The Burning (17 page)

Authors: R.L. Stine

BOOK: The Burning

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“Daniel! Please come out, Daniel!”

Nora called his name again and again.

But as the flames raged, swallowing the Fear mansion in their eerie light, and the terrifying howls rose up in the night like a symphony of pain and horror, Nora knew she would never see Daniel again.

Epilogue

N
ora dipped her pen, but the inkwell had run dry. Yawning, she set down the pen and stared at the stack of pages she had written.

Our marriage ended the feud between the Fears and the Goodes, she thought miserably. But not as we had intended.

No one came out of the fire. Not Daniel. No one.

The house burned for days until the fire finally smoldered out, leaving nothing but a black, charred shell in its place. Leaving the charred ruins of the Fear mansion and a legacy of evilâevil that will hover over the entire village.

This is why I have written my story, Nora thought, flexing her aching fingers. This is why I have spent the night writing down everything I know about the Goodes and the Fears.

Maybe someone reading this will be able to stop the evil before it rises again.

They think I am insane, Nora realized. They think the fire and all I saw drove me mad.

That is why they brought me to this insane asylum. That is why they locked me in this room.

But I am not mad. My story had to be told. It had to be written. I had to stop the hideous evil. I
had
to.

Glancing at the sunlight pouring through the window, Nora heard footsteps. Voices in the hall.

The door to her room opened. Two uniformed nurses entered. Their faces were solemn, their eyes cold. “The doctors will see you now, Nora,” one of them said softly.

“Yes. Very well,” Nora said, rising from the hard chair she had spent the night in. She lifted the heavy sheaf of papers from the small desk. “Here. They must read this,” she told the nurse. “They must read the whole story. They must know about the evil. The evil will destroy us all, you see. They must knowâ”

Narrowing her eyes, studying Nora's face, the nurse took Nora's pages and tossed them into the fire.

“No!” Nora shrieked. She tried to dive after them, but the nurses held her back firmly.

“It is for your own good, Nora,” one of them said softly. “If the doctors saw what you have spent the night scribbling, they would lock you up and throw away the key.”

Nora stared at her pages as they caught flame and started to burn, sending thick white smoke up the chimney.

“You do not understand!” she protested, tears forming in her tired eyes. “The evil is still alive. The evil is still there! The word must get out. People must knowâ”

“Come with us, Nora.” The nurse's voice was soft, but her grip was hard and tight on Nora's arm. “Come with us now. Try to forget your wild tale.”

“Did you not hear the news?” the other nurse asked brightly. “This will surely cheer you, Nora. The Fear mansion is gone, but the village is to build a road on the property.”

“What? A road?” Nora asked, feeling dazed. “But the horrorâ”

“No more horror, Nora. No more. The road will be lovely. It means that lovely houses will be built there,” the nurse told her, edging her toward the door. “And do you know what they're going to call the new road?”

“What?” Nora asked weakly.

“They're going to call it Fear Street.”

About the Author

“Where do you get your ideas?”

That's the question that R. L. Stine is asked most often. “I don't know where my ideas come from,” he says. “But I do know that I have a lot more scary stories in my mind that I can't wait to write.”

So far, he has written over a hundred mysteries and thrillers for young people, all of them best-sellers.

Bob grew up in Columbus, Ohio. Today he lives in an apartment near Central Park in New York City with his wife, Jane.

THE NIGHTMARES NEVER END â¦ WHEN YOU VISIT

FEAR STREETÂ®

Next â¦
SILENT NIGHT II

Wealthy, spoiled Reva Dalby is backâand Pres Nichols is out to get her. Pres and his friend Diane are broke, but Pres knows how they can get a million dollars â¦ just in time for Christmas.

Pres and Diane decide to kidnap Reva and demand a million dollars ransom.

Can they do it? Can they get away with it? Will Reva get out of this alive?

D
ARK
S
ECRETSâ¢

by Elizabeth Chandler

Who is Megan? She's about to find outâ¦.

#1: Legacy of Lies

Megan thought she knew who she was. Until she came to Grandmother's house. Until she met Matt, who angered and attracted her as no boy ever had before Then she began having dreams again, of a life she never lived, a love she never knewâ¦a secret that threatened to drive her to the grave.

Home is where the horror isâ¦.

#2: Don't Tell

Lauren is coming home, eight years after her mother's mysterious drowning. They said it was an accident. But the tabloids screamed murder. Aunt Jule was her only refuge, the beloved second mother she's returning to see. But first Lauren stops at Wisteria's annual street festival and meets Nick, a tease, a flirt, and a childhood playmate. The day is almost perfectâuntil she realizes she's being watched. A series of nasty “accidents” makes Lauren realize someone wants her dead. And this time there's no place to runâ¦.

Published by Simon & Schuster

3027-01

Students are dying to get out ofâ¦

FEAR HALL

Don't miss this shocking two-part story!

F
EAR
H
ALL:
T
HE
B
EGINNING

The horror is just getting startedâ¦

F
EAR
H
ALL:
T
HE
C
ONCLUSION

Welcome back to the scariest dorm on campus. Nobody lives here for long!

Come hang out at Fear Hall, where life is a scream!

You can't get the whole story unless you read both books!

R. L. STINE