What Scares You the Most? (3 page)

April pulled the blanket up to her chin. Why is it so cold? she wondered.

This is a tropical island. It's supposed to be summer all year long.

She shut her eyes and tried not to think about anything at all.

The rest of the day had gone by in a blur.

When the woman's terrifying laughter finally stopped, April and her friends tried the radio again. They knew it was their only hope.

But now it fell completely silent. Not even whistles or static.

Chilled, they had tried to light a fire in the mess hall fireplace. But every time the logs started to catch, a powerful wind blew down the chimney and put the fire out.

April, Kristen, and Anthony stared at the fireplace in disbelief.

“It's like…we're
cursed
or something,” Anthony
muttered, his voice cracking.

“Still think this is part of the Life Games competition?” Kristen asked him.

Anthony only shrugged in reply.

They hadn't eaten all day. In the mess hall kitchen, they made a desperate search of every cabinet.

They actually cheered when April found a small box of crackers on a bottom shelf. They divided the crackers evenly, then devoured them in seconds.

“What about tomorrow?” April had asked, licking the last salty crumb off her finger.

“We'll think of something,” Kristen said softly. “I know we will.”

Anthony stared into the dark fireplace and didn't say a word.

 

Now, late at night, April shivered in her cot, her stomach growling and churning. We should win the bravery contest just for surviving today, she thought bitterly.

And then her thoughts turned even darker: Will anyone come to rescue us? How long can we survive without any food?

She wondered what her parents were doing right now. And she thought about her friend Pam. Pam had been so jealous, so eager to go to the island.

Pam doesn't know how lucky she is, April thought.

And then the singing began again.

April raised her head from the pillow and listened.

Yes. The same song. The same slow, sad song.

The woman's voice was soft and distant, but April could hear it so clearly.

Where is it coming from? April wondered. Is the woman on this island?

The sound sent shivers down her back. The window was closed tight, but the sad melody floated into the cabin, louder now, as if the woman were standing right outside.

“Hey, Kristen?” April whispered. “Kristen—are you awake? Do you hear it?”

Across the cabin, Kristen stirred and rolled over. April could hear her breathing, steady and slow.

“Kristen?”

She's sound asleep, April realized.

The singing floated through the cabin. It swirled around April. It seemed to blanket her.

She shoved her hands out, as if trying to push the song away.

But the woman's voice wrapped itself around her. It seemed to pull April. She could feel herself being tugged from the bed.

“No. No,” she protested in a whisper. She tugged the blanket high and covered her ears with both hands.

But she couldn't shut it out.

The woman's voice is calling to me, April realized. She is trying to pull me to her. To pull me from my bed.

No. I won't go. I won't…

April felt a tingling on her back. The tingle quickly became an itch. It spread down her arms, her legs.

What is happening? she gasped.

Her whole body itched.

She heaved away the blanket and jumped out of bed.

“Ohhhhhh, sick.” A groan escaped her throat.

She stared down in horror at her bed. Crawling with bugs. Fat brown beetles swarmed over her pillow, over her sheet.

April slapped her arms. Scratched her legs. She had slept in her clothes, but the beetles had burrowed under them, nesting in her skin.

Slapping and scraping them away, she did a wild dance across the floor. Frantically, she pulled them off the back of her neck. Batted them from her hair.
Clawed them from her scalp.

And all the while, the woman's song continued, drawing her away, tugging her, inviting her….

And now April was sliding on her sneakers.

And making her way past Kristen's cot.

And pushing open the cabin door, closing it so quietly behind her.

No. I don't want to do this. I don't want to go out.

But she couldn't help herself. April stepped into the cold, still night. So still, nothing moving. Not a palm leaf or a blade of grass.

As still as a nightmare, April thought.

That's it. I'm walking through a nightmare.

The fat, swarming beetles…the woman's strange singing…all a nightmare.

But she couldn't stop herself.

“No. I won't do this!” she whispered. She wrapped her arms around the slender trunk of a palm tree. I won't let go. You can't pull me away.

The woman's voice rang louder in her ears. The song repeated, pulling her…pulling her.

Her arms slipped away from the tree. She barely saw the cabins pass by as her feet carried her to the beach. The little dock stood empty, and so still. Even the ocean didn't appear to move.

No waves. No sound of water rushing over the shore.

As if everything had frozen in time. As if the whole world had come to a stop.

Except for the beating of April's heart. And the scrape of her shoes on sand as she made her way along the silent, empty beach.

No. I want to go back. I have to go back to the cabin.

