The Second Evil (11 page)

“Wow! That was
awesome!”
Corky cried, pushing up the sleeves of her Tigers sweatshirt as she moved toward them.

“How about the flying splits?” Kimmy asked, her expression concerned. “High enough? I had the feeling Megan and I were a little late.”

“Looked excellent to me,” Corky told her, grinning. “Don't be so hard on yourselves.”

“Yeah!” Ronnie piped up. “If Corky says it was awesome, it was awesome!”

Everyone laughed.

Kimmy has really improved, Corky thought happily. She's much more graceful. She's even lost some weight.

It was nearly four weeks after Chip's funeral, and Kimmy had persuaded Corky to come to cheerleading practice once again. “We all have to stick together,” Kimmy had urged Corky. “If we're going to find the evil, if we're going to fight it, we have to work together. If you're not on the squad, you're not really with us. You're alone.”

Kimmy's words had touched Corky, had convinced her. Now here she was, ready to give it another try.

The girls, dressed in tights, denim cutoffs, and oversize T-shirts, seemed relaxed and enthusiastic, and glad to see Corky again.

“You ready to try the routine now?” Kimmy asked Corky.

Corky didn't hesitate. “Yeah. I'm ready.” This time she wasn't going to be stopped.

She knew that next Saturday night was one of the last basketball games of the season. If she was going to get back on the squad, it was now or never.

Corky glanced across the brightly lit gym. Standing against the wall outside her office, Miss Green flashed her a thumbs-up sign.

Corky returned the signal and stepped into line next to Kimmy. “You have to help me with the handclaps,” she said. “I think I'm straight on everything else.”

“I never get them right either,” Kimmy joked, giving Corky an encouraging smile.

Waiting for Kimmy to begin the cheer, Corky felt a moment of panic. The bright gym seemed to fade behind a curtain of white light. Silence seemed to encircle her.

I'm all alone, she thought. All by myself out here.

But then the cheer began, the white light dimmed, and the rest of the world returned.

“We've got razzmatazz! Pep, punch—and pizzazz! Hey, you—you've been had. Shadyside Tigers got RAZZMATAZZ!”

Shouting at the top of her lungs, Corky moved easily through the routine. And when it came to the finale of flying splits, she timed her jump perfectly and leapt higher and cleaner than any of the other girls.

The routine ended with a whooping cheer, and the girls jogged to the sidelines clapping. Corky took a deep breath—and realized she was laughing, laughing from sheer joy, from the happiness of being able to perform an entire routine.

Before she realized what was happening, she was surrounded by the others. They were laughing too, eager to congratulate her, to compliment her on her performance, to welcome her back.

“Now that you're back, we can do the diamond-head pyramid again,” Kimmy exclaimed. “You know, the one you and your sister invented.”

“Yeah, let's try it,” Corky said with enthusiasm.

“Now?” Kimmy asked, expressing her surprise.

“Yeah, right now,” Corky insisted, smiling. “If we're going to do the pyramid Saturday night at the game, we'd better start now.”

“You'll have to run us through it,” Kimmy said uncertainly.

Corky saw Debra and Ronnie whispering intensely near the wall. “No problem,” Corky said, signaling everyone to follow her to the center of the floor. “Bobbi and I spent so much time on this routine, I think I could do it in my sleep.”

“Who's going to take the top?” Ronnie asked, stretching her legs.

“I will,” Corky told her.

She saw the doubt form on Kimmy's face. “Corky,” Kimmy whispered confidentially, leaning close, “are you sure? Don't you want to take it easy?”

“No.” Corky shook her head emphatically and stepped back from Kimmy. “Either I'm going to be back on the squad just like before, or I'm not,” she insisted.

Kimmy quickly relented.

“Maybe we should warm up a bit first,” Debra suggested. “You know. Do some roll-ups into partner pyramids before we try the big pyramid?” She cast Corky a pleading look.

“We're already warmed up,” Corky replied.

“Corky's right,” Kimmy told Debra. “Let's just do it, guys.”

