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ESCAPE FROM HORRORLAND
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TEASER
FEAR FILE #11
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
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Six kids formed a circle around my brother, Luke, and me. Their fists were clenched tight. And their eyes were shooting darts at us.
I know, I know. That’s a strange way to start my story. But every thing is strange in HorrorLand. Luke and I had just met these kids — and they were already angry at us.
My name is Lizzy Morris. I’m thirteen and Luke is eleven.
Luke and I were in HorrorLand a year ago. We had plenty of scary adventures. Then, a few months ago, we learned that something was very wrong at the park.
One of the Horrors, a park worker, began to send us mysterious e-mails. He told us about a group of kids who were in big trouble.
We started studying the park, and we wrote a blog about what we learned.
We found out that fourteen kids had been invited to spend a free week as Very Special Guests. And when they arrived, things turned out to be way TOO scary!
Now the kids believed their lives were in danger. Someone was trying to scare them to death! They were desperate to escape HorrorLand.
These kids discovered that another park existed — a place called Panic Park. It could be reached only by traveling through mirrors.
I know it sounds crazy, but stick with me. Eight kids had already escaped to Panic Park. They all believed they’d be safer there.
And now the remaining six kids were unhappy with Luke and me because we had a warning for them: Don’t go there!
I didn’t blame them for being suspicious. I mean, Luke and I knew all the kids’ names because we’d been studying them. But the kids had never seen us before.
And here we were, warning them not to go to Panic Park.
Their eyes narrowed at us. Their faces turned hard and cold. “Who are you? Why are you trying to trick us?” Matt Daniels asked.
He was athletic looking and tall. Matt and Carly Beth Caldwell appeared to be the leaders of the group. She was cute — short and pixieish. She looked a lot younger than twelve.
“We’re not tricking you,” Luke said. “We’re trying to help you.”
“We’ve been studying both parks,” I said. “We’ve done a lot of research. We think you are safer in HorrorLand.”
“You’re both spies for the Horrors!” Robby Schwartz cried. “We know we’re not safe in HorrorLand.”
“Who are you working for?” Jackson Gerard demanded. His twin sister, Jillian, glared at us, scowling. They were both tall and thin, with straight brown hair and dark eyes.
“Are you working for that maniac superhero? The one who calls himself The Keeper?” Jackson said. “He’s trying to keep us here, too.”
“We — we’re not working for anyone,” I stammered. “I told you — Luke and I have found a lot of information. We think Panic Park is a big trap.”
Some kids snickered and groaned. Carly Beth rolled her eyes. “Can you prove it?” she asked.
“Well … no,” I said. “But —”
“Eight of our friends are already there,” Matt said. “Are you telling us they walked into a trap?”
“If it’s true, we definitely have to follow them there,” Julie Martin said. “To help rescue them.”
The afternoon sun sat high above the trees. We were standing on the shore of the Black Lagoon. I could hear the howls from Wolfsbane Forest, which stretched out to my right.
Robby glanced from side to side. “We have to hurry,” he said. “The Horrors are searching for us. We can’t stand here arguing with two kids we don’t know.”
“But … Luke and I are trying to help,” I insisted.
Jillian stepped up close to me. Her eyes burned into mine. After a long, tense moment, she turned to the others.
“I read Lizzy’s mind,” Jillian said. “We can’t listen to her. She’s lying.”
“Huh?” I let out a gasp. “No way! I’m NOT!” I cried.
“She’s definitely lying,” Jillian told them.
I swallowed hard. My mouth suddenly felt dry. My hands were shaking. “You — you can read minds?” I stammered.
Jillian sneered at me. “My brother and I have special powers,” she said. “I read your thoughts, Lizzy. I know you’re not telling the truth. You must be working for the Horrors.”
And that’s when the six kids surrounded Luke and me.
“I AM telling the truth!” I screamed. “We are NOT working for the Horrors.”
I could see they were desperate. And frightened.
And angry.
They closed in on us. “I swear I’m telling the truth!” I cried. “Don’t hurt us! HEY — don’t hurt us!”
Matt grabbed my brother by the shoulders. “You don’t want to be on my bad list,” he growled.
“Down, boy!” Luke said. “I’m your friend. Lizzy and I —”
“We know things about Panic Park!” I shouted. “Things you don’t know.”
The kids glared angrily at us. I could feel the tension in the air. Matt held on to Luke’s shoulders.
“She’s lying,” Jillian insisted. “I’m reading her thoughts. I can’t tell why she’s lying. I just know she is.”
“Give me a chance!” I cried. “Let me tell you one thing about Panic Park — okay?”
“Go ahead,” Carly Beth said. “One thing.”
“The park doesn’t exist!” I said.
A short silence. Then they laughed.
“You’re totally crazy!” Jackson said.
Julie squinted at me. “If Panic Park doesn’t exist, how did eight of our friends travel there?”
“Enough!” Matt shouted. “Everyone shut up! We can’t stand here talking. These two kids are trying to keep us here so the Horrors can catch us.”
