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

snitch on me.”
    Maria scrambled to her feet and took a few steps back, eyes wary. “JJ, what are you doing? JJ—please. Put it down.”
    â€œI can’t trust you,” JJ said. “I can’t trust any of you. Everything you told me was a lie.”
    â€œListen to us. It was supposed to be a joke—” Bony said.
    â€œI’m a murderer because of you,” JJ repeated, sweat pouring down his forehead. He waved the pistol from Bony to Maria, then down to the other two boys, still hunched tensely in the grass. “A murderer—and you’re the only ones who know.”
    â€œWe won’t tell. Promise!” Sammy whined.
    â€œJJ—don’t,” Maria pleaded. “Put down the gun. This is crazy.”
    JJ shook his head. “You understand me, right? You all have to take a bullet. I can’t trust you. No way. I can’t take a chance.”
    He aimed the pistol at Bony. His arm tensed.
    Maria let out a scream.
    Bony jumped at JJ. He made a wild grab for the gun.
    JJ swiped it out of Bony’s reach—and fired.
    POP .
    Bony uttered a groan. His face showed more surprise than pain. He grabbed his stomach, dropped face-first to the grass, landed with a soft thud, bounced once, then didn’t move.
    Maria screamed again. The scream ended in a choking gasp.
    Sammy and Eduardo were on their feet. They had their arms outstretched, partially in surrender. Their faces were twisted in fright.
    â€œWho’s next?” JJ barked, hoarse, excited. He swung the pistol from one to the other. “Who’s next?”
    â€œPlease—” Sammy wailed. “Please—”
    â€œDon’t kill us,” Eduardo said. “You can trust us. Really. We won’t tell anyone.”
    Maria stared at him silently, her hair falling over her face. She was breathing hard, her chest heaving up and down. “JJ—no.” Her voice a faint whisper.
    â€œPlease don’t kill us,” Sammy said again. “We’ll be your friends. Really.”
    JJ laughed. He lowered the pistol to his side. “Guess your initiation is over. You made it.”
    Sammy and Eduardo froze. Their eyes bulged, studying JJ. Maria hugged herself tightly, her whole body shuddering.
    â€œInitiation?” Sammy finally choked out.
    JJ nodded. “Yeah. If you want to hang with me, you have to pass my initiation. Bony and I cooked it up.” He spun the pistol on his thumb. “All blanks. Nothing but blanks.” He chuckled again. “That got a little tense, huh?”
    The other three still weren’t taking it in. You could almost see the thoughts whirring in their heads.
    â€œYou punked us ?” Eduardo said finally.
    JJ nodded. “Bony and I. It was kinda his idea.”
    â€œYou didn’t kill Florian?” Maria asked, brushing her damp hair off her forehead. “That was a lie?”
    â€œA lie,” JJ said. “All a joke. I should be an actor or something, right? I was pretty good.”
    â€œYou’re both creeps!” Maria shouted. “You scared us to death!”
    â€œIs the initiation over?” Eduardo asked. His gaze was on the pistol in JJ’s hand.
    â€œYeah. It’s over,” JJ said. “Friends for life, right?” He turned to Bony, still on his stomach on the grass. “Get up, man. We’re done. It’s a done deal. We punked these dudes. They’re still shaking.”
    Bony didn’t move. His hands were tucked beneath him, still gripping his stomach. His face was down in the dirt.
    JJ gave him a gentle kick in the side. “Come on, Bony. Stop clowning. Get up, man. Let’s get out of here.”
    Bony didn’t move.
    JJ gave him another soft kick with the toe of his boot.
    Bony’s body bounced once, then settled back in place.
    â€œBony, no! No! Bony?” Maria began to scream.
    JJ dropped to his knees. He grabbed Bony’s jacket and flipped him onto his