Eye Of The Fortuneteller 1 page

R. L. Stine

Eye Of The Fortuneteller

R. L. Stine

Eye Of The Fortuneteller

The sixth book in the Ghosts of Fear Street series, 1996

Kelsey Moore tried to scream, but the scream stuck in her throat. The giant Sea Serpent whipped her from side to side. It moved so fast that she could barely hold on. And then the green monster began to dive.

Kelsey tightened her grip. The Sea Serpent plunged down. Down. Down.

Kelsey screamed.

She screamed as the Sea Serpent, the biggest, wildest roller coaster at the beach, rounded the last corner and suddenly jerked to a stop.

“Wow!” Drew gasped. “I’m glad that’s over.”

“What a gyp,” Kelsey said as she and Drew climbed out of their seats. “I can’t believe we stood in line for twenty minutes for that. It wasn’t scary at all.”

“A gyp!” Drew cried. “Are you crazy? It was totally scary.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Kelsey said as they headed for the exit. “Did you ever ride the Exterminator at Echo Ridge? That’s a scary ride.”

“If it wasn’t scary, how come you were screaming?” Drew asked.

“Me? Screaming?” Kelsey laughed. “ You were the one who was screaming.”

“I was not,” Drew lied.

“Were, too,” Kelsey replied. “The same way you screamed on the merry‑go‑round.”

“Very funny,” Drew shot back. “I screamed on the merry‑go‑round when we were six years old.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kelsey said. “It scared you so much, you haven’t been on it since.”

Drew reached out and yanked Kelsey’s ponytail.

“Cut it out!” she yelled. But she wasn’t really angry. Kelsey and Drew were best friends – and cousins. Cousins who looked practically liked twins.

They both had the same curly blond hair, the same freckles, the same green eyes. They even had the same last name. And they were the same age, too. Twelve. But Kelsey liked to brag that she was older – even if it was only by three weeks.

Every year their parents rented a house together at the beach. And every year Kelsey had to drag Drew on all the rides. She loved them. He hated them.

It had taken Kelsey two whole summers to convince Drew to ride the Sea Serpent. And after all that, it was a total letdown.

“I’m telling you,” Kelsey said. “I’ve had scarier walks to school.”

“I know. I know. You live on Fear Street. There are ghosts and monsters there every day,” Drew replied.

“The stories about Fear Street are true,” Kelsey insisted. “Really strange things happen to people who live there.”

“Nothing weird has happened to you,” Drew pointed out.

“Not yet,” Kelsey said. But she had plenty of stories to tell about the ghosts that haunted her neighborhood. And she told them to Drew about twice a day.

Drew rolled his eyes. “Okay. You’re from Fear Street. Nothing scares you. Nothing except sand crabs.”

“They don’t scare me,” Kelsey lied. “I just think they’re gross, that’s all. So what do you want to do now?” she asked, changing the subject.

“Go on the bumper cars?” Drew suggested.

“We can’t,” Kelsey replied. “We don’t have enough money left.”

“What are you talking about?” Drew started digging through his pockets. “We had almost ten dollars each.”

“Drew, we’ve been on about a hundred rides,” Kelsey began. “And we spent a fortune trying to win that stupid prize you wanted.”

“It’s not stupid,” Drew insisted. “That video game costs eighty bucks in the store. We could win it down here for only a quarter.”

“If we could win it for a quarter, how come we’ve already spent fifty of them trying to get it? Besides, there’s no way to win anything on those giant wheel games. They’re rigged.”

“That’s not what you said last year,” Drew reminded her. “Remember when you made us spend all our money trying to win that pink baby elephant?”

“Oh, yeah,” Kelsey replied. “I remember – we didn’t win one single game.”

“Well, this time it’s going to be different. This time we’re going to win that video game,” Drew declared.

“Okay, okay,” Kelsey gave in. “But we should head home now. It’s almost time for dinner. We’ll try to win it tomorrow – when we can get more money.”

