Read Online Claws! by R. L. Stine - Free Book Online Page B

chase after me till they caught me.
    And then …
what
? Turn me over to the police?
    I had to talk to Amanda. We had to make a plan.
    Thinking about Amanda made me remember the cat. I couldn’t run straight home. I had to stop and feed Bella first.
    By the time I reached the Caplans’ house, I was exhausted, dripping with sweat, and still terrified. I found the keys in my backpack and unlocked the front door. I reached for the doorknob —and stopped.
    A chill of fear ran down my back.
    I pictured the cat leaping onto me, claws outstretched. Hissing. Screeching. Scratching and biting.
    Was she waiting for me? Ready to pounce?
    I swallowed. My hand trembled as I grabbed the knob again.
    I knew I had no choice. I had to go in the house. I had to feed her and clean her litter box.
    Maybe Bella had calmed down. Maybe she was used to her new home. Maybe she would be a nice, gentle cat from now on.
    I turned the knob and pushed the door open just a few inches. I stuck my head inside and peered into the front hallway. “Bella?”
    She was sitting there, a few feet from the front door. She sat up straighter when she saw me. Her eyes appeared to light up.
    “Bella?” I stepped into the hall and carefully closed the door behind me. “Are you going to be a good cat?” I said softly.
    She answered with a deafening screech. Raised her front claws—and leaped at me, snapping her jaws.
    “Noooo!”
    This time, I wasn’t surprised. I was ready for her.
    As she jumped, I shot out both hands. I caught her around the middle before she could land on me.
    She screeched and squirmed and clawed. But I gripped her tightly and held her in the air.
    I struggled to hold on. But I saw something that made the breath catch in my throat. I started to choke.
    The cat fell from my hands.
    I staggered back, staring … staring at something
impossible.
    “Noooo!” The cry burst from deep inside me. “No! It can’t be. I—I don’t
believe
it!”

29
    I stared in shock at the cat’s tail. At the chunk of missing fur on her tail.
    I pictured Amanda’s bubble gum stuck to the
first
Bella’s tail. Amanda had to cut the gum off with a pair of scissors.
    The first Bella had a circle of fur missing.
    But that Bella was dead.
    So how did this cat have the
same chunk of fur
missing in the exact same place on her tail?
    As I stared at the pink circle of skin, I felt a cold shudder run down my back.
    “It—it’s impossible,” I murmured to myself. “No way …”
    The cat raised her head and gazed up at me with glowing yellow eyes.
    It can’t be the same cat
, I thought, staring back at it.
But she looks just like the first Bella. And the same spot of fur is missing ….YIKES!
    This was too frightening for me. Suddenly, I knew what I had to do.
    Bella followed me as I began to search the house. I pulled open closet doors. I searched under beds and behind couches.
    Finally, I found what I was looking for. A cat carrier, folded up at the back of a linen closet.
    I pulled it out and unfolded it. I opened the canvas door on the side and set the carrier down on the floor.
    “Go ahead, Bella,” I said, pointing. “Get inside. Go.”
    To my surprise, she stepped right into the carrier. I reached down quickly and fastened the door behind her. I could see her eyes glowing in there like two fireflies.
    I carried the case to the front door. Then I set it down. I didn’t really want to do this alone.
    I pulled out my phone and tried Amanda’s number. It rang and rang. Finally, I got her voice mail.
    “Never mind,” I said. And I hung up.
    Okay. I
was
going to do this by myself. I didn’t want to wait. I knew it had to be done.
    I carried the case to the bus stop. Bella had grown very still inside it.
    I peered in through the screen. She was curled up in a tight ball, her tail wrapped around her legs.
    “Good,” I murmured. I felt relieved that she wasn’t giving me a hard time. No screeching or hissing or clawing at the sides of the