“Is your dad picking you up?” asked Silas.
“Nope,” said Milo. “He said he’d take me to the lake yesterday, but he had to work. He’s at Nu Co. again today, so I decided to show some initiative and go it alone.” He sounded upset.
If Fish didn’t hate me, I’d give him a hug. Or a handshake. Something.
“We’d be happy to give you a ride,” Silas offered.
Lucy chewed her thumbnail. There’s no way Fish’ll get in a car if I’m in it.
Milo looked at his kayak, then over at his bike, then back at his kayak. He looked at his bike one more time. “Okay,” he said to Lucy’s surprise. “Thank you, Mr Sladan.”
Silas grabbed one end of the boat and helped Milo hoist it off the ground. Lucy raced over to take the bike.
If Milo was willing to take a ride from Lucy and her father, he must be desperate. What’s so important over at Black Hole Lake? She added this question to the list in her head of things she was determined to find out. A list that was growing longer by the day.
Bait
They drove down the winding road in silence. Milo’s kayak was tied to the roof of Silas’s van, his bike and skateboard in the back. Lucy sat in the front seat, bouncing her knees. Milo could almost feel how badly she wanted to ask what he was up to.
Well, I’m certainly not going to tell her. He crossed his arms. If you had any idea, Lucy Sladan, your brain would explode into confetti. A sly smile crept on to his lips. You’re not the only one brave enough to investigate the paranormal.
“So,” said Silas, eyeing Milo’s waterproof outfit in the rear-view mirror. “This your first time going out on Black Hole Lake?”
“No, sir,” Milo replied. “I went for a very pleasant boat ride on Halloween evening, actually.”
Lucy turned to face him, her lips pressed together tightly.
Is she holding her breath to keep from saying something?
“Why have you suddenly decided to take up solo kayaking in November?” she asked, the words spilling out of her.
“Why do you want to know?” said Milo.
Lucy scowled. “Because it’s WEIRD.”
“You should talk,” Milo retorted. “You’re the queen of weird.”
“Is that meant to be an insult?”
“It’s meant to be a fact.”
“Why don’t we listen to some music?” said Silas, louder than necessary. He switched on the car radio and turned the volume up high. The song “Don’t Fear The Reaper” blasted ominously for the rest of the short drive.
When they reached Black Hole Lake, Silas left Lucy in the car and helped Milo unload his gear. Together, they slid the kayak into the lake.
“Do you know how to handle this thing?” Silas asked as he handed Milo the double-sided paddle.
“Yes, sir,” he said. “I’ve been on pretty much every kind of boat there is.” He slapped the kayak. “I’ve even got a life jacket.” He retrieved it from the boat and slipped it on. “Don’t worry, Mr Sladan.” His extremely straight teeth glinted in the hazy afternoon sun. “I know what I’m doing.”
Silas surveyed the calm water. “Your father knows you’re here, then?”
“Of course.” This was not true. In fact, Milo had wiped his phone and left his regular shoes in the dressing room at the sporting goods store to make sure he wasn’t being tracked.
Silas scratched his neck. “All right, then. Be safe out there.” He got back into the van and started up the engine.
Through the window Lucy kept her eyes on Milo as they disappeared round the bend.
Once the vehicle was out of sight, Milo locked his bike to a tree and stashed his skateboard in a bush.
Milo had eagerly devoured the books he’d purchased at The Woo Woo Store. The section on Black Hole Lake in Sticky Secrets had been especially interesting. It turned out that, over the years, there had been several unresolved and unsettling sightings of strange creatures, stretching back centuries to legends told amongst local Native American tribes. People had reported seeing a whole range of unlikely beasts, from large snakes to giant crocodiles and creatures resembling long-extinct dinosaurs. Occasionally, people had even disappeared while out swimming or fishing, never to be seen again. It had all been chalked up to unfortunate accidents, but rumours about the lake persisted, its murky waters and unfathomable depths still largely unexplored.
What was down there? Milo felt compelled to know. Whatever he’d encountered had had the chance to attack or eat him, but it had chosen not to. Why? And something else intrigued him about the creature… He could’ve sworn it was trying to communicate with him. Was that just his imagination? In any case, Milo was beginning to understand Lucy, his father and their respective obsessions better than ever before. Not that he’d ever tell them that. He pulled on his freshly bought fisherman’s beanie and hopped into the kayak.
Aside from a man out fishing from a small boat on the other side of the lake, Milo was alone. The sky was a featureless backdrop of luminescent grey. A flock of geese flew by in a loose V, headed somewhere warmer. Milo snapped a quick picture of the birds with his new compact advanced camera, bought especially for taking artistic shots of wildlife.
After a half hour of paddling, he reached the area where he’d first seen the Thing. Rotating his aching shoulders, he whistled the first three notes of the Lassie song: “PHEW-EEEE-OOO.”
He listened for a response. The wind rippled faintly across the surface of the lake, water lapping at the sides of his boat. Milo banged the kayak with his paddle, sending a low THOD-THOD-THOD out into the abyss. “PHEW-EEEEEE-OOOOO,” he whistled again.
There was a splash behind him. Milo turned and saw a ring of ripples two yards away. Something was just there. He swore he could hear the faint trill of laughter. The hairs stirred on the back of his neck.
He banged on the boat and whistled again, squinting through