Matt lifted Luke off the ground.
Luke tried to kick him. But Matt was too strong.
“Let me down! Hey — give me a break!” Luke cried.
Julie, Jackson, and Carly Beth stepped up to me. Their faces were angry and threatening. “Tell us why you’re here,” Jackson demanded.
Before I could answer, they let out a shout.
We all turned to see a tall Horror come running out of the shadows. He was waving his big paws above his head as he ran.
Carly Beth gasped. Her face went pale.
“We’re caught!” Matt cried. He let my brother drop to the ground. “They’ve found us!”
Kids turned to run — then stopped.
“Byron!” Robby Schwartz shouted. “Hey, I don’t believe it! It’s Byron.”
The Horror was big and strong looking. He wore green overalls over his purple fur. The short yellow horns on top of his head caught the afternoon sunlight. His eyes kept darting from side to side.
“Byron — where have you been?” Matt stepped up to the big Horror.
“What’s going on?” Jillian asked.
“No time,” Byron replied, his big chest heaving. “You’re all okay? Did the others escape to Panic Park?”
“They’re gone,” Matt said. “We tried to follow them. But —”
/> “You don’t have much time,” Byron said. “The other Horrors are searching every inch of HorrorLand to find you. I’m the only one on your side. They’re very angry. Believe me, you don’t want them to catch you.”
“What do we do?” Carly Beth asked. “Can you get us out of here?”
Byron didn’t answer her. He was staring at Luke and me. “Who are you?” he demanded. “You’re not Very Special Guests.”
“We … we want to help these kids,” I stammered.
“We think they’re working for the Horrors,” Jackson told Byron. “They’re trying to keep us here.”
“We’re not working for anyone,” I said. “We know some things about Panic Park. We don’t think it’s safe.”
Byron shook his head. “You’re wrong,” he said. “Come with me. You’ll find out soon enough what’s safe and what isn’t safe.”
He gazed all around. Then he motioned for everyone to follow him.
“Where are we going?” Matt asked.
“I think I can get you out of here,” Byron replied. And then he added, “If we’re quick.”
Jackson hurried to catch up to Byron. “But why are you bringing Lizzy and Luke?” he asked. “We don’t want them with us.”
“Take them with you,” Byron said. “Better to keep them close.”
“But … but …” I sputtered. “Luke and I are on YOUR side!”
I could see that no one believed me.
“No problem. I’ll keep them close,” Jillian said. “And I’ll read their minds. We’ll know what these two are really thinking.”
A chill rolled down my back. I felt so strange. These kids didn’t know Luke and me. But they didn’t trust us — and they didn’t like us.
We have to prove ourselves to them, I thought. But — how?
The sun was still high above the trees. For some reason, the park had closed early that day. No one around. Food carts stood empty across Zombie Plaza.
The rides had all stopped. The music had been turned off. No voices anywhere. Just a deep, creepy silence — and the thud of our shoes on the pavement.
We trotted behind Byron past the carnival games area. I saw a Horror at the Head Toss game. He was setting his real-looking human heads on a shelf. He didn’t turn around as we jogged past.
Byron stopped suddenly and turned. He led us along the back of the games — to a tiny black building at the end of the path. The building had a single door and a flat roof. No sign.
We huddled in front of the door. No one said a word.
Did this little building really lead to Panic Park?
Byron grabbed the door handle and twisted it. “Locked,” he said. “No problem.”
He turned to Matt. “Use your key card. The Panic Park key card I gave you when you first arrived.”
Matt fumbled in his jeans pocket. He pulled out a gray plastic card.
“Hurry,” Byron urged. “They’ll be coming for you. I know they will.”
Matt gripped the plastic card and shoved it into a tiny slot on the side of the door. He grabbed the knob and turned it.
He pushed the door open.
Dark inside. I couldn’t see a thing.
“Hurry. Get in. Get in!” Byron said in a whisper. He gave Matt a gentle shove.
We scrambled inside. Down a narrow aisle.
So dark in there. The only light came from the open doorway.
What was this place?
I waited for my eyes to adjust.
Slowly, the room came into focus — and I gasped in surprise.
“Mirrors!” Carly Beth exclaimed. Her shoulder bumped me as she leaned toward the glass. “It’s a Hall of Mirrors.”
“But that’s impossible!” Robby’s voice cried out in the darkness. “There are no mirrors in HorrorLand.”
We were all jammed tight together. Standing in a narrow aisle between two long rows of mirrors.
The air felt hot and damp. A trickle of sweat ran down my forehead.
Our reflections stared back at us. Shadowy reflections. Wide-eyed faces staring out at us in surprise.
Luke did a little dance. “Look — there’s a hundred of me! The reflections just keep going.”
“Byron, how did this get here?” Carly Beth asked.
“These mirrors weren’t here before — were they?” Julie asked.
“Byron?”
We turned, squinting into the sunlight from the open door.
“He’s gone,” I said. “He left us. We’re on our own.”
“Why did he leave us here without saying a word?” Carly Beth asked.
