The Evil Lives! (5 page)

“That's not true,” Amanda declared.

Dustin sneered. “You think I didn't see the look on your face when you were talking to him? Please. And today when he waved at you, you practically drooled—it was really pathetic.”

“Dustin—” Amanda began.

But he interrupted her. “You hardly know the guy, Amanda. What makes you think he's interested in you?”

“Judd doesn't have anything to do with this!” Amanda insisted. “It's you, Dustin. I want to break up with
you.”
She stepped aside and began to walk away.

Dustin grabbed her arm and swung her around to face him. “And what about what I want?” he demanded.

Frightened at the anger and bitterness in his eyes, Amanda wrenched her arm free and ran down the sidewalk.

What's
wrong
with him? she wondered. He's always been intense, but this is different. This is scary.

Still frightened, Amanda glanced back over her shoulder.

Dustin followed her. He wasn't running, but his long legs were quickly eating up the distance between them.

He's crazy, she thought. Crazy!

Putting on a burst of speed, Amanda raced to the middle of the block and up the walk onto Victoria's porch. The front door wasn't locked. Amanda hurried in and locked it behind her.

Breathless, she stood on tiptoe and peeked out the little window at the top of the door.

Dustin stood at the end of the sidewalk. He stared at the house for a few seconds, then jammed his fists into his pockets and walked away.

Sighing with relief, Amanda hurried down the hall to the kitchen. “You'll never believe—” she started.

Then she stopped.

The room was dark except for candles.

Black candles, set in a circle on top of the round oak table.

The other cheerleaders sat around the table, gazing at the flames. The candles waved and flickered, throwing shadows on the walls.

Amanda caught her breath. “What are you doing?”

“You missed it, Amanda,” Victoria replied. She smiled, and the candlelight flickered eerily in her eyes. “We called up the evil spirit. It's here!”

“H
uh? No!” Amanda gasped.

“Yes,” Victoria insisted. “Can't you feel it? Can't you tell it's here?”

Amanda's knees felt shaky. Her heart pounded. “You shouldn't have done it!”

Keesha laughed. “We didn't.”

“Huh?”

“Relax, Amanda,” Natalie told her. “Victoria was just joking. We didn't call up any evil spirit.”

Amanda sagged against the door frame in relief.

“We're about to call it, though,” Victoria said.

Amanda tensed up again.

“We were just waiting for you,” Janine explained. She gestured at the black candles, making the flames waver wildly. “How do you like the atmosphere?”

“You shouldn't be playing this game!” Amanda cried.

“It's not a game,” Keesha protested. “Tell her, Janine.”

“You remember those papers in the bottom of the box?” Janine asked. “Well, they were pages that had been torn out of a book. A really old book, I think, because the paper's real thin and crinkly and rusty colored. Anyway, it gave instructions on how to call up the Evil.”

“Right. You sit in a circle,” Keesha said. “And you light one black candle for every person there.” She pointed to an empty chair with a candle in front of it. “That's yours, Amanda.”

“Come on, Amanda.” Victoria patted the empty chair between her and Natalie. “Sit down so we can get started.”

“No!” Amanda shouted.

The others stared at her, startled.

“You think this whole thing is a joke, but it's not,” Amanda told them. “It's really dangerous.”

Victoria and Keesha laughed. Janine snickered. Even Natalie smiled. “Come on, Amanda,” Keesha said. “You don't really think anything is going to happen, do you? It's just a goof.”

“It's not!” Amanda protested sharply. “I asked Adele about Corky Corcoran. And you know what she told me? Everything that Corky wrote really happened! Her sister Bobbi died. Bobbi was scalded to death in the locker-room shower. And she wasn't the only one. Other people died, too. The Evil possessed some of the cheerleaders—took over their minds. And they killed without even knowing it!”

“Well, that won't happen this time,” Janine assured her. “Corky's letter told us how to kill the Evil, remember? It has to be drowned.”

“See, Amanda?” Keesha grinned. “All we have to do is tie it to a cement block and toss it in the lake.”

“This isn't funny,” Amanda said. “Don't you get it? If we call the spirit up, it might possess one of us. One of us might start killing!”

“Get a grip, Amanda,” Janine told her. “You're practically hysterical.”

“I can't help it!” Amanda took a deep breath and forced herself to speak more calmly. “We shouldn't mess around with this.”

Keesha rolled her eyes. Natalie and Victoria exchanged a skeptical glance.

“Don't be such a baby,” Janine moaned. “It's just for fun—nothing is going to happen.”

The others nodded.

“How can you be sure nothing will happen?” Amanda asked.

“Because none of this spirit stuff is for real.” Natalie gathered up her dark hair and began twisting it into a long braid. “It's like playing with the Ouija board.”

