The Third Evil Read Free Page A

table.
    â€œHey—!”
    â€œHelp!”
    â€œGet up, Kimmy! Let’s
go!”
    The four girls scrambled from the booth as the steaming green liquid rose like a fountain, to plop onto the table and then ooze quickly onto the floor.
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œWhat’s happening?”
    â€œWhere are they going?”
    Voices rang out through the small restaurant. Confused kids gaped as Corky and her friends lurched down the narrow aisle, pushed open the front door, and fled to the sidewalk.
    â€œThe evil—” Corky managed to say, breathing hard, her heart thudding in her chest.
    It’s back, she thought.
    The evil spirit is back.
    Their anguished faces revealed that all four girls realized it.
    The ancient evil spirit was back. It had been right at their table.
    Was it inhabiting one of them? Possessing one of them?
    Corky stared from face to face.
    Which one? she wondered. Which one?

Chapter 2
A Corpse

    C orky glanced out at the crooked rows of gray stones in the Fear Street cemetery. “I still miss her,” she told Kimmy, her voice breaking with emotion. “I still think about Bobbi all the time.”
    Kimmy shivered despite the heat of the late afternoon. She shielded her eyes against the lowering sun with one hand, her gaze following Corky’s up the sloping hill of the old cemetery.
    Debra and Ronnie had driven straight home, eager to get away from the restaurant, eager to get away from the evil that had erupted in front of them.
    Kimmy had driven Corky home, to her house on Fear Street, but when they’d gotten there, neither wanted to be alone. They went out for a walk and ended up just a block beyond the house at the cemetery.
    The cemetery where Corky’s sister, Bobbi, was buried.
    Where Corky’s boyfriend Chip was buried.
    Both victims of the evil. The ancient evil that was still alive and refused to die.
    â€œCome on,” Kimmy urged, tugging on the sleeve of Corky’s T-shirt.
    With a sigh Corky turned away from the cemetery and began walking slowly back along the narrow, cracked sidewalk toward her house. “That was so
disgusting!”
she exclaimed, shaking her head. “All that hot green slime bubbling over everything. I’ll
never
eat pea soup again!”
    Shadows from the old trees overhead danced on them as they made their way slowly past the graveyard. The air suddenly grew cooler.
    â€œThe spirit was warning us,” Kimmy said softly, “telling us that it’s still here.” She stopped beside her car and uttered a loud sob. “Oh, Corky—what if it’s still inside
me?”
    Corky turned quickly, her features tight with fear, and hugged her friend. “It can’t be,” she whispered soothingly. “It can’t be. It can’t be.”
    â€œBut how do I
know?”
Kimmy asked, and pulled away from Corky. Her round cheeks were pink and glistening with tears. Her crimped black hair was in disarray. Her dark eyes, locked on Corky, revealed her terror.
    â€œI watched it leave you,” Corky said, trying to calm her friend. “I watched it pour out.”
    â€œI don’t remember any of it,” Kimmy admitted. “All of those weeks. That whole part of my life. I don’t remember a thing. It’s as if I wasn’t there.”
    â€œBut now you’re
you
again,” Corky insisted. “Now you feel like
you,
right?”
    Shadows washed over Kimmy’s face. Her expression grew thoughtful. “I—I guess,” she replied uncertainly. “Sometimes I don’t know. Sometimes I feel crazy. Like I want to scream. Like I want to throw myself on my bed and just cry.”
    â€œBut you don’t, do you?” Corky demanded.
    â€œNo, I don’t.” She grabbed Corky’s arm. Her hand, Corky felt, was ice cold. “Corky—what if it wants to kill someone else? What if it wants to kill us all?”
    â€œNo!” Corky cried