“Don’t chicken out now,” Matt said. “Byron got us this far. We have to go the rest of the way.”
“Yeah. We know what to do,” Jackson agreed. “These mirrors will take us to Panic Park.”
Luke pushed up against me. He raised his mouth to my ear. “Lizzy, they’re making a big mistake,” he whispered.
“Shhhhh.” I pressed my finger over Luke’s lips. “Don’t say a word. We don’t really know what’s in the other park,” I whispered.
“But, Lizzy —”
“They all think they’ll be safer there,” I told him. “That Horror Byron thinks so, too. If we speak up, they won’t let us help them.”
Carly Beth raised her hand to the mirror. I saw her fingers sink right into the glass.
“It’s … soft,” she murmured. “The glass is soft. Like Jell-O.”
“Everyone take a deep breath,” Matt said. “We’re going in. We’re going into the glass.” His voice cracked.
He was one of the bravest in the group. But I could see that Matt was just as scared as I was.
“Panic Park, here we come!” Jackson shouted.
He lurched forward. His head disappeared into the glass. The rest of his body moved into it.
I could see him in the mirror. I watched until his body grew smaller and smaller, and he disappeared into the distance.
Carly Beth went next. She ducked her head and shoved her hands forward and stepped into the liquid glass.
I turned to Luke. He had his hands shoved deep in his jeans pockets. He was chewing his bottom lip as he gazed into the mirror in front of him.
“Lizzy, are we … are we really doing this?” he asked in a tiny voice.
“Yes,” I said. “Now!”
“But … will we ever find our way back?” Luke asked.
The question sent a shiver down my spine. I didn’t know how to answer it.
I grabbed Luke’s hand, and we stepped into the mirror.
“Hey!” I uttered a cry as my face sank into the soft glass.
Much colder than I expected. My cheeks tingled. I felt the cold goo wrap around my head, my hair.
I took a step. Then another. I had to push hard. It was like moving through frozen foam rubber.
My chest started to ache. I realized I was holding my breath. I let the air out in a long whoosh.
Could I breathe in this thick goo?
I sucked in a tiny bit of air. Then a little more. The air froze my nostrils.
Stretching my hands out in front of me, I took another step.
So dark in here. And so cold. The goo wrapped around me tightly. As if I were packed in snow.
I turned to my brother. “Luke?”
My voice sounded hollow, muffled by the liquid glass.
“Luke? Are you there?”
I couldn’t see him. Too dark. I couldn’t see anything.
I forced myself forward. I tried not to breathe. The frozen air burned my nose.
My whole body shivered. I moved slowly through the darkness, listening for Luke … for the others.
But I was surrounded by a heavy, terrifying silence.
Another step. My legs were trembling.
It’s like walking through a nightmare, I thought. Like walking along the bottom of the ocean.
All alone … all alone.
Would it ever end?
Then — something grabbed my hand.
Something pulled me hard.
I opened my mouth to scream. But no sound came out.
And I went falling … falling into the thick darkness.
I felt a whoosh of warm air.
The heavy goo fell away from me as I stumbled forward.
The blackness lifted to gray. I could see. I could see who was pulling me out of the mirror.
Luke!
He gave my hand one last tug, and I stumbled onto the floor.
Blinking, I tried to force my eyes to adjust to the dim light.
“Lizzy, are you okay?” Luke’s voice rang in my ears. I couldn’t shake off the deep silence.
“I … I guess,” I choked out.
I glanced around. The two rows of mirrors came into focus.
Were we back where we started?
Matt came staggering out of a mirror. He grabbed Jillian to catch his balance. Julie shook her head hard, as if trying to shake the goo from her hair.
Luke laughed, a shrill, nervous laugh. “That was totally WEIRD!” he cried.
“We’re back in the Hall of Mirrors,” Robby said. “Did we do something wrong?”
Matt shoved past me, along the row of mirrors to the door. He pushed the door open and peered out.
“Oh, wow,” he said. “I totally don’t believe this. Check it out.”
We all stampeded to the door. A gust of fresh air felt good on my face.
I squeezed outside along with the other kids. I knew instantly we were in a different park.
I saw a Ferris wheel in the distance. A steep roller coaster beside it.
A tent stood in a wide, grassy park. The flap was open, and I could see an old-fashioned ride with white wooden swans inside.
“We … we made it!” Carly Beth cried. “This must be the other park!”
“Panic Park,” Julie murmured. “Do you believe it? We’re in Panic Park!”
I rubbed my eyes. “Why is everything in black and white?” I asked.
No one answered. We all huddled near the door to the Hall of Mirrors and gazed around.
I could see only shades of gray. The tent. The grass. The trees. The rides in the distance.
“It’s all so drab,” Robby said. “Like the color has been washed out.”
I gasped as a group of people walked by.
“Look!” Luke cried. “They’re in black and white, too!”
I suddenly realized the park was crowded. A long line of people stood outside the tent to the swan ride. Small groups of people moved back and forth in front of us.