10

We both stared at the side of the building, waiting for Clay to pop out.

"Where is he?" Luke demanded shrilly. "He couldn't be that much slower than us — could he?"

I shook my head. I was starting to feel really nervous. I had a heavy feeling in the pit of my stomach. And my hands were suddenly cold and clammy.

"Come on, Clay," I pleaded, staring at the wall. "Come on out."

Luke scratched his black hair. "Where'd he go?" he asked. "Why didn't Clay come out?"

"Maybe he came out the front," I said. "Maybe slide number ten dumps you out in front. Let's check it out."

As we ran around the building toward the front, I scolded myself for getting scared so easily. Of course Clay came out in a different chute. He was probably waiting for us in front of the building. He was probably worried about us.

As we rounded the purple building, the wide, circular plaza came into view. I searched for Mom and Dad, but they weren't there. I saw a couple of other families on the other side of the circle, and the pudgy green Horror leaning on his ice-cream cart.

No sign of Clay.

Luke and I kept running, up to the front entrance of the Doom Slide. We stopped a few feet from the dark opening.

"He isn't here!" Luke cried, struggling to catch his breath.

I was breathing hard, too. And the heavy feeling of dread in my stomach grew even heavier. "No. No Clay," I muttered.

"What are we going to do?" Luke asked. His blue eyes were wide with fear.

I saw a green Horror woman standing just inside the entrance. "Hey!" I called as I ran over to her. "Did you see a kid come out of there?" I asked breathlessly.

The yellow eyes on the Horror's mask bulged and appeared to light up. "No. This is the entrance. No one comes out here," she replied.

"He's blond and sort of chubby. He wears glasses," I told her. "He's wearing a blue T-shirt and denim shorts."

The Horror shook her head. "No. No one comes out this way. Did you check the back? Everyone comes out the back."

"He didn't!" Luke said shrilly. "We were there. He didn't come out." My brother's voice came out high and squeaky. He was breathing so hard, his chest was heaving up and down. He was in a panic.

I was frightened, too. But I knew I had to stay calm. For Luke's sake.

"He didn't come out the back," I told the Horror, "and he didn't come out the front. So what happened to him?"

The Horror was silent for a long moment. Then she said in a low voice just above a whisper, "Maybe your friend chose the Doom Slide."

I stared at the woman in the Horror costume. "You — you're joking, right?" I stammered. "I mean, the Doom Slide — that's just a joke."

She stared back with her bulging yellow eyes and didn't reply. "The signs give a warning," she said. "There's always a warning."

She turned and disappeared into the dark entrance. Luke and I goggled at each other. I swallowed hard. My throat suddenly felt very dry. My hands were cold as ice now.

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