The Wish (Nightmare Hall)

  The Wish

  Nightmare Hall

  Diane Hoh

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Epilogue

  A Biography of Diane Hoh

  Prologue

  WISHES GRANTED, FORTUNES TOLD.

  That was what the sign said on the mysterious booth at the back of Vinnie’s pizzeria.

  Alex was the first to notice the booth. Hidden in a dark alcove, it was tall and narrow. The bottom part was made of dark red metal, the top part glass, like a phone booth. At first Alex thought it was a phone booth, which was what she’d come looking for. Then she realized there was no phone inside. Curious, she walked over to get a better look.

  And drew back in fear.

  Inside the booth sat a figure. The Wizard it said on the glass.

  He seemed made of stone, stiff and unmoving inside his red metal booth. His face was long and chiselled, his jaw firm, his painted mouth slightly open. His skin was pale ivory, his beard and mustache snowy-white. He wore a tall, pointed hat and a long, flowing gown to match.

  But it was his eyes that Alex would always remember.

  Made of glass, they were a deep, dark blue. Icy cold.

  Terrifying.

  It’s just a mechanical fortune-teller, Alex told herself. A machine that claims it can make wishes come true.

  Still, she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was watching her…

  Chapter 1

  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING back here?”

  The voice startled Alexandria Edgar. But it was only Julie Pierce, her roommate. Her twin sister, Jenny, also Alex’s roommate, laughed with pleasure. “Look, a fortune-telling booth! What fun!”

  Alex’s friends gathered around the new entertainment, intrigued.

  What was it about The Wizard that was making her stomach churn and the hair on her scalp tingle? Alex wondered. He reminded her of something, something unpleasant…she couldn’t think what it was. Or…didn’t want to.

  “Look at this!” Julie cried, pointing to the sign on the front of the booth. “‘Wishes Granted, Fortunes Told!’ Think this old geezer will make me beautiful if I ask?”

  “You’re already beautiful,” her sister said. “Too bad we’re not identical twins. Then I’d be beautiful, too. Why don’t you ask for something you really need?”

  Both twins were attractive, although their styles were distinctly different. Julie wore her blonde hair short, in a stylish flip, while Jenny kept hers long and straight. Julie was silk blouses and skinny leggings, Jenny was jeans and sweatshirts. But their blue eyes, fair skin, and carefree, jaunty walk were the same, and people who didn’t know they were twins usually guessed the truth quickly.

  While Marty Jerome and Gabriel Russo carefully checked out the old booth, Julie complained, “My face is so boring. It’s worth a quarter to wish for something much more interesting. Maybe something exotic, like Alex here, with her Bambi eyes and that wild white streak in her hair.”

  “Like a skunk,” Alex pointed out drily.

  Laughing, Gabe handed Julie the coin. They all watched as she inserted it, and then stood back, waiting.

  “I don’t believe in this garbage,” Alex said more heatedly than she’d intended. “You’re just wasting your money.” She looked directly into the cold blue eyes of The Wizard, and her palms began to sweat.

  Julie laughed. “It’s only a quarter. And it was Gabe’s quarter, anyway.” She grinned up at red-haired, freckled Gabe with affection.

  “If I were going to wish for anything,” Gabe said, “it would be wheels, so I wouldn’t have to walk everywhere. My old man says no car on campus until I’m pulling A’s. I’ve never pulled an A in my life. Miracles, the man wants! I’m so tired of walking, my legs are going to be stumps by the time I graduate.”

  “If you graduate,” Marty teased.

  As they watched, there was a painful creaking sound, then a whirring noise, and the arm of the man in the booth began to lift slowly.

  “This is stupid,” Alex declared darkly. “What a colossal waste of time! I can’t believe Vinnie bought something so dumb!”

  “Oh, relax, Alex,” Julie scolded. “It’s fun! Here comes my card. I’m dying to see what it says.”

  With more groaning and creaking, the arm of The Wizard reached up and out, and, a second later, a small white card slid into the opening at the front of the booth. Julie reached down and picked it up.

