Party Games Read online

  Brendan’s rat face opened its mouth. It had curled fangs, dripping with blood. I turned and ran, ran through the dark trees. Brendan chased after me. The cold, cruel laughter followed me. I ran and ran, but I couldn’t outrun him.

  Suddenly, I knew the trees were all alive. They were alive and watching me. It was some kind of a trap. I knew I would never escape. The dark trees wriggled and shook. They started to slide toward me across the ground. A horrible wrenching sound rang in my ears as the trees uprooted themselves one by one and moved in on me.

  Brendan grabbed me from behind. He whirled me around. He had his human face back, not a rat face. He pulled me close. His cheeks pressed against mine. His face felt so cold, cold as death.

  And he whispered in my ear: “Be afraid, Rachel.”

  I woke up shaking, my pillow drenched with sweat. The dream played back in my mind. I remembered every second of it, every horrifying second.

  I jumped out of bed. I stumbled to my bedroom window. I wanted to get as far away from that dream as I could.

  I had no way of knowing the nightmare had just begun.

  PART TWO

  8.

  A CHILL

  Even though it’s a short boat ride, I’d never been to Fear Island. I’ve heard kids talk about it. It’s an almost perfectly round island of thick woods, dirt roads, and little summer cabins along its shore. It stands in the middle of Fear Lake, too far out to be seen from the town side of the lake.

  On Saturday afternoon, my dad drove me to the dock at the end of Fear Street. It was a gray day threatening rain, but there was no way the weather could dampen my excitement.

  I had changed my outfit three times before I left the house, ending up with some really tight black jeans that had cost me a week’s salary, my favorite shoes, and a camisole covered by a chic short tangerine-colored jacket my aunt had sent me from New York.

  I kissed Dad’s cheek and slid out of the car. I could see some kids stepping into a double-decker white catamaran that bobbed beside the dock.

  I started to trot toward them when I heard Dad’s voice from the car. “Rachel? Forget something?” He held up my backpack.

  Guess I was a little nervous.

  I grabbed it from him, slung it over my shoulder, and jogged to the dock. I had no idea what I’d packed in the bag. Brendan said the party would go all night, so there was no need to bring a nightshirt or pajamas or anything. I tossed in some lipsticks and a blusher and a hairbrush and a bottle of water and I-don’t-know-what-else. It all made a rattling sound as the backpack bounced on my shoulder.

  The lake shimmered in shades of dark green, reflecting the dark skies up above, and low whitecaps washed against the pilings along the short wooden dock. The catamaran had two windowed decks top and bottom, and looked like a big sleek yacht. I was expecting a rowboat or something with an outboard motor, but this was much cooler.

  It rocked gently, bumping the dock with soft thuds. Seagulls squawked and chattered from the top of a telephone pole at the street.

  A twenty-something dude, dressed in white, with a white admiral’s cap trimmed in gold tilted over his tanned face, stood at the edge of the dock, helping kids step down into the boat. I watched him hold Patti Berger’s hand as she lowered herself from the dock.

  He nodded as I walked up to him. He had nice blue eyes and a friendly smile. “I’m Randy,” he said. “I’m the pilot. You can sit wherever you like.”

  “Awesome tan,” I said.

  “Thanks.” He pushed the cap back so I could see it better. “I was sailing off Eleuthra in the Bahamas.”

  “Sweet,” I said. A tall wave rocked the boat as I stepped off the dock, and I nearly fell. He grabbed my arm to steady me.

  “Not a good day for a swim,” I said. I flashed him a teasing grin. “Would you dive in and pull me out if I fell in?”

  “Want to see?” He motioned to the water. “Go ahead. Jump in.”

  The dare stood between us for a few seconds. Was he teasing? Of course he was.

  “Maybe on the way back,” I said.

  I saw seven or eight kids already on the boat, sitting on the white benches along the sides of the deck. There were four rows of benches in the center facing the bow, but they were empty except for two guys in jeans and brown leather jackets.

  I didn’t recognize them. They were sort of glum looking, mumbling to each other, dark hair falling over their foreheads, hands deep in their jacket pockets, ignoring the others.

