Party Summer (19 page)

He's as startled to see us as we are to see him! Cari thought.

No one said a thing for a few seconds.

“Simon! You're alive!” Cari cried, breaking the silence.

“What?” He gripped the side of the desk, appearing even more bewildered. “Alive?”

Cari and the others rushed toward him eagerly. “We're so glad to see you!” she exclaimed.

He was their only friend at the hotel. The only one who had been nice to them, who had welcomed them, who had not tried to frighten them or drive them away. And now here he was—alive.

Back from the dead.

Or was he?

“I … I didn't expect to see you here,” Simon said, pulling nervously at his white mustache.

“Well, we didn't expect to see you either!” Cari cried.

The others laughed. Nervous laughter.

“Are you okay?” Craig asked, his voice filled with concern.

“I'm fine.” The question surprised him. “Why wouldn't I be fine? What's going on here, anyway?”

“Well—” Craig started.

But Simon interrupted her with more questions. “What are you kids doing up this late? Why aren't you in your rooms? Look at you. You're all drenched! What on earth have you been doing?”

“You've got to help us,” Cari blurted out, unable to hide her terror. “We've called the police, but—”

Simon eyed her warily. “The police?”

“It's Edward. Edward and Martin,” Cari said.

“What? Where are they?” Simon asked. “What is that brother of mine up to?”

“Jan is missing,” Eric broke in. “We can't find her anywhere. And Martin and Edward are hunting us. Edward chased us through the woods. He was shooting at us.”

The confused expression softened on Simon's face. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, staring hard at Cari. “Is it another hunting party?” he asked.

“Yes. That's what he called it,” Cari said. “Can you help us?”

“You've got to help us!” Craig cried. “You've got to stop them.”

“Stop them?” A strange smile crossed Simon's face. He took a step back, studying them. “Stop them?”

“Yes. They'll kill us. They really mean to kill us!” Cari cried. “But maybe you—”

She stopped when she saw the change that was coming over Simon.

Why was he grinning?

What did that strange grin mean? It distorted his face, made him look not like himself.

Why was he grinning at them like that, so … coldly?

“Simon, are you sure you're feeling okay?” Cari asked.

“Stop them?” The grin faded and he became menacing.

“Maybe you should sit down,” Cari said to him, glancing at her friends, trying to see if they too noticed that something was wrong with Simon. “It-it's been such a strange night….”

“Stop them?” Simon asked. “Why would I stop them?”

He reached up suddenly and tousled his white hair with both hands until it ruffled out at the sides. Then he tore off the red scarf and tossed it to the floor.

Cari and her friends watched in silent horror as Simon unbuttoned the top button of his shirt.

“Hey—what's the matter? What are you doing?” Craig cried.

“Please—” Cari started.

Ignoring them, Simon pulled off the white suit jacket and tossed it over the front desk.

They watched in horror and confusion as his posture changed. He was stooped now, leaning against the counter.

“Simon, please—tell us. What's the matter?” Cari urged.

What is that he's pulling from his pants pocket? she wondered.

It didn't take long to see that it was a black eye patch. He slipped it over his eye, his hands trembling with excitement as he fastened the band around his disheveled hair.

“Yes! Yes! A hunting party!” he cried in Edward's voice. “There's no way I can stop a hunting party!”

Cari gasped, frozen in horror. No one moved. They all stood staring at the grinning figure in front of them.

All three of them had watched the amazingly fast transformation. All three of them realized now that
Simon and Edward were the same person!

“S
top the hunting party?” It was now Edward who was facing them. All traces of the friendly, sophisticated Simon Fear had disappeared. Edward took a step toward them, threw back his head, and laughed. “You're asking
me
to stop the hunting party?”

“Simon—I mean, Edward—please!” Cari pleaded.

Edward turned and walked quickly over to a lounge chair across from the desk. He reached down to get his hunting rifle, which had been leaning against its side.

He's got us now, Cari thought.

It's over.

Edward raised the rifle in one hand. Then he held it in front of him as if studying it, wiping the dark wooden stock with his other hand.

Cari frantically searched the room for an escape route.

She and her friends had their backs to the front desk. The doors to the dining room were open, but they'd have to run past Edward to get to them. The main entrance to the hotel was across the lobby even farther away—and it was probably locked.

We're trapped, she thought.

We're dead.

The hunting party is over.

She thought of the four heads mounted on the wall. In a short while three more would join them.

She shook her head hard, trying to force the hideous picture from her mind.

Edward raised the rifle.

Where are the police? Cari thought. Can't they hurry? Shouldn't they be here by now?

Maybe we can stall him. Keep him talking until the police burst in and save us.

Edward checked the cylinder. “Loaded,” he said to himself.

“You'll never get away with this!” Cari screamed.

It sounded so stupid. Like something from a bad movie. But the words just tumbled out. She was shaking all over now, her eyes darting from Edward and his hunting rifle to the front doors across the lobby.

