She sat straight up in bed. Her sheets were damp with sweat and she had tears running down her face. The Dream had come once again. Frantic, she got out of bed and proceeded down the hall to the bathroom. The room lit up as soon as she hit the light switch. She knelt down and rummaged through the cupboards beneath the sink. At the back of the cupboard under some towels, she found what she was looking for, a battered, old copy of the book Final Dreams by Frank Andrews, a book full of bedtime stories. It was the only thing that could calm her down after The Dream. She settled down on the rug to read. She could almost hear her fathers voice reading the stories to her. Carla, wake-up! She rolled over and hid her head under her pillow. She felt the pillow lifted off her head. Did you have a good sleep, dear? Her mothers face arose above her. Yes, of course, Carla lied. Good, her mother said, smiling down at her, now get up or youll be late for school. Her mother left the room and Carla got up. She was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when she saw it. In the mirror she could see Final Dreams lying on the bathmat. She spun around and scooped it up. I hope Mom didnt see it, she thought, she cant stand the sight of it. She shoved the book back into the cupboard. Carla! She glanced back. Pamela came running over with Sandra to meet her as they neared the school. Carla, did you hear? Pamela asked. Hear what? Nightmare Park is coming! Sandra screamed. Really? Carla asked, her eyes growing large with excitement. Really! Pamela confirmed. The bell rang. As they walked into the school Pamela and Sandra told her that it would be opening Saturday night. Carla had trouble keeping her mind on her work. Instead her thoughts turned to Nightmare Park. Nightmare Park was a traveling amusement park. Its theme was horror and it featured monsters, ghouls, and fast turbo powered rides. Pamela had heard of it from one of her cousins. Now it was finally coming ...
