by R. L. Stine
“No! That’s impossible!” Ricky cried. He slammed his fist against the fence, making it clang. Several of the baseball players looked over at them.
“Shhh. Lower your voice, Ricky,” Gary warned.
“But my gun! I mean, you can’t leave it there!” he screamed at Della, ignoring Gary. “When the police find the body in the leaves, my gun will be there.”
“They won’t know it’s yours, Schorr,” Suki told him with a look of disgust.
“Everyone knows I’m into ZAP wars,” Ricky said heatedly, turning away from Della and shouting in Suki’s face. “Everyone knows I’m the one in school with all the ZAP guns. All the cops have to do is ask any kid at Shadyside who has ZAP guns, and they’ll be coming right to me. That gun will lead them right to Ricky Schorr! And I’ll tell you one thing—”
Gary pulled him back away from Suki. “Cool your jets, man. Come on, Ricky.”
Ricky pulled out of Gary’s grasp. “I’ll tell you one thing, I’m not taking the blame for that dead guy. If the police come to me, I’m telling them about all of you too.”
“You dirty—” Suki’s eyes grew wide with hatred.
Gary quickly stepped between them.
“Wait! Stop! Everybody—stop!” Della screamed. They turned to her. “Ricky’s right. This is my responsibility. All of it.”
“Now wait, Della—” Pete started, but she reached up and put a hand over his mouth to quiet him.
“The gun was my responsibility, and I left it there. So I guess I have no choice. I’ll go back… back to Fear Island… and get your gun for you, Ricky.”
“Well, okay,” Ricky said, still glaring at Suki.
“Whoa! Hold on!” Pete cried. “You can’t go back there alone, Della. I’ll go with you.”
“Thanks,” Della said softly, smiling at him.
“Maybe we should all go,” Gary said suddenly.
“What?” Maia cried, looking very upset.
“Yeah. Maybe we should go on the overnight. Then Della could slip away and get the gun back. We’re all in this together, after all.”
“And if we all go, it won’t be so bad,” Pete added.
“Well… I guess…” Suki said, thinking it over. “I guess if anything bad happened this time, Abner would be there. He could stomp on any stranger with those baaad cowboy boots of his.”
Everyone laughed. Except Maia.
“But—But what do we do if the partner is there?” Maia asked, holding onto the fence and looking down at the ground.
“I hope he is,” Gary said, his face hardening with anger. “I’m fed up with all this stupid partner business. I’d like to pound the guy. I really would.”
Della looked doubtful. She hated it when Gary started talking tough. “You guys really don’t have to come,” she said, her voice shaky.
“We’re in this together,” Gary said. “Of course we’ll come. Right, guys?”
The others, except for Maia, murmured their agreement. Finally Maia said, “Well, maybe. I guess… It couldn’t be any worse than the last overnight—could it?”
CHAPTER 13
As they set off across the lake in three canoes—Mr. Abner and the equipment in one canoe, three club members in each of the other two—the weather was not promising. High clouds had drifted across the sun, and both the sky and water were an ominous gray. A light fog made it hard to see where the water left off and the sky began.
No one said anything. Only the sound of the paddles splashing rhythmically in the water and the raucous honking of two large ducks flying overhead broke the silence.
Della leaned forward, looking past Maia to Pete in the front of the canoe, matching her paddle strokes with his. The waves were stronger this trip, tossed by a warm but gusting wind, and it was more difficult to keep the small canoe moving forward.
“Is this a silent movie, or what?” Mr. Abner called from his canoe, several feet ahead of them. “How about some noise, you guys? Anybody know any songs?”
“No!” Ricky, Gary, and Suki called in unison.
“It’s too early on a Saturday morning for songs,” Suki added.
“Anybody ever tell you guys you’re a lot of laughs?” their advisor asked, paddling harder against the current.
“No,” Gary called. “Nobody.”
“Well, they were right!” Mr. Abner retorted.
Everyone offered him a half-hearted laugh.
