The Dark Corner by Christopher Pike

1
    I t was Sally Wilcox who brought up how cool Bryce Poole was and started the argument that led to their taking another trip through the Secret Path. Of course she later swore she had nothing to do with what happened. It was typical. No one, especially Sally, ever wanted to be blamed for starting an adventure, at least not in the middle of the adventure—when it looked like they would all die.
    The day started as so many did that summer in Springville, known as Spooksville to all the town kids. Adam Freeman, Cindy Makey, Sally Wilcox,and Watch were together for a breakfast of milk and doughnuts. While stuffing their faces at the local coffee shop, they tried to figure out what to do with the day.
    â€œOnly a few weeks and we’ll be back in school,” Sally said, brushing her brown bangs out of her eyes. “We have to make the most of every day.”
    â€œI’m kind of looking forward to starting school here,” Cindy, who was new to town, said. “I like learning things.”
    â€œSummer vacation in Spooksville is more of a learning experience than anything we do in school,” Sally muttered.
    â€œWhat is school like here?” Adam, who was also new to town, asked. “Is it as weird as the rest of the town?”
    â€œIt’s pretty normal,” Watch said.
    â€œExcept for a few of the teachers,” Sally added. “The ones that aren’t human.”
    â€œHow did I know you were going to say that?” Cindy asked.
    â€œThere are a couple of unusual teachers in the middle school,” Watch admitted.
    Sally nodded. “There’s Mr. Castro. He teacheshistory, basically. But sometimes he talks about the future.”
    â€œDon’t say it,” Cindy interrupted, flipping her long blond hair over a shoulder. “Mr. Castro’s really from the future.”
    â€œWell, he’s not from around here,” Watch said.
    â€œI think he was built at the North Pole,” Sally said. “If my sources are accurate.”
    â€œI heard it was the South Pole,” Watch said.
    Adam and Cindy exchanged looks. “So he’s a robot?” Adam asked.
    â€œHe’s not a desktop computer,” Sally said.
    Watch spoke reluctantly. “He does seem to have several machinelike qualities. For example, he never eats lunch. He never drinks water. When he’s tired, he lays out on the football field and soaks up the sun’s rays. I guess that’s how he recharges his batteries.”
    â€œHe also has a hearing aid that looks more like a cosmic receiver,” Sally said. “He never takes it off. I hear it’s wired directly into his positronic brain.” She added, “He sure doesn’t have trouble hearing.”
    Cindy shook her head. “I don’t believe any of this.”
    â€œWait till you get him for history,” Sally said.“And he pops his eyes out in the middle of a lecture just to clean his contact lenses.”
    â€œYou said a couple of teachers were weird,” Adam said. “Who’s the other one?”
    â€œMrs. Fry,” Sally said. “She teaches biology. She’s a snake.”
    â€œShe has scaly skin?” Cindy asked.
    â€œYes,” Sally said impatiently. “I told you, she’s a snake. When have you ever seen a snake that didn’t have scaly skin?”
    â€œWhat Sally means is Mrs. Fry seems to be part snake,” Watch said. “She slides around the room and hisses all the time. Some people think she’s a descendant of a reptilian race that lived here millions of years ago.”
    â€œFrogs are dissected all the time in her class,” Sally said. “But never snakes or lizard. And all the frog parts—well, they disappear between classes. She eats them all.”
    Cindy made a face. “That’s gross.”
    â€œYou haven’t seen gross until you’ve seen Mrs. Fry shed her skin,” Sally said.
    Adam didn’t know what