by Kieran Scott
“I haven’t seen Hannah, Colin. What the hell are you doing?” Alessandra asked.
Hannah held her breath as she listened to the exchange, and every muscle in her body quivered. This had to work. She had to buy them time—enough time for Prandya’s family or the police to get here. This was the only way.
“This has nothing to do with you,” Colin told Alessandra.
“What about Claudia? And the fact that you tried to frame Nick for her disappearance?” Alessandra shouted. “Does that have anything to do with me?”
Hannah hesitated. Technically, she was supposed to be submerging herself in the water right now, but she wanted to hear this. Colin had attempted to frame Nick?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Colin said after a brief hesitation.
“Oh, please. Let’s not act like we both don’t know what happened,” Alessandra said bravely. “That note they found at Claudia’s house. The one that said I miss you. We need to talk. Meet me at our special place. N. The cops went straight to Nick, of course, because everyone in our class knew they’d been going out, so it wasn’t hard to make the leap. But the handwriting didn’t match Nick’s and he was with his baseball buddies that whole night, so they cleared him. Too bad you didn’t know they had an all-nighter planned, huh, Colin?”
Silence.
“What I don’t get is, how did you know that was what she called him in her diary?” she asked. “What’d you do, sneak a peek when she wasn’t looking?”
He definitely did exactly that, Hannah thought, chilled to the bone. Colin was the one who’d read Claudia’s diary that day when she came home and it had been moved. And he probably went back and stole it after he murdered her. That and all the other personal stuff of hers he buried on the island. Maybe that stuff was evidence, and he hid it near the body, hoping the cops would never find it.
“She was going to go back to him,” Colin said through his teeth. “She never gave a crap about me. She was going to go running right back to him.”
“What did you do to her, Colin? What did you do to Claudia?” Alessandra’s voice broke, and Hannah suddenly realized they were running out of time. Either Alessandra was going to crack, or Colin was going to realize how much Alessandra had on him and he was going to go after her.
It was now or never.
Hannah pressed her lips together and lowered herself down into the water, which quickly closed in around her up to her neck. The drop-off here was steep, and within two steps the lake was about four feet deep around her. She took a deep breath, held it, and dove.
Beneath the surface, Hannah opened her eyes. Everything was gray and murky and her retinas stung. She turned left, blindly, praying that she was headed in the right direction. She prayed she’d be able to hold her breath long enough. She prayed that the fog would keep her hidden and Colin wouldn’t spot her. She prayed that she’d have the swim of her life.
Weeds slipped over her skin and tugged at her ankles, slowing her pace slightly. She let out a bubble and tried not to panic. Her lungs were starting to burn, and she longed for a breath, but she forced herself to keep going, and suddenly—heart slamming against her rib cage—she saw the fuzzy outline of Colin’s legs. They were much closer than she would have thought and she brought herself up short.
Telling her lungs to quiet, Hannah turned her body slightly and swam around behind Colin. She wished she knew what was going on above the surface, but she could hear the muffled sound of voices shouting at each other. She knew Alessandra was keeping him talking; keeping him distracted; keeping Katie alive.
This is going to work, Hannah told herself. It’s going to work.
Suddenly, surprisingly, Hannah felt an odd little thrill down her spine. This guy was evil. He had murdered Nick. He had probably murdered Claudia. He had come up with the idea for Alessandra to fake her own death, for his friends to release that blood in the water, for them to taunt Hannah and Katie with a fake lake monster. Colin was an out-and-out sociopath.
He had made Hannah and Katie believe that there was something to fear in these waters. And now there was. Hannah was the thing to fear. Hannah was the thing lurking beneath the surface.
Feeling the power of that, Hannah reached out, grabbed Colin around the ankles, and yanked as hard as she could.
