Party Games Read Online Free PDF Page B

to me.”
    â€œIf I listen quietly, will you let me go? Do you promise?”
    He nodded. “Yeah. Sure. But you’ve got to listen. I … saw you talking to Brendan Fear.”
    â€œSo?” I said. “You were spying on me?”
    â€œYou have to stay away from him.”
    â€œExcuse me? I don’t think so, Mac. I can talk to anyone I want.” My voice cracked. I didn’t want to provoke him. I didn’t want to set off his anger.
    He kicked one of my tires with his boot. “Listen. I’m serious. Rachel, don’t go to Fear Island. Don’t go to that party.”
    â€œHow do you know I was invited? How do you know my private conversations? Listen to me, Mac. You and I—we’re over. Do you get it? Over. So you have to stop stalking me and spying on me. And you can’t tell me who I can see and who I can’t.”
    He shook his head. “Just don’t go, Rachel. I … I’ve heard things.”
    â€œHeard things? Are you crazy?” My voice came out high and shrill.
    He grabbed my arms again. He squeezed them, so tight I cried out. “Mac, get off. You’re hurting me.”
    â€œI heard things, Rachel. I heard things I shouldn’t.”
    â€œMac—let go of me. I’m warning you. Mac, you’ve got to get help. You’re out of control. You have got to get help before you do something terrible.”
    â€œDon’t go. Hear me? It’s for your own good.” He started to shake me.
    â€œStop!” I screamed. I spun around and tugged my arms free. I gave him a hard shove that sent him stumbling backward. He lost his balance and landed on his butt on the asphalt.
    Gasping for breath, I moved fast. I pulled open the car door and slid inside. I slammed it shut and locked the doors.
    I could still hear Mac shouting as I started the car and backed out of the space. In the rearview mirror, I saw him still on the ground, shaking a fist at me.
    â€œI’m warning you,” he rasped. “Warning you, Rachel. Stay away from Fear Island. Stay away from Brendan Fear.”
    I roared off, nearly clipping the bumper of the car at the end of the row. I squealed into the turn as I bumped onto the street.
    â€œGood-bye, Mac,” I said out loud. “Good-bye, Mac.” I gunned the car and tore away, away from him, away from all his craziness. “Good-bye, Mac. And good riddance.”
    But was that the end of my frightening troubles with Mac?
    If only.

 
    7.
    â€œBE AFRAID, RACHEL”
    Â 
    My dreams are always very ordinary, and I never have nightmares. A while ago, I had my scariest dream ever. Beth and I were shopping at a clothing store and I got lost and couldn’t find her.
    Big whoop, right?
    The truth is, I almost never remember my dreams in the morning. I guess because they’re so dull.
    But the night before Brendan Fear’s birthday party, I had the weirdest, most terrifying dream I ever had. This dream was so strange and upsetting, I woke up with it vivid in my mind.
    The dream took place in a thick forest or woods. Flashes of bright sunlight kept poking through the trees, making it hard to see. I watched myself wandering through the woods, wandering aimlessly. Until I saw an injured bird on the ground.
    It was dark brown with scraggly feathers. It was cheeping softly, almost mournfully, tucked in on itself because it was in pain. I picked it up in both hands and tried to comfort it. As I petted its back, the bird slowly began to change.
    I had it cupped in my hands. I watched it change shape, stretch out, grow a hairy snout. The bird in my hand became a rat . I tried to drop it but it stuck to my hands. I tried to toss it away, but the rat wouldn’t budge.
    Then I cried out in shock as the rat suddenly had a human face. A man’s face. It opened its mouth, and I saw long, curled fangs. They glimmered like ivory. The rat made a shrill hissing sound and sank its long