SNAKE! On the bus!”
I ducked behind the seat and pretended to wrestle with it.
I grunted and groaned and pretended it was putting up a big battle.
“HELP!” I screamed. “This snake is HUGE! Help me!”
I had overheard the Horrors say they were terrified of snakes. Was it true?
Yes!
The bus squealed to a hard stop. So hard, Ned toppled forward into the first seat. And two kids were bounced off their seats onto the floor.
“SNAKE!” I cried. I kept pretending to struggle against it.
I saw the big bus driver jump up. His eyes were wide with fright. He was the first one off the bus.
Ned leaped off right after him. The other big Horrors lumbered full speed up the aisle and jumped to the ground. Through the bus window, I watched them run off into the crowds.
I turned. Kids were frozen in their seats, frightened, too.
“No snake!” I shouted, jumping to my feet. “There’s no snake. Let’s get out of here!”
Matt slapped me a high five. “New kid — good work!” he cried. He spun around to the others. “This is our chance. Let’s MOVE!”
We shoved our way down the narrow aisle and jumped off the bus. Matt led us behind it, where the Horrors wouldn’t see us.
Across from us, I saw a line of people in front of a booth called THE PRETZEL PAL. A sign read: TURN YOURSELF INTO A PRETZEL! IT’S EASY!
It didn’t sound like much fun to me.
The kids all huddled in the shadow of the bus.
“Which way?” a tall, dark-haired boy asked. “Have we been here before?”
A girl with two cameras around her neck pointed. “I think the entrance gates are that way.”
“Then we want to go the other way,” Sheena said. “We don’t want to try that again.”
“We’ve got to decide fast,” I said. “Those Horrors will be back!”
Matt was studying a sign to our left. “Look — that’s Good-bye Land,” he said.
I turned. The sign was a big tombstone. Engraved on it were the words: GOOD-BYE LAND. WAVE GOOD-BYE TO YOUR FRIENDS & FAMILY.
“Remember?” Matt said. “Michael Munroe was leading us there — before he disappeared.”
Everyone turned to stare at the tombstone. We couldn’t see into Good-bye Land because it was bordered by a tall hedge.
“Michael said this was the back end of the park,” Carly Beth said. “He thought there might be an exit there.”
We all jumped as a siren began to wail.
“Hurry,” Matt said, glancing around. “They set off the alarm. Telling the other Horrors that we’ve escaped.”
We took off, running toward the entrance to Good-bye Land. But we stopped beside the hedge several yards away.
The entrance had two giant coffins standing upright on either side. Inside the coffins, two robot Horrors stared straight ahead and waved good-bye.
“Look. In their foreheads,” Matt said, pointing. “Cameras. Probably security cameras. If we go in the entrance, the Monster Police will see us.”
“We can squeeze through the hedge,” a girl named Abby said. “Quick — no one is looking.”
I lowered my shoulder and shoved my way through the thick, prickly hedge. Everyone followed. A few seconds later, we all burst out, brushing needles from our clothes and hair.
We stopped in the shadow of the hedge to look around. Good-bye Land was an enormous park. Trees and grass and flower beds. Very peaceful looking. Like a graveyard.
“I don’t see an exit,” I said. “But what’s that ride over there?”
This part of the park was
nearly deserted. We trotted over to the ride. It stood under a round red canopy. It was called the R.I.P.P.E.R. DIPPER.
I saw a sign beside the entrance: WARNING! THIS RIDE GOES ONLY ONE WAY — DOWN!
“Let’s ride it,” Sheena said.
“But how can it help us?” I asked.
“It might take us to the underground tunnels,” Matt replied. “We were already down there, but they chased us out,” he explained to me. “If we can get back to the tunnels, we can follow them out of HorrorLand.”
The alarm sirens were still rising and falling on the other side of the hedge.
“I just want to know one thing,” I told Matt. “Why are you all so anxious to get out of here?”
“No time to explain,” Matt said. “Trust us. We’re in real danger. Stick with us, Boone. You really have no choice.”
No more talk. I followed him into the short, dark entryway. A line of small, square black cars stood in front of us. The cars were on a track. The track led straight to a wide hole in the ground. Room for only one person in a car.
We all scrambled into cars. I lowered myself into the nearest one and pulled a safety bar over me. I grabbed the steering wheel with both hands and spun it.
The steering wheel was a fake. It didn’t control the car.
A few seconds later, the ride started up. My hands flew off the wheel. My whole body jerked back hard as a deafening roar rose up all around me. And then I flew up off the seat as the car began to plunge — straight down!
I gripped the safety bar with all my might as the car dropped, picking up speed as it fell. The tires whistled on the tracks. The air grew hot.
Faster …
Into total darkness. The ride was completely black, except for tiny yellow sparks that flew off the wheels of the car above me.
I hate fast rides, especially when you can’t see where you’re going.
Squeezed into this tiny car dropping into the pitch black, I thought: This is a lot like being buried — only at a hundred miles an hour!
“Oww!” I let out a startled cry as my car bumped the one beneath it.
I felt a hard jolt. My car rocked — and started to spin.
I shut my eyes.
And then the car stopped with a shattering jolt. Was the ride broken? How were we going to get out of here?
