Overnight Read online

  Della settled back into the seat, resting her knees against the dashboard. She felt great, relaxed and happily tired. But she could see that something was troubling Pete. “What’s wrong?”

  “This guy won’t get off my tail,” Pete complained, looking into the rearview mirror.

  “Slow down. Maybe he’ll go around,” she suggested.

  Pete slowed down. Della turned around to look out the back window. The car behind didn’t pass them. Instead, it slowed down too.

  “Maybe it’s someone we know,” Della suggested. “I can’t tell. The bright lights are blinding me.” The back window was filled with light, so it was impossible to see anything through it.

  Pete slowed down even more. Then he pulled to the side of the road onto the soft dirt shoulder. “Hey, what’s the big idea?” he shouted out the window.

  The other car pulled over too, and stopped just inches behind them. Pete reached for the door handle, to climb out. “No, wait,” Della said, grabbing his other arm. She suddenly felt fearful.

  What if this wasn’t someone they knew? What if this was… someone they didn’t want to know? She hadn’t thought about the dead man and his partner all night. But now the whole thing flashed once again through her mind.

  “Don’t get out, Pete. Lock your door.”

  He gave her a funny look, but followed her advice.

  They watched the car behind them, he through the rearview mirror, she through the back window, waiting for someone to open the door, to step out so they could see him or her.

  But the door didn’t open. Whoever it was in the car behind them gunned the engine until it roared.

  “I’m scared,” Della admitted. “Let’s get out of here, Pete.”

  Obligingly, he put the car into drive and floored the gas pedal. The tires spun loudly on the soft ground and the car lurched back onto the road. Pete lost control for a moment as it skidded onto the pavement. Then he quickly guided it back into the lane and, keeping his foot down hard, sped away.

  Della sank back onto the seat, trying to force herself not to panic. She looked over at the glowing green speedometer. They were doing 85.

  “Please,” Della said aloud without realizing it. “Please go away, whoever you are.”

  They heard a squeal behind them, followed by the roar of the other car’s engine. Bright yellow lights reflected off the rearview mirror again, filling the car with light and fast-moving shadows.

  “I don’t believe this!” Pete cried. The wheel was bouncing in his hand. It was taking all of his skill and concentration to steer along the curving old road at such a high speed. “He’s still on our tail! This is crazy!”

  He pressed harder on the gas pedal. Della saw the needle go up to 90.

  “What are we doing?” she cried. “This is insane! I hate car chases in the movies! I never expected to be in one in real life!”

  “Check your seat belt,” Pete said. “Sometimes that one slides loose.”

  “Oh, thanks for telling me!” she cried. “You picked a fine time to mention it!”

  Pete looked into the mirror, and his expression became more worried. “He—He’s speeding up!”

  “But he’s right behind us. He’ll crash into us!” Della screamed, ducking down low and closing her eyes.

  “My dad’ll kill me,” Pete said. “He loves this wagon.”

  “How can you worry about the car?” Della shouted over the roar of the engine. “What about your life!”

  “You don’t know my dad,” Pete said, veering into the left lane, then swerving back into the right. “He really cares about his possessions.”

  “Oh!” Della cried, as she felt the impact, then another bumpbumpbump, as the car behind them banged into their rear bumper.

  “What the—” Pete’s eyes stared straight ahead as he struggled to keep control of the car. “Is he really trying to ram us off the road… or is it just a game, or what?”

  Della shut her eyes tight and gripped the sides of the bucket seat. She cried out again as they were bumped hard from behind, the car seeming to bounce up off the road and then come down with its tires spinning.

  “Turn off!” she cried. “Turn onto another road. Maybe he won’t follow.”

  “I can’t turn,” Pete said, his voice revealing his fright. “I’m going too fast. I don’t know if I can keep control.”

  They were bumped again, this time even harder. The bright lights seemed to circle the car, infiltrating every corner, surrounding them in a harsh yellow glare.

  “It’s a Taurus,” Pete said, his eyes on the mirror. “Know anybody who has a black Taurus?”

