Ghost Island (9 page)

CHAPTER 17

I woke up screaming. Voices tangled in my hair.
Charles shouting and another guy making accusations.

“Leave him alone.”

“It’s okay.” Grace huddled beside me on the bed.

We were back in my room. I could tell it was morning even though the sun was dimmed by a dark ceiling of sky.

I could still hear them—Charles and the other guy, who was probably Benjamin. I wasn’t sure how they had come crashing into my dream with Aaron, but I needed to find out.

The sheets were knotted around my sweating body. I kicked myself free of them, then realized I was as fully clothed as I had been in the dream.

“What happened?” I asked Grace.

Although I was sweltering, she appeared to be freezing, and had pulled the comforter up to her neck.

“Charles,” she said. “He freaked at dinner. Said he needed to get back to his friend. Can you believe he prefers gambling with a guy to hanging out with me?

“Have you actually seen Benjamin?” I asked.

“No, and that pisses me off too. I don’t like being anyone’s second choice, and I don’t have to be.”

“Meaning?”

She looked down at the iridescent surface of the comforter.
“Nothing.”

“So what did you do?”

“Who cares? Charles certainly doesn’t.” She shed the covers and headed for the shower.
Stark naked.
No wonder she was cold.

“Wait,” I said. “I asked you a question.”

“And I told you it doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.”

She grabbed a towel from the rack, covered herself, and turned back to me. “We’re friends, right? But you have secrets of your own, and so do I, okay?”

Before I could say that the only secrets I had were the ones too terrible to share, the shower door slammed behind her, followed by a blast of water.

There was no way I was going to wait for her to finish. I pulled on my jacket and went out to look for Charles. Too early, I knew. Still, if he had experienced what I had in the dream, maybe he would be looking for me as well.

Early morning brought softer rain. At least I could find my way down the winding hill onto the street with minimum discomfort.

On the path to the casino, I spotted him. At least it looked like him from behind. His coat was different, though. It flew up behind him like wings, like a top coat from another time.

“Charles,” I called out.

He stopped, and then slowly turned.
“Hey,
Liv
.
What are you doing here?”

“Trying to find you.”

“Then hurry up. We’ve got to get there.”

“Where?”
I asked and ran to catch up with him.

“The casino.”
Behind the trendy glasses, his b
lu
e eyes were blank, as if he’d been drinking. Yet he didn’t smell of alcohol the way Johnny often did. Drugs, maybe, but he seemed too innocent for that.

“You know it’s not open this early,” I said.

“I’ll find a way in. Benjamin has my money. He claimed I cheated him, but that’s a lie.”

“How do you know he’s still there?” I asked.

“He’s always there. I should have stayed last night the way he wanted me to. I knew I should have, only...”

“Only what?”

“I don’t know.” He shook his head as if to clear it. “Bizarre. One minute Benjamin was saying that if I stayed longer, he’d give me a chance to win back the money he claims I took. But that’s all I remember.”

The steps to the casino were right ahead of us. I touched his arm, and he stopped.

“Charles,” I said. “You know what’s going on, don’t you? With the dreams, I mean.”

“I heard what you said at the hotel before Emily told us about your dad.” He grinned and started to look more like himself.

“There’s more to the story,” I said. “Emily was just trying to turn you guys against me.”

“I couldn’t care less what she says.” He glanced up at the round building before us. “All I care about is the money.”

The way Grace cared about her sister.
The way I cared about Aaron.

“Where did you get that coat?” I asked him.

He looked down as if seeing it for the first time. “It’s Benjamin’s. I must have grabbed it by mistake when I left.”

I thought about Grace’s scarf and felt like running away, but there was
nowhere safe for me on this island, maybe nowhere safe for any of us
.

“These aren’t regular dreams we’re having,” I told him. “You’re wearing his coat, Charles, and in case you haven’t noticed, it’s not exactly normal-looking.”

He shrugged, as if that simple gesture could erase all concerns about what was happening.

“So Benjamin dresses kind of strange? In a few minutes, he’ll have it back, and I’ll have all that cash.”

Then it hit me, and I remembered the argument Ms. Gates had used on me.
He comes from a wealthy family...Why would he dream about money
?

“You’re pretending aren’t you?” I said.
“Pretending to be one of the rich kids.”

He pulled the coat around him. “If anyone’s pretending here, it’s you,
Liv
. I’m going in there now and finding Benjamin.”

“Charles,” I said. “In the dreams, or whatever they are, we find what we want the most. Just tell me the truth.”

He shifted in the oversize coat. “I need to get going.”

“Tell me, Charles. I know you wouldn’t be dreaming about money if you had it.”

