A New Fear by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

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PART THREE

Chapter 15

    The Village of Shadyside
1919
    A storm was brewing.
    Nicholas could feel it in the wind as he climbed onto the narrow concrete platform of the Shadyside train station. He could smell it in the air.
    Lightning flashed in the darkening sky. It outlined part of a large mansion looming in the distance.
    Nicholas had planned to find a room in a hotel and explore Shadyside the next day. Instead he picked up his suitcase and wandered through the town square and down the tree-lined main street.
    He passed the barber shop, its peppermint-striped pole out front. A young marine was getting a shave inside. Just back from the war, Nicholas thought. And he is not much older than I am.
    He peered through the window of the general store. The shelves were crammed with tools, dishes, bolts of cloth, bags of flour, jars of candy—everything thetownspeople might want. Nicholas thought about going inside for a cold drink, but decided to continue on.
    He felt as if the mansion were a magnet, drawing him nearer. Pulling him closer and closer. He did not want to stop for anything until he reached it.
    Nicholas passed the telegraph office and the newspaper office. He gave the wooden Indian outside the tobacco shop a pat on the shoulder as he went by. And he whistled in appreciation when he spotted the shiny new Mercer Runabout parked in front of the bank.
    Someday I will have an auto such as that, Nicholas promised himself.
    Nicholas walked faster and faster. He had to see that mansion. He turned off the main street and hurried down a row of small houses. Almost every one had a vegetable garden.
    At last Nicholas found the street leading to the mansion—Fear Street. Strange name. Who would want to live on a street with such a name?
    A stretch of the winding street had been paved. The rest had not. Someone must have had plans for this land, Nicholas realized. But it appears that they abandoned their project long ago.
    Nicholas heard thunder rumble in the distance. He knew he should turn back. Find a place to spend the night. But he needed to see that mansion.
    Nicholas rushed down the winding road until he reached the iron gate leading to the mansion. He pushed the gate open, and the hinges squealed.
    Thorns snagged the pants of his new brown suit ashe struggled up the overgrown driveway. He did not care.
    Nicholas’s heart beat faster and faster as he approached the house. I belong here, he thought suddenly. I belong here.
    He stopped in front of the mansion. It towered over him. It was huge. Nicholas could not imagine living there. The first floor alone would hold five or six cottages such as the one he and his mother had shared.
    Most of the enormous house had been destroyed. A fire, Nicholas decided. A big one. I bet people could see it all over town.
    Nicholas tried to imagine the mansion as it once was. A vision popped into his head. The house freshly painted. The shutters open. Light pouring from the windows. The gardens and hedges well cared for.
    Another roll of thunder sounded in the distance. I am going to get caught in the rain, Nicholas thought.
    But he could not head back to town now.
    This place calls to me, Nicholas thought. But why? For what purpose? For good … or evil? The hair on his arms stood up.
    Nicholas climbed up the porch steps, the wood creaking beneath his feet. He hesitated, then slipped inside the charred remains of the huge house.
    His mouth grew dry, and he swallowed hard as he put down his suitcase. I know this room. I know what it looked like before the fire. I know what I will find in every room of this mansion.
    Had he seen the house in a dream? A nightmare? What was happening to him?
    A dim gray light shone into the room. Nicholas looked up. The fire had burned a hole from the ground floor up through the roof of the mansion. Leaving only a burnt-out shell.
    The smell of burning wood still filled the room. Did people die in the fire? he wondered.
    “Fire,” he heard a voice whisper