Excerpt from ZOEY 101: LIGHTS OUT!
by Jane Mason and Sara Hines Stephens
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“Okay . . .” Chase turned to Logan. He was going to give him one more chance to explain the missing kid. “How could Jack have lost his hat?” he demanded, examining the police cap in his hands.
“I keep telling you — I don’t know,” Logan answered angrily. How many times did he have to explain that he was as baffled as they were?
“You designed this haunted house,” Zoey pointed out. Logan was the one person who knew all the ins and outs. Even if he didn’t make Jack disappear, he should have a good idea of where he might be.
“So where’s Jack?” Dustin cried frantically.
“Look . . .” Logan held up his hands. “I promise you, we’ll find — “
Suddenly the basement lights went out — all of them. The already nervous kids were plunged into darkness.
Everyone screamed.
“What happened to the lights?” Logan yelled.
“The power went out!” Zoey said, trying to keep her voice calm. She didn’t want to freak the younger kids out any more than they already were.
“I’m scared!” Zoey heard Dustin beside her. She reached a hand toward him.
“Just wait, wait, wait . . .” Chase was fumbling with something. Zoey could hear him rustling around and then . . .
“It’s okay.” Chase breathed a small sigh of relief as he found the switch he was looking for and turned on a small battery-powered lantern. The light coming from it was pretty weak, but it was enough to dimly illuminate the large room.
“Did you shut off the power?!” Zoey accused Logan.
“No!” Logan insisted. Why was she blaming him for everything? He was innocent!
“He couldn’t have,” Chase confirmed. “He was standing right next to me.” And the power switch was against the wall.
Even if Logan hadn’t cut the power, Zoey’d had enough.
“Okay, you know what? A kid is missing, the power’s out . . . I’m going to get Dean Rivers,” she said, heading for the door.
“I’m on board with that,” Chase said as he followed her.
Zoey pushed the bar across the door to release the latch and open it. Nothing happened. She tried it again. Nothing.
“It’s locked,” she said, turning back to the group.
“What do you mean?” Logan demanded.
“What do you mean, what do I mean?” Zoey asked, feeling exasperated. She was talking fast and getting madder by the minute. “I said the door’s locked! How many definitions of ‘locked’ are there?”
Chase stepped in to keep the peace — the last thing they needed was a fight. “Okay, calm down,” he said gently.
Suddenly the video screen hanging high up in the corner of the basement came on and a tortured voice cried out.
“Look,” Dustin shouted, pointing to the flickering fuzzy image on the screen. It was Jack! He was standing in some sort of fog, reaching out with both arms and calling to them.
“Help meeeee . . . help meeeee . . .” Jack cried in an echoey voice.
“It’s Jack!” Logan could not believe his eyes.
“Dude, where are you?!” Dustin called. But his friend didn’t answer. He peered out from the screen blankly. Then, suddenly, his face twisted in pain and he screamed.
Dustin answered his roommate’s scream with one of his own and soon the entire basement of kids was shrieking again. As quickly as he’d appeared, Jack disappeared from the screen and the crowd was left in the dim light of Chase’s lantern and the glowing screen.
Dustin wrapped his arms around Zoey. The poor kid was completely freaked out, and so were his friends.
“What’s happening?” Dustin cried.
It was a good question.
From Zoey 101: Lights Out!. Copyright © 2006 Duo Entertainment Vertriebs GmbH. All rights reserved.
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