“She’s not coming!” Daphne said, exasperated.
“There might still be time for another story!” Mary said.
The distant creaking came again, followed by a series of leaden thuds, as if something heavy enough to crush the floor above them was walking on it toward the stairs.
Now they all knew what it was, though none of them bothered to say it. As a cool wind swept the great room, the girls scrambled and shouted.
“Grab the bones!”
“I’ll take them!”
“Not you again, Daphne! It’s my turn!” said Anne.
The creaking grew louder. It was still wooden at first, but then it seemed like the bricks and mortar were joining in. The whole building creaked and scraped as if aching to speak its pain and rage in words, moaning so loud, it drowned out even the storm.
On the stairs came the tread of heavy feet. The sound grew louder, carrying the dread of punishment nearer. But the true terror only took hold when the sound stopped.
A thin tearful voice whispered, “She’s here.”
Before the girls could flee, a gust of something cold and terrible hit the oil lamp. In a flash, the small yellow circle of light evaporated as if it had never been there, and a darkness swallowed them all, a great and wonderful darkness that blanketed everything, living and dead, like a coat of rich warm earth packed tightly on a coffin lid.
About the Authors
STEFAN PETRUCHA was minding his own business writing many books, including the TimeTripper series, SHADOW OF FRANKENSTEIN, and the Nancy Drew graphic novels, when a mysterious force entered his car in New York City and started talking about horror stories. Wicked Dead is the result. He has since moved to Amherst, Massachusetts.
THOMAS PENDLETON is a mysterious force with many names. All we know for sure is that under another name he is a critically acclaimed and award-winning horror author. He lives in Austin, Texas. We were afraid to ask him anything else.
You can visit them online at www.harperteen.com.
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
Credits
Cover art © 2007 by Chad Michael Ward
Cover design by Christopher Stengel
Copyright
WICKED DEAD: LURKER. Copyright © 2007 by Stefan Petrucha and Thomas Pendleton. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
EPub © Edition DECEMBER 2008 ISBN: 9780061975288
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers (Australia) Pty. Ltd.
25 Ryde Road (PO Box 321)
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON, M4W 1A8, Canada
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollinsPublishers (New Zealand) Limited
P.O. Box 1
Auckland, New Zealand
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
77-85 Fulham Palace Road
London, W6 8JB, UK
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
10 East 53rd Street
New York, NY 10022
http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com