“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Maia muttered. “I can’t believe we’re going back to that dreadful island.”
“Maia—shhh,” Della warned. “The wind could carry your voice. You know why we have to go back. Let’s just try to make the best of it.”
Maia frowned, closed her eyes and slipped her hands under her sweatshirt to warm them.
A light drizzle began to fall. The gray sky grew darker. The thickening fog made everything seem eerie and menacing.
Perfect, Della thought. This is just the perfect atmosphere for a return to Fear Island, a return to the scene of a… murder.
Stop thinking that way, she scolded herself. It wasn’t a murder. It was an accident. She thought of the body lying there under the crackling, brown leaves. She thought of someone—the dead man’s partner—going to the body, tearing the silver skulls from the chain around the dead man’s neck. She thought of the plastic ZAP gun lying there beside the body.
Would she really have the nerve to go back to the ravine and retrieve the gun?
Yes. She had no choice. She couldn’t leave it there for the police to find.
She thought of the dead man, of his body under the leaves, decaying, decaying, decaying. Would she have to look at him?
No. She’d grab the gun up off the ground and run.
Maybe Pete would come with her. Yes, he probably would.
She looked at Pete, rowing at the front of the canoe, his dark hair blowing in the strong breeze. She realized she was really starting to like him. When she had arrived at the lake an hour before and had seen Gary arrive with Suki, it hadn’t bothered her. She had looked at Gary and not felt those pangs, those feelings of “why aren’t we together.” Now Gary had become just another guy, just another guy from school. And she was glad.
The rain stopped and the cloud cover lightened a bit as they climbed out of the canoes and dragged them onto the rocky beach. The whole island appeared in shades of gray—the trees, the dunes, the beach. Della felt as if she had stepped into a black-and-white movie.
“Pull the canoes over by the trees,” Mr. Abner instructed, not noticing that they already were.
We’d better be careful, Della thought. We’d better not give away the fact that we already know the island.
“Is this whole island solid woods?” she asked. “I haven’t been here since I was a little girl.”
“As far as I know,” Mr. Abner said, tugging his canoe with all of the tents and equipment inside. “I’ve never been to the other side of the island. Don’t know what’s over there.” He let go of the canoe. “Hey, that’s a good idea. Let’s hike to the other side of the island. It’s a great morning for a hike!”
“Oh no,” Suki groaned.
No one else showed much enthusiasm either. “Don’t we have to set up the tents and get firewood and stuff first?” Ricky asked hopefully.
“We’ll leave everything with the canoes,” Mr. Abner said, choosing to ignore their reluctance. “We’ll set up when we get back. Come on, everyone. Drop everything and take your backpacks. It won’t be a long walk. Just two or three hours at most.”
He picked up his blue backpack and swung it onto his shoulders, an excited smile on his face. Della and her friends could see that there was no use grumbling about it. They were going on a hike across the island to the other side.
“Great day for a hike,” Pete said, walking next to her, an ironic grin on his face. “How you doing?”
“Me? Okay, I guess. I sure wish this weekend were over.” She picked up her backpack. He held it for her while she sho
ved her arms through the straps.
“You and me both,” he said, sighing. The drizzle began again, not exactly rain, but a fine mist that made everything feel wet, even the air they breathed. “I’ll go with you to get the ZAP gun. Maybe we can sneak away during the hike.”
Della looked up and saw Mr. Abner staring at them. “Maybe we’d better do it after the hike,” she whispered.
“We’ll go later, when everyone’s gathering firewood.”
“Thanks,” she whispered. “I just hope we’re not hiking the whole weekend. Mr. Abner is a lot more gung ho about this than I thought he’d be.”
They followed the others into the woods. Della pulled up the hood on her sweatshirt. It covered her head and hair, but it didn’t keep out the cold or the increasing sense of dread she was feeling. She didn’t want to be walking again through these woods, her sneakers crunching over the dead brown leaves.