“Can't we talk about this?” Craig asked in a voice so meek it barely carried across the desk.

Cari glanced at Eric and Craig, who were watching the front door too, no doubt hoping as she was that the police would come barging in. Craig, pale
and terrified, had a glistening line of sweat above his top lip. Eric was grim faced and swallowing hard, his hands shoved into his pockets.

“Talk?” The idea seemed to amuse Edward.

“You're not just going to—going to shoot us …” Cari started.

He lowered the rifle. “Oh. Is
that
what you're worried about?”

He muttered something under his breath, then tore open his shirt a few more buttons. He scratched his chest with his free hand, leaning on the rifle with his other, glaring at them the whole while with his one good eye.

“Don't worry,” he said, shaking his head. “I'm not going to shoot you now. Right here in the lobby. That wouldn't be sporting—would it?”

“Oh, thank God!” Cari cried.

Eric and Craig both whooped and laughed nervously.

Cari didn't relax. She knew there was no reason to trust Edward. He was crazy, after all. Totally crazy.

“So … you're going to let us go?” Eric asked eagerly.

Edward didn't seem to hear him.

“We can go?” Eric repeated.

Edward looked around the lobby. “Where'd Simon go?”

“Simon?” Cari asked.

Good, she thought. Maybe we can get him talking about Simon now. Maybe we can keep him talking until the police get here.

“Where is he?” he asked angrily. “That brother of mine, he never likes my parties. He's a bad sport, that's all.”

“Simon doesn't like to hunt?” Cari asked.

Edward ignored her. “A bad sport,” he repeated bitterly. “That's why I tried to get rid of him before the hunting party started. I don't want Simon spoiling the hunting party.”

“Maybe we should look for him,” Cari suggested, glancing at the others, hoping they were catching on to what she was trying to do.

“He'll turn up,” Edward said with real bitterness, frightening bitterness, his expression truly ugly. “No matter how many times I try to get rid of Simon, he keeps turning up—like a bad penny.”

“Are you going to let us go?” Eric repeated. He was standing right behind Cari now, one hand on her shoulder. His hand was ice-cold.

“Yes,” Edward said.

“What? You
are?
Craig cried.

“Yes,” Edward said, smiling.

Cari suddenly felt very light, as if a weight had been lifted from her body. She felt as if she could float, float away from the hotel, from the island, float home—

“I'm going to give you an hour's head start,” Edward said.

Cari crashed quickly back to earth.

“You're
what?”

“I'm giving you an hour's head start,” Edward said, studying his wristwatch. “When the hour is up, I'll come after you.”

“But—” Cari started.

“It's only sporting,” Edward said nonchalantly. “Martin and I are very sporting.”

“Where
is
Martin?” Cari asked, her eyes on the front doors.

Police, where are you?

Where
are
you?

“You really don't have time to chat,” Edward said coldly, checking his watch. And then, without warning, his face reddened with anger, and he screamed at the top of his lungs, “Get going! The hunt is on!”

“Edward … please—” Cari wailed, backing away.

Eric's cold hands gripped Cari's shoulders.

Edward, in a wild rage, raised the rifle to his shoulder, spun around, and fired once, twice at the lobby wall.

The explosions were deafening.

“No!” Cari screamed.

“The hunt is on!” Edward bellowed, white smoke pouring from both barrels of the rifle.

Cari and the two boys pushed away from the front desk and ran past the screaming, red-faced Edward, through the open doors into the dining room.

O
n the run again. Running for her life.

Cari lurched into the dining room, and darkness enveloped her. Trying to blink away the blackness, she felt as if she might suffocate, suffocate on the heavy, damp air, suffocate on the choking fear she couldn't run from.

All three of them stopped in the center of the room. Through the tall windows they could see the starless night sky, nearly as dark as the room.

Should they head back outside? Back to the woods?

That's where hunted animals belong, isn't it? Cari asked herself, bitterness mixing with her fear.

“Where to?” Eric whispered.

Cari looked back to the doorway to see if Edward was following. No sign of him.

Yet.

“How about the secret passageway?” Eric asked, holding onto Call's arm.

“Yes!” Cari quickly agreed. “We can hide there until the police arrive.”

The police. Where were they? It
had
to be more than twenty minutes since she had called.

“It might be safer in there,” Craig agreed, sounding very frightened.

They moved quickly through the darkness, propelled by their fear. Cari got there first and stepped under the scaffolding to the door to the passageway.

“Hurry!” Craig urged. “If Edward or Martin sees us …”

He didn't finish his sentence.

A creaking sound from the far side of the room made them all freeze.

Was it Edward?

Staring into the darkness, Cari frantically searched the room. Her eyes were adjusting to the blackness. She could make out only the unmoving shapes of tables and chairs.

No one there.

“Just the floor creaking,” she whispered.

Eric had the door open. The three of them slipped quickly into the passageway, carefully pulling the door closed behind them.

It was hot in the passageway, and extremely damp. It smelled of mildew, of decay.