Visitors by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page A

said. “But nobody else in this rink is making a figure eight. Only Rikki.”
    Summer shook her head and skated away. I leaned against the wall, studying Rikki.
    She’s always hated me, I thought as I watched her skate that figure eight over and over. I never understood why.
    Summer skidded to a stop and stared at me. “Earth to Ben. What are you thinking?” she asked.
    “It could have been Rikki spying on us in the woods,” I murmured, more to myself than to Summer. “If so, why did she run away from us? What was she doing at that figure eight in the first place?”
    “Ben—you said you’d give it a rest,” Summer scolded.
    But I couldn’t. The more I thought about Rikki, the more questions I had.
    I had to find out if she ran from me in the woods that night. I started across the rink toward Rikki.
    “Ben? What are you doing?” Summer demanded.She chased after me. But nothing could stop me. I was too excited.
    I skated up to Rikki, stopping her in the middle of one of her figures.
    “Rikki—was it you? Was it you in the woods?” I cried.
    “Get out of my way,” she snarled.
    “Tell the truth,” I demanded. “Why were you there? Why did you run?”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said. She straightened up tall and glared at me. “Now get out of my way!”
    “Not until you admit the truth!” I cried. And then the words just slipped out of my mouth. Crazy words. A crazy idea.
    But maybe not so crazy. “You’re an alien, right? I’m right, aren’t I?” I said.
    Rikki’s eyes narrowed. She skated a step closer to me, threateningly. “Have you totally lost it? Are you going completely mental, Shipley?”
    I knew I sounded crazy. But it was too late. Too late. I had already asked the question. No way I could take it back.
    And what if I were right?
    And now I was so excited, I didn’t know what I was saying! “Please—I want to be friends,” I said. “I don’t want to stop you in your mission. I just want to learn about it. I want to know about your homeplanet and your people.”
    “You’re really asking for it, Shipley,” Rikki said. She shoved me, hard. I fell backward, but some guy caught me before I fell. He pushed me back up to my feet. I stood there for a second, wobbling.
    All the kids on the rink gathered around. One kid started shouting, “Fight! Fight! Fight!” Soon the others joined in.
    Rikki charged at me and threw a swing at my head. I ducked. It missed me.
    “Fight! Fight! Fight!” the crowd roared.
    She grabbed the collar of my jacket and yanked me close. We teetered on the ice, face-to-face.
    Her breath smelled sour, like rotting food.
    And then it happened. Her brown, cat-shaped eyes changed. They morphed into burning, glowing bright blue spheres .
    “Sssssstay away from me,” she hissed. It wasn’t her normal voice. No girl had a voice like that.
    It was the rattling hiss of a monster.
    I’m right! I realized, staring at those glowing blue eyes, that twisted, evil face.
    I’m right—she’s an alien!
    My last thought before everything went black.

14
    I opened my eyes. My head ached. I was lying on my back. I could feel the cold, wet ice through my shirt and pants.
    I gazed up. Kids had gathered around me, staring down at me. I squinted, trying to focus. I felt so groggy. The rink seemed to be spinning around me.
    “Where is she?” I murmured. “Where did she go?”
    The faces jutted toward me. I stared at them but I couldn’t make out who anyone was. A girl loomed over me.
    I struggled to sit up. But my head felt heavy. I couldn’t move.
    “Ben? Are you okay?”
    My vision slowly cleared. Rikki stood over me. “You’re okay?” she repeated.
    “Wh-what happened?” I choked out.
    “You slipped,” she said. “I was kidding around with you. And you slipped and hit your head. You were knocked out.”
    I stared up at her. My mind was still spinning. Did I imagine the whole thing? Her glowing eyes? Her inhuman, rasping voice?
    It had