I Live in Your Basement by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

myself to wake up, to lift myself from the
dream.
    Wake up, Marco! Wake up! Wake up!
    But when I opened my eyes, the doctor still hunched beside me, pulling out my
tongue. Pulling… pulling…
    It wasn’t a dream.

 
 
22
     
     
    And then I woke up.
    And stared up at the white squares on the ceiling.
    I pulled myself onto my elbows. Sweat poured down my forehead. My head
throbbed.
    “Dr. Bailey—?” I choked out.
    Gone.
    Blinking away my confusion, I glanced around the room. The white curtains
fluttered over the half-open window. A bed against the far wall stood empty.
    All alone.
    I was all alone in the hospital room.
    I glanced down at the floor, expecting to see a pink coiled pile of my
tongue.
    No. The floor was clean. I moved my tongue against my teeth. My normal-sized
tongue.
    I uttered a long, relieved sigh.
    I’m okay, I thought. And I’m awake. I’m finally awake.
    No more disgusting nightmares.
    I heard heavy footsteps in the hall. I turned to the door in time to see a giant enter the room!
    The man smiled at me and rubbed his stubbly black beard. He had to be at
least seven feet tall! He ducked his head as he stepped into the room. He had
bushy black hair and thick black eyebrows that looked like caterpillars floating
over his eyeglasses.
    His white lab coat hung loosely over his long body. A stethoscope bobbed
against his broad chest as he walked.
    “Feeling a little better, Marco?” he asked. “I’m Dr. Bailey.”
    “Uh… are you the real Dr. Bailey?” I blurted out.
    He furrowed his bushy eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
    “Well…” I started. “The other Dr. Bailey… I mean… the Dr. Bailey in
my dream…”
    He sat down on the edge of the bed. The mattress sank under his weight. He
studied me with his eyes for a long moment. “Yes, yes. I’m a little troubled by
these dreams of yours,” he said finally.
    He placed the end of the stethoscope on my chest and listened for a few
seconds. “Heartbeat is completely normal,” he reported.
    He frowned. “Your mother and your sister are down in the hospital cafeteria.
They’ll be up in a minute. They told me about your dreams,” he said quietly. “Your mom said you were a little confused by them. And frightened.”
    I nodded. “They were scary. And they seemed so real. The colors were so real.
And…” I didn’t know what else to say.
    Dr. Bailey nodded. “I want to keep you here one more night, Marco,” he said,
tucking the stethoscope under his lab coat. “Your X rays are okay. I couldn’t
find any skull damage. The skin is bruised. But your head should heal up
nicely.”
    “That’s great!” I interrupted.
    He nodded again. “Yes. But I’m a little troubled by all these strange dreams
you’ve been having.”
    “So I have to stay here one more night?” I asked, disappointed.
    He climbed to his feet. Standing so close to me, he appeared to be a mile
high!
    “Yes. One more night,” he replied, scribbling some notes on a clipboard.
“I’ll check back with you in the morning. I’m pretty sure you will be able to
leave then.”
    “Thank you, doctor,” I said in a tiny voice. I couldn’t hide how upset I
felt. I really wanted to get out of that hospital.
    Dr. Bailey turned at the door. “Oh. I almost forgot,” he said, shaking his
head.
    He pulled a square envelope from the pocket of his lab coat. “This came for
you, Marco. A few minutes ago. While your mom and sister were downstairs. I
almost forgot to deliver it.”
    He handed the envelope to me. “Get some rest,” he instructed. “I’ll do my
best to get you out of here in the morning.”
    I thanked him again. I watched him duck his head as he made his way out into
the hall. Then I examined the envelope. It said FOR MARCO on the outside, in a
handwriting I didn’t recognize.
    I tore the envelope open and pulled out a note. The handwriting was small and
very sloppy. I squinted hard at it and read:
     
    Dear Marco,
    Please hurry home. It’s