The Creature from Club Lagoona

  “Okay,” she called as she dashed away.

  I continued to stare at the note. Something about it bugged me. Then it hit me—the handwriting. It slanted the wrong way.

  Mom didn’t write like that.

  Neither did Dad.

  So who wrote the note?

  I tried to shake off the creepy tingle along the back of my neck. A lot of weird things had happened since we arrived at Club Lagoona. The disappearing diver. The green thing in the pool. The little man with his warnings.

  What was going on?

  I felt disappointed that I didn’t find the little guy last night. I bet he could have given me some answers.

  I kept my eyes peeled for him as I trudged to my Guppy swimming lesson. But I never spotted him.

  Mark and Neal were already in the pool when I arrived. I felt that familiar fear as I lowered myself into the water. But soon I was splashing and laughing just as much as my fellow Guppies.

  Barry had us doing lots of fun things in the water. We even played a game of water polo in the shallow end.

  As I gazed at the sparkling water, I started to think maybe I was being dumb. Of course there was no monster in the Atlantis pool! I was overreacting.

  After the lesson, Mark, Neal, and I flopped on the side of the pool, each of us catching our breath.

  “This place sure keeps you busy,” I remarked. “I haven’t seen my parents since last night.”

  “Did they go to that Rise and Shine Water Aerobics?” Neal asked.

  I nodded.

  “So did mine,” Mark commented. “I wonder if they’ll be back for lunch.”

  “Speaking of lunch, I’m starved!” I scrambled to my feet and stretched. “Catch you later.”

  Just then, Barry strolled over to us. “Hey, Guppies,” he said. “I’ve decided you ought to have an extra lesson.”

  “Sorry, Barry,” I apologized. “I promised I’d meet my sister.”

  “And my parents are expecting me,” Neal told him.

  Barry looked disappointed for a moment. Then he turned to Mark with a big grin on his face. “Looks like it’s just you and me,” he said.

  Mark shrugged. “Sounds cool,” he replied.

  Barry’s smile widened. “A private extra lesson. Just what you need.” He clapped a hand firmly on Mark’s shoulder.

  “See you,” Mark said.

  “Later,” Neal responded, and hurried to meet his parents.

  All that swimming made me really ready for lunch. I said good-bye to Mark and Barry, then jogged back to the room to meet Polly.

  She wasn’t there.

  I went ahead and changed and checked Mom and Dad’s room again. They still weren’t back.

  Weird. Where could they have gone?

  Maybe they were too hungry to wait. I guessed they were already having lunch.

  I hurried to the Sand Bar. I scanned the dining room. But they weren’t there.

  I’m here, I told myself. I might as well eat. Who knows? Maybe they’ll turn up.

  After my burger and shake I decided to find Neal and Mark. Maybe they’d have some ideas about where everyone had disappeared to. Besides, I was feeling kind of lonely hanging out by myself.

  I checked the Atlantis pool, but Mark wasn’t around. I guessed his extra lesson with Barry had ended. Then I cruised around the resort, searching for Neal. I found him watching kids coming down the Creature Water Slide.

  “Hey!” I called, jogging toward him.

  He turned and waved at me. “What’s up?” he greeted me.

  “Not much. My family has disappeared,” I said half jokingly.

  Neal stared at me. “Mine too,” he told me. “My parents never came back after water aerobics.”

  I felt that creepy tingle again.

  Maybe I wasn’t being silly. Maybe something was actually wrong.

  “Let’s find Mark and see if he knows anything,” Neal suggested. “Maybe there’s some activity all the parents went to.”

  “Good idea,” I agreed. “He’s not at the pool. Let’s check his room.”

  Neal and I hurried to the cluster of suites near the reception lobby. We found the room, and I knocked on the door.

  No answer. I knocked harder. Still nothing.

  Neal and I gazed at each other.

  We both knew his swimming lesson was over. I had just been over the whole club looking for Neal. I never came across Mark. So where was he?

