I didn’t have siblings, but I tried to imagine. “Er, not . . . good?”
“Not good at all!” Sam advanced on me, making me shrink back, but then she stopped and seemed to catch herself. “I grew up in a prison, Nancy. I wasn’t allowed to have playdates, or go swimming at the beach, or climb on the high bars, or pretty much anything.” She snorted.
“But . . . what does that have to do with Camp Larksong?” I asked. “Or Camp Cedarbark? Or Deborah?”
Sam sneered at me. “Are you seriously asking me that question?” she asked. “Deborah was responsible for Lila’s accident. She was her counselor. She failed to convince Lila that they’d find the ring later. She didn’t notice when Lila snuck out of the tent, and then she failed to save her.”
I stared at Sam. “It was an accident,” I said. “Even counselors can’t prevent everything, Sam. She didn’t realize how upset Lila was and didn’t hear her get up. Is that really an offense worth all this?” I remembered Harper’s flooding of the bunk. I’d failed to notice how upset she was before it happened. It seemed like Deborah hadn’t done anything worse the night of Lila’s accident.
Sam glared. “Someone is responsible, Nancy,” she said in a low, creepy voice. “And someone is going to pay.” She turned from me to the girls, who were huddled together, shivering. Her eyes took on a wolfish glow.
I suddenly became very aware that Bess, Deborah, and Miles were nowhere to be seen. “Pay . . . how?” I asked. Maybe I can keep her talking. Just keep her talking and give them a chance to find us so we can overpower her.
Sam tossed her head. “By ruining any chance of Camp Cedarbark being successful,” she replied. “That’s why I applied to be a counselor here—under a different last name. Deborah never suspected a thing. And so I’ve been sneaking into the lake and pulling people under,” she went on. “I’ve spent the last six months training myself to hold my breath for five minutes! Plenty long enough to get out of sight and take a breath. That also allowed the campers—and you—to experience what it must have felt like to be Lila.”
I shook my head. “Lila went under herself?,” I pointed out. “No one pulled—”
“Shut up!” Sam moved closer, a vicious expression on her face, and I fell silent. “That’s why I stole the sleeping bags and dumped them in the lake. And, when no one seemed to be listening, that’s why I set my message aflame in the main clearing. GO HOME—and forget this camp. Never come back! Horrible things happened here!”
I was shivering now, just like the girls. Sam is crazy, I realized. Whatever real problems she had, it was clear she wasn’t capable of thinking rationally about this. Which made her capable of a lot of very scary things. I listened hard but couldn’t hear anyone approaching. “What . . . are you going to do now?” I asked, struggling to hide the fear I was feeling.
Sam smiled. “A few missing campers should dampen the enthusiasm for Camp Cedarbark,” she replied. “And if I dump them in the lake? All the better. People will remember Lila and know that something is evil here.”
Something sure is. A chill ran up my spine. “You can’t hurt these girls,” I said. “They’ve done nothing to you!”
Sam laughed—a hollow, insane laugh. “I’ve done nothing to anybody either!” she cried. “But my parents treat me like an invalid. Listen. I can do whatever I need to, to get my message across. But you know what?” Her eyes took on a satisfied gleam. “A counselor missing—that would really be the icing on the cake.”
She stepped forward. Trembling, I stepped back.
And back.
And back.
“What are you doing?” I asked, trying to sound tougher than I felt. “Are you going to attack me? Because I may look small, but I’m scrappy! I could take you!”
Sam snorted. “Could you?” she asked.
I looked her in the eye. “I’ve taken on worse than you,” I said. And that was true.
Sam laughed that same hollow laugh again. “The thing is, I won’t even have to do the work,” she said, nudging her chin toward something behind me. “The fall would kill you. You’ll probably hit your head on one of those big rocks, and then . . . splash.”
My blood chilled. I looked behind me and inhaled a silent scream: Sam had backed me up just inches away from the rocky drop that led down to the lake. She was right: the fall was steep enough, and rocky enough, that I probably wouldn’t survive it.
Even in the dim moonlight, I could see that.
I closed my eyes. Please, Bess, I prayed silently. Please, anyone . . .
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
A Sad End
“NO!” I CRIED, AND MY voice shook a little. “How does killing one random counselor punish Deborah? It punishes my family! My dad—” My voice broke at the thought of Dad. Or Hannah. Or Ned. Might I really never see them again? I forced their images out of my mind and thought, Keep her talking.