“See you guys later,” Randy said, helping April off the boat. “Antonio and Miguel will guide you up to the house.”
Antonio was a tall, lean young man with tiny dark eyes, a sharp nose, a shiny round stud in one nostril, and black hair pulled behind his head in a ponytail that fell down his back.
Miguel was older, shorter, and pudgy, an African American with a broad forehead and a lot of white in his hair. They both were in uniform—black dress shirt, black tie, and black slacks. They both had little white nametags on their shirt pockets.
“They must be new,” Eric whispered in my ear. “I haven’t seen either of them before. The Fears have so many people working for them.”
“But the house has been closed, right?” I said. “They just opened it for Brendan’s party today.”
Eric nodded. He darted over to Geena and put his arm around her. “I see you watching me, Geena. You can’t take your eyes off me, can you? Maybe you and I can sneak away later. Maybe do some nature walks on the island? Are you into nature like I am?”
She laughed. “That’s a maybe, Eric.”
“You mean it’s a yes?”
Geena shook her head. “A maybe is a no.”
“So it’s a yes,” Eric said.
“No.”
“I’ll take that to be a yes.”
The sky darkened again, and the air grew cooler. Behind us, the boat rose up, then splashed down as waves washed hard against the narrow dock.
“Okay, guys. Let’s get to the house before the rain comes,” Antonio shouted. He had some kind of foreign accent. Italian, I think. He pointed to a dirt path that led through the tall grass, away from the shore. “It’s a short hike through the woods. Be careful to stay on the path. There are a lot of snakes.”
“What kind of snakes?” Patti asked.
“The kind you don’t want to meet,” Antonio replied.
We all started toward the path. I stopped when I heard a shrill scream.
I turned back in time to see Randy fall. One foot was caught in the tie rope, and he screamed again as he stumbled off the dock. I gasped as his head hit one of the tall log pilings. It made a sick thud.
His white cap landed upside down on the dock. Arms slumped at his sides, Randy dropped into the churning lake water.
Screaming, shouting in shock, we went running to the dock. Antonio and Miguel were already on their knees, peering into the water. They tried to wave us back. “He’ll be okay,” Antonio shouted. “He’s a good swimmer.”
“Back, everyone,” Miguel ordered. “Get back.”
No one moved. My heart was pounding in my chest. I struggled to catch my breath.
And then I uttered a choked cry as a circle of bright red rose up in the dark lapping water. The red tint spread quickly, washing with the waves.
“Blood! It’s his blood!” Geena shouted.
“Where is he? Why isn’t he coming up?” Delia cried.
I’d been holding my breath the whole time. I forced myself to breathe. My legs suddenly felt weak. No sign of him.
Antonio began to wave frantically. “Get up to the house! All of you! Miguel—take them to the house. I’ll deal with this. Everyone—move!” He tugged his shoes off, then started to strip off his clothes.
“He’ll be okay. Randy’ll be okay,” Miguel kept repeating. He frantically began moving us off the dock. “Come on, everybody. Antonio will pull him out. No worries. Really. No worries.”
I had no choice. I had to follow the others to the path that led to the house. But as I stepped off the dock, I turned back. And saw the water so crimson, rippling red, the blood spreading in the waves and around the dock. And no sign of Randy … just Randy’s blood, billowing up from down below.
10.
ROADKILL
I shut my eyes. I turned away from the horrifying sight at the dock.
Was it really possible? Was the party ruined by a drowning before it even began?
I suddenly thought about Amy. She warned me not to come to this party. She kept saying there was a curse on the Fear family. Mac warned me, too, but he was crazy and jealous and out of control.
“Keep moving, everyone,” Miguel ordered us. “Don’t worry about Randy. Antonio has it all under control.” His voice trembled. It was obvious Miguel was lying.
“Is Randy okay?” I cried. “Did Antonio pull him out?”
“It’s under control,” Miguel repeated. “Let’s all move now.”
I felt sick. I decided to text Amy and tell her maybe she was right about this party. I pulled out my phone. No bars. Of course. Eric warned me that phones wouldn’t work on the island.