Kelsey and Drew headed toward the part of the boardwalk that led to the exit.

“I have a little change left,” Drew said, still searching through his pockets. “Let’s buy some saltwater taffy‑” Drew turned to Kelsey, but she was gone.

“Kelsey?”

“Over here,” she called from around a corner. “Check this out.”

“What is it?” Drew asked, turning the bend.

Kelsey stood in front of a creepy old shack. It was made of wood. Splintered, rotted wood that smelled ancient and moldy.

The small building sagged – the right side stood higher than the left. Kelsey tried to peer through one of the grimy windows, but it was covered with thick iron bars. Heavy black curtains draped the panes.

“I don’t know what this is,” Kelsey said, circling the strange old shack. “I’ve never seen it before.”

Kelsey glanced up and spotted a sign that hung over the doorway. “ The Amazing Zandra,” she read, trying to sound spooky. “It’s a stupid gypsy fortune‑telling place – only the Amazing Zandra is ‘Out to Lunch.’” Kelsey pointed to the sign.

Drew pressed his nose up against the window in the door to peek inside. He leaped back, crashing into Kelsey.

“Ouch!” she cried out, rubbing her foot. “What’s the matter with you?”

“Take a look,” Drew whispered.

Kelsey pressed her nose up against the dirty window. She peered into the dark room. Squinting.

Then she saw it.

A skeleton.

A human skeleton. It stared at her with its hollow eyes.

She inhaled sharply. Then laughed.

“It’s just a skeleton. A prop,” she told Drew. “Fortunetellers use stuff like that all the time. To make you think they’re spooky and mysterious.”

Kelsey jiggled the doorknob. The door opened with a loud click. “Let’s go in!”

“No way,” Drew told her, stepping back from the door. “We don’t have time. We’ll be late for dinner.”

“You’re such a chicken,” Kelsey taunted.

“I am not,” Drew shot back. “There’s just no reason to go in. Fortunetellers are fakes. Everyone knows that. They can’t really tell the future.”

Kelsey pulled the door open wide enough to stick her head inside. The air inside the shack felt icy cold. It sent a chill down her spine.

She glanced around the room. A layer of thick dust carpeted the floor. Old books were scattered everywhere.

Kelsey’s gaze shifted to the far wall of the shack, where bookshelves rose from the floor to the ceiling. On them sat tons and tons of stuffed animals.

Kelsey stared at the animals. They weren’t like the ones she had in her room.

These were real animals.

Real dead animals.

“You’re not going to believe what’s in here,” Kelsey whispered. “Let’s go in.”

“No way!” Drew repeated. Then he tugged Kelsey back. “Let’s go. We’ll be here all summer. We can come back another time.”

Kelsey sighed. “Oh, all right, but‑”

“Stay. Stay,” a raspy voice called from the back of the shack.

Kelsey and Drew turned in time to see a very old woman make her way to the front of the shack. She pointed a wrinkled, gnarled finger at them. “Come,” she said. “Come in.”

Kelsey stared at the woman. She wore a red flowered dress that hung down to the floor. Her face was lined with wrinkles. And her mouth twisted in a half sneer. But it was her earrings that Kelsey gaped at.

Dozens of gold rings dangled from each ear. Heavy gold earrings that pulled on her lobes and made them hang low.

She fixed her dark eyes on Kelsey as she spoke again.

Kelsey gasped. The woman had one blue eye and one eye the color of coal.

“Come,” the woman beckoned. “Come inside. There is much to tell. Come, Kelsey and Drew.”

All the color drained from Drew’s face. “Kelsey, how does she know our names?” he murmured. “How does she know?”

“She probably heard us talking,” Kelsey whispered to Drew.

“But we just walked around the shack. She wasn’t there,” he replied.

“Maybe she heard us through the windows or something,” Kelsey answered. “Trust me, these fortunetellers are all fakes. You said so yourself.”

“Come, children,” the gypsy woman continued, opening the door wider. “Come inside.” Then she gazed over her shoulder. “I have something for you.”

