Welcome to Dead House by R. L. Stine Read Free Book Online Page B

lighter. We played two full innings. The other team was winning, eight to two. I was having fun. I had only messed up on one play. And I hit a double my first time at bat.
    It was fun being with a whole new group of kids. They seemed really nice, especially the girl named Karen Somerset, who talked with me while we waited for our turn at bat. Karen had a great smile, even though she wore braces on all her teeth, up and down. She seemed very eager to be friends.
    The sun was coming out as my team started to take the field for the beginning of the third inning. Suddenly, I heard a loud, shrill whistle. I looked around until I saw that it was Jerry Franklin, blowing a silver whistle.
    Everyone came running up to him. “We’d better quit,” he said, looking up at the brightening sky. “We promised our folks, remember, that we’d be home for lunch.”
    I glanced at my watch. It was only eleven-thirty. Still early.
    But to my surprise, no one protested.
    They all waved to each other and called out farewells, and then began to run. I couldn’t believe how fast everyone left. It was as if they were racing or something.
    Karen ran past me like the others, her head down, a serious expression on her pretty face.Then she stopped suddenly and turned around. “Nice meeting you, Amanda,” she called back. “We should get together sometime.”
    “Great!” I called to her. “Do you know where I live?”
    I couldn’t hear her answer very well. She nodded, and I thought she said, “Yes. I know it. I used to live in your house.”
    But that
couldn’t
have been what she said.

11
    Several days went by. Josh and I were getting used to our new house and our new friends.
    The kids we met every day at the playground weren’t exactly friends yet. They talked with Josh and me and let us on their teams. But it was really hard to get to know them.
    In my room, I kept hearing whispers late at night and soft giggling, but I forced myself to ignore it. One night, I thought I saw a girl dressed all in white at the end of the upstairs hall. But when I walked over to investigate, there was just a pile of dirty sheets and other bedclothes against the wall.
    Josh and I were adjusting, but Petey was still acting really strange. We took him with us to the playground every day, but we had to leash him to the fence. Otherwise, he’d bark and snap at the kids.
    “He’s still nervous being in a new place,” I told Josh. “He’ll calm down.”
    But Petey didn’t calm down. And about two weeks later, we were finishing up a softball game with Ray, and Karen Somerset, and Jerry Franklin, and George Carpenter, and a bunch of other kids, when I looked over to the fence and saw that Petey was gone.
    Somehow he had broken out of his leash and run away.
    We looked for hours, calling “Petey!” wandering from block to block, searching front yards and backyards, empty lots and woods. Then, after circling the neighborhood twice, Josh and I suddenly realized we had no idea where we were.
    The streets of Dark Falls looked the same. They were all lined with sprawling old brick or shingle houses, all filled with shady old trees.
    “I don’t believe it. We’re lost,” Josh said, leaning against a tree trunk, trying to catch his breath.
    “That stupid dog,” I muttered, my eyes searching up the street. “Why did he do this? He’s never run away before.”
    “I don’t know how he got loose,” Josh said, shaking his head, then wiping his sweaty forehead with the sleeve of his T-shirt. “I tied him up really well.”
    “Hey — maybe he ran home,” I said. The idea immediately cheered me up.
    “Yeah!” Josh stepped away from the tree and headed back over to me. “I’ll bet you’re right,Amanda. He’s probably been home for hours. Wow. We’ve been stupid. We should’ve checked home first. Let’s go!”
    “Well,” I said, looking around at the empty yards, “we just have to figure out which way is home.”
    I looked up and down the street,