Free The Third Horror by R.L. Stine Page A

clean the floor so we can start again. If I mess up the scene, I'll be so embarrassed.
    "If it's pumping right, it should rise up to your ankles in no time," Ernie explained.
    "You don't notice it until then," Bo reminded them, flipping through green-tinted script pages on his clipboard. "Cally and Anthony have sneaked up to the attic to make out. You're standing there with your arms around each other, kissing passionately. We see
     
    the green gunk rising up from the floor. But you don't even feel it till it's practically to your knees."
    "Then we scream in horror," Rob said. "And do we try to get to the door right away?"
    "We have to see you struggle in the stuff," Bo instructed. "It's pulling you down, sucking you under. It's rising higher and higher, and you're trapped in it."
    "How high is it going to rise?" Kody asked warily, staring down at the large, round duct at her feet.
    Ernie laughed. "Don't worry. There's only enough goo in the machine to go up to your knees. And it's not really that sticky. Like I said, it's sort of like oatmeal. You won't have any trouble walking out of it when the scene is over."
    "Now I understand why they gave me this yellow shirt. It's because it'll look good with the green!" Rob joked.
    "I'm all in blue. I'm going to clash," Kody complained playfully.
    "As you struggle, try to splash the stuff over each other," Bo instructed, ignoring their jokes. "Make it look good. You know. You're thrashing your arms frantically. You're struggling. Struggling. And the more you struggle, the more you get covered in the yucky stuff."
    "What if I fall facedown in it?" Rob suggested. "You know. Just take a nosedive."
    Bo shook his head. "It's not a comedy, Rob. If I wanted a comedy, we'd have a pie fight up here."
    "I see where you're coming from," Rob replied seriously.

     
    "I want to see the disgust on your faces," Bo told them, turning his gaze on Kody. "You're up to your knees in vomit, right? You've got to make the audience feel it. You've got to make them squirm like you're squirming. You've got to make them smell it!"
    "Break, everyone!" a crew member called from the attic doorway.
    The lights were shut off. The floorboards creaked under the weight of the workers as they hurried to the stairs. They took their breaks seriously.
    "Hey, guys—back in fifteen!" Bo called to them. He turned to Kody and Rob. "You coming down? Want a mufl&n or something? Some coffee?"
    Kody and Rob exchanged glances. "I'd rather stay up here and rehearse," Kody replied.
    "Yeah. It'll be quiet. We can get it all worked out," Rob agreed.
    Bo gave them a wave and hurried out the door.
    Rob turned to Kody. "So? How are you feeling? You okay?"
    She shrugged. "You help cool me out," she told him. "You're always making jokes, keeping it light. That helps a lot."
    "I'm just covering up the fact that I'm in a total panic!" he exclaimed.
    They both laughed.
    "What part do you want to rehearse? Where do you want to start?" Rob asked.
    She flashed him a teasing smile. "Why don't we start with this?" She moved close, swung her arms

     
    around his shoulders, and pulled his head down for a kiss.
    When the kiss ended, she started to step away. But Rob pulled her close. "Not quite right," he said playfully. "I think we'd better rehearse it again."
    "My lipstick—" Kody protested. "I'll have to go back to Makeup."
    "Who cares?"
    Rob started to kiss her again—when the attic door slammed.
    Startled, they both turned to see who had come in.
    No one there.
    "Must be a breeze or something," Rob suggested. "Now, where were we?"
    She raised both hands in front of her to keep him away. "Let's go over the lines, okay?" she asked.
    Rob started to reply. But a sound against the wall made them both turn.
    With a loud click, the lever on the side of the goo machine slid down.
    The machine hummed softly, then louder as the pump started to chum.
    "Hey—what's going on?" Rob cried.

Chapter 20
    Kody jumped as warm green goo splashed up over her