Moondancers

  Chapter Seven

  I was pacing along the deck by Alan’s pool when Conner finally arrived. The early morning sunlight cast a silky sheen across the top water of the pool giving off an inviting sereneness.

  Come on in, fellas. I won’t hurt ya.

  The Feinmans had a No Knock policy for Conner and me. We could come and go as we pleased. This started when we were twelve. That summer, Conner and I must have knocked on the Feinman front door fifteen times a day each. One afternoon, Cara Feinman, Alan’s Mom, answered the door and said “I’m sick of you boys disturbing my day. Do not knock on this door ever again. Just go on around back. The sliding door will always be open.”

  Conner arrived wearing a rumpled t-shirt and rumpled shorts, looking as though he’d had another rough night sleeping. A gauzy bandage covered the scratches on his leg.

  “This better be good,” he said as he crash landed in one of the lounge chairs.

  “It is!” I replied, forcefully.

  “He’s all worked up over something,” said Alan as he munched on a Pop Tart. “And he wouldn’t spill anything until you got here.”

  “So spill, Buttkiss! I’m here!” Conner groused. He wasn’t happy to be back at Alan’s so soon. He kept glancing at the pool.

  I finally stopped pacing and took a deep breath. I’d had a rough night as well, although, mine was a night of clarity. It was the first time since I’d laid eyes on Lara Applegate that my eyes were wide open, and I could see things as they really were.

  Convincing Alan and Conner how things really were would be another story, although Conner had seen the creature as well, so he’d be the easiest to convince.

  “Did you guys hear about what happened this morning?” I said.

  Conner grabbed a rolled-up towel from off a nearby chair, and threw it at me.

  “Spit it out already, Buttbreath!”

  “I am spitting it out! Mrs. Hauser found a dead coyote in her pool this morning. The coyote had been attacked by something wild.” I looked from Alan to Conner, and saw that they were not putting two and two together.

  “Am I missing something, Josh?” Alan asked.

  “There are no wild animals in Beverly Hills, Alan. It was… the creature.”

  “Creature?” asked Conner. Clearly, he was a little slow on the uptick.

  “The creature you saw in Alan’s pool two days ago? Duh!”

  “That was a dream,” Conner said.

  That surprised me.

  “You know, and I know that was not a dream, Conner. Did a dream put those long scratches on your leg?”

  “This is about Lara, isn’t it?” Alan blurted.

  “Yes! Yes, it is about Lara. I know this is going to sound weird, but trust me, she has something to do with the creature in your pool. She’s not what she appears to be.”

  Alan looked at Conner. “Hey, bro, do you want to throw him in, or should I?”

  Conner cast a wary glance at the pool. “Be my guest,” he said.

  Alan started for me.

  I saw the way Conner was looking at the pool, and pounced. “Then, let’s go for a swim, Conner. You believe it’s safe in there, right? You believe it was all a dream, so let’s go in.” I pulled off my t-shirt in a grand gesture.

  Conner cast another quick glance at the pool. “I don’t have my trunks.”

  “Since when have we ever needed trunks to jump in a pool?” I asked. “Remember the time all three of us jumped in Mike Dozier’s pool with all our clothes on?” I was gaping at him, daring him to jump in.

  Alan reached my side.

  “Good morning, Alan.” It was the lyrical voice of Alexia Dupree.

  We all turned. Alexia was smiling at us from the other side of the hedge, smiling that smile that could scorch men’s souls.

  “Hey, Alexia.” A goofy, smitten look appeared on Alan’s face. Alan’s soul had clearly been scorched.

  “Why don’t you come over for lunch today? Pay back for last night.”

  Last night?

  “Sure,” Alan replied.

  “Good. I had fun last night,” she said, her smile widening.

  Fun?

  “Me, too,” replied Alan, the goofy expression getting goofier.

  “See you later,” she said, and dropped out of sight.

  “Dude!” Conner exclaimed, impressed.

  “What can I tell ya? I am the man!” Alan said and began doing a happy dance.

  I wasn’t biting. “It’s no coincidence Alexia popped up just now. She’s one of them, you know.”

  “One of what?” asked Conner.

  “Have you guys been listening to me?” I said, frustration creeping in.

  “Your friends can come, too. If they want.” Alexia called from the other side of the hedge.

