by R. L. Stine
He thinks he’s awesome looking, tossing his wavy blond hair from side to side, winking at all the girls with his bright blue eyes. I’m not joking. He flirts with every girl in the sixth grade.
Everything about him makes my teeth itch. Am I jealous of him? Of course not. Why would I be jealous of a pink balloon face?
There are so many things to hate about him.
I guess the worst was the day he brought his pet llama to school. He brought it onto the playground and let everyone pet it and feed it.
The llama stepped on Mrs. Blume’s foot. She’s our teacher, and I know it really hurt. But she just put a tight smile on her face and said she was fine.
Just because it was Carter and everything he does is wonderful.
And why does he have a pet llama in the first place? Just to show off.
I can’t have a dog or a cat because my parents are allergic. And there he is, taking his llama for walks around the neighborhood every day.
But I’m not jealous. Don’t think I’m jealous. I don’t even want a stupid llama.
I was sitting there in class, thinking about the llama and only half-listening to Carter’s safari story. But then the story got interesting—because Carter was in major danger. So I started to listen harder.
“It was a very dark night,” Carter read from his paper. “And our tent was sweating from the heat and humidity.”
Nice detail, Carter. I could tell by the smile on Mrs. Blume’s face that she really appreciated that.
“I lay there on my cot listening to the strange calls of night birds in the trees,” he continued. “Then I heard footsteps. It sounded like someone was trying to get into our tent.”
Our classroom was silent now. Mrs. Blume sat forward at her desk, hands clasped on the desktop, listening intently.
“I went outside to investigate,” Carter read, holding the pages of his report close to his pink face. “At first, I didn’t see anything. So I took a few steps away from our tent. That was my big mistake.”
He turned the page slowly, trying to create suspense, I guess.
I glanced across the room at my sister, Scarlet. She agrees with me that Carter is a creep. But she was wide-eyed as she listened to his story.
“The next thing I knew, there was a big creature behind me,” Carter read. “It was huge and black and its eyes glowed in the moonlight. It took me a few seconds to recognize it—a black rhino.”
A few kids gasped. Carter continued: “It bumped my back with its curved horn. I tried to scream but no sound came out of my mouth. The big rhino raised its head to bump me again. So I took off running.”
“Wow. Scary,” Mrs. Blume murmured.
“I was so scared, my legs felt like Jell-O,” Carter read. “But I ran as fast as I could. I ran around our whole circle of tents, and the black rhino followed. There were patches of moonlight on the ground. All the rest was total blackness.”
Carter grinned at Mrs. Blume. “Here’s where it gets totally scary,” he told her. He began reading again. “The camp was surrounded by wilderness. I didn’t want to leave the circle of tents. But the rhino was closing in on me. I knew I couldn’t run much farther.”
He glanced at the teacher to make sure she was enjoying it. “And then I tripped over a tent pole. I tripped and went down with a thud. Fell onto my stomach. I tried to roll over. To climb back up. But I was too frightened to move.”
“What did the rhino do?” Mrs. Blume demanded.
“The rhino watched me on the ground,” Carter said. “Then it made a grunting sound. Really gross. It turned around and walked away. I guess it got interested in something else.”
What a disappointing ending. Too bad the rhino didn’t eat Carter whole. Then I wouldn’t have to be here, listening to him.
“Or maybe I scared it away,” Carter said. “I did wave my arms at it and shout for it to go away. And gave it a really mean look. I think I was brave after all. I think maybe I stared it away.”
Sure you did.
“That’s a wonderful piece of writing,” Mrs. Blume said. She motioned for the class to give Carter some applause, and everyone obediently clapped.
Carter turned even more pink. His grin was so wide, it looked like he had four rows of teeth.
“You must have worked really hard on that essay,” the teacher said.
Carter shook his head. “Oh no. Not really. I just knocked it out in a few minutes. I’m a fast writer.”
