Fear: 13 Stories of Suspense and Horror Read Online Free

back. Bony’s hands fell limply away from his body. A lopsided puddle of dark blood stained the front of his T-shirt.
    â€œBony—no! No! Bony—no!”
    Bony’s eyes gazed blankly at the sky, glassy and unblinking.
    â€œWhat happened?” JJ wailed in a high, shrill voice. “They were blanks. They were all blanks. What happened?”
    â€œY-you killed him!” Sammy whispered. “You shot Bony in the stomach!”
    A hoarse cry escaped JJ’s throat. “No. I couldn’t. They were blanks. I know they were. All blanks. Bony and I cooked it up. It was a joke!”
    Shaking his head, JJ began murmuring to himself in a panic. “Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Bony dead? I killed Bony? It couldn’t happen. It couldn’t. Oh, wow. Oh, wow.”
    Bony laughed. He blinked a few times and sat up with a grin on his face. He slapped JJ’s arm. “Gotcha, dude. That was your initiation!”
    JJ made a choking sound. The others burst out laughing.
    Sammy helped Bony to his feet. “Good one, dude.”
    JJ stood up on shaky legs and narrowed his eyes at them. “You were all in on it? From beginning to end? You all knew about this . . . this joke?”
    Maria wiped tears from her eyes. This time, they were tears of laughter. The others slapped knuckles, tossed their heads back, and howled at the moon.
    â€œThey were all in on it, dude,” Bony told him. “Don’t you get it? It wasn’t their initiation. It was your initiation!”
    â€œYou were punked, JJ!” Eduardo cried.
    â€œYou should have seen the look on your face!”
    They howled some more. Bony hugged Maria around the waist. Sammy and Eduardo did a wild victory dance around the tree.
    They stopped when they saw someone running toward them. Her hair flew wildly behind her head, and the wind lifted her coat as she stumbled over the wet grass.
    JJ recognized her immediately. “Julie!” He turned to the others. “The waitress from the restaurant.”
    He took a few steps toward her. She stopped, hands balled into tense fists. She took a few deep breaths.
    â€œJulie—how did you find me? What’s up?”
    â€œYou won’t believe this, JJ,” Julie said, her jaw clenched, eyes wide. “Florian is dead.”
    JJ heard Maria gasp.
    â€œSomeone shot him in the head,” Julie said. “They found him in the parking lot. He’s dead. Someone killed him!” Her body shuddered. She wrapped her arms around herself.
    Bony stepped up to JJ and grabbed him by the shirt collar. “This is another joke, right?” His eyes burned into JJ’s. “The waitress is in on it, right? This is another initiation joke?”
    JJ stared back at Bony and smiled.

SHE’S DIFFERENT TONIGHT
    â–¼ HEATHER GRAHAM ▼
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    I t was Halloween.
    And what a Halloween.
    You have to understand, I really, really , love Halloween.
    Such a perfect night was truly rare. The weather was balmy, almost warm, but kissed with a cool breeze. The sky had been crystal clear all day, blue, beautifully blue.
    And a full moon was about to rise high. It had begun its ascent already. Soon, it would be luminous across a black velvet heaven. I mean, conditions could not have been more perfect.
    I was dressed like a football player, and it was the perfect costume for me, honestly. Not to sound too cocky, but I can pull off a jock pretty well. I have the old all-American, farm-raised, blue-eyed, wheaten-haired boy-next-door appeal; I’m pretty tall—six three—and I have broad shoulders before adding the pads in. I looked like the real deal. All-American, the boy-next-door. Funny. I was anything but.
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    She happened to be at the service bar just as I was, and since I’d seen her around before, I knew her to be usually shy and mild-mannered. She hung with a crowd that was kind of on the edge—close to, but not quite in with—the