Weirdville: Drowning in Fear (Lower Grade Spooky Fun Adventure) Read online

  DROWNING IN FEAR

  By

  Majanka Verstraete

  Copyright

  www.EvolvedPub.com

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  DROWNING IN FEAR

  (A Weirdville Book)

  Copyright © 2014 Majanka Verstraete

  Cover Art Copyright © 2014 Noelle Giffin

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  ISBN (EPUB Version): 1622530764

  ISBN-13 (EPUB Version): 978-1-62253-076-2

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  Edited by Lane Diamond

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  eBook License Notes:

  You may not use, reproduce or transmit in any manner, any part of this book without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations used in critical articles and reviews, or in accordance with federal Fair Use laws. All rights are reserved.

  This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only; it may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, please return to your eBook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  ~~~

  Disclaimer:

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.

  Other Books by Majanka Verstraete

  Weirdville

  Drowning in Fear

  Fright Train

  House of Horrors

  The Doll Maker

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  Valentina’s Spooky Adventures

  Valentina and the Haunted Mansion

  Valentina and the Masked Mummy

  Valentina and the Whackadoodle Witch

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  www.MajankaVerstraete.com

  Dedication:

  For all those kids out there who love telling scary stories to their friends, and reading scary books in bed at night, wondering if they should leave the lights on or not after reading. Hope you enjoy this story as well!

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Other Books by Majanka Verstraete

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  What’s Next?

  More from Majanka Verstraete

  More from Evolved Publishing

  Chapter 1

  Nolan gazed down into the pool of thick, black water below. The lake stretched on in front of him, a sleeping monster ready to swallow him whole the moment he dipped his foot in it.

  He turned back toward the house he’d come from, a nondescript two-story wooden building, barely more than a cabin. Light burned in the upstairs bedroom, and it didn’t feel right—its glow too golden, too luminescent, as if it didn’t come from this world at all.

  A black shadow appeared behind the glass.

  Nolan panicked and put a step back. His foot slipped on the wet surface, and before he had time to cry out, he fell down into the lake below. Water rolled over him in black, thick waves, pulling him under.

  He screamed, but no sound came out. Water burned his eyes and engulfed him, threatening to drown him. He fought against the darkness, struggled to stay afloat, but the water was sticky and thick, almost as thick as blood, and he couldn’t move at all....

  ***

  He woke up screaming.

  Sweat rained down from his forehead and he shivered all over as he took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He was safe at home, in his own bedroom, not near the lake or the house he’d never seen before—not stuck in the nightmare.

  The door burst open and his mom walked in. Her blonde hair looked completely disheveled and her bathrobe dragged over the floor, as if she’d rushed to put it on before darting to his room.

  The first few nights it happened, she’d run in, eyes wide, worry turning her face into a wrinkled mask. Now, although her lips curled in annoyance, she still rushed over to his room every time.

  He loved her for that.

  “Did you have the nightmare again?”

  “Yeah.” He wrapped his arms around himself. Now that he’d stopped sweating, he realized how cold his room was, as if he’d somehow been transported to the Arctic.

  Mom sat down on the edge of the bed, kissed him on the forehead, and pulled him close. “It’s okay, sweetie. It was just a dream.”

  The first time he’d had the nightmare, he’d believed her. It seemed logical. Dad had just broken the news to him that he’d enrolled him for a summer camp near a lake, in this stupid town called Weirdville. Mom had been so mad she hadn’t spoken to Dad all day. Nolan was mad too, but he wasn’t good at ignoring people, and way better at throwing temper tantrums. He’d crashed through the house like a tornado, jumped up and down the stairs, screamed at the top of his lungs.

  The worst part was that he understood why Dad had done it. He’d gone behind Nolan’s back—and his Mom’s—in signing him up for the summer camp.

  In high school, Dad had won the national swimming competition: 100 meters. He went swimming practically every day.

  Nolan, on the other hand, was terrified of water. He’d been afraid of it for as long as he could remember. He wasn’t terribly good at any sport, but he dreaded swimming the most. Every time he had to go to the swimming pool, he ended up having a panic attack, until his school’s gym teacher decided it wasn’t worth the hassle and let Nolan pass on the swimming.

  After he found out about the camp enrollment, the nightmares had begun, but there was something strange about them. In daytime, Nolan feared what he assumed would be a slew of questioning stares of his fellow campers almost as much as the water itself. People always looked at him as if he’d grown three heads whenever he mentioned being afraid of the water.

  In the nightmare, that barely played any part. It was all about the lake, about the house nearby, about the thing hiding inside the house.

  “I don’t want to go.” He clutched Mom’s arm, digging his fingers into her skin. “Please don’t make me.”

  She sighed. “I’m sorry, sweetie, but your Dad is convinced this’ll be good for you and... to be honest, I think he may be right.” She stroked his hair. “There’s no reason to be so afraid of swimming. It’s just water.”