The ground sloped sharply up. Her sneakers slid on the mud. The footing was getting slippery from the rain. She grabbed Pete’s arm and he helped pull her up a steep incline.
They stepped carefully over a fallen tree and followed the others deeper into the woods. Suddenly Mr. Abner came jogging hurriedly back to them, holding a video camera up to his eye. “Don’t look at the camera,” he instructed, pointing it at Della and Pete, walking backward to keep them in the picture.
They stopped to stare at the camera.
“No—don’t stop,” he cried. “Keep walking. Act natural.”
“Mr. Abner, what are you doing?” Della asked.
“I’m making a complete record of our overnight,” he said, still taping them. “When we get back home, I’ll make a copy for everyone to keep.”
The poor guy, Della thought. He just doesn’t know what’s going on. He has no idea that this isn’t an experience the rest of us are going to want to remember. This camping trip is something we’re all going to want to forget as quickly as possible.
“You can at least smile,” Mr. Abner urged, walking backward, keeping the video camera fixed on them. Della and Pete made a feeble attempt at smiles. Then, suddenly, Mr. Abner’s heel caught on an upraised root and he toppled over backward into the mud.
The six club members tried their best not to laugh. But the sight of him falling onto his backside, video camera leaping out of his hands, his long legs flying into the air, was too hilarious, and they all enjoyed a good laugh. He climbed up slowly, looking embarrassed, and checked over the video camera to make sure it was still functioning.
“Hiking rule number one: Don’t face the wrong way when you walk,” he said, brushing wet leaves and dirt off the seat of his jeans. Then he added, “I just did that to wake you guys up. That’s the first laughter I’ve heard all morning.”
He was right, Della realized. They weren’t doing a very good job of acting normal. But what could they do? None of them, not even Ricky, felt like joking around. It was hard for Della to even think straight. She just kept thinking about how she had to sneak away and what she had to do.
They hiked for what seemed like days, stopping only once to eat the sandwiches they had brought. Finally, feeling tired and extremely edgy, they reached their destination. The other side of the island, not surprisingly, looked exactly like the side they knew. The pine trees gave way to the low dunes of a rocky beach. If there was land across this side of the lake, they couldn’t see it. Low clouds and fog blocked the view.
“It’s kind of pretty,” Della said to Pete, staring out at the lake. “So gray and mysterious. It’s almost dreamlike.”
“I guess,” Pete said, shifting his backpack. He groaned. “This thing was light when we started out. Now it weighs a ton.”
Mr. Abner finished videotaping the shoreline and lowered his camera. “Doesn’t look as if those clouds are going to lift,” he said, making a visor with his hand on his forehead to shield his eyes from the glare.
“What do we do now?” Ricky asked him grumpily.
“We head back, of course,” Mr. Abner said, still staring across the lake.
“You mean we have to hike back through the woods?” Maia moaned.
“Do you want me to bring the car around?” Mr. Abner asked, laughing. “I’ll tell you what, let’s go back along the beach. We’ll walk around instead of through.”
That idea seemed to please everyone. But by the time they made it back to their canoes and supplies, it was late afternoon, their sneakers were soaked, they were chilled through and through, and their legs ached from trudging so far over sand.
Ricky plopped down in one of the canoes. Della and Maia dropped to their knees on the cold, wet, pebbly sand.
“Aah, that was exhilarating!” their advisor cried, smiling happily as he carefully packed away his video camera. “Hey—don’t sit down, guys. Fun time is over. Now it’s time to start working!”
Muttering and complaining, they carried the tents and supplies to a clearing beyond the tree line. Della realized that they weren’t far from their old campsite, a hundred yards or so farther into the trees.
After the tents were put up, Mr. Abner sent them out for firewood. “Try to find dry wood,” he instructed.
“Everything’s soaking wet,” Suki snapped. “Where are we going to find dry wood?”
“I think I have some at home,” Ricky offered. “I’ll go home for it.”
“Ricky—” Mr. Abner said sternly.
“No. Really. I don’t mind,” Ricky joked. “I’ll go get it and be right back.”
