The Sign in the Smoke (Nancy Drew Diaries #12)(6)

She sat up. “Yeah, I can hear that. I’m pretty sure the whole camp can hear it.”

“It’s loud, right?”

“It sounds like it’s coming from right outside.”

There was a creak from the bunks across the room.

“What is that?” Bess asked.

“I’m not sure,” I said honestly.

Wooooooooooohh . . .

This time the sound was softer, almost pretty. More of a whisper than a wail.

“Should we go outside and check it out?” Sam asked. Now that I could see her face, she looked terribly annoyed.

I glanced out the small window. It was dark outside, but cool blue moonlight shone down on the clearing that surrounded the mess hall. I didn’t see anything unusual. But the thought of going out there was not appealing.

More creaking. Bess got up from her bed and walked over to us. She grabbed a flashlight from her duffel bag. “I think we have to go,” she said.

“Where are you going?” a sleepy voice asked from behind her. George.

“Outside,” Bess said. “To check out—”

Wooooooooo-woooooooo!

There was an abrupt thunk as George jumped down from her bed. “What on earth . . . ,” she muttered.

I got my flashlight too, and so did Sam. As we approached the door, I couldn’t help asking, “Do you think it could be the ghost?”

I was normally much more logical than this. But it was the middle of the night, in a cabin, in the woods.

I was surprised when no one said no right away.

“I don’t want to think about it,” Bess murmured. “We’re going to be here for nine more days.” She was the only one to respond.

We pushed open the heavy wooden door and walked outside.

Woooooooooooooooo!

It was coming from the woods . . . from the path toward the lake.

We crept toward the woods. Closer . . . and closer. My skin felt too tight and my heart beat a jumpy rhythm in my chest.

“How far do we go?” Bess whispered.

“Far enough to figure out what this is,” Sam replied.

It was cooler outside than it had been during the campfire, and an even cooler breeze seemed to come down the path from the lake. I knew it was probably just air cooled from skimming over the lake’s surface, but it felt . . . ghostly.

I couldn’t help wondering what it would feel like to drown. Feeling the air leave your body and knowing you would never take another breath. What if someone was holding you down when you were trying to break free of the surface . . . if someone went crazy and drowned you, like Bella had said? What would it feel like to be held underwater and know you were dying?

“Wooooooooo . . . BOO!”

“AAAAAUUUUUUUUGH!”

I let out an ear-piercing scream as a pale figure jumped out from behind a tree. Bess, George, and Sam were screaming too. But instead of wailing at us some more, or grabbing us with its ghostly hands, the figure abruptly stopped wailing and started cracking up. When I was over my shock, I turned to look at her.

Bella!

“Were you scared?” she asked, a smug look on her face. “Bet you believe my story now, huh?”

“What the heck, Bella!” Sam cried, putting her hands on her hips. “This was all a joke? Do you think this is funny? We have to get up in, like, three hours!”

Bella’s lip twisted. “Chill, guys,” she said, folding her arms and glancing toward the clearing. “It was just a prank! I thought you’d been to camp before.” She looked at Bess.

Bess frowned. “I’ve been to camp before,” she said, “but pranks are usually funny.”

George, who wore a deep frown and had seemed to be thinking something over this whole time, suddenly spoke. “Did you make up that whole dumb story?” she asked. “About the counselor drowning the girl? Was it just the setup to your prank to scare us?”

Bella turned to George, surprised. Then her expression hardened into a cold, steely glare. “I’m not telling,” she said. “I guess you’ll just have to wait and see, hmmm?”

“Well, I’m going to ‘wait and see’ back in bed,” Sam said, turning her flashlight toward the cabin. “This was stupid, and I’m exhausted.”

Sam led the way back to the cabin, and Bess fell into step behind her, then George. After a moment, Bella scowled, shook her head, and followed behind George toward the cabin, folding her arms more tightly around her.

I couldn’t help but glance one more time down the path that led to the lake. Another chilly breeze blew, sending a chill up my spine.

I wasn’t totally sure Bella had made up the story. But I wasn’t so sure I wanted to wait to find out, either.





CHAPTER THREE





A Shadowy Surprise


I WASN’T SURE WHETHER IT was because of Bella’s prank, but the next morning I felt tired and out of sorts. It was still a little chilly outside, and the shorts and T-shirt I’d packed did little to keep me warm. Sam encouraged me to tough it out, because it would be warming up later. But I couldn’t help wishing I was back in bed—at home.

Things only got worse when Deborah announced our morning activity. “Swimming tests!” she said enthusiastically at breakfast. “These are very important to judge your comfort level in the water, and how much supervision your campers will need while they’re at the lake.”