  He clenched his fists. If he got a penny every time he heard that sentence, he’d be a millionaire. Of course he had no reason to be afraid of water, but he was. He barely kept it under control while taking a bath. No way would he survive going to a lake.

  Whenever he got near water, a blind panic took hold of him. He couldn’t move, could barely breathe. Run, his body screamed. Run! Get away from the water!

  Even if he ignored his body’s demands, he always ended up panicking anyway. Then people had to come drag him out of the pool, and it all got so embarrassing everyone at school made fun at him.

  It hurt that Mom thought the same way about it as Dad, that he should just get over this fear of water and move on with his life—that he couldn’t be normal until he did.

  Mom pulled the blankets up to his shoulders and helped him lie back down. “Try to get some sleep. The bus will be here in less than four hours.�
�� She kissed his cheek, and then disappeared out of his room.

  Four hours until he had to leave. Four hours.

  He clutched the blanket so hard his knuckles turned white.

  Chapter 2

  The bus halted right in front of Nolan’s feet. It was painted in the trademark ocean-blue and dark orange of the camp, with “Lake Weird Camp” sprayed on top in bright green. Inside the bus, children piled on top of each other pressed their faces against the windows to catch a glimpse of him. Some waved enthusiastically; others barely shot him another glance.

  Dad patted him on his head. “You have fun, champ.”

  “Give us a call if something goes wrong.” Mom hugged him. “I love you,” she whispered in his ear.

  Nolan hoisted his backpack on his shoulders and got on the bus. He waved one last time at his parents, suppressed the urge to cry, and then turned to the other kids.

  The bus was even more crowded than the bus he took every day to school, most of the seats occupied. The kids talked so loud his ears buzzed. Most of them acted as if they’d known each other for years, cracking jokes, holding their bellies as they laughed out loud.

  Nolan looked left and right to find an empty spot.

  One scrawny boy with freckles and ginger hair waved him to the free spot next to him.

  Nolan hurried over and sat down. “Hey, I’m Nolan.”

  “Sam.”

  An awkward silence descended between them.

  Nolan took his backpack off and dropped it on the floor. He wasn’t good at making friends, but at least he should give it a shot. “Is this your first time going on a summer camp?”

  “Oh no.” Sam spoke with a strange, funny accent. “I’ve gone camping every summer since I was four. I’m ten now, so that’s six years, but I’ve never been to Lake Weird Camp before. I used to live in Canada.”

  “Ah.” So that’s where the accent came from. “Well, this is the first time I’m going on summer camp.”

  “You’ll love it.” Sam kicked his feet in the air one at a time. “It’s great to be away from your parents, not having them watch your every move. Of course, after a few days you start to miss them, but by the time you really miss them you’ll get to go back home. And once you’re back home, you’ll miss the camp.”

  Nolan wished it could be like that for him. With his fear for water, he’d most likely be relieved to get back home. “Are there usually a lot of... water activities?”

  “Sure. Whenever it’s warm, we go for a swim, especially when there’s a lake at the camp site, like now. I bet there will be lots of water games.” Sam smiled from ear to ear.

  Nolan’s stomach turned inside out. “Great. What happens to kids who are... um... afraid of water?”

  Sam shrugged. “The camp leaders usually help them, or stay close by to keep an eye on them. Why?” He narrowed his eyes. “Are you scared of swimming?”

  “More like scared of drowning.”

  “Don’t worry.” Sam put a hand on his shoulder. “You’ll be fine. Camp leaders are always around in case something goes wrong. Which won’t happen. I’ll stick by your side.”

  Sam went on to tell him about his family, his annoying sister Emma, his dog Rufus, and his parents who were both professional photographers. He did most of the talking, but he did ask Nolan a question every now and then.

  By the time they arrived in Weirdville about an hour later, Nolan felt as if he’d known Sam since kindergarten.

  The bus hobbled onto a rocky path in the woods, barely wide enough to let the vehicle go through. The road meandered left and right, past trees and bushes.

  “Let’s sing the camp song!” a kid screamed at the front.

  Seconds later, half the bus burst into song.

  Nolan caught some of the camp spirit. He could enjoy camp if he only let go of this stupid fear of water. He wanted to enjoy it, to laugh and joke with the other kids, instead of constantly being worried.

  The forest vanished and they reached a clearing. Six small, wooden cabins stood in a circle, and a larger cabin with a wooden board saying “The Shack” appeared in the back. An unlit bonfire, surrounded by wooden benches, stood in the middle of the circle.

  The bus halted and kids screamed in joy, throwing their hands in the air and struggling to get out of the bus first.

  Nolan kept to the back and ended up being one of the last kids to scramble out of the bus.

  A woman wearing knee-length brown pants, and a shirt in orange and blue stripes with the logo for Lake Weird Camp splattered across it, walked toward them. “Hey, kids, welcome to Lake Weird Camp! I’m Jane, the head camp leader. Can you all sit down on those benches?”