The path sloped up as we approached the house. I heard a strange bird cry from a high tree limb. A long Hoo-hoooo. So sad and human. Like someone crying. My nightmare flashed into my mind. The little brown bird on the grass that became a rat in my hands. The deep bite of its fangs. The blood gushing from my wrist.
No. Stop, Rachel. Get that nightmare out of your head. Think about Brendan. He invited you because he likes you. Think about how cute he is. Don’t think about the blood in the water behind you, the young man who didn’t come back up to the surface.…
We walked in silence. Ahead of me, Kerry had his arm around Patti. She kept shaking her head. I crossed my arms tightly in front of me to stop my shivering. Even Eric stayed silent, his eyes straight ahead of him as we followed Miguel up the path through the trees.
I felt relieved when I could see a bright circle of light up ahead. The trees ended, opening up into a wide, closely trimmed lawn. The lawn had been carefully raked. Not a leaf in sight. And beyond the lawn, the enormous mansion rose up, bathed in spotlights from the balconies above.
Another black-uniformed servant waited at the double front doors to greet us. Her nametag read: DELORES. She handed each of us a sealed white envelope as we filed into the front hall. “Don’t open it until it’s time,” she kept repeating to everyone.
Time for what?
I blinked in the bright light of the entryway. A sparkling crystal chandelier hanging over our heads cast dazzling white light over us. The floor was black-and-white marble. The yellow wallpaper had beautiful white butterflies, hundreds of butterflies flying in perfect rows.
Miguel whispered something to Delores, then went running down a long hall. Delores looked troubled. Miguel must have told her about Randy’s accident. But she forced a smile and led us to a wide, winding stairway at the side of the entrance.
“After the boat ride, you all probably want to go freshen up,” Delores said. “We’ve opened some bedrooms upstairs for you to share. And you can drop off your coats and backpacks there.”
“I’ll share one with April,” Eric said. He turned to her. “Don’t beg. I already said I’d share one with you.”
She grabbed the hood on his hoodie and tugged it down hard over his face.
“Is that a yes?” he asked.
We followed Delores up the stairs. We stepped out into a long, dimly lit hallway. Rooms on both sides all the way down to the end. As we followed her, we passed huge portraits on the walls, paintings of Fears, I guessed. Grim-looking people, sitting or standing stiffly against dark backgrounds. They didn’t look evil, but they didn’t look nice, either.
She motioned April, Geena, and me into the first bedroom. It was an enormous room with a king-sized bed against the far wall, covered in a satin navy blue bedspread. A tall mirror stretched behind a wide oak dresser. The room had its own bathroom. Twin lights suspended in cones from the ceiling sent a white light over the room.
“Is there a view?” I asked. I darted to the window and gazed out through the dirt-smeared glass. “All I can see are woods,” I reported. “The trees come almost up to the house.”
We tossed coats and backpacks onto the bed. I kept my tangerine jacket on. I’d freeze in just my camisole top. I’d packed a sweatshirt, but I didn’t want to look sloppy.
Geena disappeared into the bathroom, carrying her cosmetics case. I
glanced in the mirror behind the dresser. “Whoa!” My hair was standing out in all directions in big clumps. “The wind on the lake,” I murmured, watching April’s reflection in the mirror. “It looks like my hair is trying to escape my head.”
She laughed. “You’re funny, Rachel.”
I pulled my hairbrush from my backpack and tried to tame my hair. Finally I gave up and put it up in a ponytail. When I turned to April, she was sitting on the edge of the bed, just staring blankly at the flowered wallpaper.
“What’s wrong?”
She hesitated. “I was kind of like in a horror movie this week. For real,” she said finally. She avoided my gaze.
“April, what are you talking about?” I crossed the room and sat down beside her.
She shook her head. “I was totally creeped out, Rachel. Seriously.”
“By what? What happened to you?”
“A dead squirrel,” April murmured. She finally turned to me. “It looked like it had been run over. I mean, it was squished flat in the middle.”
