Free 40 - Night of the Living Dummy III by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead)

ear.
    But I held on.
    “Dan—grab his arms! Hurry!”
    My brother moved quickly. Slappy tried to bat him away. But Dan ducked low.
And when he came up, he grabbed Slappy’s wrists and held on.
    “Let me go, slaves!” the dummy rasped. “Let me go now. You’ll be sorry!
You’ll pay!”
    I saw the fear on Dan’s face.
    Slappy swung a hand free. He tried to swipe at Dan’s throat.
    But Dan reached out and grabbed onto the loose arm again.
    I felt eyes on me. I glanced up to see the other dummies around the room.
They appeared to watch us struggle. A silent, still audience.
    I pulled a red kerchief off a dummy’s neck. And I stuffed it into Slappy’s
mouth to keep him quiet.
    “Downstairs! Hurry!” I instructed my brother.
    The dummy twisted and squirmed, trying to break free.
    But I had his legs tied around each other. And Dan kept a tight grip on his
arms.
    We began making our way to the attic stairs. “Where are we taking him?” Dan
demanded.
    “Outside,” I replied. The dummy bucked and squirmed. I nearly dropped him.
    “In our pajamas?” Dan asked.
    I nodded and began backing down the stairs. Slappy struggled hard to get
free. I nearly lost my balance and toppled over backwards.
    “We’re not going far,” I groaned.
    Somehow we made it all the way downstairs. I had to let go with one hand to
open the front door. Slappy bucked his knees, trying to untangle his legs.
    I pushed the door open. Grabbed the legs again.
    Dan and I carried the squirming dummy outside.
    A cold, clear night. A light, silvery frost over the grass. A half moon high
over the trees.
    “Ohhh.” I let out a moan as my bare feet touched the frozen grass.
    “It’s c-cold!” Dan stammered. “I can’t hold on much longer.”
    I saw him shiver. The front lawn suddenly darkened as clouds rolled over the
moon. My legs trembled. The damp cold seeped through my thin pajamas.
    “Where are we taking him?” Dan whispered.
    “Around to the back.”
    Slappy kicked hard. But I held on tightly.
    Something scampered past my bare feet. I heard scurrying footsteps over the
frosty ground.
    A rabbit? A raccoon?
    I didn’t stop to see. Gripping Slappy’s ankles with both hands, I backed up.
Backed along the side of the house.
    “My feet are numb!” Dan complained.
    “Almost there,” I replied.
    Slappy uttered hoarse cries beneath the kerchief that gagged his mouth. His
round eyes rolled wildly. Again, he tried to kick free.
    Dan and I hauled him to the back of the yard. By the time we got to the old
well, my feet were frozen numb, too. And my whole body shook from the cold.
    “What are we going to do?” Dan asked in a tiny voice.
    The clouds rolled away. Shadows pulled back. The silvery moonlight lit up the
old stone well.
    “We’re going to toss him down the well,” I groaned.
    Dan stared at me, surprised.
    “He’s evil,” I explained. “We have no choice.”
    Dan nodded.
    We lifted Slappy onto the smooth stones at the top of the well. He bucked and
kicked. He tried to scream through his gag.
    I saw Dan shiver again.
    “It’s a wooden dummy,” I told him. “It isn’t a person. It’s an evil wooden
dummy.”
    We both shoved hard at the same time.
    The dummy slid off the stone wall and dropped into the well.
    Dan and I both waited until we heard the splash from far below.
    Then we ran side by side back to the house.
    He’s gone! I thought gratefully. Joyfully. The evil thing is gone for good.
     
    I slept really well that night. And I didn’t dream about dummies.
    The next morning, Dan and I met in the hall. We both were smiling. We felt so
good.
    I was actually singing as I followed Dan down the stairs for breakfast.
    Dad greeted us at the kitchen door with an angry frown. “What is he doing down here?” Dad demanded.
    He pointed into the kitchen.
    Pointed at the breakfast table.
    Pointed to Slappy, sitting at the breakfast table, grinning his ugly painted
grin, his eyes wide and