Spooky Twisties II Read online

  Back Cover

  Tween Dark Fiction

  Catch up with the adventures of Chris, Nick, Amy, Lindsay, and their friends, as they continue to encounter the strange and supernatural.

  Will an old map actually lead to hidden treasure?

  Is it always best to do the right thing and help someone out?

  Can a magic set become too magical?

  How difficult can babysitting really be on a beautiful Saturday afternoon?

  Will this year’s carnival be better than the last?

  Welcome back to the kid’s home town, where you’ll meet some new friends as well as bump into some ‘friends’ you thought you would never see again. Join them in their normal everyday fun, but make sure you’re prepared to experience the Spooky, with a Twist!

  Spooky Twisites II© 2017 by Terri Bertha

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, or events, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  MuseItUp Publishing

  https://museituppublishing.com

  Cover Art © 2017 by Charlotte Volnek

  Layout and Book Production by Lea Schizas

  Paperback ISBN: 978-1-77127-964-2

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-77127-963-5

  First eBook Edition *November 2017

  This book is dedicated to my sons, Lou and Nick.

  Never give up on your dreams and always follow your heart.

  Believe in yourself and you can accomplish anything.

  Love, Mom

  Acknowledgements

  Thank you to MuseItUp Publishing, especially Lea Schizas, Christine Speakman and my cover artist Charlotte Volnek. Also, thank you to all my family and friends who have supported me and remain my Spooky fans.

  Spooky Twisties II

  Spooky Twisties Series

  Terri Bertha

  MuseItYoung, division of

  MuseItUp Publishing

  www.museituppublishing.com

  Chapter One

  Leave Well Enough Alone

  “Hey, Amy,” said Lindsay. “I have something I want to show you some night when there’s a full moon.”

  “What’s that?”

  “You know that deserted place by the old Miller house? There’s a well in the backyard, and I want to go over and make a wish. They say if you throw coins in a well, your wish will come true on a full moon’s night.”

  “Really? You don’t actually believe all that mumbo jumbo do you?”

  “Well, sort of. Who knows? Maybe if I wish for Chris to like me, he will. Then maybe he’ll ask me to go to the spring junior high dance.”

  “Okay, I’m in. When’s the next full moon?”

  “Two nights from now,” said Lindsay. “We’ll go after it gets dark. I also heard that if a girl throws in a coin, she can see the image of her future husband. Maybe it will be Chris.”

  “You’re nuts. But I’ll go with you because you’re my bestest friend.” The two hugged.

  “Great. Bring a flashlight, too, so we can see Chris’ reflection.”

  On the second night, Lindsay and Amy walked to the well in the backyard of the abandoned house. The full moon lit up the sky and coupled with the street lights, the night seemed extra bright. Lindsay and Amy stood by the well and peered down into the darkness.

  “I don’t know how we’re going to see anything down there,” said Amy.

  “That’s why we brought the flashlights,” said Lindsay. “Okay, here goes.” She tossed her penny into the well and made her wish. All was quiet and both girls shined their flashlights into the water below.

  “I didn’t even hear it splash.”

  “Me neither. And I didn’t see any face in the water.”

  “Maybe it means that you’ll never get married,” Amy teased.

  “Don’t say that. You’re being mean.”

  As Lindsay reached for more change in her pocket, a coin came flying through the air and bounced off her cheek. “Ouch!”

  Then they heard a male voice. “Is that all you have? A penny? Come on, you can do better than that. You want me to grant your wish for a penny? How about a buck?”

  The girls were ready to run when Chris and Nick stepped out from behind a tree laughing.

  “You scared the daylights out of us,” said Lindsay. “What are you guys doing here?”

  “We were walking back home when we saw you and Amy leave your house and decided to follow. We couldn’t figure out what you guys would be doing out so late on a night like this. Why are you throwing money into a well?” asked Chris.

  Lindsay spoke first. “Oh, Amy had this dumb idea about making a wish on a night of a full moon, so she asked me to come along with her.”

  Amy narrowed her eyes and glared at Lindsay. She didn’t want to start a fight in front of the boys so she remained quiet.

  “Come on,” said Lindsay. “It didn’t work. Let’s go home.”

  The kids turned around to start walking back home when they heard a voice. “Hey! Get me out of here. You guys gotta help me. I need to get out of here.”

  “That’s not funny, Chris,” said Lindsay. “You already played your joke.”

  “It wasn’t me,” said Chris. “I didn’t say anything.”

  Both boys walked towards the well where they heard the voice and the girls followed closely behind. They leaned in over the wall and heard, “Get me out of here. Hey, could you lend a guy a hand here?”

  “Holy cow!” said Chris. “There’s someone down there.”

  “Hold on,” Nick yelled to the voice below. “We’ll get you help. Just hang tight.”

  Chris pulled out his phone. “I’ll call 911… Hello. Hey, my friends and I think there’s someone down in a well next to the old Miller’s place. Can you send someone to come over right away? They need help getting out. They’re stuck down there.”

