skateboarding,
his obsession when he was twelve years old. How many times
had he dropped in from the edge, skimmed across the pool fl oor
and up the other side? He could feel in his muscles the memory
of pumping into the deep end, and up to the coping and out,
grabbing the nose of his skateboard with one hand.
Th
en something had happened. One of the kids had fallen
backwards— he was fl ying up and out, tried to turn his board,
and lost it. He could hear the boy’s cry and see him lying there, so still, while the other boys stood around not knowing what to do.
A sour taste came into his mouth when he remembered that
-1—
he had been the most skilled at catching air, and that he had
0—
taunted the kid who was something of a weakling, jeered him
+1—
84
039-54009_ch01_1P.indd 84
3/15/13 7:44 PM
Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising
on as boys will do in a mean way, and that the boy had been
panicky and misjudged the slant of reentry.
When David lay in bed that night, he could still see the boy
curled at the bottom of the pool, his neck at a weird angle. No
one had blamed David, but he had never been allowed to skate
the pool again. And why hadn’t they asked him what happened?
It became one more secret of the family, never to be mentioned
again.
Th
e pool seemed ugly and decayed, a dark cavern fi lled with
frozen scum. Still, there must have been partying many years
before and, in his imagination, he could hear the sound of
splashing and laughter, and his vision blurred as he saw waver-
ing lights shining down on the warmed and greasy water.
Th
e dripping persisted, growing louder and more repetitive,
ping, plop, blip, and the rising moon slid fractured beams through the pieces of broken glass in the roof.
Vague fi gures gathered in the corners of the room. Music
from a jazz orchestra with a clarinet solo wafted across the
grounds. A boy cried out, and a girl shrieked before she struck the surface of the pool with a splash. Th
e laughing voices were seduc-
tive, and David walked closer to the edge and looked down with
the light, half expecting to see swimmers.
But there was nothing there.
Chills crept over his body. Th
at’s when he knew his imagi-
nation was getting ahead of him and he had better get the hell
out of there before something weird happened. Willie was right;
the place was spooked.
Out of the edge of his eye he thought he saw something
move in the shadows. His fl ashlight fl ickered, and he shook and
smacked it to bring it back to life, before shining it once again
into the far corners. He heard a crash, and there was another
sound, a scratching, and footsteps scampering. What was it? It
might be an animal, locked inside the building, a raccoon, maybe,
or a squirrel, but all he could see were the changing shadows cast
—-1
by the moon above the skylight shining through falling snow.
—0
—+1
85
039-54009_ch01_1P.indd 85
3/15/13 7:44 PM
Lara Parker
When he turned to go, he thought he heard gunshots and a
rasping sob, as of someone in pain, and once more David walked
to the edge of the pool and looked down, shining the beam of
the fl ashlight into the mud. He stopped and waited, listening to
the sound of his own breathing, and he could hear his heart
beating in his ears.
Th
en he felt two hands press fi rmly on his back.
“Hey!” He wheeled about, fl ailing at the air and cursing,
thinking it would be Willie come to play a joke on him for
sneaking into this place after dark. But he only stared wildly into empty space.
Who was that? Did he imagine it? Th
at was when he
thought he heard gunshots again, but surely that was not pos-
sible; what he did see was a coyote that loped across the back of
the deck, ran up the side of the pool, and trotted out the door.
What the hell was an animal like that doing in here?
He walked to the opening and looked out, but the coyote
had disappeared. Th
e snow was falling in the moonlight,
his obsession when he was twelve years old. How many times
had he dropped in from the edge, skimmed across the pool fl oor
and up the other side? He could feel in his muscles the memory
of pumping into the deep end, and up to the coping and out,
grabbing the nose of his skateboard with one hand.
Th
en something had happened. One of the kids had fallen
backwards— he was fl ying up and out, tried to turn his board,
and lost it. He could hear the boy’s cry and see him lying there, so still, while the other boys stood around not knowing what to do.
A sour taste came into his mouth when he remembered that
-1—
he had been the most skilled at catching air, and that he had
0—
taunted the kid who was something of a weakling, jeered him
+1—
84
039-54009_ch01_1P.indd 84
3/15/13 7:44 PM
Dark Shadows: Wolf Moon Rising
on as boys will do in a mean way, and that the boy had been
panicky and misjudged the slant of reentry.
When David lay in bed that night, he could still see the boy
curled at the bottom of the pool, his neck at a weird angle. No
one had blamed David, but he had never been allowed to skate
the pool again. And why hadn’t they asked him what happened?
It became one more secret of the family, never to be mentioned
again.
Th
e pool seemed ugly and decayed, a dark cavern fi lled with
frozen scum. Still, there must have been partying many years
before and, in his imagination, he could hear the sound of
splashing and laughter, and his vision blurred as he saw waver-
ing lights shining down on the warmed and greasy water.
Th
e dripping persisted, growing louder and more repetitive,
ping, plop, blip, and the rising moon slid fractured beams through the pieces of broken glass in the roof.
Vague fi gures gathered in the corners of the room. Music
from a jazz orchestra with a clarinet solo wafted across the
grounds. A boy cried out, and a girl shrieked before she struck the surface of the pool with a splash. Th
e laughing voices were seduc-
tive, and David walked closer to the edge and looked down with
the light, half expecting to see swimmers.
But there was nothing there.
Chills crept over his body. Th
at’s when he knew his imagi-
nation was getting ahead of him and he had better get the hell
out of there before something weird happened. Willie was right;
the place was spooked.
Out of the edge of his eye he thought he saw something
move in the shadows. His fl ashlight fl ickered, and he shook and
smacked it to bring it back to life, before shining it once again
into the far corners. He heard a crash, and there was another
sound, a scratching, and footsteps scampering. What was it? It
might be an animal, locked inside the building, a raccoon, maybe,
or a squirrel, but all he could see were the changing shadows cast
—-1
by the moon above the skylight shining through falling snow.
—0
—+1
85
039-54009_ch01_1P.indd 85
3/15/13 7:44 PM
Lara Parker
When he turned to go, he thought he heard gunshots and a
rasping sob, as of someone in pain, and once more David walked
to the edge of the pool and looked down, shining the beam of
the fl ashlight into the mud. He stopped and waited, listening to
the sound of his own breathing, and he could hear his heart
beating in his ears.
Th
en he felt two hands press fi rmly on his back.
“Hey!” He wheeled about, fl ailing at the air and cursing,
thinking it would be Willie come to play a joke on him for
sneaking into this place after dark. But he only stared wildly into empty space.
Who was that? Did he imagine it? Th
at was when he
thought he heard gunshots again, but surely that was not pos-
sible; what he did see was a coyote that loped across the back of
the deck, ran up the side of the pool, and trotted out the door.
What the hell was an animal like that doing in here?
He walked to the opening and looked out, but the coyote
had disappeared. Th
e snow was falling in the moonlight,
Similar Books
