I shook my head, but Cece was already chiming in, “Yeah, I thought this was just a made-up story! But if Nancy heard it and did some research, there must be some truth to it, right?”
The girls’ voices all began to drown one another out, and I looked desperately at Maya. But even as I did, I realized that she didn’t know the whole story either. I’d given her a brief synopsis of Bella’s tale the night she arrived at camp, and told her it wasn’t true. But she didn’t know that I’d found out what really happened to Lila. She didn’t know that someone actually had nearly drowned on this night five years before—but it was an accident.
“So what happened?” Winnie asked eagerly, clutching the stuffed wiener dog she slept with each night to her chest. Her face was bright with anticipation and a little bit of fear. “Did someone die?”
Nina turned to Winnie, her eyes sparkling. “In the middle of the night, when everyone was sleeping, the counselor took one of the campers outside,” she said, “led her down to the lake, and . . . drowned her!”
Winnie was the first to scream, and then suddenly the whole tent was enveloped with shrieks.
“Guys!” Maya cried, pushing her hands down through the air in a calm down gesture. “Come on, guys. It’s just a story. Right, Nancy?”
“It . . .” I was about to confirm this when I suddenly caught sight of Harper. She’d been sitting behind Kiki, who was waving around dramatically, so I didn’t see until then how utterly terrified she looked. Her skin was as pale as marble, and her eyes appeared glassy. She was trembling hard enough that I could see it from several yards away.
Suddenly we heard footsteps outside the tent and the hatch was unzipped. This sent the girls into another round of screaming, all except Harper, who sat utterly still. A flashlight beam shone in, at first obscuring the person behind it, but then Sam came into focus.
“Everything all right in here?” she asked. The rain was still lashing down outside, and Sam was getting soaked. I felt terrible for letting my bunk get so excited and disturbing her. “We heard you guys way on the other side of the clearing. George says you’re freaking out the little ones.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” I said, trying to stand in the cramped tent. “The girls were telling ghost stories, and it got a little out of hand.”
Sam raised her eyebrows. “Ghost stories are fun, but maybe you girls should move on to bedtime-y stories,” she suggested. “It’s getting pretty late. The little ones were already trying to sleep, and we’re bedding down soon.”
“Good idea,” I agreed.
Sam nodded, smiled, and backed out of the tent. She zipped up the flap behind her.
Suddenly Maya spoke. “Hey, Harper,” she said, reaching over to place a gentle hand on Harper’s arm, “did you bring your book? Maybe you could read us another chapter.”
“Yeah!” cried Cece, bouncing up and down.
“Another chapter, another chapter!” the other girls began to chant.
Harper still looked a bit dazed, but she shook her head, as if to snap herself out of it. “Sure,” she said quietly after a few seconds. “Let me just get it from my backpack.”
She did, and Maya handed her the powerful flashlight she’d brought to use as a reading light.
Soon Harper took us all to a fantasyland where unicorns kept the peace, dreams were used as currency, and a friendly dragon gave advice to humans. Harper’s soft voice against the pelting rain made for a super-soothing story. We all climbed into our sleeping bags, and even I felt my eyes drooping.
When Harper reached the end, she said, “That’s the end of that chapter,” closed the book, and put it by her pillow. Then she settled into her own sleeping bag. She looked much calmer than she had during Nina’s story.
“Good night, everyone,” I called, snuggling down. About half of the girls were asleep already, but the rest called, “Good night,” and in what couldn’t have been more than thirty seconds, I was fast asleep.
A silver-haired girl moved soundlessly through the forest, slipping through the trees like a breeze. She looked behind her nervously, like she feared she was being followed. Then she moved into the clearing, which opened out onto a black, mirror-smooth lake.
An owl hooted as she ran to the beach and silently slipped into the water. The cool water enveloped her quickly, but she had no problem staying afloat, or seeing in the bright moonlight. A single silver beam cut through the water, illuminating something on the black lake bottom. A shining pearl ring.
The girl’s eyes widened and she dived down to retrieve it. It slid easily into her hand, and for a moment she just stared at it, the pearl reflecting in her velvety black eyes. She smiled, relieved. Then, just as she cupped the ring in her hand and lifted herself in the water to swim back to the surface . . .
Something grabbed her around the neck. It was dark, a creature made of shadow and fangs, and it pulled her toward it, screaming. Alarm flashed in her eyes; she knew she was going to die. The ring fell from her hand. . . .
And I woke, my heart pounding a mile a minute.