He hit the water with a grand splash. Hannah emerged and sucked air into her aggrieved lungs, but she didn’t have time to savor it. She fumbled the knife out of her waistband as Alessandra dove for Katie, who was just coming to after hitting the water face-first. Before Colin could get his knees under him, Hannah jumped on his back and brought the knife around his neck, holding it against his throat until she drew blood.
“Don’t move or I swear I’ll do the same thing to you that you did to Nick.”
Colin laughed. “You don’t have it in you.”
Hannah pressed the knife harder, gritting her teeth as blood dripped down the blade. Colin made a choking noise.
And then the prow of a boat suddenly cut through the fog.
“Everybody freeze!”
It was the police. Two officers had their guns trained right on Hannah and Colin.
Hannah released him and put her hands in the air, holding up the knife.
“Well, I guess now we’ll never find out,” she told him.
It was all she could do to keep from laughing right in Colin’s stunned face.
“Now the sun comes out,” Katie said, squinting up at the sky.
“I hate fog,” Hannah said, pulling her police-issue blanket tighter around her shoulders. It was at least eighty degrees out and she was shivering. She and Katie were sitting on the back of an ambulance, parked in the lakeside parking lot, their legs dangling toward the ground as they waited for their parents to show. “I’m going to hate fog forever.”
“But if it wasn’t for the fog, you might never have saved me.” Katie knocked the side of Hannah’s knee with her own. “So it’s not totally awful.” Then she sat up straight. “Jacob!”
Hannah’s heart leapt as Jacob stepped out of a squad car that had just pulled into the parking lot. Katie jumped off the back of the ambulance and ran to him, throwing herself into his arms. Hannah watched them kiss, and even though it didn’t feel great, she didn’t much care. Jacob was alive—he was fine. He’d gotten the canoe across the lake without any leaks and made it to town while they were fighting off Colin on the island. The cops had told her this, but she hadn’t really believed it until that very moment.
Alessandra had gone back out to Mystery Island with the police to show them where Claudia’s body was buried. Hannah could see the lights on the police boats flashing in the distance.
An officer with a stern face and wiry gray eyebrows approached Katie and Jacob, breaking up the quiet, tearful reunion they were having. Together the three of them walked over to Hannah. Jacob wrapped Hannah in a hug as Katie climbed back up to sit next to her again.
“You’re okay?” Hannah asked him.
Jacob nodded. “Okay enough.”
Hannah gave him a small smile. She knew exactly what he meant.
“You?” Jacob asked, squeezing her arm.
Hannah nodded. “Same.”
“Kids,” the officer said. His voice was the low and rumbly kind that made him seem like a sweet old grandpa. He nodded at them, then looked over his shoulder. “There’s someone here that wants to talk to you. Now, you don’t have to talk to her, but—”
Suddenly a streak of black cut across the parking lot and Colin’s mother was right in front of them. Her face was haggard and her hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail, highlighting the dark circles under her eyes.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, looking at Hannah. “I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know …”
“Ma’am, I’d appreciate it if you’d take a step back,” the cop said, holding his arms out to shield Hannah and the others.
“It’s you,” she continued, ignoring the officer. “You look just like her.
Just like Vicki. And just like Claudia. Ever since Vicki dumped him, he hasn’t been right. And then she disappeared and I just …”
“She disappeared, too?” Hannah asked, a knot between her heart and her stomach.
The police officer’s eyes widened.
“Yes, but I hoped coming up here this summer would fix things … give him a new start … but there’s obviously something … wrong with him,” Colin’s mother continued.
“Understatement,” Katie said under her breath.
“What did you say?” Colin’s mother snapped.
“I said, understatement,” Katie replied venomously. “Your son is a murderer. Nick never did anything to Colin, and now he’s dead!”
Katie started to cry and leaned her head against Hannah’s shoulder. Hannah wrapped her arms around Katie and shot the officer a look until he led Colin’s mother away.
“You say another friend of your son’s disappeared?” he asked her on their way across the parking lot.
“It’s okay,” Hannah said to Katie, stroking her back. “It’s going to be okay.”
