this seriously, okay, but I do.” His voice took on a whiny pleading note. “Come on, you all heard that growling sound. And what about what happened with Scotty? You think that was nothing?”
Rachel blew out her breath and opened her door. “We might as well humor him, guys,” she said, sliding down to the ground, “or we’ll never hear the end of it.” She gave me another weird look and shut the door.
What’s wrong with her? I wondered, sliding across the seat to follow Teresa out the other side. Logan shut off the engine and turned off the lights. Now the only light was the naked bulb by the screen door leading into the lodge.
The air was thick, warm and heavy, almost syrupy. Beads of sweat popped out on my arms as I walked across the parking lot to the sidewalk to the entryway. It is humid and muggy, I thought as I opened the screen door and went inside. So what was all that cold down at the graveyard?
The big front room of the lodge seemed much creepier when empty than it had earlier. It was a long room, with couches and chairs scattered around a massive fireplace. The animal heads stuffed and mounted on the rough-hewn walls had seemed almost funny in their tackiness in the daylight, but with all the windows big squares of darkness, they seemed scarier and more menacing. I swallowed and sat down on one of the couches in front of the fireplace. Rachel plopped down next to me and patted my shoulder. She just smiled when I looked over at her. “How do you feel?” she asked me in a low voice.
“Fine,” I replied. What the hell is she talking about?
“Anyone want a soda?” Logan asked as he walked over to the big red Coke cooler in the far corner of the room. He lifted the lid and some fog escaped. He came back to where we were sitting, passing out Cokes and Diet Cokes.
I popped the top of mine and took a long drink, smothering a belch as Carson started passing around our iPads. “I can’t believe they went back to the cabins and just left our iPads lying around in the game room,” he said with a scowl.
Logan rolled his eyes as he flipped open the case to his. “It was probably our parents’ idea.” He mimicked his mother’s voice. “If someone steals their iPads it will teach them a lesson about running off and leaving them out.”
“Yeah, yeah, sounds like my mom, too.” Carson rolled his eyes as he sat down in a wooden rocking chair and opened the cover of his iPad. “Everyone write down your impressions of the graveyard and what you saw,” he ordered. “Everything, no matter how unimportant it may have seemed, because you never know—coupled with something someone else saw, it could be something important.” He looked around at all of us. “Please take this seriously, guys.”
Teresa winked at me as she sat in a chair beside him, and I hid a grin. I sat down and opened the Notes app and started typing with two fingers, feeling kind of crazy and stupid.
Away from the cemetery, in the big well-lit room with the staring bears and wolf heads on the walls, I didn’t really know what to type. In the cemetery, the coldness, the sadness and the weird flag thing had seemed like proof there was such a thing as ghosts. Now, it seemed unreal, like all of our imaginations had been working overtime or something down there. But I started writing because I knew Carson was going to want us to compare notes when we were all finished.
But I didn’t mention Albert’s grave as I touched the letters on the screen.
That seemed private to me, like it wasn’t any of their business.
It didn’t even seem weird that I felt that way.
So I just wrote about the weird solitary flag waving, and the weird sensation of cold on my back and my arms. I didn’t mention the sadness—I was the only person who’d felt that.
I had just finished when Rachel sighed. “Okay, finished. What do we do now, Scooby-Doo?”
Carson gave her a dirty look. “You know, I don’t make fun of your bullshit interests, do
Rachel blew out her breath and opened her door. “We might as well humor him, guys,” she said, sliding down to the ground, “or we’ll never hear the end of it.” She gave me another weird look and shut the door.
What’s wrong with her? I wondered, sliding across the seat to follow Teresa out the other side. Logan shut off the engine and turned off the lights. Now the only light was the naked bulb by the screen door leading into the lodge.
The air was thick, warm and heavy, almost syrupy. Beads of sweat popped out on my arms as I walked across the parking lot to the sidewalk to the entryway. It is humid and muggy, I thought as I opened the screen door and went inside. So what was all that cold down at the graveyard?
The big front room of the lodge seemed much creepier when empty than it had earlier. It was a long room, with couches and chairs scattered around a massive fireplace. The animal heads stuffed and mounted on the rough-hewn walls had seemed almost funny in their tackiness in the daylight, but with all the windows big squares of darkness, they seemed scarier and more menacing. I swallowed and sat down on one of the couches in front of the fireplace. Rachel plopped down next to me and patted my shoulder. She just smiled when I looked over at her. “How do you feel?” she asked me in a low voice.
“Fine,” I replied. What the hell is she talking about?
“Anyone want a soda?” Logan asked as he walked over to the big red Coke cooler in the far corner of the room. He lifted the lid and some fog escaped. He came back to where we were sitting, passing out Cokes and Diet Cokes.
I popped the top of mine and took a long drink, smothering a belch as Carson started passing around our iPads. “I can’t believe they went back to the cabins and just left our iPads lying around in the game room,” he said with a scowl.
Logan rolled his eyes as he flipped open the case to his. “It was probably our parents’ idea.” He mimicked his mother’s voice. “If someone steals their iPads it will teach them a lesson about running off and leaving them out.”
“Yeah, yeah, sounds like my mom, too.” Carson rolled his eyes as he sat down in a wooden rocking chair and opened the cover of his iPad. “Everyone write down your impressions of the graveyard and what you saw,” he ordered. “Everything, no matter how unimportant it may have seemed, because you never know—coupled with something someone else saw, it could be something important.” He looked around at all of us. “Please take this seriously, guys.”
Teresa winked at me as she sat in a chair beside him, and I hid a grin. I sat down and opened the Notes app and started typing with two fingers, feeling kind of crazy and stupid.
Away from the cemetery, in the big well-lit room with the staring bears and wolf heads on the walls, I didn’t really know what to type. In the cemetery, the coldness, the sadness and the weird flag thing had seemed like proof there was such a thing as ghosts. Now, it seemed unreal, like all of our imaginations had been working overtime or something down there. But I started writing because I knew Carson was going to want us to compare notes when we were all finished.
But I didn’t mention Albert’s grave as I touched the letters on the screen.
That seemed private to me, like it wasn’t any of their business.
It didn’t even seem weird that I felt that way.
So I just wrote about the weird solitary flag waving, and the weird sensation of cold on my back and my arms. I didn’t mention the sadness—I was the only person who’d felt that.
I had just finished when Rachel sighed. “Okay, finished. What do we do now, Scooby-Doo?”
Carson gave her a dirty look. “You know, I don’t make fun of your bullshit interests, do
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