I gasped as something tickled my waist. I sank into the water, shining the light around frantically. A school of minnows fluttered past, shimmering like silver in the pale light.
Shimmering like little silver pods.
I kicked hard to move away from them. The water churned all around me. And when it settled once again, something else caught my beam of light—something that sparkled like silver!
My heart started to pound. Was that it? Had I found the pendant? The flashlight trembled in my hand, making the light shimmer wildly over the lake bottom.
I rose to the surface, took a deep breath, and made a strong dive. Where was it? Where was that sparkly object? I moved the light in narrow circles over the mud and plants.
The light stopped at a white rock—a smooth white rock tucked into the lake-bottom mud. And resting on top of the rock … resting there as if someone had carefully placed it there—the pendant!
I was so excited, I opened my mouth, swallowed water, and started to choke.
The water tasted thick and sour in my mouth. I burst up to the surface, gasping and gagging. I pulled a clump of lake grass off my neck.
Finally, I started to breathe normally. But I couldn't get the sour taste from my mouth. I took a few deep breaths and plunged back underwater.
Yes. It was still there on the rock. A miracle. I had found it.
I wanted to leap up and down and pump my fists in the air. Nicky and Tara would be so happy!
The light trembled in front of me as I swam down toward the pendant. I made a grab for it, and it slid out of my hand.
My chest started to ache. I needed to take a breath. But I ignored the urgent feeling and shoved my hand forward. I wrapped my fingers tightly around the pendant.
Yes!
I had it. But my lungs felt ready to burst. I kicked my way to the surface and floated there, gasping, sucking in breath after breath.
“I have it!” I shouted. I started waving it to Nicky and Tara. But I couldn't see them.
The rain had slowed a bit. I bobbed in the warm water, catching my breath. I gripped the pendant tightly in my hand and, squinting through the goggles, scanned the shore.
No sign of Nicky and Tara. The shore was empty. Beyond the shore, I could see lights flashing in the windows of the lodge.
The storm clouds had rolled on. The sky brightened to a light gray. But dark thoughts washed into my mind.
Was Phears waiting for me somewhere? When he saw that I had the pendant, would he show himself?
Would he attack?
I didn't want to think about that. I just wanted to solve the mystery of the pendant.
Nicky and Tara were so desperate to find their parents. We had been searching for them since October. Here it was July and maybe—just maybe—I held the answer in my hand.
I was still treading water, watching the shore— when I felt something soft wrap itself around one ankle.
“Hey—!” I let out a shout.
Something curled around my knee. Something else slid around my waist. It felt like a leather belt, tightening … tightening …
“Hey—wait!”
Another belt tightened around my other ankle. I felt another one, a bigger one, wind around my waist.
I was kicking hard to stay afloat. I had the flashlight in one hand, the pendant in the other. It was awkward for me to turn. But I ducked my head into the water and twisted my body to see—
—snakes!
Long green snakes had wrapped around both my ankles. Two more were tightening around my waist. Despite the cold water, their bodies were warm.
“Help!” I forced myself higher in the water and let out a cry.
Where had they come from? From the muddy lake bottom? Were the stories about Snake Lake true after all?
I tried to call for help again. But the snakes around my ankles tugged hard. They were pulling me down!
I felt tingles of warmth as snakes circled my legs and began to tighten. Two snakes swam up the legs of my swim trunks. I could feel them wrapping around my thighs.
I sucked in a deep breath as the snakes began to pull me down.
As I sank, I let go of the flashlight. I thrashed on the surface with my free hand, struggling to stay above water.
The snakes tightened around me—around my waist, my legs, my ankles. And then I felt something warm slide around my throat.
It began to tighten. I was doomed.
I sucked in one more breath before my head slid under the water.
The snakes pulled me down, down to the muddy lake bottom.
And the pendant floated out of my hand ….
27
I KICKED AND THRASHED. The dark water churned around me.
