Hyde and Shriek by David Lubar Read Free Book Online

almost there,” I said. “And it’s a nice night for walking.”
    He nodded. “It’s a beautiful night. But there are some dangerous people in this world. It would be a shame if you ran into one of them. How about letting me give you a lift?”
    I nodded. It was his job. If I didn’t take the ride, he’d be worried about me. The best thing I could do was let him help me. That way, everybody won.
    â€œIt’s just ahead,” I told him as we pulled back onto the road. “Third house on the right after the stop sign at the top of the hill.”
    He nodded. A couple minutes later, he pulled into my driveway. “Here you go. You be careful where you walk. Okay?”
    â€œI will. Thanks.” I got out of the car. The policmean waited until I was inside the house. Then he drove away. I watched from the window as the car backed out of the driveway and thought about how tough his job must be. He had to deal with every kind of bad thing that came along, but it hadn’t turned him mean. He could still be nice to a young lady walking home on a lonely highway.
    I sighed and kicked off my shoes. It felt good to be home. True, I had a big problem to figure out. But at least I was home.
    As I was getting ready for bed, I studied myself in the bathroom mirror. I had the face of a sweet young girl, a mostly familiar face. I went to the closet in my bedroom and dragged out a box of old photographs. It took a while, but finally I found one from sixth grade and brought it back to the bathroom. I propped it up against the mirror, then compared it to my reflection. Similar. The girl I saw in the mirror and the girl in the photo could have been sisters. But not twins. I hadn’t just become the girl I’d once been.
    â€œLet’s be scientific about this,” I said. I tried to analyze the situation. But to be honest, I didn’t really feel very scientific. Mostly, I felt sleepy.
    So I went to bed. As much as I needed sleep, I wish I’d stayed awake. I wish I’d avoided the dreams.

 
    Fifteen
    BAD DREAMS
    The place was beautiful. It looked like the sort of fairy-tale world you see in cartoon ads for toys or breakfast cereals. There were millions of flowers in a huge meadow, and a sunny sky dappled with fluffy clouds. Rainbow-colored birds swooped and soared while whistling enchanting songs. In the far distance, I saw a gleaming silver castle.
    I heard footsteps. A woman was walking ahead of me, moving slowly through the flowers. I ran to catch up with her. I tapped her on the shoulder and she stopped walking, but she kept her back to me. “I think I’m lost,” I said. “Can you help me?”
    She turned and stared at me with sad eyes. A shiver ran through me from my scalp to the tips of my fingers. She was me. But me as I’d been before all this started. It was me as Miss Clevis. “I can’t stay here,” she said.
    â€œWhy not?” I asked.
    â€œI don’t belong here. If I stay here, I’ll lose myself.”
    I didn’t understand. Before I could ask her what she meant, the whole world shook with a giant explosion. Lightning flashed. In an instant, the sky turned dark with heavy clouds. Around me, the flowers died. Thorn-filled vines thrust through the soil, tangling with everything. The birds turned to vultures and began attacking one another. The castle crumbled to the ground and burst into flames.
    The place felt so awful, so deep-down bad, that I couldn’t help crying. I reached out to grab the woman.
    She put an arm around me. “I can’t stay in this dark world, either,” she said. “This place will destroy me. And not just me.”
    She was right. I knew it would destroy me, too. It would eat away at me until there was nothing left. I looked for a way out.
    There was another crash of thunder. The beautiful world returned. But not for long. With a crash, the bad world was back. It didn’t