Dive In

Chapter 3

"Are you sure you have to go into town?" asked Ella anxiously as she passed her aunt the keys to the jeep.

"I'm positive. I'm almost out of gas for the jeep and there's barely any food left in the cellar. If it's the figure in the woods your worried about, just stay in the cabin. My ranger senses are telling me they've moved on though, you should be safe to visit the beach. Just stay out of the woods," Maria said, climbing into the jeep.

"And you can't take us with you?" sighed Ella, taking a step back so the dirt wouldn't kick up into her face.

"I need the room for groceries, sorry kiddo. Topher will be here, you'll be safe with him," she said, the revved the engine and tore off down the road.

Ella kicked a lose pebble out of frustration. Her aunt was as stubborn as her father, sometimes she wished the siblings weren't so alike. Even Derek had seemed uneasy when their aunt said she needed to make a supply run into town. Something was out there, but Maria was so sure of her park ranger abilities that she truly believed she'd chased it away. This morning they'd tried to explore the boathouse, but the padlock had been changed and Derek hadn't been able to pick it, and Maria didn't have anything to cut it off with. Derek wanted to try swimming under, but someone had put a net up to block the way.

Maria inferred that it must be some of the kids that lived across the lake messing with her boat house, and that she would sail over tomorrow to have a talk with their parents. Derek perked up at the mention of possible playmates, but Maria said that they were boys older then Ella, and they wouldn't want anything to do with him. Ella wasn't sure what to do with herself now, without the forest to roam Mirror Lake was suddenly very dull. She pulled an old towel off the clothes line and headed down to the beach. Her brother was already there, splashing around in the lake with his new snorkel and flippers. She pulled off her sundress and slathered on the sunscreen her brother had discarded in the sand.

"Ew! No stripping!" shouted her brother from the water.

"I'm wearing a bikini you perv!" she shouted back.

"Just make sure your wearing sunscreen, I don't need a tomato for a sister," he shouted before diving back into the water.

Ella rolled her eyes. Derek was referring to the time her friends had convinced her to try tanning without sunscreen on, to see if that would help her get some colour. She had certainly gotten some colour, but not the kind she wanted. She ended up looking like a bright red tomato, was in pain for a week, and her burnt skin peeled off, leaving her just as pale as before. Since then she'd always applied sunscreen generously whenever she went outside.

Ella leaned back on the towel and closed her eyes. Even through her eyelids the sun scorched her eyeballs. She was just about to get up to fetch her sunglasses when something blocked the sun. A cloud must have blown over or something, she thought. But wait, just a few seconds ago the sky had been absolutely cloudless! Her eyes shot open, and she let out a strangled scream. Standing above her was a boy about her age. She scrambled to her feet, trying to wrap the towel around herself.

"Sorry, didn't mean to startle you," said the boy, taking a step back.

"W-what are you doing here? This is private property," barked Ella, trying to steady her heart beat.

"Is it? I'm sorry, I honestly didn't know," he apologized.

"It's alright," said Ella. She didn't mean to snap at him, she just wasn't very good at talking to boys.

"I'm Landon by the way. I'm camping with my family on the north shore. That's not privately owned, is it?" he asked, shooting her a smile. Ella couldn't help but notice that his teeth were perfectly straight, no doubt aided by years of braces.