Don't Close Your Eyes! (7 page)

“How was the study date?” Mom asked. “Did you help her?”

“Oh, sure,” I said. “I did those problems with my eyes shut.”

“Don't brag, Max,” Mom said.

“Good night,” I said. I hurried back to my room. Nicky and Tara were waiting there. “Are you ready?” I asked. “Do you really think you can get rid of Inkweed so I can go to sleep?”

“No problem,” Nicky said.

“No problem,” Tara echoed. “We've got it all figured out.”

WE
HAD
TO
WAIT
till my parents were asleep. Then I put on a jacket and we silently sneaked out of the house.

It was a cool, windy night. The bushes and trees all shivered and shook. The cold air helped refresh me.

We walked for miles, keeping in the shadows, darting through front yards. We hid whenever we saw the headlights of a car approaching.

“What are we doing?” I asked. “Where are we?”

I didn't recognize the neighborhood. We had passed all the houses. Squinting into the darkness, now I could see only woods and fields.

Nicky grabbed my shoulder. “Look up,” he said. He tilted my head upward.

I gazed into the black sky. “I don't see anything,” I said.

“That's the point,” Tara said. “No stars, no moon. This is the darkest night of the month. No moon tonight.”

“The darkest night,” I muttered. “Do you think this is what the old storyteller meant?”

“Could be,” Tara replied.

“And where are you taking me?” I asked again.

They both pointed to a small sign attached to a wooden fence post. I had to move closer to read the sign.

DARK CAVERNS.

“I remember these caverns from a field trip we took in second grade,” Tara said.

I stared past the fence. But I could see only the shape of black hills against an even blacker sky.

The wind fluttered my jacket. I zipped the zipper all the way to the collar. “What's so special about them?” I asked.

“They're supposed to be the deepest, darkest caverns in the country,” Tara said.

I stared at her. “You want me to climb into caverns?” I cried. “You know I'm allergic to caverns. They're dark and cold and … and … and they make me sneeze.” I held my nose. “I … I'm starting to sneeze already. Just being
close
to a cavern makes me sneeze!”

Nicky and Tara waited for me to stop ranting. Then Tara said, “Don't you see? It's the darkest place on the darkest night.”

“It has to work,” Nicky said, crossing his fingers on both hands. “It has to be right.”

They both grabbed me and started pulling me toward the caverns.

In a few minutes, we stood in front of an enormous cave entrance. Cut into the side of a steep hill, it rose high above our heads. A deep, black hole, blacker than the night, blacker than the sky.

The darkest place on the darkest night.

Holding on to my shoulders, my two ghost friends pushed me into the cavern entrance.

“Uh … did anyone bring a flashlight?” I asked.

THE
WIND
STOPPED
AS
we stepped into the cavern opening. But the air grew colder.

The cold washed over me like a high ocean wave. I shivered and waited for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. But they
couldn't
adjust. I could see only different shades of black.

“Damp in here,” Tara said, gripping my arm tighter. “It's kinda like walking into a refrigerator.”

“Hope there aren't any bats,” Nicky said in a whisper.

“Bats?” I said. “Why did you have to mention bats? Couldn't you keep that to yourself?”

Nicky snickered. “Hey! Woke you up!”

We walked side by side. The ground squished under my shoes, soft and muddy. We followed a narrow path that curved between two rock walls. The path sloped down sharply.

I felt my shoes slide in the mud. Nicky and Tara held me up.

“How far down do we have to go?” I asked.

My voice echoed all around, repeating my question again and again off the high cavern walls.

“Creepy,” I said.

Creepy
…
creepy
…
creepy
… came the cavern's echoing reply.

We walked in silence for a few minutes, edging our way slowly down. I could feel the mud ooze up over my ankles.

I stopped and gazed back. I hoped to see the sky, but the cavern entrance was no longer in view.

“What if we get lost in here?” I asked. “No one would ever find us.”

“Max, stop scaring me,” Tara said.

I gasped when I felt Inkweed stir inside my head. This time, he didn't slither. He felt like a strong breeze between my ears.

Did the evil ghost realize what we were doing? Did he know we were taking him to the darkest place on the darkest night?

Is that why I could feel him tense up inside me?

