Free Phantom of the Auditorium by R. L. Stine Page A

then stopped to listen.
    Silence.
    My legs were trembling. In fact, my entire body was shaking. But Zeke was acting so brave. There was no way I’d let him know how frightened I was.
    “This tunnel probably stretches all the way under the school,” Zeke whispered, moving his light ahead of us. “Maybe even farther. Maybe it goes under the entire block!”
    We took another few steps — then stopped when we heard a noise behind us.
    A clanking, followed by a loud hum.
    “Hey!” Brian cried out shrilly. “The trapdoor!”
    All three of us spun around and started running back toward it. Our heavy footsteps echoed loudly through the dark tunnel.
    My chest was aching so hard by the time we got back to the trapdoor platform, I could hardly breathe.
    “It — it’s going back up!” Zeke cried.
    We stood there helplessly, gazing at the platform as it rose over our heads, climbing back up to the stage.
    “Push the switch!” Zeke cried to me. “Bring it back down!”
    I fumbled on the wall till I found the switch. I tried to move it. But it was stuck.
    No. It had been locked.
    It wouldn’t budge.
    The trapdoor platform stopped high above us. A heavy silence fell over the three of us as we stared up in the darkness.
    “Zeke, now we’re trapped down here,” I uttered. “There’s no way back up. We’re totally trapped.”

20
    We waited to see if someone was coming down. But the trapdoor remained closed up there.
    Brian let out a frightened sigh. “Somebody did it,” he whispered, staring up to the platform. “Somebody pushed the switch and sent it back up.”
    “The Phantom!” I cried. I turned to Zeke. “Now what?”
    Zeke shrugged. “Now we have no choice. If we want to get
out
of here, we
have
to find the Phantom!”
    Our circles of yellow light trembled over the floor as we turned and headed back into the tunnel. No one said a word as we followed it around one curve, then another.
    The floor became soft and muddy. The air grew cooler.
    I heard a soft chittering sound in the distance. I hoped it wasn’t a bat.
    Brian and I had to hurry to keep up with Zeke. He was taking long strides, his flashlight swinging back and forth in front of him.
    Suddenly, I heard a low, musical humming. It took me a while to realize it was coming from Zeke. He was humming a tune to himself.
    Come on, Zeke, give me a break!
I thought.
You’ve
got
to be scared! You can’t fool me with a little cheerful humming. You are as scared as I am!
    I started to tease him about it. But the tunnel suddenly ended, and we found ourselves at a low doorway. Brian hung back. But Zeke and I stepped up to the door, our flashlights beaming over it.
    “Anyone in there?” Zeke called in a strange, tiny voice.
    No reply.
    I reached out and pushed the door. It creaked open. Zeke and I raised our flashlights and aimed them inside.
    A room. All furnished. I saw a folding chair. A beat-up couch with one of the cushions missing. Bookshelves along one wall.
    My flashlight fell over a small table. A bowl and a box of cornflakes stood on the table. I swept the light around and saw a small unmade bed against the far wall.
    Zeke and Brian followed me into the room. Our beams of light slid slowly over every object, every piece of furniture. An old-fashioned record playerstood on a low table. A stack of old records was piled beside it.
    “Do you
believe
this?” Zeke whispered. A grin spread over his face.
    “I think we’ve found the Phantom’s home,” I whispered back.
    His flashlight tilting in front of him, Brian made his way to the table. He peered down at the cereal bowl. “The Phantom — he was just here,” Brian said. “The cereal isn’t soggy yet.”
    “This is amazing!” I cried. “Someone actually lives down here, way below the —”
    I stopped because I felt a sneeze coming on. Maybe a whole sneezing fit.
    I tried to hold it in. But I couldn’t. I sneezed once. Twice. Five times.
    “Stop it, Brooke!” Brian pleaded.