Free How I Got My Shrunken Head by R. L. Stine Page A

wiped sweat off my forehead with the back of my hand.
    The door opened. Kareen entered, carrying two small bottles of water. She tossed one to me and one to my aunt. Then she turned quickly, closed the door hard behind her, and carefully locked it.
    I tilted the bottle to my mouth and gulped down the water without taking a breath. There were a few drops left at the bottom. I sprinkled them over the top of my head. Then I tossed the bottle to the floor.
    “What are we going to do?” I asked Aunt Benna.
    She was sitting in one of the folding chairs, her feet resting on the other. She raised a finger to her lips.
“Ssshhh.”
    Outside, I heard the rattle of machinery. A metallic clang. I heard the rush of water from a hose.
    I hurried to the window and peered out. But it faced the wrong way. I couldn’t see anything.
    “We’ve had one lucky break,” Aunt Benna murmured.
    I stared at her. “Excuse me?”
    “One lucky break,” she repeated. “Hawlings didn’t take away the shrunken head. It was so dark last night, I don’t think he saw it.”
    I pulled the head out from my pocket. The black hair had become tangled. I started to smooth it back.
    “Put it away, Mark,” Aunt Benna ordered sharply. “We don’t want Hawlings to see it. He doesn’t know that you need the head for Jungle Magic.”
    “This particular head?” I asked, shoving it back in the pocket. “Only this head?”
    Aunt Benna nodded. “Yes. That head and the magic word. The word I gave you when I hypnotized you. When you were four.”
    The head’s black hair fell over my pocket. I carefully tucked it inside.
    Outside, I heard another metallic clank. I heard a splash. The roar of water grew louder.
    “We are in terrible danger,” Aunt Benna said softly. “You will have to use the Jungle Magic to save us, Mark.”
    I felt a chill of fear. But I muttered, “No problem.”
    “Wait till I give you the signal,” Aunt Benna instructed. “When I blink my eyes three times, pull the shrunken head out and shout the word. Keep watching me. Watch for the signal — okay?”
    Before I could reply, the door burst open. Dr. Hawlings and Carolyn hurried in, their faces grim.
    Dr. Hawlings carried a large silvery pistol. “Outside,” he ordered, waving the pistol at Aunt Benna and me.
    Carolyn led the way down the row of cabins. She turned and made us stop behind the main headquarters building. Kareen stood against thewall, a wide-brimmed straw hat pulled down over her eyes.
    The sun beamed down. The back of my neck prickled and itched.
    Huddling close to my aunt, I squinted into the bright sunlight. To my right, the big pile of shrunken heads came into focus.
    The dark eyes on the leathery, green-and-brown heads seemed to stare at me. The mouths were all twisted in ugly expressions of anger and horror.
    I turned away from the terrifying pile of tiny heads — to see something even more terrifying.
    An enormous black pot stood behind the headquarters building. Water brimmed over the top, bubbling and boiling.
    The pot stood on some kind of electric burner. Like a stove burner. It glared red hot. The boiling water inside the pot bubbled and steamed.
    I turned to Aunt Benna and caught the fear on her face. “You can’t do this!” she screamed to Dr. Hawlings. “You know you can’t get away with this!”
    “I don’t want to hurt you,” Dr. Hawlings said calmly, without any emotion at all. A smile spread over his face. “I don’t want to harm you, Benna. I just want to own the Jungle Magic.”
    I kept my eyes locked on my aunt. Waiting for her signal. Waiting for the three blinks that meant I should go into action.
    “Give me the Jungle Magic,” Dr. Hawlings insisted.
    Carolyn stepped up beside him, hands on her waist. “Give it to us, Benna. We don’t want trouble. We really don’t.”
    “No!” The word shot out of my aunt’s mouth. “No! No! No! You both know that I will never give up the secret of Jungle Magic. Not to you. Not