  Chris ended the call and told the others the police would be arriving soon. In a few minutes, the police, an ambulance, and a rescue squad surrounded the well. Bright lights were beamed down into the darkness. A firefighter was lowered on a rescue rope and remained below for a few minutes. Finally, he yelled up that everything was clear and nothing was found.

  “Listen, kids,” said the policeman. “What you did here wasn’t funny at all. If you guys were older, you could be arrested for calling in a fake emergency. Let’s hope that someone else doesn’t need us right now in a true emergency. These policemen will take each of you home and talk to your parents about what happened here.”

  The kids figured it would be best not to argue with the policeman, so they got into the black and whites to be driven home. Each knew what they heard, and couldn’t believe the fireman didn’t find anyone in the well. Their thoughts were now preoccupied with what was going to happen when their parents found out about the incident.

  When they talked to their parents, each of them swore that it wasn’t a ‘fake emergency’. Needless to say, after the policeman explained the gravity of the situation, the kids were grounded for the next two weeks without their cell phones.

  “Amy,” said her mom. “I’m really disappointed that you were part of something like this. You know better than to lie and make up something so absurd.”

  “I know, Mom. I said I was sorry to you and all the policemen and fireman. I don’t know what else to say. We all heard a voice down there. Honest. I wouldn’t make something like this up or lie about it.”

  Lindsay, Chris, and Nick ba
sically had the same talk with their parents regarding what happened.

  The next two weeks went faster than what the kids thought it would. After the grounding period was over, and they had their phones back, they discussed the events of that night.

  “Let’s go back and see if we hear it again,” said Lindsay.

  “I agree,” said Chris. “We all heard something.”

  The next night, the kids walked back to the well. Surrounding it, they peered into the unknown void. Chris hollered, “Is anybody down there?”

  At first, there was complete silence. Then a voice said, “Is anybody up there?”

  “Duh…yeah,” said a startled Chris.

  “Could you guys help me out of here? I asked you once before.”

  “We’re not going to fall for that trick. Where are you?”

  “Down here. Can’t you hear me?”

  “What are you doing down there?”

  “It’s where I am right now.”

  “They searched this well a couple weeks back and you weren’t down there then.”

  “I was hiding.”

  “Why were you hiding when the emergency people were trying to get you out? You yelled for help, remember?”

  “I don’t know,” said the voice.

  “We all got into trouble and grounded for two weeks because ‘you don’t know’. Thanks for nothing.”

  “Sorry.”

  “Well, forget it now. It’s over. Let’s move on. Can we help you somehow? Do you need some food? Are you hungry?”

  “Yes,” said the voice. “How about a bologna and mustard sandwich with a bag of those pork rinds? I love pork rinds. You know, there’s actually a lot of protein in them. They’re not just fat.”

  The kids looked at each other puzzled.

  “You’re kidding,” said Chris.

  “No, I’m hungry,” said the voice.

  “My mom just went shopping today, so I’ll run home and make you a sandwich, and stop by Mr. Jacob’s to get the pork rinds. I know we don’t have those at home. Hang in there and I’ll be back with your food.”

  While Chris was gone, Nick, Amy, and Lindsay peered down into the darkness hoping to see someone or something.

  “Do you want something to drink?” asked Nick.

  “Nah. I got plenty of water down here.”

  “What’s your name?” asked Lindsay.

  “Tom,” said the voice. “But my friends call me ‘Creepy Bones’.”

  Amy and Lindsay picked up the flashlights and aimed the light downward, hoping to see ‘Creepy Bones’.

  “Hey! Turn those off! Do I shine lights in your faces?”

  “Where are you?” asked Lindsay.

  “I told you already. Aren’t you listening? I’m down here.”

  The three of them stared at each other and leaned their backs on the cold wall and waited for Chris to come back with the food. It didn’t seem they were going to get anywhere talking to the voice.

  Soon, Chris came back with the sandwich in a plastic bag. He put a hole in the bag, and tied a piece of long string to the end and lowered it into the well.

  “Here you go,” said Chris. “Your sandwich is coming down. Don’t worry. We’re gonna try to figure a way to get you out of there.”

  A short time after the sandwich was lowered, the voice said, “I thought I told you mustard. There’s mayo on this sandwich. Don’t you know what mustard is? And where’s my bag of pork rinds?”

  “We didn’t have mustard at the house. Only mayo. And I forgot to stop at Jacob’s convenience store for the pork rinds. I’ll buy you a bag when you get out of there.”

  Chris couldn’t believe he was trying to reason with an unknown voice in a well. The next thing he heard was, “Who eats bologna with mayo anyway?”

  The kids stood there and rolled their eyes. They couldn’t believe that someone who was stuck in a well was concerned over getting mayo on their sandwich instead of mustard.

  “Are you sure we’re not on one of those crazy TV shows where they play stupid tricks on you?” asked Amy. “Maybe there are cameras in the trees. Let’s take a look.”

