A ghost appears

T he second rifle shot echoed off the trees.

It seemed to come at them from all directions at once.

She wanted to scream, but managed somehow to stifle it. She ducked, her knees hitting the ground hard, and crawled with her friends into the overgrowth.

Then, without exchanging a word, the three of them were on their feet again and running, running at full speed, slapping the branches away with both hands.

Another rifle shot.

From close behind them.

It was followed by loud, harsh laughter.

Or did Cari imagine that?

In her terror, suddenly nothing was real. Not the bushes that blocked her path. Not the slippery, marshy ground. Not the shimmering, silvery leaves on trees that circled her, that seemed to move with her. Not the rifle shot so near, so loud, nor its ricocheting echoes.

Not the mad laughter.

Edward’s horrifying hunting cry …

“Hey—look where we are!” Cari cried, not recognizing her high, tight, breathless voice.

They had run through the woods to the ocean. Tall waves, outlined gold by the moonlight, crashed violently against the shadowy blue sand.

They stopped and stared at the water. The beach was flat and narrow here. There were no dunes to hide behind.

“We can’t stay here,” Cari said.

“You’re right. It’s too exposed,” Eric quickly agreed.

They stood and caught their breath, listening for Edward, for another crack of the rifle.

“What now?” Craig asked, perspiration running down his forehead. Some wet leaves had become tangled in his hair. He hadn’t bothered to pull them off.

“Let’s keep to the plan and go back to the hotel,” Cari said.

“Cari’s right,” Eric agreed. His T-shirt was soaked through. “We’re sitting ducks out here.”

“What was that sound?” Craig cried.

They froze, listening hard.

The waves crashed loudly against the shore, a continuous roar. Nothing else.

No rifle fire. No ricocheting echoes.

No mad laughter beyond the trees.

“Let’s go,” Eric said. There was no more discussion.

They made their way back into the woods, careful not to retrace their steps, careful not to follow any path, moving as silently as possible as they crept through the misty, hot night.

Like frightened animals, Cari thought.

Like wary, frightened animals, running from a hunter, running for our lives.

We’re going to die, she thought suddenly.

We’re going to be hunted down. And we’re going to be murdered.

She hadn’t even realized that she’d stopped moving, that the others had continued on ahead. Her legs suddenly felt so weak.

I’m going to die. We’re all going to die.

Her legs just wouldn’t cooperate. She felt shaky all over.

I can’t move.

I can’t move another inch.

Edward is going to find me here, like a frightened rabbit, paralyzed by fear. He’s going to find me here and shoot me.

And then he’s going to laugh.

She shifted her eyes and saw that she was alone.

Where were the others?

They’ve left me here to die.

No. That couldn’t be. That was impossible. They wouldn’t—Eric wouldn’t—

And then she saw Eric coming back for her, his eyes narrowed with concern. And then he had his arm around her. “Cari, are you okay? What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. I—” She couldn’t talk.

She didn’t want to cry. She grabbed Eric’s arm and squeezed it hard, squeezed it until she had fought back the tears, the urge to cry.

“Let’s get to the hotel,” she told Eric, letting go of his arm. “I’m okay now.”

And her legs started cooperating again. She followed him through the high weeds to Craig and the three made their way quickly to the back of the hotel.

Moving silently along the wide stretch of beach, they looked up at the old hotel, hovering on the hill above them.

Has Edward returned to the hotel too? Cari wondered. Is he waiting up there for us, waiting with his rifle loaded? Is that why all the lights have been turned off?

And what about Martin? Has he joined the hunting party too?

Is Edward stalking us in the woods while Martin waits to trap us in the hotel?

“Spread out,” Cari whispered. They were huddled so closely together, she realized, a couple of bullets could get them all!

Reluctantly, they moved away from one another and, crouching low, a relentless wind on their backs, climbed the hill that led to the back terrace.

The pool-house door had been left open, Cari saw. But the lights were off now.

All lights everyplace had been turned out.

Edward obviously liked to conduct his hunting parties in the dark.

A loud crash nearby made her cry out. Her chest felt as if it might explode. Everything went white for a moment, and she struggled to breathe.

Just a deck chair, she realized. Just a deck chair blown over by the wind.

All three of them froze in place just beyond the swimming pool and listened. Would the sound of the falling chair draw the attention of Edward or Martin?

They waited. And listened.

Another deck chair, victim of the gusting winds, toppled over.

No movement from the hotel. No sign of their hunters.

“Let’s go.” Eric motioned for them to follow him. Cari took a deep breath and moved silently across the terrace to the dining-room door.

A few seconds later they were inside the dark dining room. For some reason the air felt cooler inside. Moving silently, they walked past the scaffolding, past their unfinished work, work they would never finish now, toward the double doors to the lobby.

“No one’s around,” Craig whispered, right behind Cari.

“They must both be out in the woods,” Eric whispered.

“Let’s hope,” Cari said, realizing she had her fingers crossed.

Flattening themselves against the wall, they made their way into the lobby. “We can use the phone at the front desk,” Craig whispered.

Eric had already lifted the receiver to his ear. He listened for a few seconds. “No dial tone,” he whispered, handing the receiver to Cari, as if he needed a witness to the truth.

“No phone? I don’t believe it!” Craig cried, forgetting to whisper.

Cari held the phone to her ear. It clicked a few times. Then she breathed a sigh of relief as she heard the steady hum of the dial tone. “It just clicked in,” she told Eric.

“Quick—” Eric said, his hand on her shoulder. “Get the Willow Island police.” His eyes darted nervously around the darkened lobby.

“Operator,” a man’s nasal voice said in Cari’s ear.

“Willow Island police,” Cari said, her voice wavering.

“Is this an emergency?” the nasal voice asked, sounding almost suspicious.

“Yes,” Cari told him. “Please—hurry.”

“One moment please.”

There was a long silence, then rhythmic ringing.

Cari stared at the front entranceway as she waited. If the door opens and Edward walks in, I’ll duck under the front desk, she thought. Would she be safe there?

Not for long …

“Police.” The voice was surprisingly deep, startling Cari out of her frightening thoughts.

“Uh … hello. We need help. Right away.”

“Calm down, miss. How can I help you?”

“You’ve got to send some men here. We’re being hunted. We’re trapped here and—”

Cari realized she wasn’t making any sense. Her fear was making it hard to think straight, to speak clearly.

“Where are you?” the deep voice asked with practiced calmness.

“The … uh … Howling Wolf Inn … on Piney Island. Please—you’ve got to come right away. We’re really in danger. He’s going to kill us!”

“The Howling Wolf?” He sounded as if he were writing it down. Slowly.

“Please hurry!” Cari repeated in a shrill, frightened voice.

“Try to stay calm. We’ll be there in twenty minutes. Maybe less.”

He clicked off. The phone went dead.

“They’re coming,” Cari told the boys.

“When? How long will it take?” Craig asked eagerly.

“Twenty minutes,” Cari replied. “Maybe less.”

“We just have to hide from Edward and Martin for twenty minutes,” Eric said, sounding really relieved. “Then we’ll be safe. Then we’ll be out of this weird place.”

“Where should we hide?” Craig asked.

Before anyone could answer, the lobby lights came on.

The office door at the end of the long front desk opened, and a smiling figure stepped out.

“No!” Cari shrieked. The others gasped.

It’s got to be a ghost, Cari thought.

Standing at the far end of the desk was Simon Fear.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20