“Um, thanks. But we can’t,” Drew said. “We really have to get home.”

The gypsy ignored him. And so did Kelsey. She followed the old woman inside. Drew lunged for Kelsey’s arm and tried to pull her back, but Kelsey jerked free.

“You have some pretty neat things in here,” Kelsey said to the woman as she stepped inside.

“These are not my things,” she replied. Then she sat down behind a round table. “Sit.” She motioned to two chairs. “You may call me Madame Valda.”

“I thought she was supposed to be the Amazing Zandra,” Drew whispered as the two took their seats at the table.

Kelsey shrugged as she watched the gypsy set a folded velvet cloth on the table in front of her. It was blood‑red and held something inside it.

“Madame Valda will tell your fortune now,” the gypsy announced. Then she opened the cloth to reveal a deck of cards.

“But we don’t have any money to pay you, uh, Madame Gypsy,” Drew said, standing.

“Madame Valda,” the old woman corrected sharply. “I will do it for nothing,” her voice softened. “Sit! It is a great honor to have Madame Valda tell your fortune.”

“Sit!” Kelsey echoed.

Drew sat. Madame Valda spread the deck of cards out on the table. She began to sing softly in a language Kelsey had never heard.

Kelsey watched as the fortuneteller swirled her head around in a circle. She’d seen fortunetellers in the movies do this. They closed their eyes and sang themselves into some kind of trance.

Only Madame Valda wasn’t closing her eyes.

She stared straight ahead. Straight at Kelsey.

This is really creepy, Kelsey thought. A nervous giggle escaped her lips.

Madame Valda didn’t seem to notice – or she didn’t care.

She continued to sing.

She continued to stare.

Directly into Kelsey’s eyes.

Kelsey stared back. She felt as if she were in some kind of trance, too. She couldn’t stop gazing into the woman’s weird eyes.

Finally Madame Valda’s chant came to an end, and she shifted her gaze to the deck of cards on the table.

Kelsey let out a long sigh. She didn’t realize she’d been holding her breath.

Madame Valda flipped over three cards. They all had strange symbols on them. Symbols that Kelsey had never seen before.

The gypsy studied the cards for a moment, then turned to Drew.

“Drew Moore,” she said. “I see that you are sometimes more a follower than a leader. You must be careful to guard against that. It will get you into trouble. Especially when you let Kelsey make all the decisions.”

Kelsey shot a quick glance at Drew. His jaw dropped and his eyes grew wide.

Kelsey squirmed in her chair. How did she know Drew’s last name? she wondered. How? Kelsey knew she never said it. And neither did Drew. Not outside. And not inside.

Then she spotted it. Drew’s beach pass. Pinned to his shirt. With his name printed in big red letters, Drew T. Moore. Kelsey laughed out loud as she stared down at her own badge. Then she pointed it out to Drew.

“What is funny?” The old woman snarled.

“Um. Nothing,” Kelsey replied.

“Then why do you laugh?” the old woman pressed.

“Well, it’s just that your fortunetelling powers aren’t all that, um, mysterious,” Kelsey confessed.

Drew kicked Kelsey under the table.

“Do you think Madame Valda is a fake?” The old woman’s voice rose to a screech.

“I know Madame Valda is a fake,” Kelsey replied, imitating the gypsy’s accent.

“You have insulted the famous Madame Valda,” the fortuneteller roared. She jerked to her feet and loomed over Kelsey. “Apologize now, or live the rest of your life in fear.”

“In fear of what?” Kelsey asked, staring directly into Madame Valda’s dark eye. “I’m not afraid of you.”

“Oh, yes, you are!” Madame Valda cried. “I am the most powerful fortuneteller who ever lived. And I know all your fears, you foolish child. All your fears!”

“Just say you’re sorry and let’s go,” Drew said, pushing his chair from the table. Then he added in a whisper, “She’s worse than scary – she’s nuts.”