  When she’d read it to herself, she sighed with disappointment. “Not very encouraging,” she said, running a hand through her hair. “I guess I’m destined to go through life with this same old boring face.”

  “What’s it say?” Gabe asked. “It was my quarter, so you have to share your fortune with me.”

  Julie read aloud, “BEWARE THE LOOKING GLASS, LEST YOU SEE YOUR TRUE REFLECTION.”

  “I don’t get it,” Marty complained. “It just sounds like one of those old sayings to me.”

  “It could have been written for anyone,” Alex agreed. “These things are all the same. Dumb old sayings like, ‘A penny saved is a penny earned,’ and ‘A stitch in time saves nine,’ that kind of stuff. Those cards have probably been in there for years.”

  “My turn,” Gabe announced, moving forward to insert a coin.

  “Don’t,” Alex said quietly, adding quickly, “you’re throwing your money away, Gabe.”

  “Well, it’s my money,” Gabe said cheerfully, and deposited his quarter.

  “You didn’t wish for anything,” Julie pointed out.

  “First things first. I want my fortune told. If it doesn’t include a car, maybe then I’ll make a wish.”

  More creaking and groaning, more whirring sounds followed the drop of Gabe’s coin. The blue, star-studded arm lifted again. When the card dropped down, Gabe yanked it out and read it aloud. “SLOW AND STEADY WINS THE RACE,” he said with some disgust. “Sure doesn’t sound like I’m getting a car any time soon, does it?”

  “This is ridiculous,” Alex complained. “I wish we could forget about this stupid Wizard and go eat. I’m starved!”

  “What a party pooper,” Jenny said, but she was smiling as she said it. “I didn’t get a chance to ask The Wizard for my Prince Charming.”

  “Later.” Bennett Stark, on crutches, took Jenny by the arm. “I’m coming back here after we eat to ask for two new knees so I can play in Saturday’s game against State.”

  “Get real, Bennett,” Gabe said as they all aimed for an empty booth. “Those knees of yours are pure marshmallow by now. Too much football, too many tackles. You’ll be lucky if you’re not in a wheelchair by the time you’re thirty. Coach was right to bench you.”

  They piled into the booth.

  “This is the age of modern medical miracles,” Bennett said, placing his crutches under the table. “I expect to be playing again in no time. Can’t keep a good man down, that’s what I always say.”

  “That’s not what Coach says.” But, sensing a lost cause, Gabe gave up and buried his curly red head in the menu.

  Alex, squeezed between Marty and Kyle Leavitt, tried to concentrate on ordering. But she kept seeing the cold blue eyes of The Wizard
. What was it about him that set her teeth on edge?

  And then she remembered….

  She had been nine years old when her parents divorced. The day they went to court to finalize something that Alex definitely didn’t want to happen, her grandfather, to console her, had taken her to a nearby amusement park. She had been there many times before, and had always loved it.

  But this time, her attention was drawn to the plaster figure of a woman jutting out from the front of one of the larger booths. The animated figure was fat and pink-cheeked, with a broad grin on her face, revealing slightly yellowed teeth. The plaster face was frightening by itself, with its too-pink cheeks and its too-wide grin, but it was the sound that came out of the mouth that terrified Alex. As the plaster torso bowed toward passersby below, and then retreated, bowed and retreated, the grinning mouth uttered a deep, wicked ha-ha-ha, over and over and over again, until Alex’s eardrums felt as if they might shatter from the evil sound.

  And yet she stood there, frozen in a frightened, morbid fascination, unable to turn and run. She had never seen or heard anything so ugly, and she knew, even at nine, that she would see and hear it again many, many times in her nightmares.

  And she had.

  Until, one day when she was fifteen, she had decided that the ugly figure, probably seen many times before, must have seemed so frightening that day only because of what the day itself represented…the end of her life as she knew it. The divorce.

  Her parents had both married again by then, and the nightmares had faded.

