Darkroom Read Free Page A

him from passing buses; or disappearing round the corner; or reflected in storefront windows. You turned around, and they were gone; or else they had never been there. But they were frightening beyond all reason because they
knew
you, and they knew where to find you, and they knew what really scared you.
    There was another
ker-chikk,
and the face jumped right up to the end of the bed. Bobby couldn’t stop himself from jerking backwards, his heart thumping like a rabbit.
    â€˜
Go away!
’ screamed Sara. ‘
Go away and leave us alone!
’
    The face stayed where it was, staring at them. But then they heard a slurred, muffled voice, like somebody talking in another room.
    â€˜Thought you could walk away, did you? Nobody walks away. Not without regretting it. Not without paying the price.’
    â€˜What are you talking about?’ Bobby demanded. ‘We don’t even know you!’
    â€˜Oh, you know me better than you think. And now you’re going to suffer for it.’
    â€˜What do you want? Just tell me what you want. You want money? My parents have money. Just take what you want and get out of here, please.’
    â€˜You know what I want. I want to see you pay the price.’
    â€˜Price? What price? What are we supposed to have done?’
    â€˜The price of disloyalty, my friends. The price of contempt.’
    There was something in the voice that Bobby recognized. He peered at the face more intently, and then he sat back on his heels. ‘This is a trick, isn’t it? This is a goddamn practical joke.’
    â€˜What?’ said Sara.
    â€˜They’ve fooled us.’ He waved his hand in front of the face, and it didn’t even blink. ‘This is some kind of projection. I’ll bet Dudley set it up. They’re watching us now and they’re probably wetting themselves. “The price of contempt,” my ass.’
    â€˜Are you serious? This is just a joke?’
    â€˜Of course it is. Look at it.’
    â€˜But how did they know we were going to get together tonight? How did they know we were going to come here? How have they managed to make it so
dark
?’
    â€˜I don’t know. But I’m sure going to find out when I sit on Dudley’s head.’
    â€˜
You think this is a trick?
’ asked the negative face.
    â€˜Yes, as a matter of fact. For the simple reason that I don’t believe in ghosts or demons or … or faces that hover at the end of the bed. Are you getting this, Dudley? I’m going to have your guts for a golf bag, I warn you.’
    â€˜
You think this is a joke
?’ the face persisted.
    â€˜Yes, I do.’
    â€˜Then smile.’
    Bobby was just about to say something when the entire world went white. The bedroom was blotted out with intense, dazzling light, as if a hydrogen bomb had gone off. He felt a shock wave of unbearable heat that scorched him all over, and as he tried to twist himself away from it, the last thing he saw was Sara with her hair on fire and her face charred black.

Two
    J im walked into Special Class II without even looking at the fifteen students who were there, sitting with their feet on their desks, tossing paper darts, listening to garage music on their earphones, phone-texting their friends in other classrooms, reading
X-Men
comics, fixing their lip gloss, and practicing their dance steps.
    He sat down at his desk and laid both hands on it, palm-down, like a lounge-bar pianist who doesn’t think he can face playing ‘Strangers in the Night’, not again. He looked tired and gaunt, and he had two days’ growth of stubble on his chin. His mousy hair was messed up as if he hadn’t bothered to comb it, and his blue check shirt was crumpled as if he hadn’t bothered to press it. His tan corduroy pants had a stain on the left leg that could have been anything from tomato catsup to cat food.
    He opened his briefcase by untying the string that held the broken catch