Corky quickly outlined the pyramid to them. Three girls—Kimmy, Debra, and Heather—formed the bottom tier. Two girls—Megan and Ronnie—would stand on their shoulders, then move into liberties, each girl raising her outside foot and holding it up as
Corky mounted to the top to stand on Megan's and Ronnie's shoulders.

They all worked on shoulder mounts and dismounts for a few minutes; then Corky guided them into position for the pyramid.

I wish Bobbi were here, she found herself thinking. She was the real expert at getting this going.

But then she pushed Bobbi from her mind, shaking her head hard as if shaking her thoughts away. “Ready?” she called. “Let's try it now. Take it slowly. Don't worry about the timing.”

“Heather, bend your knees,” Kimmy instructed as Megan and Ronnie performed their shoulder mounts to form the middle tier.

Before she realized it, it was Corky's turn to move.

Before she realized it, she was climbing into position. Off the floor. Climbing so high.

And even with all of her concentration, the thoughts came rushing back. The fears. The memories.

The questions.

Will I start to hear the screaming girl again?

Will I freeze up at the top?

Will the room start to spin or go crazy?

Megan and Ronnie each grabbed one of Corky's hands and tugged. Corky stepped off Kimmy's shoulders and climbed.

Higher.

Uh-oh, she thought. Now is when the trouble comes.

Uh-oh. Uh-oh. She held her breath. Her temples throbbed.

She could feel the panic well up. Could feel it deaden her legs—could feel the fear rise up from her
stomach, tighten her throat. She could feel it pulse at her temples, hear it ring in her ears.

Uh-oh. Now is when the trouble comes. Now. Now.
Now.

She stiffened her knees and raised her hands high.

Balance. Balance. She concentrated with all of her will.

Uh-oh. Now. Now!

And there she was—on top of the pyramid!

Shaky. But there.

No voices. No spinning walls. No shrieks of terror.

No evil.

“Congratulations!” Corky heard a voice call from the floor. “Excellent!”

She peered down to see Miss Green applauding, a broad smile on her usually dour face. “Now, watch the dismount. Take it slow, okay?”

A few seconds later the girls were on the floor, congratulating one another enthusiastically. Even Miss Green joined in the celebration.

“We did it—and no broken bones!” Corky exclaimed.

To Corky's surprise, Kimmy threw her arms around her and smothered her in a warm hug. “I knew you could do it!” Kimmy gushed. And then, in a whisper, she added in her ear, “Maybe the evil has left us—maybe the nightmare is finally over.”

“Carry these for me,” Debra said, handing the bundle of slender red candles to Kimmy. Debra wrapped her black cloak tighter around her neck.

The full moon rose over the trees. The wind sent dry leaves scampering over the weeds and tall grass.
Behind them on the street, a car rolled silently by, only one headlamp lighting its way.

“I can't believe you talked me into this,” Kimmy said grumpily. “This is so stupid.”

“We'll go back to my house afterward,” Corky offered. “We can order pizza.”

“Stop complaining. The weather's not so bad,” Debra said, leading the way up the hill.

The dead grass clung to their boots. Somewhere in the distance the wind toppled a garbage can. The lid clattered noisily. A cat wailed, sounding human, like a baby.

The three girls stopped at the front walk, the concrete broken and crumbling. They stared up at the ruins of the old mansion.

“Wow,” Corky whispered. “I've never been this close.”

The stone walls of the mansion were charred black, evidence of the fire that had destroyed it decades before. All of the windows had been blown out. Only the front one was boarded up with a large sheet of plywood. The rest were gaping holes, revealing darkness behind the crumbling walls.

“Hey, look!” Kimmy bent down and picked up something from the dead grass beside the broken walk.

Corky shone the flashlight on it. It was a doll, wide-eyed and bald, one arm missing.

“It looks old,” Debra said, examining it closely.

Kimmy dropped it to the ground. “What are we doing here?” she repeated.
“Look
at this dump.”

“I know what I'm doing,” Debra replied mysteriously. She gripped a large black-covered book in her
hand, gesturing with it toward the door. “Let's go inside.”

“I don't think so,” Kimmy said unhappily, her eyes surveying the burned walls.

“Come on,” Corky said, tugging at Kimmy's arm. “It's worth a try.”

