Read Online The Second Horror by R. L. Stine - Free Book Online Page B

into the hallway and listened. Crying? Was someone crying? “Hello?” he called. “Is someone here?” The muffled cry grew louder. A whimpering dog? A child? But where? Where was it coming from? Gripped with fear, Brandt forced his legs to carry him down the dimly lit hall. The tiny cries seemed to come from an empty bedroom. He stopped outside the door to the room and listened. “Is anybody in there? Can you hear me?” As he stepped into the empty room, he heard the little boy’s frightened voice. “Mommy, it’s me! Are you there, Mommy?” “Wh-who is it?” Brandt stammered. “Where are you?” “Help me, Mommy! Help me! Come get me, Mommy. It’s so dark here. Come get me! It’s me—James!”

Chapter 17
    The little boy’s tiny, terrified voice sent a cold shudder down Brandt’s spine. “Mommy! Mommy! Where are you?” the voice cried. “Come get me, Mommy! Please!” Brandt switched on the light. A single bare bulb shone in a ceiling fixture. His eyes darted frantically around the room. No one there. “Mommy!” the voice pleaded. “Help me! Come get me! It’s so dark here!” No, Brandt thought. It’s impossible. The voice seemed to be coming from inside the wall. Brandt froze, unable to decide what to do. Taking a deep breath, he forced himself to the wall and pressed his hands against it.
    Was there some kind of trapdoor in the wall? Some kind of secret compartment? He ran his hands all along the wall, pressing hard. But it was solid—plaster. “Take me home, Mommy! It’s James! Mommy, where are you?” James. James. Why does that name sound familiar? Brandt asked himself. The diary, he remembered. Cally wrote about her brother, a little boy named James. She told a horrifying story. About how James and his dog disappeared—and were never found. But Cally’s family heard James calling to them. Calling from inside the walls. Could that little boy still be alive? Brandt wondered, staring at the white plaster wall. No. It was impossible. The house had been empty for more than a year. “Mommy, I’m scared! It’s so dark in here! I’m so lonely! Get me out, Mommy!’ “I’ll help you, James!” Brandt shouted. “Don’t be afraid. I’ll help you!” But how? Somehow he had to open up the wall. “Please don’t leave me, Mommy! Don’t leave me behind!” “Don’t worry, James,” Brandt called. “I’ll be right back.” He hurried downstairs and frantically rummaged through the cartons stacked in the dining room. He knew his father had packed his tools somewhere. A few minutes later he returned to the room, carrying a large wooden mallet. “James?” Brandt called. “Are you still here?” “Mommy! Get me out!” the boy screeched. “All right,” Brandt called in a soothing voice. “Wherever you are, James, step away from this side of the wall.” Brandt waited a few seconds. Then he heaved the mallet and swung it at the wall. It cracked a hole in the plaster. Brandt peered inside the hole. Nothing but darkness. No sign of the boy. “James?” Brandt called. Silence. Then, “Mommy! I want to come back! Please, Mommy?” “Hold on, James!” Brandt called breathlessly. He raised the heavy mallet- -and swung again. Again. Again. The plaster crumbled. The hole widened. Brandt struggled to catch his breath. A sour odor invaded his nostrils. He recognized it at once—the same stench he’d smelled in his room a few days before. The stench of decay, of rotting flesh. One more swing of the mallet, and the wall fell away. “Ohhhhh.” Brandt uttered a sickened cry. The mallet dropped from his hands and landed at his feet with a thud. He was staring at the most gruesome sight he had ever seen in his life.

Chapter 18
    As Brandt gaped in horror, the skeleton of a child toppled out of the wall. The child’s bony hands clutched a dog’s skeleton in its arms.
    Holding his breath against the foul odor, Brandt forced himself to look. The small body was decomposed. A ragged little pair of