  The boat rocked hard again. This time, I kept my balance. I dropped down next to Patti. As always, she looked like a little doll. She was wearing a short, shiny gray skirt over black jeans. Her parka was open, revealing a violet vest over a pale blue T-shirt. She had plastic yellow-and-blue beads around her neck that clattered when she moved.

  “That skirt is nice,” I said. “Is it silk?”

  “Silkish,” she said. We both laughed.

  I glanced around. “Where’s Kerry?”

  Patti rolled her eyes. “Late as usual.”

  A seagull soared low over the boat, squawking loudly, searching for food. The sky darkened as storm clouds slid together.

  I glanced around, checking out the other kids.

  April Conklin turned and waved at me. She is short and thin and looks about twelve instead of sixteen. She has straight black hair down to her shoulders, dark eyes behind the red-framed glasses she always wears, a beautiful smile. She was wearing skinny, low-rise jeans, brown boots, and two T-shirts, a pale blue shirt over a white shirt.

  April is a serious cellist. She plays in the Shadyside Youth Symphony, and she has a scholarship to be a music major at Dartmouth next year. She’s majorly talented, but she’s too modest to ever talk about it. She and my sister got to be friends since they are both serious musicians.

  Across the deck, I saw Delia Rodgers and Geena Steves. Delia is a funny girl with very short white-blonde hair, light blue eyes, a lot of dark eye makeup around them, and at least five rings in each ear. She has a flower tattoo on one ankle and another one on her back that she says her parents will kill her for if they ever see it.

  Delia can be kind of tough. Last year, she got into a hair-pulling, drag-out fight at a basketball game with a girl from Martin’s Landing. She was suspended from school for a week. She told everyone it was totally worth it. Ever since, people have been careful around Delia.

  Delia’s thumbs were furiously tapping at her phone. She didn’t even look up when Geena said something to her.

  Geena is tall and thin and pretty, with creamy white skin and dark brown eyes and wavy copper-colored hair down to her shoulders.

  Her father owns the Chevrolet dealership in Waynesville, and he uses Geena in his TV commercials because she’s so beautiful. Geena takes classes at an acting school and says she auditions for other TV commercials all the time.

  She and I were good friends when we were little. But we drifted apart when we got to middle school. No reason. We still like each other.

  She was talking to Robby Webb. Robby joined our class last year. I don’t know where he went to school before. Robby is African American, tall, and very skinny, with big, dark eyes and a great friendly smile. He told everyone to call him Spider. Spider Webb.

  He seems like a nice guy, but no one really knows him that well. He works at the Dairy Queen after school, and he doesn’t go to any games or dances or school things.

  “I thought there’d be more kids,” I told Patti.

  She was texting someone on her phone. Probably Kerry. Probably asking where he was. She finished and looked up. “Yeah, it’s a small party. You never can predict Brendan. He’s so weird.”

  “Do you really think he’s weird?”

  She shrugged. “Actually, I think he’s way smarter than most people. His mind—it just shoots off in a million directions. Kerry hangs out with him a lot more than I do. He says Brendan is obsessed with all the games he plays. Like he lives in a game world.”

  She glanced at her phon
e screen, then turned back to me. “You and Brendan—I didn’t know you were friends.”

  I shook my head. “We’re not. I don’t really know why I was invited.”

  She smiled. “Maybe Brendan has a thing for you.”

  “Maybe.” I laughed. “And maybe I’ll flap my arms and fly to Mars.”

  “No. Really. It’s possible,” she insisted.

  Eric Finn appeared, bouncing toward us, imitating the seagull that kept flying over us, squawking at it. Some kids squawked back at him.

  Eric plopped down heavily beside me. He tossed his bulging backpack on the cabin floor and turned to Patti and me. “Hey, sorry to keep you girls waiting. Were you worried about me?”

  “No,” Patti and I answered in unison.

  “Well, I’m here. The party can start.” He grinned at me. “You probably shouldn’t sit next to me, Rachel.”

  “Why not?”

  “I get real seasick. Seriously. Even on a lake.”

