06 - Eye of the Fortuneteller Read Free Page A

forehead. She wiped them away with the back of her
hand.
    “This is getting really scary,” Drew said when he caught up to her. He
glanced down and kicked a jagged piece of glass on the sidewalk.
    “What was that?” Kelsey jumped back.
    “Just a broken piece of glass,” Drew answered.
    “No. That—listen,” Kelsey replied.
    A dog.
    Kelsey caught sight of it first.
    A big, mangy yellow dog.
    She gasped. It was the biggest dog she had ever seen. And it was headed
straight for them.
    “Let’s get out of here!” she screamed.
    They crossed the street and charged ahead, but the dog ran faster. Gaining on
them. Its wild barks echoed in Kelsey’s ears.
    Kelsey and Drew stopped on the next corner to catch their breath. They ducked
into a darkened doorway, pressing their backs against the door’s iron gate.
Gasping for air.
    They listened.
    Silence.
    “Do you think it’s gone?” Drew asked.
    “I-I don’t know,” Kelsey stammered. “I’ll check.” She poked her head out from
their hiding place.
    A pair of crazed yellowed eyes met hers.
    The dog sat on its haunches—just a few feet away. It growled. A low growl
that exposed two decayed fangs—dripping with saliva.
    “Run!” Kelsey cried, grabbing Drew’s hand.
    The two bolted from the doorway. They flew down the street, holding hands,
with Kelsey in the lead.
    Kelsey glanced behind her. The dog tore after them. Howling now. And snapping
its jaws hungrily.
    Kelsey turned down a narrow alleyway. It looked just like the first alley.
Only darker. Much darker. And the farther they ran, the narrower it grew.
    They dodged around splintered pieces of wood. Shards of glass.
    The wild beast charged up behind them, snarling. Its wet, gray tongue hung
from its mouth. Kelsey could almost feel the animal’s sharp teeth sink into her
ankles.
    “Faster!” she screamed. “Run faster!”
    With a burst of speed the two raced ahead, leaving the dog a few yards
behind.
    The alley curved sharply to the right. Drew nearly stumbled as the two took
the turn.
    And then Kelsey stopped. What lay ahead of her was suddenly as terrifying as
the wild dog behind her.
    Another dead end.
    There was no way out.
    “We’re trapped!” Kelsey shrieked. “We’re trapped!”

 
 
4
     
     
    Kelsey and Drew pressed their backs against the building. Waiting. Waiting
for the vicious dog to appear.
    Kelsey held her breath and listened.
    No barking. No snarling.
    “Maybe we lost him,” she whispered.
    “I don’t think so,” Drew whispered back.
    Kelsey silently agreed. The alley went only one way. That dog would have to
be pretty stupid to lose track of us, she thought.
    “But why isn’t he attacking?” she asked Drew.
    “I don’t know,” he replied, shaking his head.
    The two waited in silence. The blood pounded in Kelsey’s head.
    Another minute passed—the longest minute in Kelsey’s life—with no sign of the
dog. “We can’t just stand here, Drew,” Kelsey said, finally breaking the quiet.
“I’m going to check.”
    Kelsey tiptoed to the curve in the alley. She peeked around the corner.
Slowly.
    The alley stood deserted.
    No dog.
    “It’s gone!” Kelsey gasped.
    “This is so weird,” Drew replied, making his way to her side. “How could it
just disappear like that?”
    “I don’t know. And I don’t care. Let’s get out of here. Now,” Kelsey
answered. “Um, you go first.”
    “Gee, thanks a lot,” Drew said as he started down the alley.
    They walked quickly but carefully.
    Listening.
    Listening for any sign of the deadly beast. But the only sound they heard was
the soft thumping of their own feet.
    The alley seemed even darker than before. And for the first time Kelsey
noticed how sour it smelled. The stench flooded her nostrils and made her sick.
    “Look!” Drew exclaimed. He stopped short, and Kelsey slammed into him.
    “What?” she asked. Her heart skipped a beat. She was afraid to hear the
answer.
    “I can’t believe it!” Drew