  “No,” Della said. “What are we going to do?”

  “Hold on tight,” Pete said. “This may be stupid, but I’m going to try it. If it doesn’t work… well… it’s been real.”

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  But instead of answering, he slammed his foot on the brake and spun the wheel. The car squealed and slid for about a hundred yards, then spun around. The other car veered wildly to the right to get out of the way, then roared past.

  Pete frantically moved the wheel, trying to bring the wagon out of its spin. They had completely turned around now and were facing the way they had come. He floored the gas pedal again and they moved forward.

  “That’s an old Kojak trick!” Pete exclaimed, obviously relieved that he was still alive to tell her that. “You okay?”

  “I don’t know. I guess. Did we lose him?”

  Pete looked into the mirror. “Yeah. I think so. We—”

  They heard the squeal of brakes and tires.

  “He’s turning around!”

  Then they heard a crash, so loud Pete’s hands flew up in the air. Della screamed but couldn’t hear herself.

  The crash was followed by a hideous crunching sound, the sound of glass shattering and metal hitting wood.

  Pete eased the wagon to a stop. Della’s heart was pounding. At first she had thought they had crashed! It was all so unreal. It took a long time for her to realize that the other car had slid off the road and smacked into the trees.

  “We’ve got to go back,” Pete said. “Whoever it is has got to be in bad shape after that.”

  “I guess,” Della said with a shudder. She turned to Pete. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” he said, turning the wagon around. “I’m okay. This is a pretty exciting first date, don’t you think?”

  “Shut up,” she said teasingly.

  He eased the car around and drove slowly back until they saw the Taurus. Its headlights were still on but they were shining up toward the sky. The car was tilted against a massive tree trunk. With its tires still spinning, it looked as if it were trying to climb the tree.

  As they drove closer, Pete and Della saw that the right side of the car was completely smashed in. Surprisingly, the driver’s side was relatively unharmed. Shards of glass lay scattered across the road.

  “Let’s go see how bad he’s hurt,” Pete said.

  Della grasped his arm tightly but didn’t move.

  “You don’t want to come with me?” he asked softly. “That’s okay. No problem. You can stay in the car.”

  “No,” she said, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea. “No. I want to get out of the car. I want to see who it is in there, who was doing that to us.”

  Pete opened his door and stepped out. He walked around the front of the station wagon and opened the passenger door for her.

  Della climbed out unsteadily and they made their way, following the beam of their headlights, to the driver’s side of the wrecked car.

  “Now let’s see exactly who it is,” Della said. She gripped the handle and pulled open the door to the Taurus.

  The car was empty.

  CHAPTER 12

  “So who was it in the car?” Maia asked. “Who was chasing you?”

  “I don’t know,” Della told her with a shrug.

  It was Monday afternoon, and they were leaning against the
yellow tile wall just outside the door to Mr. Abner’s room. School had let out ten minutes earlier and already the halls were nearly deserted.

  Della had just told the whole frightening story about the Friday-night car chase to Maia, the first person from the Outdoors Club she had seen. She was reluctant to talk about it, but she just had to tell someone. Now she regretted it because Maia looked pale and shaky.

  “You don’t know who was in the car?” Maia asked, not understanding.

  “There was no one in the car,” Della explained, whispering even though the corridor was empty.

  “You mean—”

  “Whoever it was must have run off into the woods before we got to the car.”

  “That’s so scary,” Maia said, pressing the back of her head against the wall and closing her eyes. “Do you think it was—”

  “The partner? Maybe,” Della said. “It wasn’t a kid from school or anything. No one we know would try such a dangerous stunt.”

  “But why would he—” Maia started. She stopped when Ricky bounced up beside them.

  “Talking about me again, huh?” he said, putting his arms around them both. “Well, I’m sorry. You both can’t have me. You’ll have to fight it out among yourselves.”

  He laughed and walked past them into the classroom. Maia frowned with disgust. They could hear him greeting Suki, Gary, and Pete.