The woman sang so sadly. Her voice was hoarse and soft, as if she were very, very old.

April crossed the sand and stepped onto the blue rocks. The rocks shimmered even though there was no moon in the sky.

And as she started to climb, a shudder of terror shook her body.

The fear inside her—the fear she had been holding in since she left the cabin—broke free.

April wanted to open her mouth wide and scream and scream. She wanted to turn and run. Run as fast as she could, away from these eerie blue rocks. Away from this terrifying place.

But she couldn't scream.

And she couldn't run.

She could only climb the slippery rock hill, as if floating. As if being pulled by a powerful force.

And then…then…as the rock caves came into view…a strong aroma made her stop. A stench of rotting fish, of mildew and dirt and decay…the stench of death.

The smell overwhelmed April. It washed over her, so thick and putrid, she thought she could
feel
it on her skin.

She started to gag. She tried holding her breath. But the powerful stench was
inside
her now.

Gagging, she staggered forward. And suddenly, the force seemed to let go of her. To drop her.

The singing stopped.

And April collapsed to the hard surface. Her legs folded.

The shimmering glow of the rocks faded. And she fell in a faint, a dead faint, sprawled over the rocks.

As silent and still as the rest of the world.

April opened her eyes and gazed up at the woman.

How long had she been unconscious? How long had she been on her back on these cold, damp rocks?

How did I get here? April wondered, feeling dazed and weak.

It took a lot of effort to raise her head off the hard stone. She blinked, trying to clear her mind. Trying to remember…

The woman smiled down at her, a cold, unfriendly smile. April saw herself reflected in the woman's strange, silvery eyes.

The hood of the woman's dark blue cloak had fallen back. And her long blond-brown hair had fallen free.

She was attractive, April thought, with a broad forehead, full red lips, and those cat-shaped, silvery eyes.

“Who…are you?” April whispered.

The woman didn't reply. Instead, her smile grew wider and she lowered her head over April. Brought her head down closer…closer…and pressed her mouth against April's.

Lightning flashed in the sky. The woman's face flickered in the eerie light.

What is she
doing
to me? April wondered, panic freezing her in place. Why is she doing this?

April felt the woman's cold lips against her face. So cold, they stung her mouth.

As the woman pressed harder, April's body lost all its warmth. Her muscles stiffened from an icy chill that ran through her.

Choking, she gasped to breathe.

She tried to turn away, struggled to squirm free.

She…she's sucking my breath! April realized.

Bright white lightning flickered again.

The woman's eyes grew wide and her blond eyebrows rose up on her forehead as she raised her head. Then lowered it again. And pressed her mouth to April's.

Sucking…sucking her breath away.

This is sick…sick! April thought. And a spasm of horror shook her body.

The face loomed above her. The woman didn't make a sound.

Her lips remained cold and hard against April's.

No—please…April silently begged. Please, leave me just a little breath. Just a little life.

April tried to shove the woman away. She tried to kick. She tried to roll.

But she could feel a crushing force holding her in place.

The woman lowered her face once again. The silvery cat eyes glowed brightly. Lightning flashed.

And the woman whispered in April's ear….

“
What scares you the most? Tell me, daughter—what scares you the most?
”

“I have waited a long time for this moment. I knew you would be drawn back to me,” the woman whispered. “Now I will have my revenge.”

The woman pulled the blue hood over her blond-brown hair. She seemed to disappear into the cloak, to slip into its darkness.

Beneath the hood, the woman's silvery eyes glowed as she lowered her face over April one more time.

“Please,” April begged. “Please don't take my breath.” Once again she pushed her arms up, trying to shove the woman away.

She saw the woman's pale white hand rise over her. Long, bony fingers, gnarled and bent.

The fingers pressed against April's forehead. At first they felt cold. But then April felt a sizzling heat.

And then the strange pale face faded. And the sky appeared to fall over April, covering her in darkness.

Flat on her back, she felt herself growing light-headed.

I'm fading away, she realized. I can't think…can't feel.

A loud shout cleared April's mind.

Fighting off waves of dizziness, April turned her head—and saw…Kristen.

Kristen! Eyes wild. Hair blowing around her face. Dark eyes wide with excitement.

With a scream of fury, Kristen threw herself onto the cloaked woman. She wrapped her arms around the woman's waist—and shoved her away from April.

The woman's mouth dropped open in a grunt of surprise. Her hood slid off as she fell back.

The two wrestled furiously, groaning and crying out.

They rolled to the hard stone ground and continued their battle.

