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

turn toward the screams and begin to run over the dune, his sandals kicking up sand, sliding as he made his way over the soft, grassy hill.
    By the time Jessica descended the dune, a crowd had gathered around the distressed girl. The hushed voices of the concerned and curious onlookers were drowned out by the girl’s hysterical sobs.
    Jessica made her way to the front of the circle. A man and a woman had their arms around a teenage girl’s shoulders, trying to calm her. When the girl removed her hands from in front of her face, Jessica saw that she was plump and round faced, with crimped black hair down to her shoulders. She was dressed in black spandex bike pants and an oversize pink T-shirt.
    She stopped sobbing, but her shoulders continued to heave.
    â€œTry to tell us what happened,” the woman holding her urged. “Try to tell us.”
    The girl opened her mouth to speak, but burst into another round of sobs. She held her hands up to her face, then lowered one hand gingerly to her neck.
    â€œWhat’s going on?”
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œIs she hurt?”
    The voices of the crowd grew louder as more onlookers joined the circle. Jessica searched for Todd, finally spotting him on the far side of the crowd.
    â€œIt bit me,” the girl finally managed to get out through clenched teeth. “It bit me.”
    The voices quieted, the questions stopped as people pushed forward, straining to listen.
    â€œA mosquito bit her,” a teenage boy behind Jessica joked in a loud whisper, and his lanky companion snickered.
    â€œA bat!” the girl cried, pointing to the sky with one hand as she continued to hold her throat with the other. “It swooped down. It grabbed on to my shoulder. It bit me!”
    Jessica heard hushed cries of surprise, of horror. A little girl at the back of the crowd burst into tears. Her father quickly picked her up and started to walk away from the circle.
    â€œGet her to a doctor,” someone called out.
    â€œI vant to bite your neck!” the teenager behind Jessica said softly to his giggling companion, doing an exaggerated BelaLugosi vampire imitation as he grabbed his friend by the throat with both hands.
    â€œThat’s not funny,” a tall, dark-haired girl said sharply. “That bat might have rabies.”
    â€œ You might have rabies!” the boy snapped back. His friend thought it was a hilarious comeback.
    The man and woman were leading the girl off the beach in the direction of town. She had stopped sobbing but was still holding her throat.
    â€œWhere are your parents?” the woman was asking the girl.
    â€œI don’t know,” Jessica heard the girl reply, her voice high and frightened. “I don’t know.”
    â€œWe’ll get our car. We’ll drive you to the hospital,” the man said.
    The girl said something, but they were too far away for Jessica to hear. As they made their way off the beach, the crowd of bystanders came to life. Everyone started talking at once. Some people, Jessica saw, were frightened. Some were horrified. Some were shaking their heads in disbelief.
    â€œWhat happened?”
    â€œDid the girl fall or something?”
    â€œWhat’s going on?”
    â€œDid someone drown?”
    Hushed voices, confused voices, rising over the steady rush of the ocean waves, mingled with nervous laughter.
    Fixing her face in an expression of fear, Jessica started to tremble as Todd made his way to her. “Jessica—are you okay?” he asked, concerned.
    She hugged herself and shook her head. “Oh, I just hate bats!” she exclaimed. “They’re so creepy.”
    Todd took her hand. “You’re ice-cold!” he said, squeezing it.
    â€œThat poor girl,” Jessica cried with a convincing shudder. She raised her hand to her throat, as if imagining what it would feel like.
    â€œIt’s like a vampire or something,” Todd said.
    â€œ Please