The Dark Corner Read Online Free Page A

Adam’s demon giggled, “You’re never going to escape!”
    Adam fought to remain calm. “Who are you? What is this place?” The town continued to change into a nightmare realm of ruined buildings and howling creatures. Up and down the street Adam could see many poles where people had been chained. Most hung lifeless, little more than skeletons, but a few still struggled to break free. The demon tugged at Adam’s hair and slobbered on his shirt.
    â€œWho am I?” the demon asked. “I am you. I am your dark half. And this place is the Dark Corner.Those who come here from your world never return.”
    â€œBut everything was so nice at first,” Adam said.
    The demon howled. “We always put on a show for newcomers! You humans are so stupid!”
    Adam tried to sound brave even though he was terrified. Most of the other prisoners looked as if they had been there for ages.
    â€œWhat are you going to do with us?” he demanded.
    â€œLet you rot until the Gatekeepers come to judge you,” the demon said. He yanked hard on Adam’s head, pulling out a clump of hair. He held it up for Adam and the others to see. “With this I can enter your world, and become you! My partners and I will pass through the Secret Path and ruin everything that is yours!”
    â€œNo!” Adam pleaded. “Wait! Can’t we talk about this?”
    But the demons weren’t listening. Along with his partners—who had also torn out clumps of hair from Watch’s and Sally’s heads—he put the hair in his mouth and slowly chewed it down. Then, by some wicked miracle, he began to change back into the form he had assumed when they had first seenhim. Now he looked like Adam, and the other two demons once again resembled Watch and Sally.
    â€œNow we have a piece of you inside us!” Adam’s demon sneered. “We’re free to go where we wish!”
    â€œYou can’t go into our world!” Sally shouted at the demons. “You’ll never get away with it! Our friends will spot you immediately, and you’ll be destroyed.”
    Adam’s demon laughed in her face. “By the time your friends know who we are they’ll be here with you! Rotting in the Dark Corner!”
    â€œBut maybe we can work out a compromise,” Watch suggested. “I can see why you don’t like living here. It’s a nasty place. We have ghettos back in our world that are like this. Maybe we can help you find a better place to live, and you can let us go.”
    The demons howled with delight. “We don’t want to let you go!” Adam’s demon said. “We love it when humans suffer! We live for suffering! Come, my pals, let’s go play with these fools’ friends!”
    The demons danced away, heading in the direction of the cemetery and the interdimensional portal. Adam had never felt so miserable as he did right then. His wrists weren’t simply chained, theywere pinned above his head, and the spikes in the wrist cuffs were digging into his skin. Watch and Sally looked equally uncomfortable. All around them the air was filled with fumes and ash, making it difficult to breathe. Adam coughed as his throat dried out. Sally hung her head as if she were weeping.
    â€œI’m sorry,” she said. “It just seemed like such a nice place.”
    â€œThe demons made it seem that way so that we would drop our guard,” Adam said grimly. “But don’t blame yourself. We were fooled as well.”
    â€œBut we probably wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for you,” Watch added truthfully.
    â€œThat’s true,” Adam had to admit.
    Sally moaned. “I said I’m sorry. What else am I supposed to do?”
    â€œIf you could reach Bryce’s knapsack, we might get his knife and try to pick these locks,” Watch suggested. The backpack was closest to Sally. “See if you can catch the