Halloween Party (16 page)

“I didn't realize how obsessed she had become,” Philip said, nodding in agreement. “Until I found—found the body of your friend Les. I knew Justine had
done it, and I knew I must stop her. I hid his body on the roof so no one would find it, and then I confronted my niece with what she had done. I told her we must stop the party at once. I told her I was going to call the police. But she—she—” He stopped speaking and began to sob.

“She attacked you,” said Niki. “I know. She did it to me too.”

“I never expected her to—to act against me,” said Philip. “She stunned me with a blow to the head, and then she must have dragged me down to the basement and tied me up.”

“Are you trying to tell us that Justine did all of this herself—killed Les, knocked you out—” Alex was plainly disbelieving.

“You must understand,” said Philip, “that Justine is very strong. I think she worked on building up her strength so she would be capable of anything. I believe she always knew she would do something like this.”

“How dare you?!”

Everyone turned at the sound of Justine's voice. She was standing at the edge of the garden, her lovely face almost unrecognizable beneath the madness and rage.

“Justine!” Philip cried. In spite of everything he had told them, Terry could see how much he still loved his niece.

“You have betrayed me!” Justine shouted at him. “Even worse, you've betrayed my parents! I should have killed you when I had the chance!”

“No!” cried Philip, sinking to his knees. “Don't say that!”

“I should have known you were too weak to do what had to be done!” she said. “No one was ever as strong
as I was. I planned the perfect revenge! And it would have succeeded—it nearly did succeed—” She glared at all of them with pure hatred.

Terry looked away. Niki gripped his hand more tightly.

We're safe now, he told himself. She can't hurt us anymore.

But he jumped in fright, as did everyone else, when Justine suddenly ran directly at them, her green eyes blank with madness.

Just before she reached them, she suddenly veered to the left, and then, moving faster than seemed possible, ran up the front steps and onto the burning porch.

“
N
o!”

A single anguished wail from Philip split the air.

Terry froze when Justine had swerved and headed back to the burning house. But as soon as she reached the steps, he began running too, almost without realizing he was doing it.

Running after her.

Running toward the heat and the flames.

From the corner of his eye he sensed motion, and just as he reached the steps he saw that Alex, too, was running after Justine, just behind him.

Without slowing down, Terry ran up the steps and onto the blazing porch.

Justine was standing just at the entrance to the house, swaying slightly, her clothes beginning to burn. She turned around, and when she saw Alex and Terry her eyes widened and she started into the house, which had become an inferno of flame.

“Grab her!” Alex shouted.

Terry reached out and grabbed for Justine. He got her arm and pulled with all his strength. But with the strength of the insane, she lunged in the opposite direction, pulling him into the house after her.

Both of them tumbled onto the burning floor.

Terry screamed as he saw the flames, spreading to within inches of where he lay.

The next thing he knew, someone had grabbed him, and he was rolling out of the house, down the steps, and into the mud. Someone rolled him over and over, the cool mud soothing the heat.

He sat up, dazed, to see Alex standing over Justine, beating out her flaming clothes with his silver jacket.

Justine was sobbing now, not in insanity, but in defeat, and pain.

Alex came over and bent over Terry, his pale face frightened and drawn.

“Hey, man,” he said. “You all right?”

Terry nodded. “You saved my life, Alex. Thanks.”

“You tried to save all our lives,” Alex said, putting a hand on Terry's shoulder. “I guess we were just too stubborn to listen.”

For a moment the two boys just stared at each other, and Terry saw something he had never expected to see again—the look of friendship and respect. He hoped that his face showed the same things.

A moment later the yard filled with the flashing lights and wailing sirens of emergency vehicles. While the firemen began to battle the blaze, medical personnel examined Terry and Alex for burns.

Niki stood close beside Terry, holding on to his arm as if she would never let go. “What do you think will happen to Justine?” she said.

“She will get the help she needs,” said Philip sadly. “I should have seen that she had it long ago.”

They watched as Justine was strapped onto a hospital gurney.

A few minutes later the police ambulance pulled out of the yard, its siren wailing.

Overhead a shower of sparks erupted, illuminating the ruined skeleton of the Cameron mansion.