  Neal and I stood in front of his door, trying to figure out what to do.

  Some kid came up behind us. “What are you two doing?” he demanded.

  “We’re looking for Mark Browning,” I replied.

  “Well, why don’t you try his room?” the guy said.

  “This is his room,” I argued.

  “No way.” He opened the door with a key. “I checked in half an hour ago. This is my room. No one named Mark is in this room.”

  I stared at the number on the door again: 104.

  “That was definitely Mark’s room number,” I said to Neal.

  He nodded. “Maybe we should check with the front desk,” he suggested. “Just to be sure.”

  We raced to the reception desk. “Could you tell me Mark Browning’s room number?” I asked.

  The girl behind the desk put down her nail file and tapped something into her computer. “There’s no Mark Browning registered at the Club Lagoona,” she announced.

  “Huh?” I glanced at Neal, then back at the receptionist. “That can’t be right. We have swimming lessons together.”

  “Hey, I know,” Neal piped up. “Maybe he’s registered under his Club Lagoona name! Shark. Shark Browning.”

  She shook her head. “There is no one named Browning at all.”

  “But how can that be?” I protested. “He’s here with his mom and dad.”

  “Yeah,” Neal explained. “We just saw him a little while ago. And Mark told me they were staying until the end of the week.”

  She glanced back at her computer and tapped on the keyboard. Then she looked back up at us.

  “There has never been anyone named Mark Browning registered here at the Club Lagoona,” she repeated slowly.

  She smiled.

  “Not ever.”

  8

  “She’s wrong,” Neal whispered as we walked down the hall. “Maybe she’s new. Maybe she doesn’t know how to work the computer.”

  “She seemed to know what she was doing,” I replied. “She checked us in yesterday.”

  “Well, maybe there’s some glitch with the computer, Tad. After all, people don’t just disappear, do they?” Neal demanded.

  “No,” I answered. “They don’t.”

  “The last time we saw Mark was when Barry wanted to give him the extra lesson,” Neal said. “But he could be anywhere in the club now!”

  “But that wouldn’t explain why he’s not in the computer!” I argued.

  Neal shrugged.

  “Okay, let’s say we had the wrong room number,” I reasoned. “Got it backward or something.”

  Neal nodded.

  “That would explain the guy in Mark’s room. And,” I continued, thinking rapidly, “let’s say there was a computer foul-up.”

  “It happens all the time to my dad,” Neal offered.

  “But that doesn’t explain why my sister didn’t meet me back at the room. Or where our parents are.

  “Umm . . . ” he murmured. “Okay, there has to be a logical explanation.”

  I stared at him, waiting. I was stumped.

  He snapped his fingers. “Maybe your sister is with the adults doing some boring exercise class or something.”

  I shook my head. None of it made sense.

  “I’m going to phone home,” I announced.

  Neal looked surprised. “Why?” he asked. “No one’s there.”

  “Maybe my parents had to go home. Maybe there was some kind of emergency and they didn’t have time to tell us. Or maybe they didn’t want us to worry.”

&nb
sp; “Don’t you think you’re overreacting?” Neal suggested.

  “I have to do something, and it’s the only thing I can think of!” I snapped.

  Maybe I was freaking out over nothing, but too many weird things had been happening to just be coincidences.

  “Okay. Okay,” Neal agreed. “I’ll go with you.”

  I had to talk to somebody outside Club Lagoona. I had to make them understand the danger we might be in. They could find my family. They could come and get me out of here.

  Neal and I pooled our change and headed toward reception. The same girl sat behind the desk.

  “Where’s a phone?” I blurted out.

  She studied me closely. “You again,” she said. “The phone’s over there.” She pointed with her nail file at a phone booth. It was on the other side of the lobby.

  We raced over. There was no time to waste. I’d try my home phone first. If no one answered, I’d phone my next-door neighbor.

  I dropped my money in and dialed. But instead of ringing, a voice came on the line.

