Free Danger at the Fair by Peg Kehret Page A

Streater leaned against the table, as if she was afraid she would fall over without support. “Julia said she and Nicholas have been home since three-thirty.”
    Minutes later, Mr. and Mrs. Streater and Ellen were in their car, driving toward the fairgrounds.
    Silently, Ellen urged her father to drive faster.
Hurry
, Ellen thought.
Please hurry! Corey is in terrible danger.

CHAPTER
10
    COREY GRIPPED the side of the boat, certain he was going to be flung out as the boat sped down the waterfall.
    The boat had a seat, with a safety belt, and a metal bar that pulled down across the lap of someone who was seated properly. But the men had shoved Corey into the boat and started the ride before Corey could use the safety devices. He stayed on the floor, clung to the side of the boat, and tried to keep his balance as the boat rushed forward.
    After the boat plunged over the crest of the waterfall, it twisted around curves, jerked upward, and then dropped straight down, as if a trapdoor had opened underneath it. Corey’s knees left the floor and slammed back down. Corey had thought the roller coaster was exciting; this made the roller coaster seem like one of the kiddieland rides.
    The boat zoomed around a curve and then slowed as it entered the blackness of the Tunnel of Terror. Corey blinked,trying to adjust his eyes to the dark. A huge hairy hand, holding a dagger, appeared just ahead. As the boat approached, the dagger, dripping blood, plunged toward Corey. Corey ducked, his heart drumming rapidly.
    A cold wind blasted him from the right; when he looked, he saw a scarred, one-eyed face and heard a horrible laugh.
    It’s all fake, Corey told himself. It’s just sound effects and tricks, like in the Historical Society’s haunted house that he and Ellen helped in last Halloween.
    A large wolf-like animal rushed toward him, foaming at the mouth. Just inches from Corey’s boat, the wolf ducked down and then, as the boat passed, it leaped up again, snapping its huge jaws at Corey.
    Corey leaned away from it, only to feel something slimy on the back of his neck. He gasped and twisted around. Wet seaweed dangled from above.
    A sea serpent slithered partway out of the water; its claws reached toward Corey, trying to grab him and pull him into the water. The boat began to rock, throwing Corey violently from side to side.
    Tears spilled down Corey’s cheeks. Even if the sea serpent
was
fake, it was the creepiest thing he had ever seen. And maybe it was real. He no longer knew what to think or believe. He had thought the man who ran The River of Fear ride would help him and instead he was a crook, too, and maybe they were never going to stop the ride and let Corey get off. What if that was how they planned to keep Corey from talking to a guard? Maybe Corey was going to keep going around and around on the ride, diving down Whiplash Waterfall and through the Tunnel of Terror for the rest of the night.
    And, he knew, there was more ahead. He knew, from listening to The River of Fear spiel, that if he made it out of the Tunnel of Terror alive, he still had to face the monsters of Mutilation Mountain.
    The sea serpent’s claws came closer. More wet, slimy seaweed dropped from the ceiling and brushed against Corey’s face. No matter which way he turned his head, fingers of seaweed reached for him. Corey smelled a dank, moldy odor. He screamed his silent scream, knowing he wasn’t making any sound, feeling the hurt in his throat, but unable to stop himself.
    The boat bounced upward, as if the monster were underneath it. The serpent’s face emerged ahead of the boat now, its evil eyes gleaming red, and Corey was positive the boat and the serpent were going to collide. The serpent opened its huge jaws, revealing sharp fangs. The boat moved closer.
    When the boat was inches from the serpent’s open mouth, the boat stopped.
    The dim light went out; the serpent’s eyes ceased to glow. Corey was surrounded by total blackness.
    All sound