My chest ached. I couldn't hold my breath much longer.
I twisted my body, trying to throw off the snakes. But they were too strong for me. They held on tightly, cutting into my skin, holding me underwater.
Something jerked my leg out from under me. I felt something grab my arm.
I had my eyes shut. I didn't see Nicky and Tara at first.
When I realized they were underwater with me—frantically trying to pry the snakes off—I nearly opened my mouth to shout for joy!
Nicky pulled a snake off my ankle, heaved it, and sent it floating away. Tara tore at the two snakes around my waist.
The ghosts looked solid, but the water seemed to flow right through them.
My chest throbbed with pain. My lungs felt about to explode.
My throat ached. I felt dizzy. The water churned around me. Around and around … till I closed my eyes again.
Please—I have to breathe!
Nicky tugged another snake off my leg. Then my two ghost friends grabbed my feet—and pushed. They gave me a hard shove to the surface.
My head popped out of the water. I opened my mouth and, choking and sputtering, let out a long whoosh of air and sucked in a fresh one.
Treading water, I waited for my heart to stop pounding. I waited for the ache in my chest to fade. Then I began half swimming, half floating to shore.
I felt totally drained. My arms and legs seemed to weigh a thousand pounds. The shore seemed a million miles away, but I pushed myself toward it.
I turned to float on my back for a while—and saw something shiny bobbing on the surface of the water. My heart skipped a beat. I turned and floated to the tiny object.
Just a leaf? A dead fish floating on its side?
No. The pendant … floating on a clump of weeds.
I wrapped my hand around it. This time, I wouldn't let go.
The rain had stopped. But the wind blew hard, cold against my face.
Gripping the pendant tightly, I made it to shore and pulled myself out of the water. Shivering in the cold air, I raised the pendant close to my face and rubbed the water off it with my finger.
Behind me, I could hear voices from the lodge. The other campers were still inside. The aroma of roasting chicken floated out from the mess hall kitchen.
Hugging myself to stop my shivers, I turned to the water and searched for Nicky and Tara.
Where were they? They should be on the shore by now.
The lake water stretched like an enormous black hole under the dark sky. I shuddered, thinking about the snakes again. My legs itched and tingled.
Deadly snakes. The camp story wasn't a joke. Snake Lake was filled with powerful snakes that could pull a camper down to the bottom and hold him there.
Then why were Colin and his friends swimming here?
I shook my head hard, sending a spray of water all around me. I didn't want to think about the snakes. Every time I pictured them wrapped around me, swimming up the legs of my swim trunks, my whole body started to tremble.
“Nicky? Tara? Where are you?” I called.
The dark water lapped quietly against the shore. Somewhere in the trees, a bird uttered a hoarse caw.
“Nicky? Tara?”
Were they still underwater searching for the pendant?
r />
I cupped both hands around my mouth. “I have it!” I screamed. “I have the pendant! Hey—I have it!”
No reply.
No sign of them. I squinted into the gray light and searched for them.
What's taking them so long? Why don't they come up from the lake?
28
I TRIED AGAIN. “I have the pendant!” I shouted. “Come out! I have the pendant!”
I watched the black water, low waves rolling to shore. All I could hear was the splash of the water and the rush of wind.
Finally, two pale shadows rose from the surface. All gray at first. Standing side by side, they floated toward me, a foot above the water.
A few seconds later, Nicky and Tara stood next to me. The water drained off them. In seconds, they were totally dry.
“Where were you?” I cried. “You scared me to death!”
Tara brushed back her dark hair. She straightened the dangling red earrings she wore. “Sorry, Max,” she said.
“We were searching for the snakes,” Nicky said. He pulled a clump of lake grass out of his jeans pocket and tossed it to the ground.
I stared at them. “Huh? Searching for snakes? Are you crazy? What are you talking about?”
“The snakes all vanished,” Nicky said. “When Tara and I started to pull them off you, they vanished into thin air.”
