The Dark Corner Read Free

think it’s his. I don’t know why he didn’t take it with him.”
    â€œWhy was he using the path?” Adam asked.
    â€œI told you the truth about that,” Sally said. “He wanted to stop the overflow of evil into our dimension.”
    â€œAt least he sets his sights high,” Adam remarked.
    â€œIf we’re going to take the Secret Path, we have to start now,” Watch said, checking one of the four watches that he always wore. “It takes half the day to visit all the important places in Madeline Templeton’s life.”
    â€œWait a second,” Adam said. “Before we go to all that trouble we have to decide if we can even help Bryce. There’s no reason to think that we’ll end up in the same dimension as he did. We might end up back where we were last time, and that’s one place I don’t want to be again.”
    â€œBut if he is trapped,” Sally asked, “how can you just leave him to an eternity of torment and agony?”
    â€œBetter him than us,” Watch said wisely.
    Adam put his hand on Sally’s shoulder. “You’re really worried about him, aren’t you? That was just a show at the coffee shop, wasn’t it? You’ve been trying to bully us into taking the path.”
    Sally nodded. “He’s never been gone this long before. I’ll go with you guys if you go.” She paused. “I’m not afraid.”
    â€œYeah, you are,” Watch said. “We’re all afraid to go on the path again, and we can’t just talk ourselves out of our fear. And that means if we do take it, we’ll end up in a scary place.”
    Sally nodded as she stared up at the tombstone. “In an evil place, the place where Bryce went.”

3
    T he sequence they had taken before to get onto the Secret Path had been this:
    1. The beach (where Madeline was supposedly born)
    2. The Derby Tree (where Madeline cursed the tree and turned its leaves red)
    3. A cave (where Madeline killed a lion with her hands)
    4. The chapel (where Madeline got married)
    5. The reservoir (where Madeline drowned her husband)
    6. The beach (where Madeline was almost burned to death)
    7. The cemetery (where Madeline was buried)
    Obviously, going to the beach twice seemed stupid, but the sequence, they knew, was the key to success. Going to the cave and then to the chapel and then back to the reservoir was also inconvenient, since the cave was not far from the reservoir. But they knew they had to stick to what they had done before because it had worked.
    It was close to four o’clock by the time they got back to the cemetery. Starting at the front gate, they walked backward through the cemetery to the tombstone, holding hands the whole way.
    â€œWhy do we have to do this?” Cindy asked, sounding nervous.
    â€œBecause Madeline Templeton was carried here upside down,” Adam said. “This is our symbolic way of reenacting that event.” He paused. “You sound scared.”
    â€œI am scared,” Cindy said quickly. “I’ve never gone through an interdimensional portal before.”
    â€œWe’re really going to end up in a horrible place,” Sally muttered.
    â€œMaybe you shouldn’t go with us,” Adam said to Cindy. “You could stand guard on this side.”
    â€œWhat am I guarding?” Cindy asked, although she sounded interested.
    â€œYou never know what might come back through the portal,” Sally said.
    â€œIt might be a good idea if one of us does stay on this side,” Watch said. “If we don’t return, the guard could go for help.” He added, “I don’t mind standing guard.”
    Sally glanced over her shoulder at the approaching tombstone. “I bet none of us would mind staying at this point.” But then she suddenly let go of Cindy’s hand. “But it should be Cindy. The rest of us are experienced with this portal.”
    â€œAre