Read Online Skinny-Dipping at Monster Lake by Bill Wallace - Free Book Online Page A

Lake Monster.”
    â€œWe ought to feed him to the Lake Monster,” Chet scoffed.
    â€œYeah.” Pepper laughed. “Let’s do it.”
    There was a short wrestling match. I mean, really short. After all, Zane was outnumbered six to one. It took only a matter of seconds before Pepper had one arm and Daniel had the other. Foster caught one leg, and despite all Zane’s hopping and bouncing around, Chet finally captured his free foot. Jordan cheered them on as they stretched Zane out between them and made their way out, until they were about ankle deep in the water. Then they started swinging him back and forth.
    â€œOne!”
    There was something inside of me that wantedto yell: “Stop. Don’t throw him in. I saw the monster’s eyes.”
    â€œTwo!”
    But there was something else inside of me that said: “Keep your mouth shut, Kent. They’re not going to believe you. You’ll end up in the lake, too.” So . . . with one part of my insides fighting the other part . . . I just stood there.
    â€œThree!”
    Even spinning and flailing and jerking and flopping, it was downright amazing how far Zane flew. Clothes and all, he hit the water with a splash that was better than any cannonball we could do in the pool. Still, somehow—the instant he hit the water, he managed to get his bearings. In the blink of an eye he was on his feet and charging toward the bank. Well, maybe not toward the bank, but at least away from the lake and the monster. He shot past us so fast that we hadn’t even picked up our flashlights by the time he was halfway to the campfire.
    As the rest of the guys headed back up the hill, I slipped off toward where I saw the eyes. There had to be some explanation. There wasn’t really a monster living in Cedar Lake. But I knew I saw something. If I could just see it again . . . If I could just figure out what . . .
    â€œWhere are you headed, Kent?” Ted called.
    I stopped. His flashlight made me blink. I shined my light at his eyes.
    â€œAh . . . I . . . I lost something,” I stammered. “Yeah, I lost something on the bank.”
    â€œWhat was it? I’ll help you find it.”
    Frantic to cover up my lie, I dug into my pocket. Sure enough, there was a quarter in there.
    â€œIt was my lucky quarter,” I lied.
    â€œLucky quarter?”
    â€œYes. I . . . ah . . . always carry it when I go fishing.”
    â€œWant me to come and help you look?”
    â€œNah. It’s no big deal.”
    The light bounced in Ted’s hand when he shrugged. I was glad he turned and headed toward the camp with the rest of the guys. Lying is not cool. It always made me feel kind of creepy or ashamed inside. But this was different. I just couldn’t tell.
    Ted was my best friend, and I really wanted to confide in him. But . . .
    Maybe I could tell Mom and Dad when I got home.
    Maybe not.
    Maybe I just couldn’t tell a single soul—not until I knew for sure what I had really seen.

11
    I didn’t see the eyes again.
    I finally gave up and went back to camp, but I didn’t get any sleep. About an hour or so after the sun came up, we had hot dogs and marshmallows for breakfast.
    Zane didn’t eat anything. Partly because he was still pouting about everybody making fun of him. And partly because he was still all wet and soggy. It’s hard to be sociable when you’re dripping and sloshing around in wet clothes. Ted asked me if I found my lucky quarter. I showed him the one I discovered in my pocket, and that was the end of it. But I still felt guilty about lying to him. I felt even worse about not taking up for Zane.
    When we finished eating, everyone drank a pop. Then we started packing stuff up so it would be ready for the dads to load while we rode the horses back home. We were so tired, all thought of riding around the lake was