  “Thanks for the warning,” I said. “You’re joking, right? I can never tell with you.”

  “I’m serious. I do a lot of major-league projectile vomiting on boats. I’ll try not to get any on you. Too bad I had a huge lunch.” He tugged the sleeve of my jacket. “Hey, good thing you wore a vomit-colored jacket.”

  I jerked my arm away. “It’s not vomit-colored, idiot. It’s tangerine. And stop stretching it.”

  “Did you take anything for seasickness?” Patti asked him.

  Eric nodded. “My dad gave me a meclizine. I think it’s making me dizzy. Whoa!” He made a swooning sound and fell over on me, dropping his head in my lap.

  Patti laughed. Spider and Geena laughed, too. “Don’t encourage him,” I said. I shoved him off me. “You are so not funny.”

  “Face it, you can’t keep your hands off me, can you?” Eric said. “You want me, don’t you!”

  “Yes, I want you. I want you to leave.”

  He made a snorting sound. He pinched the sleeve of my jacket. “I had gym socks this color.”

  “Give Rachel a break,” Patti said. “It’s an awesome jacket. I think she looks great.”

  “Why did you leave the basketball game so quickly last night?” Eric asked. “Was it because I forgot to wear deodorant yesterday?”

  “Do you always answer your own questions?” I replied. “Let’s just say that sitting next to you, I was emotionally overcome.”

  “I do that to people,” Eric said, grinning. “Wish your friend Amy was invited to the party.” He gazed around at the other guests.

  “Why?” I said.

  “Because she’s totally hot.”

  I wished Amy was here, too. I was excited to be going to this party, but I was also nervous. I promised myself that I would stop trying to figure out why I was invited and just enjoy the party, but that would have been so much easier if my best friend was with me …

  Eric suddenly jumped to his feet. “Hey,” he shouted, “does the orgy start on the boat, or do we have to keep our clothes on till we get to Brendan’s house?”

  That got some laughs and hoots. Someone tossed an empty Coke can at Eric. It bounced off his shoulder and rolled across the deck.

  The boat engine started up with a low roar.

  Randy appeared and waved his admiral’s cap above his head for attention. “Okay, everyone,” he called, “sit down, please. We’re moving now. The lake is a little choppy today, so—”

  Patti and I interrupted him with a shout. We saw Kerry Reacher running full speed toward the boat, his backpack flying behind him. “Wait for Kerry!” Patti cried.

  Kerry did a wild leap off the dock, his long legs scissoring the air. He landed on the deck, waving his arms above his head to get his balance. A perfect landing.

  Everyone cheered.

  “Slam dunk,” Kerry said, pushing his hands up as if shooting a basket.

  More cheers.

  Randy pulled off his cap and scratched his brown hair. “Okay. Guess everyone is here. Let’s shove off. If you need me, I’ll be up there.” He pointed to the wheel at the top cabin.

  Kerry squeezed between me and Patti. That put me practically in Eric’s lap. “Rachel, I knew it,” Eric said. “You can’t keep your hands off me.” He rubbed his hand up and down the sleeve of my jacket.

  I gave him a shove. “Aren’t you seasick yet? Why don’t you go lean over the rail? Lean real far over.”

  “Rachel, don’t try to hide your true feelings.”

  We both laughed. Eric wasn’t as funny as he thought he was, but he was still pretty funny.

  The engine roared again. The boat rocked hard, then started to move. Eric turned to talk to April, who sat on his other side. “Did you bring your cello?”

  She laughed. “What do you think?”

  “Do you remember Brendan’s tenth birthday?” Kerry asked. “It was awesome. His parents turned their whole backyard into an amusement park. Brendan Land. Really. They had a real roller coaster.”

  Eric grinned. “I was there. They had Dodge Em cars, too. Were you at his beach party two years ago? They had fireworks, and we went swimming in the lake at midnight.”

  April nodded. “It was so beautiful. They had those floats with lanterns all lit up across the water.”

  Eric grinned at her. “I remember you and Danny Goldman went off down the beach together, and no one could find you, and we thought we’d have to call the Coast Guard or something.”