  “Hey, what’s a fish like you doing out of the water?” a voice whined. “This is Club Lagoona. Now, get that bathing suit on, and let’s get wet!” Then there was this crazy laughter.

  I slammed the phone down. I waited a moment, then picked up the receiver to try again.

  “Let’s get wet! Let’s get wet!” the voice screamed in my ear.

  I held it up to Neal’s ear. His eyes widened.

  “Let’s get out of here!” I gasped.

  Two big hands clamped down on our shoulders from behind.

  “Not so fast, Guppies!”

  9

  Neal and I froze. I gazed up into Barry’s face.

  “Time for you two to have an extra lesson,” he informed us. His voice was low and serious. His fingers dug into my shoulder.

  “N-n-now?” I stammered.

  “We were just going to—” Neal began to protest.

  Barry cut him off. “Now, Guppies. Let’s go.”

  Barry marched us down to the pool like a couple of prisoners!

  The Atlantis pool was crawling with Club Lagoona staff. I had never seen so many in one place before. They gathered around the pool, watching us closely.

  “Okay, Guppies, let’s get wet!” Barry bellowed.

  The staff peered at us silently. I wanted to bolt. But there was no way to escape. We were surrounded.

  I tried to stall. “Mark’s not here,” I declared.

  “He already had an extra lesson,” Barry reminded me. “Now, hop in!”

  I stared at Barry. Something terrifying hit me.

  The last time we saw Mark he was with Barry. Then he vanished.

  Could Mark’s disappearance be connected to his extra lesson?

  I glanced at the staff positioned around the pool. They never took their eyes off us. As if they were waiting for something to happen.

  But what?

  I tried another tactic. “I have a cramp in my leg,” I lied. I reached down and punched my calf. I grimaced.

  No good.

  “You’ll be fine.” Barry sounded impatient. “Get in the pool and walk around.”

  I slid slowly into the water.

  “Here. Put these on,” Barry commanded. He threw masks and flippers to us.

  “Why do we need these?” Neal asked. He glanced at the silent staff members lined up along the sides of the pool.

  “You’re diving for weights today,” Barry explained. “Now, hurry up and get them on.”

  I grabbed a pair of flippers. They felt heavy even in the water. I struggled to pull them on. They were hard and uncomfortable. I stretched the strap across my heels.

  “Mine are too tight,” I complained.

  Barry rolled his eyes. “They’re adjustable, Tadpole. Now, hurry. You’re holding us up.”

  The flippers felt really funny. Like I had frog feet. I practiced walking in them. I had to lift my legs way up.

  I slipped on the mask. It covered my eyes and nose.

  Barry stood at the side and tossed in a weight. We were going to take turns diving for it and bringing it back up.

  I went first. I ducked underwater where the weight sank. It was amazing what I could see by wearing the mask. Neal’s legs and feet. They looked kind of pale blue.

  Just like what the shark sees in Jaws, I thought, shuddering.

  I kicked my feet. Whoa! The flippers sent me across the shallow end unbelievably fast. Two kicks and I was right above the weight.

  I reached down for it—and something in the deep end caught my eye.

  Two kids hovered at the bottom of the pool. They wore bright red bathing suits and scuba gear.

  In the deepest part.

  They stood on top of something. I peered harder.

  They were standing right on top of the biggest drain I’d ever seen!

  The sight of the drain made me remember my tooth disappearing down the drain in my bathtub. This drain was big enough to suck down a lot more than a tooth.

  A familiar whirring sound startled me. The same whirring I heard when the diver disappeared. When that horrible green thing appeared in the pool.

  I watched, stunned, as the drain slid open!

  The current in the pool changed. I could feel myself being sucked toward the open drain. My heart pounded triple-time.

  I saw the divers kick crazily. But their flippers were no match for the huge, sucking drain. As hard as they fought the current, they just stayed in one place.

  I watched in terror as something slinked out of the open drain. A long green tentacle! It waved through the water like a piece of giant, slimy seaweed.