  But she had never forgotten the pink-cheeked woman and the ugly laughter.

  And it was that image The Wizard reminded her of.

  No wonder her palms got sweaty.

  Well, she wasn’t nine years old now, and this animated figure in his wish-granting booth wasn’t going to give her nightmares.

  A tall, broad-shouldered girl with dark hair approached their booth. “Mind if I join you?” she asked and, without waiting for an answer, pushed her way into the seat.

  “Yes, we mind,” Kyle said. “This booth is reserved for football players and football fans. You, Kiki, are a soccer player. You definitely do not belong here.”

  “I’m one of your biggest fans, Kyle, you know that,” Kiki said in a sugary sweet voice. “I haven’t missed one of your games.”

  Gag, Alex thought. She’s so obvious.

  Kiki Duff wasn’t one of her favorite people. A big girl, with short, dark hair, she was a superb athlete, and well-known on campus. Which was not the same as well-liked. As far as Alex was concerned, Kiki had never heard the expression, “Put your brain in gear before you put your mouth in motion.” Kiki said whatever she pleased. Sometimes it stung. But she never seemed to be sorry when she hurt someone’s feelings.

  “I shouldn’t even eat anything,” Kiki said as she grabbed a menu out of Marty’s hands. “I have to drop at least five pounds.” She patted her hip. “We soccer players have to stay in shape as much as you football guys do.”

  Hearing a distant rumble, Gabe said, “Was that thunder I just heard?”

  “Can’t be,” Marty said. “Too cold for thunder.” But he listened for a minute, and then said, “Sure sounded like it.”

  The rumble sounded again, louder this time. And when it came a third time, there was no mistaking the sound. It was followed quickly by the pounding of heavy rain on the roof of Vinnie’s, and, a moment later, by the sharp rat-a-tat-tat of hailstones.

  Everyone listened. Hailstones could cause a lot of damage to cars in the uncovered parking lot.

  “That’s hail, all right,” Vinnie said as he passed them with a pizza pan in hand. “Fella just came in, says it was pouring cats and dogs out there. Now it’s turned to hail. All kinds of weather warnings on the radio. Wind’s picking up, too. You kids should have headed back to campus sooner. Not a good night to be out. I just hope it clears up—I was planning on going fishing tomorrow.” The kids all knew how much Vinnie loved to fish.

  “Vinnie,” Alex felt compelled to ask, “where’d you get that funky guy in the pointed hat? He looks ancient.”

  “Flea market. Thought you kids might get a kick out of it.” Vinnie inclined his balding head toward the steel booth.

  “Why are you hiding it back in the alcove?” Jenny wanted to know.

  Vinnie shrugged. “No place else to put it.” He smiled. “You found it, didn’t you?”

  “Think you’ll make any money with it?” Marty asked.

  “Yep. Everyone’s dying to know their future.” The proprietor walked away.

  Not me, Alex thought firmly. I don’t want to know my future. The present is going by too quickly as it is. She loved college. So many things to learn, so many new people to meet.

  They ate quickly. Julie and Kyle were driving everyone back to campus, and Julie was nervous about driving in bad weather.

  Still, before they left, Marty and Gabe insisted they make one last stop at The Wizard. Alex hung back, watching from a distance.

  But before anyone could insert a coin, there was a sharp crack of thunder, so loud everyone in the restaurant gasped and jumped. Simultaneously, the room went white with a visible streak of lightning that came out of nowhere and sped straight across the room to the red metal booth. Those standing closest to it shrieked and flung themselves out of the way, yelping in fear as the arrow of white-hot lightning honed in on The Wizard.

  To Alex, watching, the scene seemed surreal: bodies tumbling every which way, the booth radiating white light, startled shouts and cries, a sizzling sound, and then an unmistakable burning smell.

  And then, as she cringed in fear against the wall, The Wizard went dark and every light in the restaurant went out.

  There were shouts of dismay and cries of fear. A sudden, eerie silence descended upon the room.