  Just then, one of the policemen who was there a few weeks earlier, drove up in his car. “Hey! What are you kids doing back here? I thought I told you to stay away from this place.”

  “We were star gazing and learning the constellations for our science class. Kind of like a group study,” said Nick.

  “Well, you better get home before I call your parents.”

  The kids started walking back to their houses when Chris said, “We have to find out what’s really going on here.”

  “I agree,” said Nick. “Why don’t we come over in the daylight after school, so it won’t look suspicious? Someone is definitely down there.”

  “Maybe not,” said Lindsay.

  “What do you mean, Lindsay? He ate a sandwich,” said Amy, “and complained it had mayo on it. And told us his name was ‘Tom’. There’s definitely someone down there.”

  “I guess you’re right,” said Lindsay, and both boys nodded in agreement.

  After school, the kids walked back to the well and peered down inside without seeing anything.

  “You still there?” yelled Nick.

  There was silence for a minute, and then they heard, “Yeah, I’m still here. Where’d you guys go last night?”

  “The policeman chased us away and told us to go home. We didn’t want to get grounded again. We’re going to ask you one last time. Do you want to get out of this well, or stay there the rest of your life?”

  “Yes,” the voice answered. “I really, really, really want to get out of here.”

  “All right,” said Nick. “We’re going to go to the hardware store and get a rope to throw down to pull you up.”

  “Works for me,” said the voice. “How about a bag of those pork rinds?”

  The kids took off to the hardware store and bought the longest rope they could find. They got back to the well and Nick hollered above the well, “We’re going to throw the rope down now. Tie the end around your waist and we’ll pull you up. Okay? Are you ready?”

  “Like a dog waiting for a bone!” said the voice.

  “Whatever…” said Nick.

  All the kids tightened their hands around the rope. “Okay. Everyone pull!” shouted Nick.

  The kids pulled hand over hand on the rope. “This seems easier than I thought,” said Chris. “This guy must not weigh much.”

  As the kids pulled the rope up, they heard rattling and clanking as something hit against the well wall. At the end of the rope, they saw the top half of a skeleton, with a rope tied around what was once the waist of a person. The skeleton moved his boney arm in a waving motion and proceeded to say in a rasping voice, “Hello. Hey, don’t I know you girls?”

  The kids’ eyes widened at the sight of a skeleton wearing blue pants, a white short-sleeved shirt and a clip-on tie. With loud screams, they all let go of the rope at the same time. They heard a clank and started running at top speed back home. In the distance, a horrifying scream could be heard yelling, “Ow! I think I twisted my ankle.”

  Chapter Two

  The Carnie Clown

  Amy, Lindsay, Nick, Chris and the rest of their friends were excited about the carnival coming to town.

  Chuckie said, “We can get cotton candy, candied apples and those funnel cakes I love!”

  “Maybe you should cut down on some of that fattening stuff,” said Dale. “Remember when you couldn’t get over that fence the time we were being chased all over the place as we were walking down to Nick’s?”

  “My pants got caught,” said Chuckie, not laughing with the rest of the group. “That’s why I couldn’t get over.”

  Chuckie tried to change the subject. “When do you guys want to go to the carnival? Should we go Saturday afternoon, or would it be better at night?”

  “I think we should go at night,” yelled Amy. “The lights are on all the rides and I think it looks pret
ty. Especially the ferris wheel going around and round.”

  “Does that sound okay with everyone?” asked Nick.

  All the kids either nodded, gave thumbs up or yelled, “Sweet!”

  Okay,” said Nick. “Night it is. How about Friday night after school? There’s nothing else happening, so let’s go then.”

  “Sounds like a plan to me,” said Lindsay. “Let’s meet at my house and we can all walk down together, okay?”

  That Friday night, all the kids met at Lindsay’s and walked to the carnival that was in town for the next few weeks.

  “My mom gave me extra money, so I don’t have to use my allowance,” said Amy.

  “Do you have any extra money for us?” asked Paul, who was always fond of Amy.

  “Oh, I’ll share my cotton candy with you.”

  Paul blushed.

  In the distance, they could see the colored lights being turned on for the ferris wheel, merry-go-round, sky dipper and bumper cars.The kids held their noses high as they inhaled the smells of corndogs, funnel cakes and popcorn.

  “Yummy,” said Chuckie. “I can’t wait to bite into one of those corn dogs with mustard on it. I might get two!”

  “I’m going to get some cheese fries,” said Chris. “I love all that grease.”

  “Me and Amy are going to get cotton candy first,” said Lindsay. “Then we’re going to ride the ferris wheel.”

  The kids got their food and treats and started one ride after another.

  “Hey,” said Lindsay. “Let’s take a little break. I think I’m getting nauseous from eating all this food and twirling around.”

  “Yeah,” said Chris. “I think that sky dipper turned my stomach upside down too many times.”

  Amy and Lindsay stopped at the face painter’s booth and got hearts and stars painted on their cheeks.

  “How do we look?” asked the girls.

  “Lovely, just lovely,” said Nick as he rolled his eyes at Chris.