Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror Read Free Page A

ready.”
    JJ took the pistol from him and rolled it in his hand. It felt cool and light. Like a toy. He pictured Florian.
    POP .
    Florian.
    POP .
    Florian.
    POP .
    Florian.
    POP .
    â€œOkay,” he told them. “I’ll do it.”
    Â 
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    Sometimes days fly past like the wind. Here it was, three nights later, and JJ, sweating despite the evening cool, found the four Killers at the familiar place in the park, deep shadows playing over their expectant faces.
    â€œI did it.” The words burst from his mouth in a breathy explosion. He raised the pistol in front of him. It glinted in a narrow beam of moonlight. “Friends for life, right?”
    He waited for them to react. To congratulate him. Some high fives. Some knuckle slaps. So, why the silent treatment?
    â€œYou don’t believe me?” JJ shoved the pistol back into his jeans. He leaned against a tree trunk and stared down at them. “I did it. Just like you said. I killed Florian. Shot him in the head.”
    More silence. Sammy and Eduardo exchanged glances. Maria bit her bottom lip.
    â€œI waited for the restaurant to close,” JJ said. “There was no one around. The parking lot was totally dark. I walked up behind him and shot him in the head. He dropped onto the trunk of his car. Didn’t know what hit him.”
    Maria let out a gasp. She looked away.
    â€œYou shot him?” Bony said finally. He kept blinking. “You really shot him?”
    JJ nodded.
    â€œBut we loaded the gun with blanks,” Sammy squeaked.
    â€œYeah. Tell me about it,” JJ said. “I took the pistol to a firing range to try it out. All six chambers were loaded with blanks. So I bought a box of bullets for it. Guess you guys messed up.”
    â€œNo way,” Bony said, shaking his head. “It was supposed to be blanks, JJ. You weren’t supposed to kill anyone. It was just a joke, see. The whole thing was a joke.”
    JJ’s eyes grew wide. He opened his mouth, but no words came out.
    â€œIt was a joke, dude,” Eduardo said. “We’re not killers. We didn’t kill anyone. You’re the new kid. You looked so desperate. We thought we’d have some fun with you, that’s all.”
    â€œFun?” JJ said in a whisper. “ Fun? ”
    â€œWe were messing with you, man,” Bony said. “We were punking you.”
    â€œWhy did you put real bullets in the gun?” Maria cried. “You weren’t supposed to!” She had tears in her eyes, and her chin quivered. “You weren’t supposed to kill anyone.”
    JJ slammed his open hand against the tree trunk. “Oh, please . . . Oh, please, oh, please. I killed Florian. You told me I had to. Now you tell me it’s a joke? But it’s NOT a joke! I killed him!”
    â€œJJ, sit down,” Maria said, tears running down her cheeks. She patted the grass beside her. “We have to talk about this. All of us.”
    JJ didn’t move from the tree trunk. “I’m a murderer ,” he uttered in a low, trembling voice. “A murderer, all because of a joke .”
    â€œBut no one saw you, right?” Sammy asked. “There’s no way anyone knows it was you, JJ.”
    JJ shut his eyes tight. His jaw clenched and unclenched. The others watched him in silence. “No. No one saw me,” he said finally. “No one knows . . .”
    His eyes opened wide. “Except you guys. You’re the only ones who know I killed him. You’re, like, witnesses or something.”
    He stepped away from the tree. His whole body stiffened. He jammed his hand into his jeans pocket and brought out the pistol.
    â€œHey, don’t get crazy,” Bony said. He jumped up from the grass. He took a step toward JJ. “We’re not going to snitch on you, man.”
    â€œNo, you’re not going to snitch on me,” JJ said softly. He pointed the pistol at Bony. “I won’t let you