“No,” Kelsey told Drew. “I am not afraid.”

Madame Valda’s eyes flickered. She leaned in, closer to Kelsey. Kelsey could feel the gypsy’s hot breath on her face. Then she whispered, “Only a fool is not afraid.”

Before Kelsey could reply, the old woman reached down and flipped over the next card in the deck. She threw it down onto the table in front of Kelsey.

It looked like a joker.

Kelsey read the words on the bottom of the card – the Fool.

“The cards never lie! You are the fool, and I curse you for the rest of your life. Now get out!” she cried. “Get out. Now!”

Kelsey and Drew jumped up and bolted for the door. Madame Valda’s voice thundered behind them. “You will believe. You will know fear. ”

As soon as Kelsey’s and Drew’s feet hit the boardwalk, they broke into a run.

But Madame Valda’s voice trailed after them. “Fear! Fear! Fear!” she cried out over their pounding sneakers. “You will know fear!”

Kelsey and Drew ran faster. But Madame Valda’s voice seemed as close as before. Kelsey glanced back. “Oh, no!” she cried. “She is crazy! She’s coming after us!”

Kelsey’s heart pounded as she ran faster.

Her lungs felt as if they were about to explode.

She turned back – and there was Madame Valda. Right behind her!

This is unreal, Kelsey’s mind whirled. How could an old lady run so fast?

“She’s right behind us!” Drew cried out, panting.

“Leave us alone!” Kelsey screamed over her shoulder.

Madame Valda’s right eye burned into Kelsey – and Kelsey stopped running.

“Run! Run!” Drew screamed.

But Kelsey couldn’t move. She felt paralyzed. Frozen in place by the dark eye of the fortuneteller.

The gypsy reached out and clutched Kelsey’s shoulder with her bony fingers. A sharp pain shot down Kelsey’s arm. She tried to jerk away, but Madame Valda held her tightly.

The old gypsy laughed. A hideous laugh.

“Not afraid!” she cackled. “Oh, yes. You will be afraid!” She whisked the Fool card before Kelsey’s eyes, then tossed it in the air.

“Fool! Fool! Fool!” she cried. “Only a fool is not afraid!”

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.

Another dead end.

There was no way out.

“We’re trapped!” Kelsey shrieked. “We’re trapped!”

Kelsey and Drew pressed their backs against the building. Waiting. Waiting for the vicious dog to appear.

Kelsey held her breath and listened.

No barking. No snarling.

“Maybe we lost him,” she whispered.

“I don’t think so,” Drew whispered back.

Kelsey silently agreed. The alley went only one way. That dog would have to be pretty stupid to lose track of us, she thought.

“But why isn’t he attacking?” she asked Drew.

“I don’t know,” he replied, shaking his head.

The two waited in silence. The blood pounded in Kelsey’s head.

Another minute passed – the longest minute in Kelsey’s life – with no sign of the dog. “We can’t just stand here, Drew,” Kelsey said, finally breaking the quiet. “I’m going to check.”

Kelsey tiptoed to the curve in the alley. She peeked around the corner. Slowly.

The alley stood deserted.

No dog.

“It’s gone!” Kelsey gasped.

“This is so weird,” Drew replied, making his way to her side. “How could it just disappear like that?”

“I don’t know. And I don’t care. Let’s get out of here. Now,” Kelsey answered. “Um, you go first.”

“Gee, thanks a lot,” Drew said as he started down the alley.

They walked quickly but carefully.

Listening.

Listening for any sign of the deadly beast. But the only sound they heard was the soft thumping of their own feet.

The alley seemed even darker than before. And for the first time Kelsey noticed how sour it smelled. The stench flooded her nostrils and made her sick.

“Look!” Drew exclaimed. He stopped short, and Kelsey slammed into him.

“What?” she asked. Her heart skipped a beat. She was afraid to hear the answer.

“I can’t believe it!” Drew shouted. “Look where we are!”