I squinted at her, tapping the hairbrush against the palm of my hand. My mind was spinning. “I … don’t understand.”
“I … I got home after the basketball game. And I went to my room. And … I saw something under the sheets in my bed. It was a dead squirrel, stuffed under the covers.”
“Omigod!” My cry escaped in a whisper.
April shivered. “My bedroom window was wide open. And someone … someone had stuffed a dead squirrel in my bed.”
“Omigod! Omigod!” I slapped my hands against my cheeks. “No. No way. That’s impossible.” I blamed Mac for the rat. I knew it had to be Mac. But …
“Hey, what’s wrong?” Geena strode out of the bathroom, zipping up her plastic cosmetics case.
“April found a dead squirrel in her bed,” I said. “And I—”
“Noooo!” Geena screamed. The case fell from her hand and bounced on the carpet. “When? Friday night?”
April nodded.
“But—but—” Geena sputtered. “I don’t believe it! Me, too! Not a squirrel. A baby raccoon. A dead baby raccoon. Under my covers. Squashed flat and its eyes were missing.”
“Omigod! Omigod!” I struggled to get control. “I blamed Mac. I can’t believe I blamed Mac.”
“Blamed him for what?” Geena demanded.
“For the dead rat in my bed,” I said.
They both gaped at me open-mouthed.
“You, too?” April whispered. “All three of us?”
“Roadkill,” I muttered. I shook my head. “I blamed Mac.”
Geena squinted at me. “Mac? Why Mac? Why would Mac put a dead animal in my bed?”
“He wouldn’t,” I said. “I must have gotten it all wrong. Mac wouldn’t—”
“So who was it?” Geena asked.
I jumped to my feet, still gripping the hairbrush tightly. “Roadkill,” I repeated. “Roadkill.” My eyes went from Geena to April. “Someone was trying to warn us. Someone wanted to scare us really bad.”
11.
AN AWESOME PARTY
We stared at each other. Someone had broken into our houses. Someone had carried a dead animal into our bedrooms and stuffed it under our blankets.
It was sick. Sick and gross.
“Does anyone have any idea who did it?” April asked.
Before anyone could answer, the door opened and Delores appeared. “Ready?” she asked. “I’ll take you downstairs to the party room.”
As we walked to the stairway, the two dark-haired dudes we didn’t know led the way. Eric and Kerry tossed a white Nerf baseball back and forth. Spider dove to intercept it and almost fell down the stairs.
Patti hurried to keep up with us. I wanted to ask her if she received a road-kill gift, too. But as we reached the first floor, we were blasted by deafening guitar music that rang off the tile walls.
“Party time!” Eric shouted, pumping his hands over his head and doing a little dance.
Delores pushed open tall double doors, and we walked into an enormous room that looked like a movie set.
I blinked several times as I stared into the pulsing light. We were standing in what had to be a ballroom, with a high cathedral ceiling, lighted entirely by candlelight. Candles were hung in dark sconces along the walls. Two chandeliers decked with long candles hung low over our heads. Three walls held floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A fire danced in a broad fireplace at the back wall.
For some crazy reason, I thought of the ballroom in the Beast’s castle in that Disney movie Beth and I used to watch over and over, Beauty and the Beast.
Half in shadow, half in flickering orange light, Brendan stood in the center of the enormous room beside a long food table. He stepped forward with a big smile on his face, watching everyone’s reaction to the incredible room. “Hey, guys,” he called. “Welcome.”
He wore a black V-necked sweater over a white T-shirt, charcoal-colored jeans, and red Converse sneakers. It was kind of his uniform. I liked it.
“I … uh … I just heard about the problem at the dock,” he said, rubbing his chin. “Well, I want you to know it’s been taken care of. Everything will be okay. And you’re not stranded here, if you’re worried about that. We’ve already sent for another pilot for the boat. And—”
“Is Randy okay?” April interrupted, shouting over the wailing guitars. The music poured from enormous twin speakers on the wall.
