Party Games (6 page)

Everyone laughed.

I felt a sudden chill.

The lake air was cool. But it wasn't that kind of chill. My whole body shivered.

Sometimes I have these feelings. Premonitions, I guess. Nothing special. I think everyone has them. You know like how sometimes you just
know
that someone is watching you. And then it turns out to be true.

Seagulls squawked and darted overhead, as if leading the way to the island. Their cries rose over the hum of the boat engine.

“Hey, Rachel.” April leaned over Eric to talk to me. “What's up with you and Mac?”

“We broke up,” I said. “Actually, I broke up with him. Why?”

“Well, I just saw him. I thought maybe he was coming to the party with you.”

“You
what
?” I jumped to my feet. “You
saw
him?”

I turned toward the shore. The boat was moving steadily away. But I squinted over the green glare off the water and saw someone. Someone half-hidden behind the telephone pole at the road. He stood with one arm around the pole, watching the boat, watching me.

Mac. I recognized him even at this distance.

Mac watching me.

Spying on me.

“Rachel? Are you okay?” April's voice broke into my thoughts. She stared at me. “You have the strangest look on your face.”

“Oh. Uh … no biggie,” I said, my eyes on Mac. “I just felt a chill.”

 

9.

BLOOD IN THE WATER

 

The storm clouds slid apart as we neared Fear Island, and rays of yellow sunlight slanted down on the bare trees. Shielding my eyes with one hand, I could see a couple of small summer cottages, boarded up for winter, with their tiny docks empty.

I'm going to have an awesome time,
I told myself.
I've left Mac behind and I'm going to a party in an island mansion, and stay up all night, and make new friends, and maybe get close to Brendan Fear, and have a total blast.

And somehow … this time I really believed it.

As Randy guided the boat around the curve of the island, the Fear house came into view, rising above the trees like a dark tower. Brendan's house was
not
a summer cottage. It looked more like a castle. It was at least three stories high, built of black stone that glowed under the sunlight, tall windows, all dark, a slanting red roof with chimneys poking up all up and down its length, and balconies that jutted out toward the trees.

I really am entering a different world,
I thought, gazing over the glare of the water at the incredible mansion.

“Cute little cottage,” Patti said, snapping a photo with her phone. “Think there's enough room for a party?”

“I've lived in Shadyside my whole life, but I've never seen this place,” I said. “I knew the Fears were rich. But I never imagined…”

The boat rocked in the water, slowing as we approached the wooden dock. I turned to Eric. “You and Brendan come here a lot, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Believe it or not, that humongous castle is just Brendan's summer house. They closed it up in September. Brendan and I hang here a lot. It's seriously boring.”

“Boring?”

“There's no Internet. No WiFi. No bars on your phone. It's like … welcome to caveman days.”

I laughed. “That could be a good thing.”

A gust of wind blew his hair straight up on his head. “It's a good place to film a horror movie,” he said, pushing the wild tuft of hair back down with one hand. “Big rooms filled with heavy, old furniture. Long dark halls twisting this way and that. It's supposed to be a summer house. But the whole place is dark and depressing.”

He pointed. “See all those huge windows? I mean, even when it's sunny out, the light doesn't seem to come in.”

“Weird.”

His eyes grew wide. “There are long, creepy shadows everywhere. And the shadows seem to move on their own. And I'm always hearing horrible howls from up in the attic.”

I laughed. “Now you're just trying to scare me—aren't you?”

He grinned. “You think so?”

The boat bumped hard against the wooden dock. A few kids cried out in surprise. Eric pretended to fall off his seat and landed on his butt on the deck. He really is like a five-year-old. He's kind of cute, but he's a big baby. And he always has to be the center of attention.

Kerry helped pull him to his feet. Randy leaped onto the dock and tied the catamaran to the pilings. We scrambled to climb off. The spray from the lake air made my face feel cold and damp. I took a deep breath and inhaled a wonderful sweet aroma from the trees.

“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.”