Kelsey and Drew watched as the card flew up. And up. And up. Until it faded to a white flicker in the sky. Then it was gone.
Kelsey wrenched free of Madame Valda’s grip, and she and Drew flew down the boardwalk. She ran so fast, her lungs burned in her chest. She quickly glanced back – to see if the fortuneteller was still following them.
But Madame Valda was gone.
“Drew! Stop!” Kelsey grabbed her cousin’s arm. “Look! Madame Valda. She disappeared.”
Drew spun around. Kelsey was right. Madame Valda had simply vanished.
“How did she run so fast?” Drew asked, out of breath.
“I don’t know,” Kelsey replied, shaking her head. “Do you think she really was a fortuneteller? I mean, a real fortuneteller? With real powers?”
“Come on, Kelsey,” Drew replied. “Now you sound as crazy as that old hag.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Kelsey said. But she didn’t sound as if she meant it. “So, um, you don’t think she put a curse on us, right?” Kelsey asked.
“Not on me,” Drew answered. “I was nice to her, remember?”
“Thanks a lot.” Kelsey punched Drew in the arm.
“Come on, Kelsey,” Drew said. “She probably isn’t even a real gypsy.”
Kelsey knew that Drew was probably right. But she kept picturing the fortuneteller’s strange eyes. And she kept hearing her voice. That horrible voice screaming, “Fool! Fool! Fool!”
“Forget the fortuneteller.” Drew headed toward the exit. “We’ve got real problems. We’re late for dinner.”
Kelsey checked her watch. “Oh, no!” she groaned. “We’re already a half hour late. Mom’s going to kill us!”
Kelsey and Drew hurried out the exit. They were only eight blocks from the beach house. If they ran, they’d be home in five minutes.
“Let’s take the shortcut home,” Kelsey suggested as she dashed ahead of Drew. “It’s right there.” She pointed ahead. “The alley that runs behind the Italian restaurant.”
Drew followed Kelsey past the restaurant and into the narrow, winding alley.
“Where does this go?” Drew asked as they sprinted around the alley’s turns and curves.
“To the parking lot on Eighteenth Street,” Kelsey answered. “Then we’ll be only two blocks from home.”
But as they rounded the last curve, Kelsey knew something was wrong. She faced a dead end – a sooty brick wall that rose at least twenty feet high. No parking lot.
“This is really strange,” she said, glancing around the alley. It was dark and dingy. Totally deserted. “I’m sure there was a parking lot here last summer.”
“Maybe they bricked it up during the winter,” Drew suggested. “Let’s just get out of here.”
Kelsey started back the way they came. Drew followed. But when they reached the other end of the alley – nothing looked the same! Even the Italian restaurant was gone.
Kelsey eyes darted left and right.
“Hey! What’s going on?” she cried. “This is so weird. Where are we?”
“I don’t know,” Drew answered, searching for a street sign. “This has to be the way we came in.”
“The restaurant was right on this corner,” Kelsey said. “I know it was.”
Kelsey stared at the spot where the restaurant should have been. In its place stood an old shingled house with boarded-up windows.
“I don’t get it,” she mumbled to herself. She’d been coming to this town practically forever. She knew every square inch of it. But suddenly she had no idea where she was.
She glanced around. The alley now led into a street. When Kelsey looked down the street, she noticed a few rundown shacks. Nothing more. In the other direction the street was dark and gloomy and lined with battered houses and abandoned storefronts.
“All right,” Kelsey said, trying to stay calm. “The beach must be that way.” She pointed to her right. “So that means our house must be this way.” Kelsey motioned to the gloomy street.
“That way?” Drew gasped. “I’ve never even seen that street before. It’s totally creepy. We’re not going down there.”
“I’m telling you, that’s the way we have to go,” Kelsey insisted and began jogging down the dreary block. “Come on!”
Drew followed her for about three blocks – until she stopped.
“Wait,” Kelsey said, out of breath. “This can’t be right.”
“I told you this wasn’t the way to go,” Drew muttered. “There aren’t any creepy old buildings like these anywhere near our house.”
“I know. I know,” Kelsey replied. “We’d better ask somebody for directions.”
“Like who?” Drew asked.
Good question, Kelsey realized. She gazed up and down the street. There was no one to ask. She and Drew were all alone.
“Where is everybody anyway?” Drew asked. “There should be tons of people everywhere – we’re right by the beach.”
“The beach,” Kelsey repeated. “That’s it. We should head for the beach. Then we’ll be able to find our way home.”
Before Drew could reply, Kelsey took off down a side street. A street she was certain headed toward the shore. But when she reached the next corner, her heart sank.
Nothing but shabby houses. Gutted storefronts. Every way she turned.
No people. No beach.
Kelsey was beginning to think that she and Drew would be lost forever. Tiny beads of sweat formed on her forehead. She wiped them away with the back of her hand.
“This is getting really scary,” Drew said when he caught up to her. He glanced down and kicked a jagged piece of glass on the sidewalk.
“What was that?” Kelsey jumped back.
“Just a broken piece of glass,” Drew answered.
“No. That – listen,” Kelsey replied.
A dog.
Kelsey caught sight of it first.
A big, mangy yellow dog.
She gasped. It was the biggest dog she had ever seen. And it was headed straight for them.
“Let’s get out of here!” she screamed.
They crossed the street and charged ahead, but the dog ran faster. Gaining on them. Its wild barks echoed in Kelsey’s ears.
Kelsey and Drew stopped on the next corner to catch their breath. They ducked into a darkened doorway, pressing their backs against the door’s iron gate. Gasping for air.
They listened.
Silence.
“Do you think it’s gone?” Drew asked.
“I-I don’t know,” Kelsey stammered. “I’ll check.” She poked her head out from their hiding place.
A pair of crazed yellowed eyes met hers.
The dog sat on its haunches – just a few feet away. It growled. A low growl that exposed two decayed fangs – dripping with saliva.
“Run!” Kelsey cried, grabbing Drew’s hand.
The two bolted from the doorway. They flew down the street, holding hands, with Kelsey in the lead.
Kelsey glanced behind her. The dog tore after them. Howling now. And snapping its jaws hungrily.
Kelsey turned down a narrow alleyway. It looked just like the first alley. Only darker. Much darker. And the farther they ran, the narrower it grew.
They dodged around splintered pieces of wood. Shards of glass.
The wild beast charged up behind them, snarling. Its wet, gray tongue hung from its mouth. Kelsey could almost feel the animal’s sharp teeth sink into her ankles.
“Faster!” she screamed. “Run faster!”
With a burst of speed the two raced ahead, leaving the dog a few yards behind.
The alley curved sharply to the right. Drew nearly stumbled as the two took the turn.
And then Kelsey stopped. What lay ahead of her was suddenly as terrifying as the wild dog behind her.