Carter strutted back to his seat. Mrs. Blume climbed to her feet and stepped away from the desk. “I know all of you kids would like to have a big adventure like Carter, wouldn’t you?” she asked.
No one answered. I think we were all waiting to hear what she had in mind.
“That’s your next assignment,” she said. “Your next assignment is to have an adventure.”
Some hands shot up. “What do you mean, ‘have an adventure’?” Scarlet’s friend Danitia asked.
“I’m going to divide you into groups,” Mrs. Blume replied. “And I want you to make documentary videos about an adventure, about something exciting that you’re going to do.”
“You mean we go out looking for an adventure?” Scarlet asked. “Like we try to find a black rhino to chase us down Maple Street?”
Everyone laughed.
“We’ll plan the adventure in advance,” the teacher answered. “We’ll prepare for it. Get you ready. Then you can record the exciting things that happen to you.”
Carter raised his hand. “Do I have to do it—since I already had an adventure?”
“Yes, everyone has to do it,” Mrs. Blume said.
The class started to buzz, everyone talking at once. Some kids had ideas for adventures. I couldn’t think of anything. I mean, Middleview Village is a pretty boring town.
“How about spending a night in the mummy room at the museum?” someone asked.
“I like that,” Mrs. Blume said.
“Could we stay up all night in the zoo?” Danitia asked.
“That might work,” the teacher answered.
I suddenly realized she had her eyes on me. Why was she watching me? Was she waiting for me to come up with a scary adventure? I didn’t have a clue.
She stared for a while longer. I could see she was thinking hard. “Riley, I have the perfect idea for you,” she said finally.
I felt a sudden chill. I didn’t like the smile on her face.
“You’re always talking about that video game you play,” she said. “And you write papers about it. And you paint pictures of the old mansion in art class. You’re obsessed with it—right?”
“I … guess,” I said softly.
“Well, I have the perfect adventure for you. Why don’t you spend a night in Shudder Mansion?”
“That sounds awesome. But do I have to do it all by myself?” I said. My voice cracked. Some kids laughed.
A wave of panic rolled down my body. Was she serious?
“No. Not by yourself,” Mrs. Blume said. “I told you, I’m going to divide the class into groups. I’ll pick five others to stay in Shudder Mansion with you. How’s that?”
“I … uh … well …” I was terrified by the whole idea. I knew there were evil spirits in the house. All kinds of horrifying creatures, like that black shadow cat that had floated out of the mansion yesterday. And the half-man, half-alligator I had to fight in the game. What if he was real, too?
I began to imagine all the horrible things that could happen to kids who tried to stay in that house all night. I didn’t have to imagine—I knew them all from the video game!
I wanted to say, “No way. NO WAY I’ll go in that old house at night. That’s not an adventure. That’s suicide!”
But I suddenly realized that everyone in class was looking at me. Watching to see if I’d be brave or if I’d be a total chicken-wimp.
“That sounds awesome!” I said. “That’ll be the best adventure of all. I can’t wait. Can we do it tonight?”
Please change your m
ind. Please change your mind.
Mrs. Blume chuckled. “Maybe next week, Riley. We have to get organized.” She sat down on the edge of her desk. “Let’s choose your team first.”
She glanced around the room. “Are there any volunteers?”
No hands went up.
“Scarlet, would you like to join your brother?”
My sister thought about it for a long moment. “Okay. I’ll go. But it’s just a dark, empty mansion. I don’t think there will be anything exciting.”
Boy is she wrong, I thought. If she had believed me about the shadow that snaked along the grass and became a black cat. If she had listened to me about Mia … she’d know how wrong she is.
“How about you, Theresa?” Mrs. Blume asked. Theresa was a quiet, shy girl who always liked to sit in the back row in a corner. She almost never talked.
“I’m not allowed to stay out late,” she said softly. I could barely hear her. “My mom is a librarian at the Middleview Village library. I’ll bet she’d let a bunch of us stay all night in the stacks at the library. It’s supposed to be haunted.”