  “He’s not so bad,” Della said.

  “Not so bad as what? Not so bad as bubonic plague?” Maia exclaimed. Then her face filled with concern. “So are you okay? You weren’t hurt or anything?”

  “No,” Della assured her. “Pete and I were okay. Just a little scared. We drove home very slowly.” She swung her bookbag from one hand to the other and shifted her weight. “I haven’t been able to sleep too well, though. Every time I fall asleep, I see headlights and I dream I’m being chased again.”

  “That’s awful,” Maia said, shaking her head sadly. “I’ve been having bad dreams too. What a mistake we all made. If only we’d stayed home instead of… Uh-oh. Here comes Mr. Abner.”

  “Hi, girls. Sorry I’m late,” he called to them from down the hall. He strode quickly up to them, his brown leather cowboy boots clicking loudly on the floor as he walked. With his straight-legged jeans and red-and-black-checked flannel shirt, he looked more like a tall, lanky cowboy than a teacher. All he needed was a bandana around his neck, Della decided.

  “What are you two talking about so seriously?” he asked.

  “Nothing much,” Maia said quickly, blushing.

  “Did we look serious?” Della asked teasingly. “That must be a first, right?”

  He followed them into the room. They took their seats in the first row. Pete smiled across at Della. Suki was playfully slapping Gary’s hand.

  Mr. Abner lowered a window blind, blocking the bright sunshine that had been flooding over his desk. “Nice day,” he said to no one in particular. “Too bad we were in here and missed it.”

  “I didn’t want to miss it,” Ricky said. “So I cut my morning classes!” He laughed loudly so Mr. Abner would know it was a joke.

  Mr. Abner gave him a weak smile. Then he sat down on the front of his desk, crossing his legs and looking down at his cowboy boots. “I’m back,” he said. “Let me apologize again for having to postpone the overnight. I know you had all worked very hard getting ready for it, and I know how much you were looking forward to it.”

  Della shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She pulled at a long strand of her dark hair, a nervous habit. She’d been doing it a lot lately, she realized. She had a lot to be nervous about.

  Now she was worried that somehow one of them was going to give away the fact that they had gone on the overnight without Mr. Abner. If only he would change the subject, she thought. This is just too dangerous. Of course, no one would deliberately reveal anything. But what if one of them should make a slip.…

  “… these family problems. I’m sure you know what I mean,” Mr. Abner was saying. Della realized she had missed the whole story he had been telling.

  The teacher uncrossed his long legs and re-crossed them the other way. “Anyway, I’m back,” he said, smiling, “and I have very good news for you.”

  Everyone was listening very intently now.

  “I’ve been able to reschedule our Fear Island overnight for this coming Saturday,” Mr. Abner said. He leaned forward expectantly, awaiting their pleased reaction to his announcement. His smile quickly faded when no one said anything.

  “Oh. That’s great!” Della exclaimed finally, hoping she sounded just a little bit genuine.

  With all of the terror they had experienced in the past two weeks, everyone had forgotten that Mr. Abner would be eager to reschedule the overnight.

  “Yeah. Terrific,” Ricky said, not being the least bit convincing.

  “This weekend? Gosh, I don’t know if I can make it,” Maia said. “My family is going upstate, I think. To visit… uh… relatives.”

  “Yeah. Mine too,” Gary said. “I mean… not upstate. But I’m pretty sure we have plans, Mr. Abner.”

  Their advisor looked hurt. “I knew you guys were disappointed before. So I pushed aside some plans of my own.” He looked toward the window but couldn’t see out because he had closed the blinds. “I have to admit I’m a little surprised by your reaction,” he said, scratching his left cheek with his fingernails. “Or rather, your lack of reaction. This is the Outdoors Club, right? And you guys have been after me all winter to organize an overnight, right?”

  “We’re still excited about it,” Gary said. “Really.”

  “I’ve still got all my gear packed and ready,” Della added.

