Free The Dark Corner by Christopher Pike Page B

to shiver violently from the cold. “You can’t hurt me,” she said simply.
    â€œWe’re not going to hurt you,” Watch’s demon said, now hanging on to the wall for support. “We’re going to kill you. That’s an important difference.”
    â€œYeah, when you’re dead, you rot,” Sally’s demon gasped, staggering about.
    â€œI’m not dying,” Cindy said. “Not today at least.” And with that she reached up and gaveAdam’s demon a sharp shove, and the monster toppled backward and fell.
    He didn’t get up. He couldn’t.
    Watch’s and Sally’s demons stared in amazement.
    â€œHey, guys,” Adam’s demon called from the floor. “Give me a hand. This icy floor is sticking to my head.”
    â€œGive yourself a hand,” Watch’s demon snapped as he fell and landed on one knee. “I’m too cold to help you.”
    â€œWe have to get out of here,” Sally’s demon moaned. But those were her last words because right then she collapsed and lay unconscious. Cindy could see the other two were slipping under the spell of the cold. Taking a large step over Adam’s demon—who didn’t even try to grab her—she stepped to the freezer door and pounded on it.
    â€œBryce!” she shouted. “You can open the door now!”
    A few seconds later Bryce cracked the door a couple of inches and peered inside. Seeing her alive and well, he broke into a wide grin.
    â€œAre they out cold?” he asked.
    She glanced over her shoulder. Watch was now lying facedown, and the three of them had stoppedmoving completely. “Yeah,” she said. “They’re down for the count.”
    Bryce opened the door all the way. “How did you stop them from eating you?”
    â€œI have a bad liver.”
    â€œWhat?”
    Cindy smiled and patted him on the back. “It’s a long story. Come on, we better get these monsters up to the cemetery and get the portal open for our friends.” She paused. “And they are your friends, too. It’s still your plan that’s going to save them.”
    Bryce shook his head as he stared at the frozen demons. “You get all the credit, Cindy. What you just did was the bravest act I ever saw in my life. I’ll have to tell Sally about it.”
    â€œShe’ll never believe you,” Cindy said.

14
    W atch was not doing well. Incredibly, Blood-button seemed to have detailed knowledge of everything Watch had ever done wrong. Every time the demon brought up another incident, Watch barely bothered to defend himself. Another gold coin would be put on the opposite side of the scale.
    Most of these “sins” were small. Watch had stolen a cookie from a cookie jar when he was five. Watch tracked mud on the carpet when he was eight. But the way Bloodbutton told about the incidents, one would have thought Watch had murdered children in their sleep.
    Foulstew would prompt Watch to remember his noble deeds, but Foulstew seemed to have no record of this good stuff Watch had done. Or if he did he kept it to himself. Watch had to supply that information himself.
    Finally they got up to the point in his life when Adam moved to Spooksville and met Watch. By then Watch was about twenty gold coins in the hole.
    â€œNow isn’t it true,” Bloodbutton said as he paced in front of Watch, “that you talked your friend, Adam—on the very day you met him—into accompanying you on a dangerous journey on the Secret Path?”
    Watch shrugged. “I thought he wanted to go.”
    â€œYou thought?” Bloodbutton snapped. “You risked a young man’s life just because you thought he wanted to go on such a foolish journey? Did you explain to him that there was an excellent chance he could die on this journey?”
    â€œBum told us all it was dangerous,” Watch said.
    â€œBum told him!” Bloodbutton exclaimed.