Even though it wasn’t. She knew that all three of them were going to be seeing Nick’s dead body in their dreams for years to come. How would anything ever be okay again?
“Well, kids, your parents are going to be here in about thirty minutes and they’re all anxious to see you,” another officer told them. “Your father said they hadn’t heard from you since he got a text on Saturday; is that right?” he asked Hannah.
“We lost power,” Hannah said. “And there’s no signal out there. We couldn’t call them or text.”
“One of my men went out and inspected the house and said it looked like someone had taken an ax to the electrical box,” the officer said, checking his notes. He glanced over his shoulder at a police cruiser, where the authorities had been keeping Colin in cuffs ever since their rescue. He sat in the back of the car, his head down, and looked as if he was muttering to himself. Hannah couldn’t believe it. He’d cut their power? How elaborate was his plan?
The officer took a breath and looked at them, his eyes kind. “I’d say you kids are lucky to have gotten away with your lives.”
Katie sniffled and rubbed gently under her nose, which had stopped bleeding only after the EMTs had stuffed a wad of gauze up there.
“Thanks, officer,” she said.
He tipped his hat and walked off, skirting right around the front bumper of Hannah’s RAV4. It was weird to see the car sitting there, innocently waiting for her and Katie to return.
As Jacob stared off across the lake, Hannah tightened her grip on Katie, and Katie tightened her grip right back. It was hard to believe that just a few days ago, the two of them had driven into this parking lot, fighting. It seemed like a million years had passed. So much had changed since then. Thinking about everything they’d been through—all the fights and conversations, the near-death experiences and the things they’d done to save each other—Hannah’s heart welled.
“Katie, I have something to tell you,” she said quietly.
Katie sniffled again and looked up. “What?”
Hannah managed a small smile. “I think we can officially call ourselves sisters now.”
Katie smiled unsteadily back at her. “I think so, too.”
Dear Diary,
I’ve never thought about keeping a journal before, but in a weird way it feels like I kind of have to now. Like I owe it to Claudia or something.
It’s been a month since Nick died, since we found Claudia’s body, since Jacob’s parents closed up the house and put it on the market. School’s started up again, but nothing feels the same. Katie and I talk about Dreardon Lake all the time, and Jacob fills us in on what’s been happening since we left.
Colin told the police he did hide Claudia’s stuff on the island because it was evidence, and that he didn’t destroy it because he “could never destroy anything of Claudia’s.” Um, except for CLAUDIA HERSELF. They also found Vicki buried in a park near Colin’s house in Indiana. Now he’s sitting in jail somewhere, awaiting trial, and one day we’re all going to have to testify, which is going to be awful, but I’m not thinking about that today. I’m not thinking about the killer, because today was about his victims.
This morning Katie, Jacob, Theo, and I drove up to Dreardon Lake to be there for Claudia and Nick’s memorial. I told Theo he didn’t have to come, but he insisted. We’re kind of, maybe, sort of … I don’t know … going out now? It started when I got back to Ohio from that weekend, and told Theo everything, and he was so supportive and sweet. All I know is I like having him around, and it ended up being really good that he came along. He kept things light during the car ride, when the rest of us could only think about Nick and all the things we could have done differently. He also kept things light when Katie ran that red light and almost took out a fire hydrant making a left-hand turn.
The memorial was as sad and horrible as you’d imagine. All their friends were there—Alessandra, Prandya, and Raj included. Plus, Raj’s wrestling-team buddies who helped with the pranks. Every one of them apologized—again—for going along with Colin’s plan to scare us. It was both nice and weird to see them, but I didn’t talk to any of them for long. It was only a month ago, but it feels like another lifetime. Sometimes it even feels like a dream.
The worst part was seeing Nick’s and Claudia’s parents, though. I can’t describe how destroyed they are. When Claudia’s mother saw me, she went white, and that’s when I started to think it was maybe not such a good idea for me to come. So Theo and I bailed.