April pushed herself to a sitting position. Her body felt as heavy as stone. Her head still spun with dizziness.

The woman chanted some strange-sounding words. Kristen flew backward. Her body slammed against a rock wall. She cried out—kicking her arms and legs. But her body seemed bound to the rocks—held there by some invisible force.

“No!” April cried. She forced herself up…up…and threw herself onto the woman. Joined the fight. She grabbed the woman's arms and tried to tug them off Kristen.

All three of them wrestled on the rocks, screaming, groaning, struggling.

And then…there were only two of them.

Kristen and April sprawled beside each other on the ground. The blue-cloaked woman was gone.

Shaking her head, Kristen pulled herself up, panting hard. “Almost…” she choked. “I almost had her.”

“Where is she?” April whispered, struggling to find her voice. “Where did she go?”

Kristen didn't have time to answer.

“Congratulations, you two!” The girls heard a man shout. “You won!”

“The contest is over!” Donald Marks called. “You're the winners!”

Both girls jumped to their feet as Donald Marks appeared. Running hard, his bald head gleaming in the blue light off the rocks. The huge man tromped heavily as he ran, his fists pumping the air.

“Kristen, where did that woman go?” April repeated.

Kristen stared straight ahead and didn't answer.

“I said you won! Aren't you excited?” Marks ran up to them. He stared at them, sweat pouring down his forehead. “What are you two doing out here?”

Her heart pounding, April stared hard at him. She struggled to think.

She suddenly found herself wrapped in a damp fog. The fog swirled around her.

She could feel it wash over her—wash
through
her.

A cold, cleansing fog.

It disappeared as fast as it had come.

April and Kristen gazed blankly at each other. Almost as if seeing each other for the first time.

“I don't remember,” she finally answered Marks. “I don't remember why we came out here.”

Kristen frowned and shook her head. “I don't remember either,” she said shakily. “It's the strangest thing.”

A grin spread over Marks's round face. “At least you're okay!” he boomed. “And we have a winner! Your team has won the bravery contest!”

April and Kristen exchanged glances.

“You mean…this was all part of the competition?” April asked.

Marks nodded, still grinning. “We've been watching you the whole time. And you two girls showed true bravery by venturing out here in the middle of the night. Congratulations, your team has won a hundred thousand dollars!”

“Whoa!” April cried. “You're not kidding? A hundred thousand dollars? I—I don't believe it!”

A smile slowly spread over Kristen's face. She slapped April a high-five, then hugged her.

April stared hard at Marks. She still felt as if she were gazing through a thick fog. Her whole body was trembling with the effort to stand up.

Why did she feel so weak?

What were she and Kristen doing out in the middle of the night in front of the rock caves?

She couldn't remember.

Marks placed an arm on her shoulder. “April? Are you okay? You don't seem very excited to have won so much money!”

“I…I am,” she said. “I guess I'm shocked. When you left the island, I thought you weren't coming back. I really thought that…” Her voice trailed off.

And then she remembered something else. “Marlin,” she said. “Mr. Marks—Marlin is missing. This afternoon, he—”

“We found him,” Marks interrupted. He turned and pointed down the rock hill. “On the other side of the island. Marlin is okay. A few broken ribs.”

Kristen gasped. “But—what was he doing all the way over there?”

Marks shrugged his broad shoulders. “Rick and Abby are taking care of him. They've called for a chopper to take him to the main island.”

“But—what happened to him?” April demanded.

“We'd better hurry,” Marks said. “Anthony is waiting at the dock. Let's get to the boat and find you some food to eat. You must be starving.”

April nodded. I haven't eaten in two days, she realized. I guess that's why I feel so weak.

Marks glanced at the dark cave opening behind them for a second. Then he turned and motioned for them to follow as he led the way back to the village.

April and Kristen hurried to their cabin to pack their bags. “I can't believe we're getting out of
here!” April exclaimed.

Kristen glanced up from her suitcase. “Hey—what's that on your head?” she asked.

April turned to her. “Huh?” She moved to the mirror on the wall. “Where?”

Kristen stepped up beside her. “On your temple,” she said. She pulled April's hair back.

And they both stared at the mark on April's temple.

“Did you always have a birthmark there?” Kristen asked, studying it.

“No,” April answered, gazing into the mirror. “It—it's blue,” she stammered.

“It looks just like a moon,” Kristen said. “A blue crescent moon.”

April pressed her fingers against it. It felt hot to the touch. Burning hot.

How did I get that? she wondered.

What does it mean?