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As the coin clunked somewhere in the , then a htened, and Jenny could see that two bare lightbulbs had gone on inside
They illuly an to move jerkily, like clockwork
Its eyes opened and shut, and its eyebrows lifted and fell Its lower lip seely fine and lifelike beard, as if it wereto itself Its face was ruddy plastic, with carmine lips and deep shadows under the eyes Jenny could see layers of caked-up paint on the cheeks
Poor thing, she thought Absurd as it was, she felt sorry for the ure It showed much finer workmanship than the barn dancers, but it was undeniably in a state of disrepair Its paintbrush eyelashes were matted, its black velveteen robe dusted with red lint
A strange feeling was co in her chest It was ridiculous to feel this way about an automaton But it looked so pathetic-so trapped there in that box, in front of a stapled-on backdrop of shabby red velveteen
And so about its face
The wizard held a chipped and peeling wand in one clenched fist He raised the wand and struck it on the table in front of him-Jenny could see the indentation where he’d done it many times before
His eyes opened and shut, rolled around,back and forth They didn’t look at the wand
His lower lipwhite painted teeth, but there was no sound He see to himself
Jenny was mesmerized by the wizard’s jerky, almost violenthtened It’s because he looks like one of those houys at the shelter, she told herself That’s why he’s fa about the plastic face, a face frozen in an expression of ineffable sadness
The glass eyes rolled, staring straight out at Jenny Dark as ely kind
She knew
She really did know then, but it was such an impossible, intolerable concept that she pushed it away Slam-dunked it back into her subconscious Too insane to even think about
She heard a click at the bottom of the machine and saw that a card had appeared She reached for it reflexively-then stopped for just an instant, again feeling as if her ers closed on the card She turned it over and stared at the writing on the other side
Then she felt herself begin to faint
The cramped lines of type were faded but perfectly readable Not a prediction or a personality chart
The entire card was covered with tords typed over and over
HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME HELP ME
The letters swa black-and-white pattern She couldn’t control her tre in her stos And she couldn’t screa inside her
She felt the floor bang her palave way
"What happened? Did it do so to you?" The others were around her Jenny could only look up at the glass, box, as her fingers tightened on it
Those tired dark eyes, oh, yes, they were fa with a shabby velveteen robe and a long angel-hair beard They belonged with a slight, stooped body, a cardigan sweater, and thinning white hair And a smell of peppermint, because that hat he always carried in his pockets
"It’s randfather, it’s lance at the box When she looked back at Jenny, her face was coet you some water here"
"No!" Jenny screa at her feebly with her fists "Don’t hurandfather in there -they’ve done it to hi as she whipped her head "It’s a joke, don’t you see? He was a sorcerer-now he’s a wizard I thought he was dead-but this is sohands so Jenny couldn’t do any harm Jenny could see Michael’s brown eyes, and Audrey’s chestnut-colored ones, looking over Dee’s shoulder
"It’s true," she gasped, quieting "Look at the card He wants help He wants out!"
Michael picked up the card silently, showed it to Dee and Audrey They all looked at the box
The wizard was still ic expression, hitting the table with his wand His hands were all in one piece, Jenny noticed ild precision She could see beads of paint in the slight grooves between the fingers
She’d thought the Shadow Men would eat hiry eyes in the closet had wanted
But whatever they’d done with his body, his soul was here
They’d put it in this-thing Stuck it in a plastic body so that he could stand foreverlike clockhen thehis wand
Julian had said the Shadow Park had been created ten years ago, and for a special reason It was ten years ago that her grandfather had disappeared
"They did it to punish him," she whispered "They put him here so he could never die-they trapped him the way he trapped the
Michael sed, looking sick Dee’s nostrils flared
There was a click and another card appeared in the slot
Dee reached for it, letting go of Jenny’s hands Jenny scrambled to her knees to see it over Dee’s arm
LOOK IN THE BLACK CABINET
"There," Michael said Jenny twisted Behind her was a shiny black machine with a wide, darkened ovalIt looked relatively new, and a plaque read: speak to the spirits, ask any yes or no question
Jenny knew the type of game Thelit up and a skull nodded or shook its head to answer you
A wave of icy cold swept over her, as cold as the water in the mine ride
"Do it, Michael," she whispered and held her breath
Michael wiped his lanced uncertainly at Jenny, then put a coin in
The glass brightened There wasn’t a skull inside
illuht which clearly showed there was nothing below either neck At the sight of therabbed hold of Jenny hard enough to hurt
"Now do you believe ain "They’re here, they’re all here!"
Michael was pressing his hand to hisa thin wheezing noise
Nobody answered Jenny, but in the cabinet the heads of Slug and PC bobbed
The blue light shone on their chapped, loose-hanging lips They looked unconscious-as if unseen hands agging theuys were so tough, Jenny thought, unable to look away fro intointo the Shadow World uninvited Now you’re both here and you don’t look so tough And-
"Summer," Jenny whimpered "If Summer-if Summer-"
"Jenny-"
"If we find Summer like that- "
There was a click Dee snatched the card before Jenny could get to it She read it, holding Jenny away
"What does it say?"
Slowly Dee turned the card
LOOK IN THE FUN HOUSE
"At least it’s not another cabinet," Dee said Michael said, "You mean, you think it’s about
"I-maybe Or"-Dee’s face relaxed-"it could be a clue for a doubloon"
Audrey shielded her eyes "I can’t stand those things-ed voice
The heads were bobbing slowly up and down, nodding again
"I think that’s our answer," Michael said
"Yeah, but which is it-Summer or a doubloon?"
"I don’t care, I just want to get out of here," Audrey said
"We can’t go," Jenny said to Dee "We can’t leave hi the wizard’s cabinet as a support, and leaned a hand on it, looking into the glass "I have to help hiently "There’s nothing you can do for hiht, what are you going to do for him?"
Jenny didn’t know Stay here with hi Break the cabinet to pieces
But then what? Could she stand to hold the thing that was in there, cuddle it like a stiff, oversize doll? If she broke the doll, would it kill her grandfather? Or would he still be alive inside his pieces?
He’d rather be dead than be like this, she knew But how did you kill so that wasn’t alive, only trapped?