“Do you need a confession to make you feel better about yourself?” He shucked the coat and tossed it over his arm. “Then, yes,
Liv
, I’m as poor as you are, and I’m the other charity case on the cruise.
Happy now?”

“Finally,” I said. “I get it.”

“The difference is I love my family, and this money will change everything for us. “My dad is the best man I’ve ever known. It’s not his fault the economy tanked.”

“I love my family too,” I said, “in spite of what Emily is spreading about them.”

“Actually, I thought about telling you that first night.” He grinned. “But I wanted one of those sailboat bunks—almost as much as I wanted Grace to notice me.”

“That was pretty obvious.”

A tinge of pink hit his cheeks. “She wouldn’t be interested if she knew the truth. Please don’t tell her.”

“I won’t. It’s not my business,” I said. “Just don’t go back to the casino, okay?”

“I have to.”

“No you don’t. Whatever we dream about seems real, but something else is going on. I don’t think Grace is going to find her sister, and I don’t think you’re going to find your money either.”

“Yeah, actually I am going to get it even if I have to spend the whole day there.” He started walking toward the casino again, still carrying the coat.

I followed him.

He turned. “I mean it,
Liv
. This isn’t a game.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you.” We stood before the large wooden door.

“What are you so afraid of?” He seemed to be having second thoughts.

“If you walk inside there,” I told him, “I’m not sure you’ll ever come back.”

“That’s ridiculous.” He reached out for the door handle.

“You know it’s not.” I grabbed his hand. “Come on. The rain’s stopped. Let’s get to the hotel before it starts again. I’ll even let you sit next to Grace at breakfast.”

“I’ll get back as soon as I can.”

“No, now.
We have to hurry.”

“I can’t.” He pulled away from me and yanked the casino door open.

Peggy stood there, inches from us. Her glasses hung from their silver chain like a necklace over her pink cardigan, and her hair was loose as if she’d forgotten to pin it up.

“My goodness.”
She took a step back. “What are you two doing out this early?”

“We’re just leaving,” I said.

“I’m not.” Charles stepped inside.

“You can’t come in here.” She attempted to block his path, but he rushed past her and headed for the stairs.

“See you later,
Liv
,” he called, but his voice was already swallowed up by the emptiness.

“No one’s allowed inside this early.” Peggy’s voice sounded strange too, as if she were speaking from a great distance.

“Then stop him,” I pleaded.

“How?”
She pulled her sweater closer, her expression panicked, and I realized, for the first time, how frail she was.

“Can’t you call someone?”

“There’s no one here. We just stopped by to...” Her voice trailed off.

“I’ll stop him then.” I ran in the same direction I’d seen Charles go.

“You can’t,” Peggy cried out. “You’re not allowed.”

It was as if the room had heard her. Everything stopped, and so did I. From where I stood in the tiled entry, I saw no stairs, no elevator. All I could see was blinding sunlight. It bounced off the crystal glass of the faceted windows and warmed my face to burning.

From far away, I heard laughter that might be Charles. I smelled cigar smoke. Both the laughter and the smoke were growing stronger. I turned back and ran from the building, choking.

Peggy stood on the sidewalk, fiddling with her glasses. “I tried to tell you,” she said.

“Tried to tell me what?”

“The rules, Miss.” She smiled up at me. “You need to follow the rules.”

CHAPTER 18

The cigar smoke disappeared. I could breathe again. I could smell the ocean.

“Well.” Peggy leaned against the door.
“Nothing like a brisk morning walk.
Shall we?”

“My friend’s in there,” I said. “I’m not leaving.”

“You saw what happened when you tried to follow him.” She jutted out her chin. “This casino is like any other place of business.
Open, closed, regular hours.
You young people can’t come traipsing in whenever you want to.”

“What happens if we break the rules?”

“Then you’ll be escorted out.”

“What about Charles?”

“Your young man?
Just as I said.
They don’t allow anyone inside this early.”

“But you were in there.”

“Of course I was. It’s what we do, Norm and I. We look after things.” As if to prove it, she made a show of locking the door.

“If no one’s in there,
who’s
going to escort Charles out?” I asked.

She shaded her eyes with her hand as if staring into the sun. “Are you trying to confuse me, Miss?”

“No,” I said. “I just want to know how he’s going to get out of there if you just locked the door.”

“He’ll probably take the back exit. Yes, that’s it. That’s how the others left when they came too early.” A squirrel darted across our path. “Look at that little guy,” she said. “Seeking shelter before the storm hits again. We’d best do the same.”

I hadn’t moved. I was chilled by her words.

“What others?” I asked.

“Well, let me think.” She slipped on her glasses as if they could help her remember. “Some from that boat of yours showed up yesterday. They arrived too early, though.”