Did he realize we were about to destroy him?

I rubbed my nose. It was numb, totally frozen. My skin tingled from the damp cold. I looked down. I couldn't see my shoes.

“Isn't this dark enough?” I asked, my voice echoing all around. I lowered it to a whisper. “It can't get any blacker than this.”

“Okay. Let's give it a try,” Nicky said.

“Give
what
a try?” I asked. “What do we have to do?”

He sighed. “Just wait, I guess.”

“Yeah. We're in the right place at the right time. So … we'll just wait until Inkweed dies,” Tara said.

They guided me to a low, flat rock ledge at the edge of the path. I sat down and crossed my arms tightly in front of me, trying to warm up. My shoes tapped on the soft ground. I was so cold and nervous, I couldn't stop my legs from pumping up and down.

“Shhh. Be quiet, Max,” Tara said. “Sit still. Give Inkweed a chance to come out and die.”

I forced my legs to keep still. I took long deep breaths of the cold cave air.

I kept gazing around, even though I couldn't see a thing. The darkness was so heavy and thick, it was like being asleep while you're awake. Or in a dream where the whole world has disappeared.

Nicky and Tara stood beside me as I hunched on the edge of the rock ledge. We waited. And waited …

I heard a sound. A soft scraping. Growing louder.

Inkweed! Sliding out of me!

No.

The sound came from a distance.

I sat up straight, suddenly alert.

I heard a steady rhythm of scraping sounds. Soft thuds. Growing louder. Approaching fast.

Footsteps!

My heart thudding, I turned to Nicky and Tara. “We … we're not alone in here,” I whispered.

PERCHED
ON
THE
ROCK
ledge, I hugged myself and listened. The footsteps were soft, muffled, as if someone was trying not to be heard.

“Nicky? Tara? Do you hear it?” I whispered. “What should we do?”

Silence.

The soft thuds came closer. Someone—or something—was slowly, carefully navigating the path down from the cavern entrance.

“Nicky? Tara?”

No reply.

They had disappeared.

How could they do that? How could they leave me here in this freezing, dark cave—all alone with someone approaching … someone very near now … very near?

“Nicky?Tara?”

Something bumped my ankle.

I cried out.

It pulled back fast.

I heard the scrape of several paws all around me.

Something swiped at my leg.

I started to jump up from the ledge. Before I could move, two eyes stared into mine.

And slowly, my eyes focused on the creature at my feet.

A fat raccoon.

It pawed my leg again.

“Go away,” I said, panic choking my voice. “Beat it.”

It didn't move.

I turned and saw another raccoon staring up at me. And another beside it, pawing at the side of my rock ledge.

Five or six raccoons came into view. They had formed a loose circle around me. One raised its front paws as if begging.

What did they want? Did they expect me to feed them?

They're rabid! I suddenly thought. They're planning to attack!

Another raccoon raised its front paws and stared at me. Beside him, a fat one scraped the rock ledge with its claws.

Their circle grew tighter.

I took a deep breath.
“Go away!”
I shouted.
“I'm not kidding! Go away!”

My voice boomed through the cavern. It
echoed and bounced off the cavern walls until the words were lost in a jumble of noise.

I jumped to my feet.
“Scat! Scat!”

To my surprise, they turned and took off. Their paws slapped the mud as the entire pack ran up the path toward the entrance.

Breathing hard, I slumped back onto the rock ledge.

“Nicky? Tara?”

No. They still weren't back.

I shut my eyes and tried to force my heartbeats back to normal. I shivered. I'd never been so cold. Or alone. Or frightened.

Closing my eyes was a bad idea. I suddenly felt sleepy again.

I felt Inkweed slither around behind my forehead.

He was supposed to be dying. Taking him to this dark cavern was supposed to destroy him.

“It's sure taking a long time,” I said out loud.

I yawned. “A very long time.”

I felt the evil ghost push at the backs of my eyeballs.

Something is terribly wrong, I realized. It isn't working.

Unless I just have to wait longer … ?

But I couldn't wait here in this freezing cave much longer. I had to get out and see the sky
again. See some light. In this deep blackness, I couldn't tell if my eyes were open or not.

The darkest place on the darkest night.