  April blushed bright red. “Shut up, Eric.”

  Everyone laughed.

  I felt a sudden chill.

  The lake air was cool. But it wasn’t that kind of chill. My whole body shivered.

  Sometimes I have these feelings. Premonitions, I guess. Nothing special. I think everyone has them. You know like how sometimes you just know that someone is watching you. And then it turns out to be true.

  Seagulls squawked and darted overhead, as if leading the way to the island. Their cries rose over the hum of the boat engine.

  “Hey, Rachel.” April leaned over Eric to talk to me. “What’s up with you and Mac?”

  “We broke up,” I said. “Actually, I broke up with him. Why?”

  “Well, I just saw him. I thought maybe he was coming to the party with you.”

  “You what?” I jumped to my feet. “You saw him?”

  I turned toward the shore. The boat was moving steadily away. But I squinted over the green glare off the water and saw someone. Someone half-hidden behind the telephone pole at the road. He stood with one arm around the pole, watching the boat, watching me.

  Mac. I recognized him even at this distance.

  Mac watching me.

  Spying on me.

  “Rachel? Are you okay?” April’s voice broke into my thoughts. She stared at me. “You have the strangest look on your face.”

  “Oh. Uh … no biggie,” I said, my eyes on Mac. “I just felt a chill.”

  9.

  BLOOD IN THE WATER

  The storm clouds slid apart as we neared Fear Island, and rays of yellow sunlight slanted down on the bare trees. Shielding my eyes with one hand, I could see a couple of small summer cottages, boarded up for winter, with their tiny docks empty.

  I’m going to have an awesome time, I told myself. I’ve left Mac behind and I’m going to a party in an island mansion, and stay up all night, and make new friends, and maybe get close to Brendan Fear, and have a total blast.

  And somehow … this time I really believed it.

  As Randy guided the boat around the curve of the island, the Fear house came into view, rising above the trees like a dark tower. Brendan’s house was not a summer cottage. It looked more like a castle. It was at least three stories high, built of black stone that glowed under the sunlight, tall windows, all dark, a slanting red roof with chimneys poking up all up and down its length, and balconies that jutted out toward the trees.

  I really am entering a different world, I thought, gazing over the glare of the water at the incredible mansion.r />
  “Cute little cottage,” Patti said, snapping a photo with her phone. “Think there’s enough room for a party?”

  “I’ve lived in Shadyside my whole life, but I’ve never seen this place,” I said. “I knew the Fears were rich. But I never imagined…”

  The boat rocked in the water, slowing as we approached the wooden dock. I turned to Eric. “You and Brendan come here a lot, right?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. Believe it or not, that humongous castle is just Brendan’s summer house. They closed it up in September. Brendan and I hang here a lot. It’s seriously boring.”

  “Boring?”

  “There’s no Internet. No WiFi. No bars on your phone. It’s like … welcome to caveman days.”

  I laughed. “That could be a good thing.”

  A gust of wind blew his hair straight up on his head. “It’s a good place to film a horror movie,” he said, pushing the wild tuft of hair back down with one hand. “Big rooms filled with heavy, old furniture. Long dark halls twisting this way and that. It’s supposed to be a summer house. But the whole place is dark and depressing.”

  He pointed. “See all those huge windows? I mean, even when it’s sunny out, the light doesn’t seem to come in.”

  “Weird.”

  His eyes grew wide. “There are long, creepy shadows everywhere. And the shadows seem to move on their own. And I’m always hearing horrible howls from up in the attic.”

  I laughed. “Now you’re just trying to scare me—aren’t you?”

  He grinned. “You think so?”

  The boat bumped hard against the wooden dock. A few kids cried out in surprise. Eric pretended to fall off his seat and landed on his butt on the deck. He really is like a five-year-old. He’s kind of cute, but he’s a big baby. And he always has to be the center of attention.

  Kerry helped pull him to his feet. Randy leaped onto the dock and tied the catamaran to the pilings. We scrambled to climb off. The spray from the lake air made my face feel cold and damp. I took a deep breath and inhaled a wonderful sweet aroma from the trees.