  Come on, everyone, she thought. Show a little enthusiasm. Mr. Abner is becoming suspicious. We can’t let him start to ask questions about why none of us want to go back to Fear Island. We just can’t.

  “I’m still crazy to go,” said Suki, who had been silent and pensive the whole time. “But I’ve got to check and see what the plans are for the weekend too.” She looked at Gary, as if expecting him to back her up or say something to help.

  Gary looked back at her uncomfortably. Then he turned to Mr. Abner and said, “Maybe the club should meet again later in the week. You know, on Wednesday or something. Then we’d all know if we’re free or not.”

  “Well, I guess we’d better,” Mr. Abner said, not hiding his disappointment. “I must say, I’m underwhelmed by your enthusiastic response. Is there something going on here that I don’t know about?”

  A cold chill ran down Della’s back. She looked over at Maia, who was tightly gripping the sides of her chair and staring down at the floor.

  “I think it’s just spring fever,” Gary said, grinning reassuringly at Mr. Abner.

  “We’re all just wrecked from the weekend. I know I did a lot of partying. Too much partying,” Suki said.

  Everyone laughed uncomfortably.

  “We’re still looking forward to it,” Pete said.

  We’re looking forward to it like a math test, Della thought. There’s no way any of us are ever going back to Fear Island. If only we could level with him. He’s not a bad guy. But he’s still a teacher. There’s no way we can explain anything to him.

  “Okay then,” Mr. Abner said with a resigned shrug. He stood up quickly. “We’re agreed. We’ll meet again after school on Wednesday, and you’ll let me know if you can fit the overnight into your busy schedules.”

  He stood up, gathered some papers from his desk, and strode quickly out of the room.

  As soon as they were sure he was gone, Gary jumped up, walked to the front of the room and motioned for everyone to stay in their seats. “We’ve got to talk,” he said, nervously looking toward the door. “What are we going to tell Abner?”

  “Yeah. How are we getting out of this stupid overnight?” Suki asked, sounding angry for some reason. “There’s no way I’m ever camping out again, that’s for sure.”

  “Right on!” Ricky shouted.
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  Gary motioned for him to lower his voice. “I’m sure we all feel the same way,” he said. “So we have to figure out—”

  There was a noise out in the hallway, the sound of someone opening a locker.

  “We’d better not talk here,” Della said.

  “Let’s go down behind the parking lot,” Gary suggested.

  “I only have a few minutes,” Maia said, looking at her watch. “I told my mom I’d be home at four.”

  They hurried out the side door and then circled around to the student parking lot behind the building. There were only two cars on the lot. Everyone else had gone home. On the practice field behind the tennis courts, members of the Shadyside baseball team were doing warm-up calisthenics.

  “We just have to stall him,” Pete suggested as they leaned against the tall metal fence that separated the parking lot from the practice field. “School’s out in four or five weeks. If we’re all busy on weekends, the overnight just won’t take place.”

  “Maybe we should explain what happened, tell the whole story to Abner,” Gary suggested. “It would be good, I think, to tell it to an adult. He wouldn’t go to the police or anything. I don’t think.”

  “No!” Maia protested immediately. “It’s our secret. We have to keep it our secret. We took a vow, remember?”

  The others all quickly agreed with her. There was no telling what Mr. Abner would do if he found out what they had done.

  “We can stall him,” Suki said with certainty. “We just have to make sure that our stories—”

  “Hey, I just remembered something,” Ricky interrupted. He turned to Della and poked her on the shoulder with his finger. “My ZAP gun. I came back from the overnight with only five ZAP guns. You never gave yours back to me. Can you bring it over to my house tonight?”

  “Oh no,” Della gasped, grabbing the fence. She suddenly felt cold all over.

  “Not tonight? Well, can you bring it to school tomorrow?” Ricky asked, not noticing her horrified expression.

  “I—I left it,” Della managed to say.

  “What?”

  “I had the gun in the ravine. Then the man… he… he took it from me and…” She shook her head hard as if trying to shake away what she was remembering. She stared at Ricky. “I left the gun with the body. On Fear Island.”