“That might be fun,” Mrs. Blume said. “Let’s keep that in mind for you, Theresa.”
Mrs. Blume shielded her eyes with a hand to her forehead and looked around the room again. “How about you, Cheng? Want to join the Shudder Mansion team?”
Cheng Lee was another quiet, shy kid. He was the smallest kid in our class. He really looked like a fourth grader, like someone’s younger brother. He had a funny laugh, sort of a chipmunk laugh, and everyone liked him because, even though he didn’t say much, he was always really cheerful and a good guy.
“Okay,” he said. “I’ll do it. But … can I bring a flashlight?”
“I think you’ll want to bring all kinds of equipment,” Mrs. Blume told him.
She turned to my sister’s friend, Danitia. “You and Scarlet hang out all the time. Do you want to hang out with her in Shudder Mansion?”
A grin spread over Danitia’s face. “Not really. But I guess I’ll do it.”
“That’s a good friend,” Mrs. Blume said. “And very brave.”
“I hope I don’t have to be too brave,” Danitia said, and everyone laughed.
“Okay. We need one more victim. I mean, team member,” Mrs. Blume said. She gazed around the room, studying each face.
Please don’t pick Carter, I thought. Please, Mrs. Blume—don’t pick Carter.
The moment I had that thought, Carter began waving his hand wildly in the air. “I’ll do it! I’ll go!” he shouted. “I’ve already shown how brave I am. They need someone like me.”
Please … please …
“Okay, Carter,” Mrs. Blume said. “You’re on the team.”
Carter pumped both fists in the air in triumph.
I sank down in my seat with a groan. Stuck all night in Shudder Mansion with that show-off, Carter Burwasser. Not fair.
Mrs. Blume stood up and stretched her back.
Cheng had his hand raised. She nodded at him.
“We all know the stories about Shudder Mansion,” he said. “About how some evil people died in there and their spirits are still inside. How they can transform into monsters, and stuff like that.”
Cheng hesitated. He had a frightened look on his face. His hands gripped the desktop. “Do you think those stories are true?”
“Maybe,” Mrs. Blume answered.
“So …” Cheng hesitated again. “So, if we spend a night in there, Mrs. Blume, will we … will we be safe?”
“Yes. Will we?” Danitia added.
“No, you won’t,” Mrs. Blume answered. “That’s the assignment. You’re all going to be in horrible danger. Some of you probably won’t survive.”
Those words sent a hush over the room.
Mrs. Blume laughed. “I’m joking,” she said. “Did you really think I was serious?” She shook her head. “This is a school, remember. It’s not our job to send you off into real danger.” She laughed again.
She doesn’t know the truth about Shudder Mansion, I told myself. She’s like Scarlet. She thinks the stories are fake.
“Of course we’ll make sure you are safe,” she said. “In fact, your parents can go along with you. They can have the same exciting adventures that you do.”
Uh-oh. My parents wouldn’t want to go. They’re allergic to dust, for one thing. Mom would hate being in a dirty old house. She’s a clean freak. Everything in our house sparkles as if it were just dipped in polish.
And Dad has a thing about insects. He got a bunch of bad spider bites on his face when he was little, and he’s been freaked out by insects ever since. We can’t ever go on a picnic because Dad doesn’t even feel comfortable around ants!
So I’d be amazed if my parents said yes.
I was thinking about them and didn’t even realize that Carter was talking. I tuned back in. He seemed to be talking about special equipment for our adventure.
“My parents bought me this paranormal detection kit,” he was saying. “I’m probably the only one in town who has it. It’s professional, see. I’ll bring it to Shudder Mansion, and maybe we can get some audio or video of actual spirits in the house.”
He’s going to ruin everything, I thought. He’ll spend the whole night bragging about his detection kit and making us all pay attention to it. And he’ll be the star of the night.
“It’s just like the one they use on TV,” Carter continued. “It’s very complicated and delicate, but I know how to use it.”
