-
- The
icy fingers tightened and pulled. The light intensified, and
the powerful whisper spoke again. These
three are mine.
- The
thunderous voice blared again. You wanted
the last ones, too, but they couldn't solve the puzzle. I
won then. I'll win this time, too.
- You're
wrong!
It was the whisper again, accompanied by even more laughter.
The light pulsated. Brighter. Brighter, stronger than ever
before.
- They
. . . will . . . not . . . fail! The
whisper echoed through Courtney's ears. They
. . . cannot . . . fail!
- Fail
what? Courtney wondered. What puzzle? Her head throbbed from
the noise, from the rapid fire of voices all around her, from
her frightening thoughts. But she was given no more time to
think as she and Morgan and Collin were jerked up by the light
and dragged down by the dark. They struggled but neither the
dark nor the light would let them go.
Courtney's arms ached as she fought to get away. Her legs
and joints convulsed with pain. They had to escape, but
she felt as if they were caught in the midst of a tug-of-war
between the dark and the light -- with no way out.
-
- The
iridescent fingers yanked them higher and higher.
- The
black, vile snakes slipped and slid over their legs, one by
one losing their grip.
- All
around them the laughter grew louder, drowning out the booming
thunder, and the light blazed like an explosion of fire.
- Slowly
the thunder retreated, moving farther and farther away until
just a faint echo roared in the distance. You
win now. But when they fail, they're mine . . . mine . . .
all mine.
- The
darkness slithered out of sight.
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