“I know what I'm doing,” Debra repeated seriously. “Visiting the Simon Fear mansion makes perfect sense to me.”

“None of this makes perfect sense,” Kimmy grumbled, shifting the candles to her other hand. “How can going into this burnt-out old wreck on the coldest night of the year make any sense?”

“Do you want to locate the evil spirit or don't you?” Debra snapped, losing her patience for the first time.

“We do,” Corky answered quickly.

“What makes you think we're going to find it here?” Kimmy demanded. She kicked the old doll away. It bounced across the walk and lay sprawled facedown in the grass.

“Sarah Fear spent a lot of time in this house,” Debra explained. “If the evil spirit is hers, this is the most logical place for it to hang out.”

“Logical,” Kimmy muttered sarcastically.

“You're being a bad sport,” Corky scolded. “This is better than studying for the history exam, isn't it?”

Debra focused on Corky, a hurt expression on her face, which was shrouded in the black hood of her cape. “You don't believe me, either? You're not taking this seriously?”

“I take the evil spirit
very
seriously,” Corky told her in a low, somber voice. “I want to know where it is. That's why I agreed to come with you.”

“I take it seriously too,” Kimmy insisted. “But I
don't think we're going to get anywhere poking around and lighting a bunch of candles in this burned-out old mansion.”

“Well, we have to do
something!”
Corky cried heatedly. “Maybe Debra's idea
is
dumb—and maybe it
isn't.
Let's face it, Kimmy—we're desperate. We've got to act. We can't just sit around and wait to see which one of us it kills next!”

Corky's speech appeared to affect Kimmy. “You're right,” she said softly, and her expression turned thoughtful as she followed the other two toward the house.

“I've been reading a lot,” Debra said, making her way through the tall weeds to the front door, holding the book in front of her, pressing it against her chest as if for protection. “This old book tells how to raise a spirit. This house is
the
place to raise Sarah Fear's spirit.”

She tugged at the old wooden door, and it suddenly pulled open easily. A damp, sour smell invaded their nostrils.

“I can't go in there. Really,” Kimmy insisted, taking a few steps back, her features twisted in disgust.

“Here, I'll give you the flashlight,” Corky offered. “Trade you for the candles.”

“Having the flashlight won't help,” Kimmy replied, staring into the darkness behind the open front door. “Don't you know the stories about this place? This whole house is evil!”

“The spirits are alive here,” Debra said, her eyes glowing in the beam of the flashlight. “I can feel them. I know we're going to succeed.”

Corky followed her into the house. Kimmy, her
hand on Corky's shoulder, reluctantly entered too, “Yuck! It smells in here,” she complained.

“You'll get used to it,” Debra said quietly. She led them through the wide entryway that opened into a large sitting room.

Corky shone the flashlight around the room. Wallpaper curled down from the walls, streaked with black. Dark stains covered the ceiling, which bulged and drooped. The floorboards were cracked and broken. “Watch your step,” Corky warned. “Look—there are holes in the floor.”

The air felt heavy and wet. The smell of mildew and decay surrounded them. The rotting floorboards creaked as the girls made their way to the center of the room.

“This is great!” Debra exclaimed, taking a deep sniff of the sour air, her eyes glowing with excitement. “I can feel the evil spirit. I really can.”

“I can
smell
it,” Kimmy said sarcastically.

“Hand me the candles,” Debra said. She placed the book on the floor and took the candles from Kimmy.

“Shine the light down on the book, okay? I've got to find the right page,” Debra instructed as she flipped through the pages.

Corky felt a cold chill run down her back. “It—it just feels so evil in here,” she said, surveying the fire-stained walls, the broken floorboards.

“We each take a candle,” Debra instructed. She handed Corky and Kimmy each a red one, then lighted all three.

“We kneel in the center of the room,” she said, lowering her voice to a whisper.

Corky and Kimmy obediently knelt beside Debra.

“Hold the candle in your left hand,” Debra instructed.
“Then we put our right hands forward and clasp them in the center.”

The girls followed these directions.

Suddenly the flames dipped low and nearly went out. Corky gasped and let go of Kimmy's hand.