  “I am not going over there!” I said loudly, folding my arms across my chest.

  That’s when Alan shoved me in the pool.

  As I rose to the surface, I gazed into the darkness of the pool drain. I thought I saw a pair of eyes staring out at me—emerald green, and angry.

  I got the hell out of the pool as fast as I could. Alan and Conner were laughing, although Conner hadn’t budged from the lounge chair. He knew better. He knew I was speaking the truth, but he didn’t want to look like a nutjob.

  That was all right. I had to look at the bigger picture. As crazy as it seemed, there was a creature haunting the pools of Beverly Hills. A creature was somehow living in the spillover drain of my best friend’s swimming pool. Once I had visual proof, neither Conner nor Alan would be able to deny it. I knew just where I could find the proof I was looking for.

  The moon was full, bright, and eerie when I wheeled up to the Applegate fortress on my bike. It was a Halloween moon, the kind you fully expected to see a witch flying by on her broomstick. The wrought iron gates were swung open as they were the night before, still proffering a gesture of welcome. All I could see beyond the gates was looming darkness. Needless to say, I did not feel welcome.

  An egg lodged in my throat as I deposited my bike in the tall grass alongside the road. If anyone had told me a month ago I’d be walking through the creepy gates of Applegate mansion, I’d have told them they needed to have their head examined. Yet, here I was.

  Grow a pair, Butters, I told myself in an attempt to bolster my courage.

  I pulled out my iPhone and set the camera to record, then I proceeded cautiously through the gates.

  While many of my classmates had visited the Applegate fortress over the years, seeking Halloween horror thrills, I never did. I was too chicken to visit a bona fide haunted mansion. Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios was more my speed. Controlled horror offered up by a multi-national corporation was my thing. The worst that could happen to me at Halloween Horror Nights would be to OD on corn dogs.

  As I passed through the gates, the music in my head started up again, and as it did, I felt a shift occur in my soul. I realized then that a part of me wasn’t there to photograph the creature I thought I’d glimpsed the night before. A part of me was there to get another glimpse at Lara Applegate. Yeah, I know, crazy. Truth is, even when I thought I was no longer under her spell, I was. My feelings for Lara were growing.

  As I continued up the drive and around a stand of tall trees, the house came into view. It appeared even older and more decrepit up close than from afar. It would have seemed even more frightening if it wasn’t lit up as if for a party. From what I’d heard, the Applegate mansion was always bathed in sinister darkness, but not tonight.

  A monster party, I thought, then I immediately dismissed it as stupid. I had to dismiss the thought, because I knew if I didn’t, I’d turn around and start in opposite direction.

  I crept up to the house, keeping to the shadows, even though I knew the shadows were the most dangerous for me. The creature I thought I saw the night before had been lurking in the shadows.

  What are you doing here, Josh? I asked myself. What are you really doing here?

&n
bsp; I am not the daring type. I have never been a risk taker. When Alan jumped into the pool to save our friend, I stayed put. I’d been swimming in Alan’s pool since I was twelve, but that day, I stayed put. Too risky. You can drown in six inches of water. I wasn’t going to risk drowning in my best friend’s pool to save my other best friend’s life. Too damn risky.

  But isn’t this riskier?

  I didn’t want to answer that question. The answer was obvious.

  So, what was I doing there?

  Compelled. That was the word that came to mind. It had nothing to do with whether or not I believed in creatures or anything supernatural. I didn’t. That was just a mind trick to get me back there. The truth was, I was there because I had to be, because this is where I’d find Lara Applegate.

  As I neared the house, I heard the sound of female voices talking, laughing.

  I realized the bright light and laughter were coming from around back. Staying in the shadows, I worked my way to the rear of the house.

  When I turned the corner, I saw what appeared to be a large, in-ground hot tub in the center of a grassy lawn. Steam rose from the surface of the water like morning mist off a lake. The voices I’d heard were coming from the tub, but I couldn’t get a clear view of anyone through the steam. Childlike laughter drifted over to me.

  I ducked behind some low shrubbery, and started moving in closer. I readied my camera in case a creature came into view.

  That’s when I went spilling to the ground as two powerful arms tackled me below the waist. Oof!

  “Gotcha!” I heard the tackler say.

  I wriggled in his grasp. Wrenching around, I found myself staring into the face of a creature.