Kelsey inched alongside Drew and peered out of the dark alleyway – into bright sunlight.

She knew immediately where she was. But she glanced up at the street sign for proof.

Thirteenth Street.

Less than a block away from their house.

“I thought we were totally lost,” Drew said as he started toward their street. He let out a long sigh. “And all the time we were less than a block away from home. That’s the last time I follow you,” he added.

Kelsey was about to shoot back a smart remark of her own when she remembered something strange. Really strange.

“Drew, do you remember what the fortuneteller told you? You know, about getting into trouble if you follow me all the time? You don’t think…”

A shiver of fear crept down Kelsey’s spine. She stopped to glance back at the alleyway.

But it was gone!

You will believe. You will know fear. The fortuneteller’s words echoed in Kelsey’s mind.

I’m going crazy, Kelsey thought. The alley is there. It must be there. I probably can’t see it from this angle – that’s all.

“Come on, Kelsey,” Drew called. “We’re really late!”

Kelsey broke into a run. The two raced the rest of the way home. As they neared their house, they spotted their parents sitting outside on the front porch.

“Where have you been?” Kelsey’s mother asked.

“Do you know how late it is?” Drew’s mother added.

“Sorry,” Kelsey apologized. “We got…” She was about to say lost, but she stopped herself. If she told them they were lost, she knew what would happen. Their parents would never allow them to go out by themselves anymore. “We were having so much fun on the boardwalk, we lost track of the time.”

“We won’t do it again,” Drew added. “We promise.”

“All right.” Her mother forgave her more quickly than she ever did at home.

That was one of the best things about being on vacation. Parents were so much easier to get along with.

“Come inside and wash your hands for dinner,” Drew’s mother instructed. Then their parents led the way inside.

As Kelsey climbed the porch steps, she thought about the old fortuneteller again. Now that she was safe at home, the whole thing seemed pretty dumb.

“Fool!” Kelsey heard the echo of the old gypsy woman’s voice. Only this time she started to laugh at herself – for acting like one.

Kelsey was about to step through the front door when something caught her eye. Something falling from the sky. Fluttering. Fluttering. Down. Down. Down.

Drew spotted it, too. “What is that?” he asked, squinting as he gazed up.

“I can’t tell,” Kelsey replied, watching the object float down on a breeze.

And then it landed right at Kelsey’s feet.

She gasped.

It was the card.

The card that the old gypsy woman had tossed into the air.

Kelsey trembled as she stared at it. As she stared down into the face of the Fool.

That night Kelsey sat on her bed, alone in her room, staring at the Fool card.

“You are the Fool, Madame Whatever‑your‑name‑is,” Kelsey muttered. “And you are not going to scare me. No way.”

Kelsey turned the card over and over in her hand. Then she ripped it in half. Then ripped it in half again. And again. “So there!” she declared when she was through.

She scooped up every last bit of paper and dumped it all into the wastepaper basket near her dresser.

“Tomorrow will be a much better day,” she promised herself as she slipped between the sheets. Then she closed her eyes.

She pictured herself at the beach with Drew. They would spend the whole day there, she decided. Swimming in the ocean. Collecting shells. Playing volleyball. Lying in the sun.

Kelsey could imagine the warmth of the sun on her skin as she snuggled into her pillow. It felt good – even in her imagination.

Then she started to drift off to sleep – pretending that she was already on the beach.

But something tickled her left foot. She rubbed at it with her right one.

But the tickle returned.

Now it moved up the back of her leg.

Kelsey brushed her leg against the sheet. But it didn’t work. The tickle kept moving – moving up her leg.

Only now it wasn’t a tickle. It felt prickly.

Kelsey brushed her leg with her foot. But the prickly feeling didn’t go away.

It started to spread.

Over her legs. Her arms. Her whole body.

She tried to ignore it.

She fluffed her pillow and rolled over on her side. But that didn’t work, either.

Now it felt as though her whole bed had come alive. With tiny little legs.

Millions of them.