We walked up to the Dreardon Lake docks so I could show him where it all happened. He’s heard enough about it by now that he was curious. When he saw Mystery Island he shuddered and reached for my hand. He said he could see why the whole lake creeped me out so much—even before we got trapped at Jacob’s house and found Nick’s body, and then Claudia’s body …
When I first got home, I researched Dreardon Lake online. Just as Jacob had told me, it was true that some careless campers had started the fire that burned down half of Mystery Island. And it was right after that, weirdly, that the drownings started happening, as if the lake was angry. I hadn’t really taken any of that seriously. Not after I found out how Raj and his friends tricked us. But I now know the difference between silly ghost stories and real, true danger. I know too well.
Theo and I didn’t stay on the docks too long. It was getting a little chilly—the leaves are already starting to turn, can you believe it?—and the sky started to cloud over in a way that brought back too many memories. Theo asked if I was ready to go and I said, “Yes. Definitely.”
And I didn’t tell him this—I can’t even believe I’m writing this—but as I turned away from the lake, I could have sworn I saw something large and gray rise up out of the water.
But when I turned my head again, it was gone.
That’s all for now, Diary.
Xoxo,
Hannah
PS Katie and I are STILL grounded. Dad and Mylin let us go to the memorial, but after that, we’re basically stuck at home until October. Can’t say I didn’t warn her.
Thanks so much to Aimee Friedman, David Levithan, and everyone at Scholastic Book Clubs and Fairs, who support my crazy little stories. Special thanks to all the readers, teachers, and librarians who seek out creepy books like these. It’s because of you I get to write them, and I do so love writing them! Thank you, as always, to my awesome agent, Sarah Burnes, and to my friends and family, especially Matt, Brady, and Will, who make it all worthwhile.
Don’t miss another creepy read by Kieran Scott!
Turn the page for a sneak peek …
Callie Valasquez wasn’t ready to die.
Not here. Not now. Not like this. Not standing in the middle of the pitch-black forest clutching a roll of toilet paper. No. That just seemed wrong. She was only sixteen.
But it was going to happen. Especially if that thing—that snorting, breathing, hulking
thing—managed to pick up her scent.
Callie stood perfectly still. She tried as hard as she could to keep her breath shallow, but the terror gripping her heart kept making her want to suck in air, to cough. Her knees quaked and her stomach twisted itself into horrible, ever-tightening knots.
Why had she used that strawberry shampoo this morning? The sugary scent wafted from her thick, dark, meticulously straightened hair. Or could the thing out there smell her coconut body wash? Or maybe the chemical odor of the olive-green nail polish she’d applied to her toes in the kitchen after breakfast, thinking it was oh so hiking-appropriate? Callie looked down at her bare, throbbing toes in her new Teva flip-flops.
Maybe it was her feet. They’d been pretty rank when she’d peeled off her sweaty socks and carefully applied first aid cream and Band-Aids to her lovely new blisters. Oh, God. Could it smell her feet?
Another snort. This one even closer than the last. She could feel the thing’s presence just behind her like a pulsating warmth. It was so large it radiated heat. She imagined a huge brown bear with a snout as wide as her father’s hand. A wild boar, awful fangs glinting in the moonlight. A mountain lion, crouched low and taut, primed for the kill. Her instincts told her to run, but her fear kept her frozen. That and some vague notion from a movie she’d once seen as a kid that the best policy in this situation was not to draw attention. Bears couldn’t see you unless you moved. Or was that dinosaurs?
What was she even doing here? Was being part of the popular crowd in the tiny upstate town of Mission Hills, New York, really so important to her that she had to risk her life? Just because she had some insane need to prove that she was no longer the nerd she’d been back in Chicago, now she was going to die?
The moment Lissa Barton and Penelope Grange had noticed her in the cafeteria that second week of school, when Callie had been the shy new girl, she’d latched on to them like a life raft in a storm. And that moment had led directly to this one.
