Read The Second Horror for Free Online Page A

staring down at him in horror.

Chapter 11
    Brandt covered part of the blackening bruise with his other hand. Coach Hurley leaned over him, his eyes narrowed with concern. “You okay?” he demanded, staring at Brandt’s arm. “That’s a nasty-looking bruise. I didn’t think you fell that hard.” “No big deal,” Brandt replied, trying to sound calm. He turned, moving the arm out of view. “It doesn’t hurt.” “Sit out the rest of the practice anyway, just in case,” Coach Hurley advised. “Really, I’m all right,” Brandt insisted. The coach shrugged. “Whatever you say.” Brandt trotted unsteadily back to the others. He saw Jon dribbling the ball casually at the foul line. As Brandt moved past, he caught the triumphant grin on Jon’s face.
    Brandt lay awake that night as the faces of the kids he’d met floated through his mind. He pictured Abbie, her lively blue eyes, her straight blond hair, her musical laugh. Jinny and Meg entered his thoughts. They both flirted with him whenever they saw him. It was obvious they were competing for him—even though Jinny was already going with Jon. Jon … Have I already made an enemy? Brandt wondered. Jon … Bad practice today, Brandt thought, rubbing his elbow. The bruise had already started to fade. But Coach Hurley had stared at it, stared at Brandt suspiciously. Tomorrow will be better, Brandt vowed. I’ll show Hurley how tough I am. Creak. The faces disappeared from Brandt’s mind as he heard the sound above his head. A footstep. Then another. Brandt sat up in bed, listening. Creak, creak. Footsteps. Someone was walking around in the attic. Don’t go up there, Brandt told himself. Just stay here. Stay here and be safe. But he knew he couldn’t do that. Creak, creak, creak. He climbed out of bed and tiptoed into the dark hallway. His parents were asleep. Their door was closed. The door to the attic opened with a soft squeak. Brandt leaned in and listened for the footsteps. He heard them. Steady, even steps, as if someone were pacing over the creaking floorboards. Brandt silently crept up the stairs. He fumbled against the wall. Clicked on the light. The long, low room was a shimmering blur. He squinted hard, waiting for his eyes to adjust. No one there. Weird, Brandt thought. I heard the footsteps just a second ago. He searched the attic, behind all the boxes and crates. No one. He spotted something in the middle of the floor. A small notebook. How could I have missed that? he asked himself, staring hard at it. It was as if someone had put it there on purpose. Brandt sat on the floor and opened the notebook. It was a diary, he quickly discovered. A girl’s diary. She’d written her name on the first page. CALLY FRASIER. Brandt flipped through the pages. This must be the diary of one of those twins who used to live here, he thought. One of the girls Abbie told me about. He skipped the parts in the beginning that seemed to be about some boy Cally liked. But then he came to a passage that interested him:
    Anthony is so cute. He told us the most unbelievable story today. Of course Kody swallowed every word of it. My poor sister is so gullible. I have to admit it was scary. But it can’t be true. How could it?
    Anthony said there’s a reason why our house seems so creepy. He told us about a man named Simon Fear. Anthony said Simon Fear and his wife, Angelica, were early settlers here. They used to live in a mansion down the street. Our street is named after them. The Fears were really rich, and really strange. They tortured people and killed them. Angelica was really into weird stuff, Anthony said. And she used real live people to try out her strange powers.
    Brandt turned the page and continued reading.
    The Fears buried their victims in a secret graveyard. This all took place about a hundred years ago. Then, about thirty years ago, when workers were building this house, they found the graves. But they went ahead and built the house on top of the graveyard.