“Of course he is.” Brendan replied. “Randy is feeling good. A little shaken. He lost a little blood. He might have a slight concussion. But don’t worry about him. We’re here to party—right?”
“Right!” The cry rang out over the music.
“Some of you haven’t been to this house,” Brendan said. “It’s pretty awesome. You’ll see. My great-great-grandparents built the house like a million years ago. And as we all know, my ancestors were all way weird.”
“So are you!” Eric shouted.
That got a big laugh.
Brendan laughed, too. He scratched his head and squinted at Eric. “Did I invite you here? Really?”
“I only came for the beer,” Eric shot back.
That got a big cheer. Some guys shouted, “Me, too!”
“No worries,” Brendan said. “There’s plenty of beer. Hey, I’m eighteen today. I’m legal in this state.” He grinned. (Did I mention that I love the way his eyes crinkle up when he smiles?) “The rest of you are all eighteen, too—right?”
“Right!” everyone shouted. Kids pumped their fists in the air and cheered.
Brendan’s expression changed. “I’ve always been blown away by the stories about my weird ancestors,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to have a party in this house they built. A party like back in the day, with all kinds of old-fashioned games.”
“You mean like the original Grand Theft Auto?” one of the dark-haired boys called out. He was wearing a gray-and-white Benson School sweatshirt and black, straight-legged jeans.
Brendan gestured toward him. “Hey, any of you guys know my cousins? They don’t go to Shadyside. They go to the Benson School.” He pointed. “Morgan and Kenny Fear.”
I studied them. They had the same dark hair and dark eyes and serious expressions as Brendan. They totally looked like Fears.
“Morgan is the tall skinny one,” Brendan said. “Kenny is the fat slob.”
Kenny jumped to his feet. “Hey, thanks—!”
“I had to invite them because they’re family,” Brendan said. “But I don’t like them at all.”
“We can’t stand you, either,” Morgan shot back. “You’re a total jerk.”
Kenny said, “We only came because our parents made us.”
All three of them laughed. I could see they really did like each other a lot.
“You all can just ignore them,” Brendan said. “They’re totally antisocial, and they don’t play well with others.”
“Who can get along with you?” Morgan shouted.
“Do you still wet the bed??
?? Kenny asked.
“No. Kenny, you’re the only one in the family who still does that,” Brendan shot back. “Even when you’re awake.”
“Is this Family Fight Night?” Eric chimed in. “Are we supposed to vote on the Biggest Loser?”
“You win!” Kerry said, slapping Eric on the shoulder.
Lots of laughter rang off the high walls.
“Are we just going to stand here being nice to each other all night?” Eric complained.
“I’ve got some things planned,” Brendan said, turning serious. “Some games and things. But we can do that later. I mean, we have all night—right? First, let’s chow down and get TRASHED.”
I followed Kerry and Patti to the long dining table. It was covered in a beautiful burgundy cloth—and seemed like the whole table was filled with silver platters and beautiful china.
“No way!” I cried. “There’s enough food here for a hundred people!”
I saw three different kinds of pizzas and a platter stacked high with cheeseburgers and big bowls of salad. Four servers dressed in black uniforms stood ready to help behind the table. One of them held a silver knife and began to carve a giant ham and a whole roast beef. Moving down the table, I saw a huge casserole filled with macaroni and cheese. Another platter was piled high with French fries. And if that wasn’t enough I saw a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, bread and rolls, a pile of shrimp and crab legs, breads, cheeses. It was an amazing feast.
A table beside it had been set up as a bar. A black-uniformed bartender was helping kids to sodas and beer in tall slender glasses.
This is insane, I thought. There were only ten of us here … eleven with Brendan.… Is this how Brendan’s family lives all the time?
Everyone began piling dinner plates high with food. I turned and gazed around at the amazing room. It really was like standing in a ballroom from the nineteenth century. The candlelight made it magical, shadowy, and special. I really did feel as if I was in a Disney castle.
“Earth to Rachel,” a voice said.
I turned and saw Brendan smiling at me. He had two glasses of beer in his hands. He handed one to me. “You looked like you were off in space somewhere.”