  Nolan squeezed in next to Sam.

  It took a while before all the kids found a spot, but eventually the ruckus calmed down and everyone took a seat.

  Jane stood next to the bonfire, holding a clipboard. “First, we’ll deal with the boring stuff. I’ll call out your name, and then you yell out ‘yes’ so I can scratch you from my list. You can also tell us if you’d like us to use a nickname for you, what your hobbies are, and if you’ve come to Lake Weird Camp before or not. All right?”

  “Yes,” most of the kids screamed in unison.

  Nolan fiddled with the hem of his shirt. He didn’t like speaking in front of groups.

  “Nolan Browne,” Jane called.

  “Here,” he barely peeped. He coughed and repeated, “I’m here. Um... I go by Nolan. I like soccer, roller skating, and playing video games. I’ve never been to camp before.”

  Jane smiled at him. “Well, then we hope your first time will be a great success!” She turned back to her list. “Mila Burns?”

  She called out too many names for Nolan to keep track of, but he tried to remember as many of them as possible.

  Once Jane was done shouting out names, she told them about the cabins, three of which were for the girls, and three for boys. Apparently they’d divided everyone into small groups.

  “Don’t come asking for another group unless you have a valid reason,” she said. “I’ll call out a group, and then the names of everyone in the group.”

  There was a pause before she continued. “Group one: Sam Reynders, Nolan Browne, Peter....”

  Nolan didn’t hear anymore. He couldn’t believe his luck to be in the same group as his new friend.

  “Looks like we’re in the same cabin.” Sam held up his hand for a high-five.

  Nolan high-fived him, almost missing his hand—he hadn’t high-fived anyone in years. He didn’t have a lot of friends at school, and whatever friends he did make usually turned their back on him the moment he made a fool of himself in swimming class.

  Jane continued dividing them into groups, but Nolan’s curiosity about the cabins distracted him. The small wooden cabins had one window each and a door at the front, and stood only one story high.

  Will there be bunk beds? He’d always wanted a bunk bed.

  “So that’s it,” Jane said, wrapping things up. “Now you can each go to your cabin. Then you’ll meet your cabin leader, who will walk you through the basics.”

  Some kids hurried up and raced to their cabin.

  Nolan looked at Sam.

  “Come on,” Sam said. “It’ll be great.”

  Nolan followed him toward the cabin hoping that, against all odds, his friend would be right.

  Chapter 3

  A tall, brown-haired boy who looked a few years older than Nolan and Sam leaned against the cabin, his arms crossed in front of his chest. He wore his cap backwards and chewed gum with his mouth open.

  Nolan bit his lip. He knew this type—the cool twelve-year-olds who always made fun of him at school.

  But when they came closer, the boy cracked a smile. “Hey there. I’m Peter.” He pushed away from the cabin wall and held out a hand. “This is my fifth time here,” he said while Nolan shook his hand. “I haven’t seen either of you before, so I guess you’re new?”

  The two boys nodded, and then we
nt on to introduce themselves.

  Meanwhile, a fourth boy dragged himself toward them, moving slow as a snail. The boy stood a head shorter than Nolan, and looked so skinny a gush of wind could send him hurling backwards. His blonde hair covered his eyes. The skin of his face was pulled back so tightly, it looked more like a skull.

  Nolan shivered when the boy came closer. A strange déjà-vu feeling crawled up on him, as if he’d seen this kid before.

  “Hey.” Peter nodded at the boy. “Who are you?”

  The boy lifted his head to look at them.

  Nolan let out a breath. The kid looked normal, not at all like the strange ghoul-like appearance he’d attributed to him when he first approached them.

  “Oh, right. Hey, I’m Leo.” The boy sounded as if his thoughts were miles away, and he’d just pummeled back to earth.

  “Hey boys!” a teenage girl shouted. Her blue camp hat nearly tumbled off her head as she hurried toward them, and she grabbed it with both hands to keep it from flying away. “It’s good to see you’re all here.”

  She stopped running and walked the last few feet toward them. “I’m Nellie Meyers, your cabin leader.” She fiddled with her ponytail, which had gotten stuck in her hat. “I’ve been visiting Lake Weird Camp for the last ten years, and it’s been great every single time. This is my first time as cabin leader, but I’ll try my very best to make sure camp is as fun for you as it’s been for me.”

  She rattled on instructions about the camp, and then gave them a conspiratorial smile. “Now, you probably want to look inside the cabin, right?”

  “Yes!” Sam screamed. He jumped up and down, one bundle of energy.

  Nolan looked down at his shoes. I doubt camp will be half as much fun as Nellie is convinced it’ll be.

  “Well then, let’s go!” Nellie pushed the door open, walked in, and fumbled for the light switch in the dark.

  Seconds later, the four boys ventured inside the cabin behind her. Four single beds stood next to each other, all made up. At the opposite end of the room, four small closets lined up against the wall. A pile of extra pillows lay in the corner.