5

"YAAAAAY! This looks great!" Luke exclaimed.

Clay and I enthusiastically agreed. I couldn't wait to get out of the car and see everything.

"The parking lot is nearly empty," Dad said, glancing uneasily at Mom.

"That means we won't have to wait in long lines!" I quickly exclaimed.

"I think Lizzy is excited about this place," Mom commented, smiling.

"Me, too!" Luke cried. He punched Clay enthusiastically on the shoulder. Luke always has to be punching or pinching somebody.

We crossed the wide parking lot. I saw a few cars parked near the front gate. At the far side of the lot stood a row of purple-and-green buses with the word HorrorLand across the side.

As we rode closer, I got a good look at the front gate. The same monster we had seen behind the billboard rose up behind a big purple-and-green sign over the gate. The sign read: THE HORRORLAND HORRORS WELCOME YOU TO HORRORLAND!

"I don't get that sign," Mom said. "What are the HorrorLand Horrors?"

"We'll find out!" I exclaimed happily.

The solemn, eerie organ music floated heavily over the parking lot. Dad pulled into a space in an empty aisle to the right of the front gate.

Luke and I pushed open the back doors before the car had even stopped. "Let's go!" I cried.

Luke, Clay, and I started trotting toward the gate. As I ran, I stared up at the green monster over the sign. This one didn't move its head like the billboard monster. But it looked very real.

I glanced back and saw that Mom and Dad were hurrying to catch up with us. "This is going to be way cool!" I exclaimed.

And then I gasped as a deafening explosion made the ground shake.

And I stared back in horror as our car burst apart, exploding into a million pieces.It took me a long while to stop screaming. Finally, I swallowed hard, choking back my cries.

We all stared in shock. Small chunks of twisted metal and a few burning cinders were all that was left of our car.

"How — ?" was all Dad managed to say.

"I — I d-don't believe it!" I stammered.

"Thank goodness we were all out of the car!" Mom cried. She gathered us up in a big hug. "Thank goodness we're all okay."

Luke and Clay still hadn't uttered a sound. They stood wide-eyed, staring at the spot where the car had stood.

"My car!" Dad choked out in a horrified whisper. "My car . . . How? How?"

"We're safe," Mom murmured. "We're all safe. What a terrifying explosion. I can't get the sound of it out of my ears."

"I — I've got to call the police!" Dad sputtered. He began trotting to the gate, shaking his head, muttering to himself.

"How could the car just blow up like that, dear?" Mom asked, hurrying after him. "What would make it do that?"

"How should I know?" Dad snapped angrily. "I — I don't get it! I really don't! And now what are we going to do?" He sounded really panicked.

I didn't blame him. The explosion was really scary.

And when I realized that we could have all been inside the car when it went off, I had cold chills down my back.