  And although his image had completely disappeared into the veil of darkness, Alex could still feel the icy blue eyes of The Wizard, watching, watching…

  Chapter 2

  IN THE BLACK SILENCE that had overtaken the restaurant, a voice said in a near-whisper, “What was that?”

  Marty, picking himself up from the floor, answered, “I think it was lightning.”

  “Anyone hurt?” Vinnie called out.

  No one seemed to be. But they were all severely shaken.

  “Everybody stay cool,” Vinnie called. “Don’t try moving around until the lights come back on.”

  An air of nervous excitement filled the room. No one seemed anxious to leave, in spite of the darkness surrounding them. The sharp rat-a-tat-tat sound had ended, but heavy rain continued to pound down upon the roof.

  “Bennett,” Marty called, “the four of us were closest to where it struck. You and Kyle okay? What about Gabe?”

  “Not a scratch. Never better.”

  Alex stood against the wall, watching, listening. They all seemed to be enjoying the excitement. All she wanted to do was get out of there. Fast. It wasn’t the darkness that bothered her as much as what was in it. She couldn’t see The Wizard, but she could feel those eyes. Her earlier resolution about not letting him bother her disappeared.

  “Why don’t we just go?” she asked. “The electricity might not come back on tonight, and stumbling around this place in the dark isn’t my idea of a good time. If the lightning only struck here, there’ll be lights on campus.”

  She had just finished speaking when the restaurant was flooded with light. A chorus of cheers rang out.

  Alex’s eyes were drawn, involuntarily, to the fortune-telling booth. Except for a faint scorch mark on his hat, The Wizard seemed undamaged. No one else close to the booth had been injured, either. The lightning hadn’t been as dangerous as it had looked.

  After a moment or two, everyone resumed what they’d been doing when the storm hit.

  “Let’s go,” Alex repeated. “Before the lights go out again.”

  “Wait!” Kiki cried, “I want to try The Wizard. I’m going to wish I were five pounds thinner.�
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  But no one had any quarters left, and Alex was already on her way out the door.

  Disgruntled, Kiki followed along.

  The minute Alex stepped outside, she felt an enormous sense of relief.

  The rain had tapered off to a light drizzle, and the night sky overhead was beginning to clear.

  Marty, Alex, and Jenny climbed into the backseat of Julie’s car, while Gabe, after failing to persuade Julie to let him drive, climbed in beside her. Bennett and Kiki rode with Kyle in his pickup truck.

  Alex was acutely conscious of Marty sitting beside her in the backseat. He was nice, and had a great sense of humor, but she hardly knew him. There hadn’t been time to get to know anyone really well, except her roommates, the twins. They’d been a big help. They were a lot more outgoing than she was, and she was learning from them.

  Maybe, if she asked them, they could tell her if Marty was interested in her. Maybe they were better at figuring out things like that than she was. She didn’t have a clue.

  Evidence of the brutal storm littered the parking lot. The globes of many of the pole lights had been shattered by hailstones, leaving the area in a dismal semidarkness. Shopping receipts and paper bags clung to windshields, blown there by an angry wind.

  “Looks like a war zone,” Marty commented as they drove out of the parking lot. Tree limbs and broken branches and road signs dotted the highway like body parts.

  Halfway to campus, they passed Nightingale Hall, an off-campus dorm sitting high on a hillside. An old brick house nearly hidden in shadows cast by huge old oak trees, it had been nicknamed “Nightmare Hall” following the tragic death of a female student who lived there. Rumors circulated of strange things happening there. People said it was haunted.

  “Now there’s a place I wouldn’t want to spend a stormy night,” Marty said as they passed.

  “Well, at least the lights are on,” Alex said. “That should mean we’ll have electricity on campus, too.”

  They could see as they passed that at least two of the windows had been blown out of Nightingale Hall, leaving gaping wounds in the structure.

  “Wow,” Julie breathed as she steered around debris, “Mother Nature really went on a rampage tonight. I’m glad we were inside, and safe.”