And before she knew it, she was in a small dark place, the sound of a beating heart in her ears. A liquid sound, a warm, comforting thrum that seemed in perfect synchronization with her own heartbeat.
Then she felt herself fading away, only faint tendrils of the vapor remaining. The vapor that was once Anna McBride.
And in the dark distance came another sound. The sound of a ringing bell.
A school bell?
Anna felt herself being pulled toward that sound.
And a moment later, she was gone.
2 5
When the bell rang, Jillian Carpenter’s stomach went sour. She didn’t want to go home.
She never wanted to go home these days.
“I hate him,” she’d told Suzie during recess.
“Why?” Suzie asked. “You said he’s nice to you. What’s the big deal?”
“He’s always hogging the TV. Last night, I wanted to watch Gimme a Break, but my mom let him watch The Fall Guy instead. She says we have to share now.”
“ Gimme a Break was a rerun.”
“So?” Jillian said. “It’s our TV, not his.”
But that wasn’t quite true. It was his TV now. Craig Winterbaum was part of their family, whether Jillian liked it or not.
And she definitely did not.
Mom had met Craig at a garden show down in Fullerton last year, and before Jillian knew it, they were dating full-time. Then, about a month ago, he’d asked Mom to marry him and, to Jillian’s everlasting dismay, she’d said yes.
The wedding came less than two weeks later. They had decided to jump right in, Mom had told her, and got married at the courthouse, in front of a judge. Jillian had watched the whole sickening thing, her stomach feeling more sour than ever as Craig slipped a gold band onto Mom’s finger.
The thing was, she and Mom were a team. That’s what Mom had always said. Ever since her dad left, when Jillian was six, it had been just the two of them. And even though she missed her dad sometimes, the last four years had been just fine with her.
Until Craig came along.
Jillian had stayed with her aunt Maggie while he and Mom went on a honeymoon in Las Vegas. Now they were all back home, their first official week as a new family, and Mom and Craig kept getting all kissy-face on the sofa while Jillian tried to watch TV.
Ugh.
“Jillian?”
Jillian snapped out of her daydream. Mrs. Gann was standing over by the blackboard, staring at her.
“Yes, ma’am?”
“The bell rang, dear. Did you need something?”
Jillian looked around the room and felt her face get hot. All the other kids were gone.
She did that sometimes. Got so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t know what was going on around her.
“No,” she said, then quickly gathered up her books and papers, stuffed them into her desk cubby, and shuffled out of the room. “Bye, Mrs. Gann.”
“See you tomorrow, dear.”
Suzie had saved her a spot in the bus line. Jillian and Suzie had been best friends ever since kindergarten, when Suzie’s family moved in next door to Jillian’s. That was back before the divorce, when she and her mom and dad were living on Randall Street.
When they sold the house, Jillian had been afraid she’d have to move too far away and go to another school, but they got lucky and found an apartment close by. Jillian was relieved, because she couldn’t imagine having to go to another school and make new friends and all that. And she couldn’t imagine being without Suzie.
Suzie said, “So did you ask?”
“Ask what?”
“About Big Mountain, dumbo.”
Big Mountain was the new amusement park that had opened up over in Allenwood, which was about a half- hour drive away. Right before they got married, Mom and Craig had taken her and Suzie to opening day, and Suzie couldn’t stop talking about it.
“I forgot,” Jillian said.
“Forgot? How could you forget? Your birthday’s only two weeks from Saturday.”
Suzie was dying to celebrate Jillian’s eleventh birthday with another trip to Big Mountain, but the truth was, Jillian wasn’t all that excited about the idea. She’d had fun, sure, but not that much fun, and there was something about the place that had given her the creeps.
First off, Big Mountain wasn’t all that big. Northgate Shopping Mall was bigger and even had a McDonald’s. Second, it was supposed to be brand-new and everything, but Craig told them that all Big Mountain had really done was buy a bunch of old rides and stuff from a park that closed up in Oregon somewhere, then slap some new paint on them and add a big plaster mountain with a tunnel in it, so sky cars could go through.
And Craig should know, because he worked for the company that owned Big Mountain.
“Are you sure it’s safe?” Jillian’s mom had asked.
“We’re not looking for a lawsuit,” Craig said. “They test those rides like crazy before they let anyone get on them.”
And that was the other reason Jillian wasn’t so thrilled about Big Mountain. If Craig Winterbaum worked for the company that owned the place, how good could it really be?
“Promise me you’ll ask tonight,” Suzie said.
Jillian didn’t want to, but she didn’t want to disappoint Suzie, either, who was not only her best friend but practically her only friend-and vice versa. So she reluctantly nodded. She was about to say, Promise, when the whistle blew and all the kids started piling onto the buses.
It was almost their turn when Jillian had a sudden inspiration. Anything to keep from going straight home. Craig had taken a day off from work, and he and Mom were probably on the sofa right now, going at it.
“You wanna walk today?”
“Huh?” Suzie said.
“I got carsick yesterday. I feel like walking.”
Suzie looked around, then shrugged. “Okay.”
They quickly got out of line.
The bus ride home usually took about ten minutes, but walking was a different story. Carl’s Liquor Store was on the corner of Crestwood and Mill, and whenever they walked, Jillian and Suzie usually stopped there for Pixy Stix.
Jillian’s favorite flavor was lime, but they were out today and she had to settle for grape. It didn’t hit the spot like lime did, but it was better than nothing.
They were coming out of the store, Suzie still blathering on about Big Mountain, when Jillian noticed the car.
It was an old thing, kinda funky-looking, and she was sure it was the same car she’d seen parked outside of school a couple times.
And on her street the other night.
She had been getting ready for bed when she noticed it. Just happened to look out her bathroom window and