Well, here I am. And it's not working.

I yawned again. I could feel myself drifting, drifting into the darkness. I could feel it pulling me, deeper and deeper … into a deep sleep….

And as I started to sleep, I felt my mouth open. And a laugh burst out—a hoarse, dry,
terrifying
laugh that made the cave walls roar.

Haa haaaaaaaaaaah!

Inkweed's laugh!

Pouring from my open mouth. An evil, inhuman laugh. A laugh of victory.

Because Inkweed knew I couldn't last much longer. He knew I couldn't stay awake.

The darkness was pulling me … pulling me down into a deep sleep.

I couldn't fight it any longer. I stretched out on the flat rock ledge.

“Sorry, guys,” I whispered to Nicky and Tara, just in case they could hear me. “I have to sleep. I'm sorry. I let you down. I'm sorry….”

I curled up on the ledge, hugging myself for warmth.

But before I could close my eyes, a flash of bright light made me cry out. I struggled to a sitting position, blinking toward the light. And stared
at two bright round eyes. Glowing yellow eyes floating rapidly toward me.

“Who—who are you?” I tried to scream, but my voice came out in a hoarse rasp.

“Who are you?” I tried again.

No answer.

The glowing yellow eyes shimmered like car headlights. They stared intensely at me as they floated closer. So bright, I covered my eyes with one hand.

“Who are you?” I found my voice and screamed now in my fright.

“What do you want? Who
are
you?”

I HEARD
THE
SCRAPE
of footsteps. A murmured voice.

The eyes bobbed in the blackness, floating down from the cavern opening.

“Hello?” I called. “Please—answer me!”

I fought off my fear and jumped to my feet. I tensed my muscles, ready to run.

What kind of creature comes loping down into a cavern with glowing yellow eyes?

It had to be some kind of
monster!

Had Inkweed summoned a friend?

Half covering my eyes from the blinding glare, I watched the creature move down the path toward me.

And then I heard whispered voices, talking rapidly. The two eyes moved apart. The lights raised, beamed up to the cavern ceiling for a moment, then soared back down.

And I saw two figures standing in front of me. Two people holding flashlights.

At first, I could see only their outlines behind the glowing circles of light. Arms and legs. And then the lights moved again.

And I cried out. “Mom! Dad! How did you find me?”

THEY
LOWERED
THEIR
FLASHLIGHTS
“Max?” Mom called. “What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” Her voice echoed off the cavern walls.

“I—I—It's hard to explain,” I stammered.

And then I ran to her, threw my arms around her, and hugged her.

“You're in a lot of trouble,” Dad said.

I backed away from Mom. “You don't know the half of it,” I said. “You don't know what horrible trouble I'm in.”

“I need my sleep,” Dad growled. “I
like
my sleep. I don't want to be crawling around in freezing cold, dark caves in the middle of the night.”

I swallowed. “I know,” I murmured. I didn't know what else to say. I was so happy to see them. But I could see Dad getting angrier and angrier, about to explode.

I turned to my mom, tiny and thin and birdlike. In the dim circle of light from her flashlight, I could see that she was trembling.

“Did you follow me here?” I asked her. “How did you know I was down here?”

A strange smile spread over Mom's face. “Do you think I couldn't find my own son?”

“You're in trouble, Max,” Dad said, shaking his head. “You're in the biggest trouble of your life.”

“Please—take me home,” I said in a trembling voice. “Please—”

“Why don't you lie down on that rock?” Mom said, pointing with her light. “Lie down and go to sleep, Max.”

“Huh?” I stared at her.

“It's the best thing,” Dad said. “Go ahead, Max. Go to sleep. You need to sleep.”

“But, I can't—” I started. “You don't understand. I—I—”

Mom lowered her voice to a whisper. “Go to sleep, Max. Let Inkweed pour out.”

“Listen to your mother,” Dad said. “Let Inkweed out, Max.”

“I don't understand!” I cried. “How do you know about Inkweed?”

“We're your parents,” Mom said. “We know everything about you.”

“Go to sleep,” Dad said again. “You're very sleepy, Max. Let Inkweed out. Let Inkweed
live!”

My mouth dropped open, and a hoarse cry of shock escaped my throat.