“They weren't real snakes,” Tara said. “
They sure looked like snakes to me!” I said. “If they weren't snakes, what were they?”
“Ghosts, probably,” Tara said.
The words hung in the air between us. We stared at each other without saying anything more.
Finally, I raised my hand. “The pendant!” I cried. “I have it!”
Tara let out a happy cry. She took it from my hand. She studied it, then gave it to Nicky. He turned it over and over.
“We have to be fast,” Tara said. “Phears is here. He's waiting for this. If he sees that we have the pendant … ”
“He wants to find Mom and Dad as much as we do,” Nicky said, gazing at the pendant. “Because he wants to destroy them for good.”
I took the pendant back. “What do we do?” I asked. “If your parents are inside this thing, how do we get them out?”
Tara sighed. “Good question,” she said.
“There's no opening,” I said. “It's sealed tight. There's no button to push. No lever or anything.”
“Maybe we could smash it against a rock,” Tara said. “Break it open.”
“Maybe,” I said. “But maybe if we got a screwdriver … ”
Nicky took it back from me and studied it hard. “No place to put a screwdriver. No place to pry it open.”
“Max? Hey, Max?” I heard a high voice from the path behind us. I spun around and saw Jakey running full speed toward us.
“Max? What's happening, Max?” he called.
“Stay away,” I shouted. “It's dangerous here, Jakey. Go back to the lodge.”
“But I'm afraid,” he said. He kept coming. He ran right up to me.
“Jakey, please—” I begged.
“I'm afraid, Max,” he said. “I'm afraid.”
“Afraid of what?” I asked.
Jakey turned to Nicky. “I'm afraid you'll have to give me that,” he said, and reached for the pendant.
29
I LET OUT A SHOCKED GASP. “You—you can see them?” I asked Jakey.
He ignored me and kept his hand outstretched in front of Nicky. His eyes were suddenly cold and gray. His mouth turned down in an ugly scowl.
“I'll take it,” Jakey said softly. “Hand it over— now.”
“No way!” Nicky exclaimed. “Back off, little boy.”
Jakey made a grab for the pendant.
Nicky tossed it to me.
But his throw was high, and the pendant sailed over my shoulder.
It bounced into the mud. I spun around and dove for it.
Jakey dove at the same time. He landed hard on my back. Grunting loudly, we both stretched our hands for the pendant—
—and I came up with it!
I wrapped my fingers around it. Then I spun out from under Jakey and jumped to my feet.
His eyes on the pendant, Jakey took a few steps back. He was breathing hard, and his face turned bright red.
“You'll hand it over,” he said through gritted teeth. “You'll beg me to take it from you.”
I heard a cracking sound, like someone breaking an egg.
And then I gasped as Jakey's head started to split open. Narrow black veins crisscrossed his face. His eyes rolled up into his head. The cracking sound grew louder.
And his head broke apart!
“Oh no!” Tara pressed her hand to her mouth. Nicky stared, his jaw dropping.
I gripped the pendant tightly and watched in horror as Jakey's arms fell off. Part of his chest slid out from under his T-shirt.
His legs snapped and collapsed. The top of his head lay on the ground at his feet. His hands splintered and broke off from his arms, which were already on the ground.
Jakey broke into pieces.
Nothing left now but a shell. The trunk of his body stood upright in the lakeshore mud.
And then a black mist floated up from the trunk.
The black smoke smelled so sour, I held my nose. My eyes started to water.
I turned my head as the wind off the lake blew the disgusting smoke in my face.
When I turned back, I saw Nicky and Tara huddled together in fright.
And I saw a tall dark man wrapped in a black cloak, his face hidden in the swirling black mist. Hidden except for his ice white eyes, which were locked on mine.
Phears!
“Did you like my disguise, Max?” he boomed in a deep voice that rippled the lake. “My way of staying close to you.”
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out.
“Did you forget that I am the Animal Traveler?” Phears bellowed. “Humans are animals too.” He snickered—an ugly dry laugh.