Behind the black smoke, the red morning sun made its first appearance.

“Hey—we made it all night. It's morning!” Ricky cried. “It isn't Halloween anymore!”

“I don't know about that,” said Niki, holding on to Terry's arm as they began to walk away. “It's always Halloween on Fear Street.”

THE NIGHTMARES

NEVER END . . .

WHEN YOU VISIT

Next:
THE STEPSISTER

Emily wants to like her new stepsister. But Jessie doesn't make it easy. As soon as Jessie moves in, she takes over Emily's room, starts wearing Emily's clothes, makes secret late-night calls on Jessie's phone—and that's just the beginning!

Emily's terror mounts when she picks up Jessie's diary and learns a horrifying secret from Jessie's past. Did Jessie really murder someone? Does she plan to murder again? Emily knows she must find out the rest of her stepsister's dark secret. Her own life depends on it!

R.L. Stine invented the teen horror genre with Fear Street, the bestselling teen horror series of all time. He also changed the face of children's publishing with the mega-successful Goosebumps series, which
Guinness World Records
cites as the Bestselling Children's Book Series ever, and went on to become a worldwide multimedia phenomenon. The first two books in his new series Mostly Ghostly,
Who Let the Ghosts Out?
and
Have You Met My Ghoulfriend?
, are
New York Times
bestsellers. He's thrilled to be writing for teens again in the brand-new Fear Street Nights books.

R.L. Stine has received numerous awards of recognition, including several Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards and Disney Adventures Kids' Choice Awards, and he has been selected by kids as one of their favorite authors in the National Education Association Read Across America. He lives in New York City with his wife, Jane, and their dog, Nadine.

Don't miss these chilling tales from

FEAR STREET
^®

All-Night Party

The Confession

First Date

Halloween Party

Killer's Kiss

The New Girl

The Perfect Date

The Rich Girl

Secret Admirer

The Stepsister

Switched

After hours, the horror continues at

Fear Street
^®
Nights

#1: Moonlight Secrets

#2: Midnight Games

#3: Darkest Dawn

D
EAR
R
EADERS
,

W
ELCOME TO
FEAR STREET—
WHERE YOUR WORST NIGHTMARES LIVE!
I
T'S A TERRIFYING PLACE FOR
S
HADYSIDE
H
IGH STUDENTS—AND FOR
YOU
!

D
ID YOU KNOW THAT THE SUN NEVER SHINES ON THE OLD MANSIONS OF
F
EAR
S
TREET?
N
O BIRDS CHIRP IN THE
F
EAR
S
TREET WOODS.
A
ND AT NIGHT, EERIE MOANS AND HOWLS RING THROUGH THE TANGLED TREES.

I
'VE WRITTEN NEARLY A HUNDRED
F
EAR
S
TREET NOVELS, AND
I
AM THRILLED THAT MILLIONS OF READERS HAVE ENJOYED ALL THE FRIGHTS AND CHILLS IN THE BOOKS.
W
HEREVER
I
GO, KIDS ASK ME WHEN
I
'M GOING TO WRITE A NEW
F
EAR
S
TREET TRILOGY.

W
ELL, NOW
I
HAVE SOME EXCITING NEWS.
I
HAVE WRITTEN A BRAND-NEW
F
EAR
S
TREET TRILOGY.
T
HE THREE NEW BOOKS ARE CALLED
FEAR STREET NIGHTS. T
HE SAGA OF
S
IMON AND
A
NGELICA
F
EAR AND THE UNSPEAKABLE EVIL THEY CAST OVER THE TEENAGERS OF
S
HADYSIDE WILL CONTINUE IN THESE NEW BOOKS.
Y
ES,
S
IMON AND
A
NGELICA
F
EAR ARE BACK TO BRING TERROR TO THE TEENS OF
S
HADYSIDE.

FEAR STREET NIGHTS
IS AVAILABLE NOW
. . . . D
ON'T MISS IT.
I
'M VERY EXCITED TO RETURN TO
F
EAR
S
TREET—AND
I
HOPE YOU WILL BE THERE WITH ME FOR ALL THE GOOD, SCARY FUN!

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

SIMON PULSE

An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing Division
1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020
www.SimonandSchuster.com