Read Don't Close Your Eyes! for Free Online Page B

here?” I whispered. “Something is wrong. We haven't figured it out yet.”
    No reply.
    “Nicky? Tara?”
    They had disappeared again.
    Bad timing. I really needed them now. Needed them to help me think. To help me … stay … awake … awake…. Can't stay … awake…. Can't do it… any longer….
    Darkness. Followed by deeper darkness.
    I felt the ink pouring from my nose, from my mouth. Felt the warm black liquid seep out through my skin, drip by drip through my pores.
    But I was helpless to do anything about it.
    My head drooped as the evil ghost made his escape.
    I could feel the liquid rush from my ears. Feel it ooze over my arms, my shoulders, my neck.
    And start to cover me. Start to roll over me, like a heavy black ocean wave.
    Rushhhhhh. Rushhhhhhh…
.
Rushhhhhhhh
.

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    “AAAAAGGGH!”
    I woke up choking. I couldn't breathe.
    Clots of ink clogged my throat. My face was covered. The ink poured over my hair.
    “Nooooo!”
Gagging, choking, I forced my throat clear.
    Thrashing my arms, I pulled the heavy, wet shadow off me.
    “Get off! Get off! Get off!” I screamed wildly. Kicking and thrashing at the sliding, shifting wet figure that had tried to smother me.
    “Get off! Get
off!”
    I was wide awake now, breathing so hard, my sides ached.
    Was I too late? How long had I slept? Long enough for Inkweed to make his escape?
    No. As I screamed and thrashed, battling the wet, inky figure, it started to retreat. It grew smaller … smaller … oozing back into my skin.
    And then it was gone again. Back inside me.Slithering behind my forehead, shifting around my bones.
    Inkweed had nearly escaped. He had tried to choke me, to smother me. And had failed.
This
time.
    But what about
next
time?
    I still didn't know how to defeat him.
    There was only one thing I
did
know. I couldn't stay awake much longer.
    Breakfast the next morning. Mom asked if I'd like eggs with my cereal or just cereal.
    “Muhhhhhh mwwwwwwhhh,” I answered.
    I'd been up all night playing video games with Nicky and Tara. That meant I'd been awake for almost forty-eight hours.
    Ever see any of those zombie movies with people staggering around like the living dead? That was me.
    “Was that a yes or a no on the eggs?” Mom asked.
    “Mwwwwww wwwwwmmmmm,” I said. I didn't have the strength to open my lips.
    I walked to school. A bright, sunny day, but I hardly noticed. I couldn't lift my head high enough to see the sky.
    My backpack weighed about two tons. My
clothing
felt heavy!
    Traci Wayne waved to me as she came out ofher house. Normally, this would be a thrill that I would think about for the rest of the day.
    Traci Wayne waved to me!
    Today, I muttered, “Mwwww muuuwwwww,” and kept walking.
    I dragged myself to class and slumped into my seat. I was so weak from no sleep, two kids had to help me pull off my backpack.
    “Max, what's your problem?” Aaron asked.
    “Muhhhhh wuhhhh,” I told him.
    He nodded as if he understood me. He's such a weird kid.
    “I have a special announcement,” Ms. McDonald said. I knew she was standing next to her desk at the front of the class. But I couldn't see that far. It was all just a fuzzy blur.
    “We're having an assembly this morning,” Ms. McDonald said. “I know you will all enjoy our speaker. Mr. Rudolph is an important businessman in our town.”
    Some kids groaned. I tried to groan, but nothing would come out.
    Ms. McDonald ignored the groans. “Mr. Rudolph makes fire hydrants,” she continued. “And he's come to our school this morning to explain to us how they work.”
    “Oh no!” a voice said in my ear.
    I turned to see Nicky and Tara huddled next to me.
    “Does this sound like the most boring assembly in school history?” Nicky said.
    “Even more boring than the woman who explained how to recycle paper cups,” Tara said.
    They both stared hard at me. “Max will never stay awake through this assembly,” Tara said to Nicky. “What are we going to do?”

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