Amanda stared at her. I'm surprised Natalie wants to go along with anything Janine suggested, she thought. But at least they're not fighting.

“Come on, Amanda,” Victoria urged. “Sit down.”

Amanda gazed at the eager faces in the candlelight. She still didn't like the idea. But if she agreed to do it, and nothing happened, then the others would drop the whole thing.

“Okay,” she finally said. “We
try
to call up the
spirit. But then we forget about it. We're supposed to be talking about our halftime routines, remember?”

“Don't worry, we'll do this real fast,” Victoria assured her. “What does it say we have to do, Janine?”

“We all hold hands,” Janine directed. “And then we say, ‘Come forth, spirit. Rise and walk the earth again.' ”

Keesha burst out laughing. “If it's that easy, why doesn't everyone in the world do it?”

“There's more to it,” Janine replied. “We have to do a bit of chanting.”

“How will we know if the spirit is here?” Keesha asked. “I mean, will it talk to us, or what?”

Janine shrugged. “How should I know? Let's just do it and find out. Everybody ready?”

The five cheerleaders placed their hands on the table and gazed into the flickering black candles.

Amanda suddenly felt cold all over. Even for a joke, this was pretty creepy.

Led by Janine, the other four had already begun chanting the words on the old pages. Amanda's mouth felt dry as she joined in.

Finally the chant ended. Silence filled the kitchen.

Amanda's gaze skipped around the shadowy room. She half expected to see some creature lurking in the corner or a ghostlike figure hovering in the air.

Nothing.

No one. No spirit or ghost.

Except for her friends, the kitchen remained empty. And silent. No ghostly voice called out from the shadows.

“Should we try it again?” Victoria whispered.

“No way,” Amanda replied. She freed her hands. “Once was definitely enough.”

“I guess the evil spirit didn't want to join us,” Keesha murmured.

Good, Amanda thought. Let it stay where it belongs.

As she leaned forward to blow out her candle, a blinding flash of white light suddenly split the darkness.

Victoria screamed.

“What
is
that?” Janine cried. “Where is that light coming from?”

The light flashed a second time. Blazing.

Then it went out, leaving the room in darkness again.

“It's suddenly so cold!” Natalie gasped. “Do you feel it? It's
freezing
in here!”

“What is going on?” Victoria cried.

Before anyone could answer, the kitchen door banged open.

A cold wind blew in, snuffing out all but one candle.

In the wavering light, a tall shadow fell across the table.

Then a dark figure slid into the room.

V
ictoria screamed again and leaped to her feet. Her chair tipped over, falling to the floor with a loud crash.

The others sat frozen, staring at the figure looming in the doorway.

Amanda's heart thundered. Her mind told her to get out, but her legs refused to move.

As Victoria scrambled across the room, another figure stepped into the room and flicked on the overhead light.

Everyone stayed silent for a moment, staring in disbelief.

And then Keesha laughed. “Whoa! Do we feel like idiots—or what?”

The others laughed too.

Because it was only Judd, standing next to the refrigerator.

And behind him stood Brandon, looking bewildered. “How come it was so dark in here?” he asked.

“I don't believe this!” Victoria cried, sagging against a counter in relief. “It's only you! I've never been so glad to see anyone in my life!”

Keesha blew out the last candle. “So much for the spirit world,” she declared. “What are you guys doing here, anyway?”

“We had another practice tonight,” Brandon explained. “I was giving Judd a lift. But I decided to stop by and see Janine.”

Janine went to Brandon and slipped her arm around his waist.

Amanda turned from them. She stared at Judd.

Something is wrong with him, she thought.

He stood still, gazing around the room as if he'd suddenly landed in a foreign country.

Amanda smiled at him, but Judd didn't seem to notice. He blinked, his blue eyes baffled. And bright. Almost glowing.

Even though Brandon had shut the door, the room stayed cold. Unnaturally cold. Amanda could feel the strange chill settling into her bones.

Amanda shivered, frightened by the cold and the strange expression in Judd's eyes.

“Hey, Judd, stop standing there like a zombie,” Keesha joked. “You're freaking us all out. Sit down and join the party.”

Judd blinked again and shook his head, as if he were trying to clear it. Slowly, he raised his hand
and wiped it across his face. His hand shook violently.

“Judd?” Amanda stood up. “What is it? What's wrong?”

With a sudden groan, Judd crumpled to the floor.

“J
udd!” Amanda knocked her chair back and raced around the table. She dropped to her knees beside Judd and peered into his face.

He's so white! she thought in a panic.

“Water!” Brandon barked out. He knelt next to Judd and tried to raise him to a sitting position. “Bring some water. Hurry!”