Read Online How I Got My Shrunken Head by R. L. Stine - Free Book Online
Authors: R. L. Stine
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darkness beneath the tangled trees.
23
As the sunlight faded, the jungle sounds changed. The birds in the trees stopped chirping. The shrill sawing of the insects grew louder. We heard strange animal howls and cries in the distance, the sound bouncing between the smooth trees.
I hoped the howls and cries
stayed
in the distance!
Dark creatures slithered through the tall weeds and low, fat ferns and shrubs. The shrubs appeared to tremble as night creatures scurried through them.
I heard the warning hiss of snakes. The eerie hoot of an owl. The soft flap of bat wings.
I moved closer to Kareen as we walked. The sounds were all so much more realistic than in my
Jungle King
game!
I’ll probably never play that game again after this,
I thought.
It will seem way too tame.
We pushed our way through a clump of tall, stiff reeds. The eyes on the shrunken head dimmed to black.
“Wrong way!” I whispered.
Kareen and I turned until the eyes glowed again. Then we moved forward, making our own path. We stepped over thick vines and pushed through tangles of weeds and low shrubs.
“Ow!” Kareen slapped at her forehead. “Stupid mosquito.”
The shrill scratching of insects grew louder, drowning out the crunch of our sneakers over the leaves and vines on the jungle floor.
As the darkness deepened, the eyes on the shrunken head appeared to glow brighter. Like twin flashlights, guiding us through the trees.
“I’m getting kind of tired,” Kareen complained. She ducked her head to avoid a low branch. “I hope your aunt is nearby. I don’t know how much longer I can walk.”
“I hope she’s nearby, too,” I murmured in reply. I’d had a pretty exhausting day myself!
As we walked, I couldn’t help thinking about Aunt Benna and her notebook. I didn’t want to make Kareen feel bad. But I had to say something.
“My aunt didn’t write very nice things about your dad and Carolyn in her notebook,” I said, keeping my eyes at my feet. “I was kind of surprised.”
Kareen was silent for a long moment. “That’s so horrible,” she said finally. “They worked together for so long. I knew they had an argument.”
“About what?” I asked.
Kareen let out a sigh. “Daddy has some plans to develop the jungle. He thinks there are valuable minerals here. Benna thinks the jungle should be preserved.”
She sighed again. “I think that’s what they fought about. I’m not sure.”
“The notebook made it seem like your dad is evil or something,” I muttered, avoiding her eyes.
“Evil? Daddy?” she cried. “No. No way. He’s very strong-minded. That’s all. He isn’t evil. And I know that Daddy still cares about Benna. He still respects her and cares about her. He’s really worried about her. He —”
“Whoa.” I grabbed Kareen’s arm, interrupting her. “Look.” I pointed through the trees.
I spotted a clearing up ahead. And against the gray sky, I could see the black outline of a small shack.
Kareen gasped. “That little house. Do you think —?”
We both crept to the edge of the clearing. Something scurried quickly over my sneakers, but I ignored it.
My eyes were on the tiny dark shack.
As we moved closer, I could see that it was built of tree limbs and sticks. Clumps of fat leaves madethe roof. It had no window. But there were narrow openings between the branches.
“Hey!” I whispered. I saw a pale light flicker in one of the openings.
A flashlight? A candle?
“Someone is in there,” Kareen whispered, narrowing her eyes at the shack.
I heard a cough.
A woman’s cough? Aunt Benna’s cough? I couldn’t tell.
“Do you think it’s my aunt?” I whispered, huddling close to Kareen.
“Only one way to find out,” she whispered back.
The shrunken head glowed brightly in my hand. The eerie yellow light splashed over the ground as Kareen and I crept closer.
Closer.
“Aunt Benna?” I called in a tiny voice. I cleared my throat. My heart pounded. “Aunt Benna? Is that
23
As the sunlight faded, the jungle sounds changed. The birds in the trees stopped chirping. The shrill sawing of the insects grew louder. We heard strange animal howls and cries in the distance, the sound bouncing between the smooth trees.
I hoped the howls and cries
stayed
in the distance!
Dark creatures slithered through the tall weeds and low, fat ferns and shrubs. The shrubs appeared to tremble as night creatures scurried through them.
I heard the warning hiss of snakes. The eerie hoot of an owl. The soft flap of bat wings.
I moved closer to Kareen as we walked. The sounds were all so much more realistic than in my
Jungle King
game!
I’ll probably never play that game again after this,
I thought.
It will seem way too tame.
We pushed our way through a clump of tall, stiff reeds. The eyes on the shrunken head dimmed to black.
“Wrong way!” I whispered.
Kareen and I turned until the eyes glowed again. Then we moved forward, making our own path. We stepped over thick vines and pushed through tangles of weeds and low shrubs.
“Ow!” Kareen slapped at her forehead. “Stupid mosquito.”
The shrill scratching of insects grew louder, drowning out the crunch of our sneakers over the leaves and vines on the jungle floor.
As the darkness deepened, the eyes on the shrunken head appeared to glow brighter. Like twin flashlights, guiding us through the trees.
“I’m getting kind of tired,” Kareen complained. She ducked her head to avoid a low branch. “I hope your aunt is nearby. I don’t know how much longer I can walk.”
“I hope she’s nearby, too,” I murmured in reply. I’d had a pretty exhausting day myself!
As we walked, I couldn’t help thinking about Aunt Benna and her notebook. I didn’t want to make Kareen feel bad. But I had to say something.
“My aunt didn’t write very nice things about your dad and Carolyn in her notebook,” I said, keeping my eyes at my feet. “I was kind of surprised.”
Kareen was silent for a long moment. “That’s so horrible,” she said finally. “They worked together for so long. I knew they had an argument.”
“About what?” I asked.
Kareen let out a sigh. “Daddy has some plans to develop the jungle. He thinks there are valuable minerals here. Benna thinks the jungle should be preserved.”
She sighed again. “I think that’s what they fought about. I’m not sure.”
“The notebook made it seem like your dad is evil or something,” I muttered, avoiding her eyes.
“Evil? Daddy?” she cried. “No. No way. He’s very strong-minded. That’s all. He isn’t evil. And I know that Daddy still cares about Benna. He still respects her and cares about her. He’s really worried about her. He —”
“Whoa.” I grabbed Kareen’s arm, interrupting her. “Look.” I pointed through the trees.
I spotted a clearing up ahead. And against the gray sky, I could see the black outline of a small shack.
Kareen gasped. “That little house. Do you think —?”
We both crept to the edge of the clearing. Something scurried quickly over my sneakers, but I ignored it.
My eyes were on the tiny dark shack.
As we moved closer, I could see that it was built of tree limbs and sticks. Clumps of fat leaves madethe roof. It had no window. But there were narrow openings between the branches.
“Hey!” I whispered. I saw a pale light flicker in one of the openings.
A flashlight? A candle?
“Someone is in there,” Kareen whispered, narrowing her eyes at the shack.
I heard a cough.
A woman’s cough? Aunt Benna’s cough? I couldn’t tell.
“Do you think it’s my aunt?” I whispered, huddling close to Kareen.
“Only one way to find out,” she whispered back.
The shrunken head glowed brightly in my hand. The eerie yellow light splashed over the ground as Kareen and I crept closer.
Closer.
“Aunt Benna?” I called in a tiny voice. I cleared my throat. My heart pounded. “Aunt Benna? Is that
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