“Describe them,” I said. “Tell me anything you remember.”

“I only saw the man, I’m afraid. He was terribly rude.” She nodded toward the path ahead of us. “The rain won’t let up for a while. Why don’t you stop by the house? I made cinnamon rolls.”

“What man?” I asked.

“Friedman.
Friesen.
My memory isn’t what it used to be.
A young man, forty maybe, but going bald on top.
I hate to say it, but he wasn’t very nice.”

“Freeman?” Let it be Freeman. Let him be here.

“Yes, that was his name. You do know him then.”

“He’s one of our chaperones,” I said, unable to hide my excitement. “Where is he now?”

“I’m not sure.
Probably out back somewhere.”

“In back of the casino?”

“That’s right. I tried to tell him about our hours, but he acted as if he didn’t hear a word. He was talking about some car he was going to drive. Everyone knows we don’t allow any more cars on the island.”

“That man and the students with him have been missing since we got here,” I said. “We need to tell someone right away.”

“There’s no one to tell.” She sighed, and then patted my arm. “You know, it’s gotten pretty stressful for Norm and me since the storm and all.”

“It’s stressful for everyone,” I said. “Some of us are having really weird dreams.”

“Sleep deprivation. No wonder you’re so antsy. Stop by the house, and I’ll give you some of my chamomile and lemon balm tea. I blend the herbs myself, and I promise you’ll have the soundest sleep of your life.”

Her pink sweater f
lu
ttered in the wind, and she pulled it to her as if this were just an ordinary b
lu
stery day. For the first time, I wondered how much she really knew.

“I’m not going anywhere until I know Charles is okay,” I said.

“He’ll be fine.”

“I told you I’m not leaving him here.” I grabbed the keys from her hands.

“Stop, Miss. You can’t.”

“Charles,” I shouted, and ran back to the door. “Charles, where are you?”

“
Liv
?”
A whisper I could barely hear, a voice as thin as water.

“Miss.”
Peggy’s fingers on my shoulder felt like claws. “There’s no one in there.”

“I’m in here. Help me,
Liv
.”

“I’m right here, Charles.” I unlocked the door and felt a surge from the other side.

“Miss,” Peggy shouted. “That’s against the rules.”

I struggled with the door and felt as if I was pushing against the wind. It flew open, and the force of it sent me flying. I landed in the wet grass next to Peggy.

“Oh, my goodness.
See what you’ve done.” She picked up the keys and headed for the building.

“
Liv
.”

Charles sat on the ground a few feet from me. The topcoat was gone, and he wore only a gray t-shirt. His bare arms glistened with raindrops.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I think so.” He stood slowly and came over to me. “It was like being in the middle of a storm in there. I found Benjamin, but he acted as if he didn’t see me. He was with Mr. Freeman,
Liv
.”

“Now do you believe what I’ve been trying to tell you?” I asked.

He pressed his fingers against his temples. “I feel like I’ve been drugged or something. You’re right. Whatever is in that casino wants us.
But why?”

“They want to take us over or something, the way they took over Emily. She’s not the same person, and you were almost...” I didn’t know how to finish.

“They had me,” he said. “Benjamin seemed so real. But today he looked different. The whole place did.”

“Were the other kids there?”

“Just Freeman.”
He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes as if waking up from a deep sleep. “It looked like a cheesy bar in there. He and Benjamin were puffing on cigars and talking about some trip Mr. Freeman was planning. He said this time he was going to stop the car, whatever that means.”

“I have no idea,” I said.

“Neither do
I
. All I know is how I couldn’t keep away when it was tricked out like a real gambling hall. If you hadn’t tried to stop me this morning, I would have gotten there first, and they’d probably have me instead of him. What do you think they are?”

“What do
you
think they are?”

“Demons?
I don’t know. My sister is into that stuff. I never believed any of it until now. Freeman was being so weird.”

“You were pretty weird yourself,” I said.

“Because of the money.”
He lifted his empty palms. “I just wanted it to be real.”

“The way Grace wanted her sister to be real.”

Peggy once more made a show of locking the door. “Thank goodness that’s settled,” she said. “Now, let’s try to beat the storm.”

“You go ahead,” I told her. “Charles and I have something to do.”

“Well, if you’re sure.” She headed for the path. “You take care now.”

We watched her walk away, a white-haired lady in a pink sweater, humming to herself.

“Do you think she’s part of it?” Charles asked.

“She’s got to be, and her husband too. I don’t trust anyone anymore.”

“You trust me, though, don’t you?” His b
lu
e eyes twinkled behind his glasses.

“Now I do.”

“I trust you, too. Let’s figure a way to get out of here.”