Free 13 - Piano Lessons Can Be Murder by R.L. Stine - (ebook by Undead) Page A

feel the panic rise to my throat, choking off my air. My legs ached.
My heart pounded so hard, it felt as if my chest were about to burst.
    I turned a corner and ran down another long hall.
    Where was I? Was I heading toward the front door?
    I couldn’t tell. This dark hallway looked like all the others.
    Maybe Dr. Shreek is right. Maybe I can’t get away, I thought, feeling
the blood throb at my temples as I turned another corner.
    I searched for Mr. Toggle. Perhaps he could save me. But the halls were
empty. Piano music poured out of every room, but no one was out in the hall.
    “Come back, Jerry! There’s no use running!”
    “Mr. Toggle!” I screamed, my voice hoarse and breathless. “Mr. Toggle—help me! Help me, please!”
    I turned another corner, my sneakers sliding on the smoothly polished floor.
I was gasping for breath now, my chest heaving.
    I saw double doors up ahead. Did they lead to the front?
    I couldn’t remember.
    With a low moan, I stuck out both hands and pushed open the doors.
    “No!” I heard Dr. Shreek shout behind me. “No, Jerry! Don’t go into the
recital hall!”
    Too late.
    I pushed through the doors and bolted inside. Still running, I found myself
in an enormous, brightly lit room.
    I took a few more steps—then stopped in horror.
    The piano music was deafening—like a never-ending roar of thunder.
    At first, the room was a blur. Then it slowly began to come into focus.
    I saw row after row of black pianos. Beside each piano stood a smiling
instructor. The instructors all looked alike. They all were bobbing their heads
in time to the music.
    The music was being played by—
    It was being played by—
    I gasped, staring from row to row.
    The music was being played by— HANDS!
    Human hands floating over the keyboards.
    No people attached.
    Just HANDS!

 
 
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    My eyes darted down the rows of pianos. A pair of hands floated above each
piano.
    The instructors were all bald-headed men in gray suits with smiles plastered
on their faces. Their heads bobbed and swayed, their gray eyes opened and closed
as the hands played over the keyboards.
    Hands.
    Just hands.
    As I gaped, paralyzed, trying to make sense of what I saw, Dr. Shreek burst
into the room from behind me. He made a running dive at my legs, trying to
tackle me.
    Somehow I dodged away from his outstretched hands.
    He groaned and hit the floor on his stomach. I watched him slide across the
smooth floor, his face red with anger.
    Then I spun around, away from the dozens of hands, away from the banging pianos, and started back toward the doors.
    But Dr. Shreek was faster than I imagined. To my surprise, he was on his feet
in a second, moving quickly to block my escape.
    I skidded to a stop.
    I tried to turn around, to get away from him. But I lost my balance and fell.
    The piano music swirled around me. I looked up to see the rows of hands
pounding away on their keyboards.
    With a frightened gasp, I struggled to my feet.
    Too late.
    Dr. Shreek was closing in on me, a gleeful smile of triumph on his red, round
face.

 
 
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    “No!” I cried, and tried to climb to my feet.
    But Dr. Shreek bent over me, grabbed my left ankle, and held on. “You can’t
get away, Jerry,” he said calmly, not even out of breath.
    “Let me go! Let me go!” I tried to twist out of his grip. But he was
surprisingly strong. I couldn’t free myself.
    “Help me! Somebody—help me!” I cried, screaming over the roar of the
pianos.
    “I need your hands, Jerry,” Dr. Shreek said. “Such beautiful hands.”
    “You can’t! You can’t !” I shrieked.
    The double doors burst open.
    Mr. Toggle ran in, his expression confused. His eyes darted quickly around
the enormous room.
    “Mr. Toggle!” I cried happily. “Mr. Toggle—help me! He’s crazy ! Help
me!”
    Mr. Toggle’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Don’t worry, Jerry!” he called.
    “Help me! Hurry!” I screamed.
    “Don’t worry!” he