  One kid must have seen it. His arms and legs started moving like crazy. He grabbed the other kid by the arm and pointed at the tentacle. Then both of them started swimming furiously. Desperately.

  But it was useless.

  The tentacle danced around them playfully. Then it struck. It whipped around both the divers so tightly, they were lashed together.

  It dragged them straight down into the drain!

  A moment later they were gone!

  10

  Horrified, I stared at the drain. One minute two kids played at the bottom of the pool. The next minute they vanished!

  My entire body went stiff with fear. And then I felt the force of the drain pulling me toward it.

  If I didn’t do something fast, I’d be sucked in too!

  Terror shot me into high gear.

  I planted my feet firmly on the rough pool bottom. I squatted down like a frog in my flippers. I pushed as hard as I could and kicked my legs.

  I zoomed straight up. I heard the whirring sound again and felt the force from the drain weaken.

  The drain must be sliding shut! I realized.

  I escaped!

  I broke through the surface with a splash. I gasped for air. I spotted Neal on the other side of the pool. I paddled furiously toward him. I had to warn him. We had to get out of the pool!

  With the help of the flippers, I was beside Neal in an instant. “You’ve got to listen to me, Neal,” I begged. “We’re in danger!”

  Neal gasped. “What are you talking about?” he demanded.

  Before I could explain, Barry blew his whistle.

  “Okay, you two, time to get into the deep end,” Barry shouted.

  “What?” My voice shook with fear.

  I had to tell Barry what I had seen. The terror in the deep end. I turned to face him.

  “That’s right, Tadpole. The deep end,” Barry repeated slowly. He stared at us, his eyes gleaming.

  My whole body trembled. I realized something—something horrifying!

  Barry knows. He knows exactly what’s waiting for us in the deep end of the pool!

  “Bet you two Guppies can’t swim all the way down to the bottom and touch the drain,” Barry teased.

  My mouth opened to shout a warning. But before I could get a word out, Neal tucked and disappeared underwater.

  N
o!

  I had to stop him!

  I gulped some air and pushed hard off the side.

  I spotted Neal just ahead of me. He swam straight down, heading for the drain.

  I kicked hard and stretched my arms to make big strokes. I was gaining on him. A few more strokes and I’d be able to grab his foot.

  I nearly swallowed water with my next stroke. The noise was back! The whirring sound that meant the drain was sliding open.

  And Neal was swimming right for it!

  I strained every muscle to catch up. I snagged his flipper and held tight.

  The drain finished sliding open. The whirring noise stopped.

  The force of the drain dragged us down. As we were pulled closer, water whipped around like a whirlpool.

  I lost my grip on Neal.

  We tumbled and whirled. Spinning in smaller and smaller circles. Faster and faster.

  We were headed straight down the drain!

  As we tumbled helplessly through the water, Neal latched on to my ankle. He gripped me so tightly, it hurt. I glanced down.

  It wasn’t Neal!

  It was—the tentacle!

  It curled around me, pulling me down into the open drain. I clutched the side of the drain, but my fingers slid off.

  Then I saw Neal. He circled above me, whipped around in the whirlpool. The tentacle hadn’t grabbed him.

  I reached down to my ankle and grabbed the slimy thing. I squeezed as hard as I could. Suddenly it let me go!

  I was free!

  I tried to scramble out of the drain. But then the tentacle grabbed me around the shoulders. I felt something slam against my back. Neal and I were lashed together in the powerful grip of the tentacle.

  It dragged us down into the drain into a long, twisting tunnel. We hurtled through, slamming against the sides.

  My lungs burned.

  Air! I need air! I thought desperately. My chest is going to explode!

  Dark spots whirled around me, closing in on me.

  I’m drowning! I realized.

  Then everything went black.

  11

  My nose itched. I opened my eyes. A hard, round brown thing pressed against my face. I moved my head slightly.

  I stared at a large coconut. My body lay sprawled on the edge of a lake.