“You—you killed Jakey!” I cried.
He shook his head. “There never was a Jakey. My magic is stronger than you know.”
Then Phears stuck his hand out from the mist. “Enough talk. Hand it over,” he growled. “Now.”
30
I STARED UP AT PHEARS, my whole body trembling. He floated away from the chunks of Jakey on the ground.
He held his hand out. “Now, Max. Hand over the life pod.”
My mind whirred. I knew I couldn't fight him. I remembered the pain he'd caused me before. How he'd peeled back my fingernails and the skin on my hands. How he'd drilled all my teeth at once until I howled in agony.
I knew he could do that to me again if I didn't cooperate.
So I didn't hesitate for long. As Phears loomed over me, hand outstretched, I raised the pendant to him.
And then I heard Tara's shout. “Keepaway! Keepaway, Max!”
I pulled my hand back—and tossed the pendant to her.
Phears uttered an angry growl. The swirling black mist followed him as he spun toward Tara.
Tara tossed the pendant to Nicky. Nicky grabbed it in one hand and started running along the shore.
“Hand it over!” Phears demanded. He dove at Nicky.
Nicky leaped out of Phears' grasp. Nicky's feet slipped on the muddy ground, and he started to fall. As he fell, he heaved the pendant to me.
A wild throw.
Phears let out another angry growl.
The pendant sailed over my head. I leaped high but couldn't bring it down.
I turned in time to see it crash into a white rock near the water.
It made a loud clink. The sound echoed in my ears.
I froze and stared as the pendant split apart.
A bright flash of light made me shut my eyes.
When I opened them again, I saw the two halves of the pendant slide off the rock.
And then a thick white mist rose high into the sky. It swirled in a funnel shape, li
ke a white cyclone, rising higher, bright against the gray sky.
It spun faster and faster. We all stared up at the whirling white funnel cloud.
I let out a gasp as two figures floated out of the cloud.
They floated quickly down to the ground. A man and a woman, both wearing white lab coats. Blinking in the light, they gazed around in confusion.
And as they landed in front of us, I recognized them. Recognized them from Nicky and Tara's framed photograph.
“Mom! Dad!” Nicky screamed.
“I knew you were in there!” Tara cried.
31
NICKY AND TARA RAN forward to hug their parents.
I stood back and watched them hugging and crying, all talking at once. I realized I had tears in my eyes too. I felt as happy as Nicky and Tara.
We'd spent so many months searching for Mr. and Mrs. Roland. And I'd been wearing the pendant the whole time!
“We told you we were close,” Mr. Roland said, hugging Nicky and Tara for the fifth time. “Which one of you found the life pod?”
Tara pointed to me. “That's our friend, Max. He lives in our old house. He's been helping us search for you. We figured out that you were inside the life pod he wore.”
“Thank you for being their friend,” Mrs. Roland said to me, wiping tears off her cheeks with both hands.
“A ghost named Phears destroyed our lives,” Mr. Roland explained. “He destroyed our lab. He destroyed our family. Then he locked us inside a life pod. We—”
He stopped talking as a deep voice boomed from behind us on the shore. “I hate to break up this happy family reunion,” Phears said, half hidden in his cloak of black fog. “I've been waiting for this moment a long time.”
“Phears!” Mr. Roland shouted, wrapping his arms around Nicky and Tara. “Haven't you done enough evil?”
“Can't you leave our family alone?” Mrs. Roland demanded, her dark eyes flashing angrily.
“You didn't leave me alone!” Phears screamed in a sudden rage. “You two locked my friends and me up in those pods. You said you were ridding the world of evil spirits.”
Phears floated closer, close enough so that we could see the anger in his solid white eyes. “You call yourselves scientists,” he raged. “I call you murderers. You had no right to invade the tunnel between the living and the dead. No right to set up your lab to capture ghosts. No right to meddle in the spirit world.”