Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror Read Free

join our club, there’s an initiation,” Bony said softly.
    JJ looked away. “Like what?”
    Bony didn’t have a chance to answer. The kitchen door of the restaurant swung open, sending a flood of light over the parking lot. “You punks better get outta here!” Florian screamed. He filled the doorway, blocking most of the light. JJ saw he was swinging a butcher knife. “I already called the cops. You jerks got maybe a minute to scram outta my parking lot!”
    JJ ducked behind the side of the car. Did Florian see him? He didn’t want to lose his job because of these guys. They were scrambling into the car. A hand grabbed JJ’s. Maria. She pulled him into the backseat.
    The car squealed away, shooting up a shower of gravel. JJ pressed against Maria and ducked his head. He glimpsed Florian’s angry scowl and the big blade of the knife swinging in front of him.
    They roared through town, laughing like lunatics. JJ laughed, too. Something broke free in him. For a while, he thought he was flying. Maria’s hair brushed his face. She smelled like flowers.
    They stopped in Fremont Park, across from the high school. Bony killed the engine and the lights. They dove out of the car and sprawled in the dew-wet grass. They were all breathless and giddy.
    â€œIt’s a club, see,” Bony said, as if they hadn’t been interrupted. “But I don’t know if you’re man enough for the initiation.”
    JJ gulped in the cool, fresh air. “Try me.”
    â€œThe name says it,” Eduardo told him. He pounded the back of Bony’s jacket. “KILLERS, see?”
    â€œI don’t see,” JJ said.
    â€œThat’s the initiation,” Maria whispered. Her breath tickled his ear. Was she coming on to him?
    â€œGuess I have to spell it out,” Bony said. He tore up a handful of grass and let it sprinkle over Maria’s legs. “You have to kill someone.”
    â€œHuh?” JJ blinked at him.
    Bony grinned. “That’s all there is to it. We have to know you really want to be with us. Friends for life, see.”
    â€œFriends for life!” Sammy squeaked. He touched knuckles with Eduardo.
    JJ shook his head. “You’re joking, right?”
    Eduardo’s eyes narrowed. His smile faded. “It’s not a joke, man. It’s serious. That’s the initiation.”
    JJ let out a long whoosh of air. “Too heavy for me, man.” He started to his feet.
    Maria tugged him back down. “We all did it,” she said.
    â€œYou telling me you all killed someone to join your club?”
    â€œIt’s easy, man,” Sammy said. “We’ll give you the gun and everything.”
    â€œI don’t think so,” JJ said. He realized his chest suddenly felt fluttery. His stomach churned.
    Maria ran a fingernail down his cheek. It made his whole body tingle. “You can do it, baby,” she whispered. She let her hair brush his cheek again.
    â€œWe’ll be there for you, man,” Sammy said. “Friends for life. Really.”
    â€œHere’s what you do,” Bony said, pulling up more grass, letting it fall in his own lap. “Pick someone, right? Pick some jerk you really don’t like. Wait till he’s alone. Make sure no one can see. And— POP . That’s all there is to it. It’s cake.”
    Maria squeezed his hand. Her breath tickled his face.
    â€œThis is the gun,” Eduardo said. He held up a tiny pistol, not much bigger than a cell phone. “Cute, right? But it does the damage.”
    â€œWe’ve all used it,” Sammy said. “ POP . That’s it. Then you bring it back to us.”
    â€œI used to shoot back in Texas,” JJ said. Why did his voice suddenly sound so tight, so shrill? “But I used real guns. Not toys like that.”
    â€œIt’ll do the damage,” Eduardo repeated. “It’s loaded for you, man. It’s