“Look for wood that’s under leaves or under other wood,” Mr. Abner said, ignoring Ricky’s plea. “It’ll be drier than wood that’s been exposed. We can burn wood if it’s damp. It’ll just take a little longer to get going.”
The six of them started off in different directions. “Maia, stay here and help me unpack the dinner supplies,” Mr. Abner said. Maia immediately turned and headed back into the center of the campsite, looking relieved. “Get lots of wood,” their advisor shouted. “Looks like it’s going to be a cold, dreary night.”
“I don’t know about cold, but he’s right about dreary,” Suki muttered to Gary as they headed off together.
“Bet I can cheer you up,” Della heard Gary say to Suki.
“Stop it, Gary. Get your hands off me!” she heard Suki protest, not too convincingly.
Della found Pete tossing wet sticks across the ground. “Nothing is dry,” he muttered. “Abner’s crazy.” A sudden wind came up, shaking tree branches and sending leaves flying in different directions.
“This is the longest day of my life,” Della sighed.
“You’ll feel better once we…” Pete’s voice trailed off. He looked around. No one was in sight. “Hey—let’s go.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s go get Ricky’s gun. Right now. While there’s still a little light.”
Della hesitated. She could feel her throat tighten and a heavy feeling begin to grow in her stomach. “I guess…”
“Abner’s busy with Maia in camp. He won’t notice. We’ll go grab the gun and be back here in a couple of minutes.”
“Okay,” Della said, pulling up her sweatshirt hood. “I guess this is as good a time as any.”
They started off together in the general direction of the ravine.
“Hey, where are you guys going?” It was Abner.
They turned around, startled to see him in the woods. “We were just, uh—”
“Come on, guys,” Abner scolded, shaking his head. “You know the rules. No hanky-panky.”
“But we weren’t…” Della protested.
“Of course you were,” Abner insisted, laughing. “Come back closer to camp. You don’t have to go this far for wood.”
“Okay,” Della and Pete said in unison. They followed him back to the campsite and started gathering firewood at the edge of the tree line.
“We’ll never get away. Never,” Della moaned.
“Shhh. Look.” Pete pointed. Abner and Maia had gone to the other side of
the clearing. “Come on. He can’t see us. Let’s try again.”
“Okay. Quick,” she said, her eyes on Abner.
“Do you remember exactly where the ravine is?” Pete asked. Her sweatshirt hood was caught in her hair. He helped her straighten it out. His hand felt cold as it brushed against her forehead.
“I… I’m pretty sure.”
“Then let’s go,” Pete said.
They hurried into the trees.
As they quickly made their way over the wet, slippery ground, he reached for her hand. He dropped it when they heard the scream.
It came from the campsite, a shrill, ear-piercing scream, a scream of absolute horror.
Della recognized it immediately.
“It’s Maia!” she cried.
CHAPTER 14
A second scream tore through the trees, a scream for help.
Della and Pete got to the campsite together, just as Gary and Suki appeared, looking frightened and confused.
“Maia! Where are you?” Della called.
Ricky stumbled into the clearing, carrying a stack of sticks in his hands. He tossed the sticks next to one of the tents. “What’s all the racket?”
“Over here!” Maia cried. Her voice came from near the edge of the woods on the other side of the tents. “Help, please!!”
Her heart pounding, Della ran around the tents toward Maia’s voice, followed by the others. They found Maia on her knees beside Mr. Abner, who was lying on his back. She was cradling the advisor’s head in her arms. As the others drew closer, they could see that his eyes were closed, his mouth open, a rivulet of blood trickling down from his scalp.
“Maia… Mr. Abner… what…”
“He’s out cold,” Maia told them. “I can’t bring him to.”
“But who did it?”
“Did you see it happen?”
“Did he fall? Was he… shot?”
Pete and Gary knelt down beside Maia. Gary put his hand on Mr. Abner’s sweatshirt, above the chest. “His heart is beating okay,” he said. “What happened?”