“That’s wonderful, Carter,” Mrs. Blume said. “You know I always appreciate your enthusiasm.”
“I always like to give 110 percent,” Carter replied.
Don’t you just want to punch him?
* * *
After school, Scarlet had a guitar lesson, so I wandered off by myself. It was a warm day for fall. The sun beamed down from a cloudless sky. Everything—the grass, the trees, the houses along the street, the cars and SUVs rolling by—seemed too bright to be real.
I crossed the street and found myself gazing up at Shudder Mansion. I hadn’t meant to walk here. I stopped and, for a moment, had the feeling that something … some power … had pulled me here. Pulled me here against my will.
And just as I thought that, a hand grabbed me, and hard fingers wrapped around the back of my neck. And a raspy voice whispered in my ear: “You will DIE in Shudder Mansion!”
I opened my mouth and let out a high, shrill scream of fright.
I jerked free of the hard grip, twisted away, and spun around. And stared at a grinning Carter Burwasser. “Did I scare you?” he asked.
“I knew it was you,” I lied.
His grin grew wider. “Then why did you scream?”
“I didn’t scream,” I said. “I just pretended to scream.” Lame. I know. But I couldn’t admit the truth—that he’d scared me to death.
My heart was still pounding. I could still hear those whispered words in my ear.
Why did everyone think Shudder Mansion was a big joke?
I guessed it was because I’m the only one who plays the Shudder Mansion video game. I’m the only one who knows the kind of horrors that might be waiting inside the old house.
Carter and I stared up at the back of the mansion. The whole world all around us was bright and green and sunny. But the mansion rose like a dark creature. The walls were dark as charcoal and the rows of windows even blacker.
I felt a chill. The air seemed at least ten degrees colder up close to the mansion.
“Are you pumped about spending the night here?” Carter asked.
“No way,” I replied. “The stories about this place—”
He laughed. “You don’t believe them—do you?”
I hesitated. “Carter, do you ever play the video game?”
A sneer crossed his pink face. “No, I don’t play games. I write my own. Don’t you know programming code? I’ve been coding since I was nine.”
“I play the Shudder Mansion game a lot
,” I said. “And it’s very disturbing. If any of it is true …”
“I have night vision goggles I’m going to bring,” Carter interrupted. “It’s the kind the army uses in combat. Riley, do you have your own pair? If you don’t, I can bring you a pair.”
“No, I don’t have that,” I murmured.
Is there anything Carter DOESN’T have?
“The goggles are awesome,” Carter said. “It makes everything seem bright as day. You can see a mouse blink its eye.”
“I don’t want to see a mouse blink its eye,” I said.
Carter laughed. For some reason, he thought everything I said was a joke. He laughed at almost everything I said.
I told you he was annoying.
I just wanted to lose him and hurry home. But I heard voices. I turned around—and there came Scarlet, Danitia, and Cheng across the back lawn. Our whole team.
“We knew you’d be here, Riley,” Scarlet called.
“What happened to your guitar lesson?” I asked.
“Canceled. Derek has the flu.”
“I was just telling him some of the excellent equipment I’m going to bring when we stay all night,” Carter said. “I have a glow-in-the-dark backpack so I can always find it.”
“Cool,” Cheng said. “I’m bringing glow-in-the-dark water bottles. I get really thirsty.”
I thought Cheng was joking, but I couldn’t tell.
Danitia motioned to the back door. “Why don’t we go inside right now? You know. Check the place out in the daytime.”
“No way,” I said. I guess I said it too quickly. I must have sounded a little scared. They were all staring at me. “Uh … we don’t want to spoil the adventure,” I added. Pretty fast thinking.
“What kind of adventure will it be if our parents are there?” Danitia asked, rolling her eyes. “We have to find a way to lose them. Seriously.”
“I’m kind of glad the parents are coming,” Cheng said. “You know. In case there is some kind of emergency.”
Carter laughed. “Like an evil spirit grabbing us and pulling us into a world of darkness.”
