Halloween Night On Monster Island

By Clark Roberts

What's not love when a quartet of cousins visit their wacky uncle's private island, complete with horror-themed amusement park, on Halloween?

The attraction is closed to the public for the night, too, so they have it all to themselves! No crowds! No lines! No waiting! A personal tour guide to take them around from attraction to attraction!

But then, one by one, they start feeling not-so-well. Strange things seem to be happening. Is that a real werewolf lurking around in the shadows? Miss Penny's only wearing a witch outfit, isn't she?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Next Chapter
• Release date: Dec 23, 2021
• ISBN: 4867510726

Book preview

1 CLIMBING THE SCREAMER!

If I thought my first ever plane ride had been exciting, I didn’t know what was in store for me on my first real rollercoaster ride.

Oh sure, I had been on kiddy coasters. You know what I’m talking about, right? Those little ones that barely stand taller than a grown-up. The real little kids get on them and laugh or scream bloody murder as it travels no faster than you or I can run. They aren’t really any more exciting than riding over a hill with your grandma at the wheel of the car and she is driving slooooowly.

Okay, maybe riding with your grandma is scary, but you get my point.

Those kiddy coasters are nothing when compared to The Screamer!

The Screamer! — that’s the name of the first big, the first fast, the first real roller coaster I ever rode.

I wasn’t all that nervous until the coaster car started climbing up the first hill. At that point, the tips of my fingers tingled

The car jerked. Next, I not only heard, but could feel the clicking through the floor as the car lifted skyward.

Clickety...clickety...clickety...higher...higher...higher.

"Oh my gosh! Jenny exclaimed by my side. Jake, I don’t know if I can do this."

Me either, I said, and tried gulping down the ball of fear stuck in my throat. But at this point I don’t think we have any other option.

I faced Jenny. Jenny is my twin sister. She looked as scared as I felt. She stared straight back at me. Her eyes were as big as plates. Her hands gripped the safety bar so tightly that her knuckles showed white.

Clickety...clickety...clickety.

Hey, guys! Ricky and Rebecca called. Ricky and Rebecca are cousins to Jenny and me.

Both Jenny and I looked over.

The Screamer! was a two-track roller coaster with small coaster cars on each track. There was a red car and a blue car, and basically the red and blue car raced one another.

Ricky and Rebecca were in the red car, and they didn’t seem nearly as scared as I was feeling. This surprised me, because Rebecca is a year younger than my sister and me, and Ricky is only ten.

I had always thought of Ricky as small, almost scrawny. He’d actually cheated and raised himself to his tippy-toes just to make the minimum height restriction for The Screamer! He always has to wear these thick glasses everywhere that make him appear even younger. His glasses are almost as big as his face.

Small or not, Ricky sure looked like he was having the time of his life. He wasn’t even gripping the safety bar! Instead, he belted laughter and waved his hands above his head like a mad man. My stomach flipped just watching Ricky.

Our car is going to win! Rebecca yelled at us.

I don’t care about winning, Jenny trembled over to me. I just hope we survive.

Higher...higher...higher.

Look at that roller coaster over there! Ricky called out. With my eyes, I followed to where he pointed. "That one is called The Howler! I can’t wait to ride it later tonight!"

We were just barely more than halfway up the first hill of The Screamer! Despite the heavier breeze at this height and the cold feeling at my neck, my palms were slick with sweat. The Howler! looked to be twice as tall as The Screamer! How was I ever going to gather the courage to climb aboard that roller coaster?

Clickety...clickety...clickety...higher...higher...higher.

The car seemed to momentarily slow and gather itself as it rounded up and over the hill.

My sister voiced aloud what I was thinking at that very moment.

"I think coming to Monster Island Theme Park for Halloween might have been a mistake!" she cried out.

Once again, we stared wide-eyed at each other.

The car rushed forward at an unbelievable speed. My butt actually lifted from the seat. My sister and I both screamed like we’d never screamed before.

Aaaaahhhhh!

2 RIDING THE SCREAMER!

The wind created from speeding downwards pummeled my face. It swept my sister’s long, blonde hair straight back. My stomach flipped a second time as the car flew through the bottom curve and shot back almost straight up into the second hill.

Ricky and Rebecca’s car had the lead by about ten feet. Rebecca had joined her younger brother as she, too, waved her hands in the air.

To me, they both looked like mental patients.

The second hill was slightly shorter than the first, but not any less thrilling.

Jenny and I continued to scream.

Aaaaahhhhh!

A funny thing happened when we reached the bottom of the smaller hill. The car pitched, slanted to the side, and rounded a curve. The curve gave our car the inside track, and we sped right past our cousins.

What was so funny? Jenny and I were no longer screaming; we were laughing!

Aaahhh .Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Halfway through the ride, both cars slowed down on a long and wide curve at the top of the track. Jenny and I were alongside our cousins.

This is a blast! Ricky called over to us.

It sure is! I answered.

"I can’t believe we get all of Monster Park to ourselves this Halloween night!" Rebecca yelled.

Yeah! I sure am glad Uncle Victor invited us! my sister yelled back.

With the action of the coaster momentarily slowed, I took the opportunity to take it all in from this height. Looking around, I could see countless game booths lining the main course of the amusement park. I could also see a big Ferris wheel depicting Frankenstein’s Monster on the sides, a sea-serpent ride which resembled those swinging pirate ships, hanging cable cars, and about four or five other monster roller coasters.

Best of all, there were no people! Uncle Victor had invited my two cousins, my sister, and me. He had shut down the entire park to the public on Halloween just for us. That meant there would be no lines the entire night! When we wanted to ride it, we would be able to climb right on The Howler! I was having so much fun on The Screamer! I now couldn’t wait to ride The Howler!

This is just way too cool, I thought.

We’re going to win! Ricky hollered, breaking my trance. The red car pitched down yet another hill, cutting Ricky’s next line off before he could finish. Yay for HALLOWEEeeeee…

A half-second later, my sister and I were also zipping down the hill and finishing up the final stretch of The Screamer!

By the time the cars jerked, slowed, and pulled back into the original starting positions, Rebecca and Ricky’s car was back in the lead. They had won the race.

That was okay. The ride had been fun, so much fun that I really didn’t care.

By my side, Jenny laughed