Abruptly, my legs give out, and my knees hit the floor with a painful crack—and a splash.
Frigid water is pooling, rushing in through the back door.
The glacier-fed lake is reaching in, trying to sweep us out of the house.
“Katie!” Natalie shouts.
“I’ve got her,” Hayley says, hauling me up by the elbow. “Keep going.”
Hayley’s arm slides around me, and she hauls me to my feet. My limbs feel like overcooked noodles as the curse spreads through my body, but I push on, refusing to slow us down. We slosh through the rising water toward the exit, wheezing sounds escaping my lips as I suck in each breath. My heart is hyperactive, as if aware of the danger it’s in.
Don’t panic. A few more seconds.
The van swims in and out of focus. The world is on a pendulum as I try to put one foot in front of the other.
On my next inhale, no air passes through. My chest spasms.
No, no…
My knees buckle. Hands grab me.
“Hurry!” someone shouts.
Voices swim past my ears, distorted. Above it all, the song continues to ring out, mocking me with the memories of every other time a curse nearly killed me or someone I love. If I survive this, I’m never listening to a power ballad again.
The van’s doors fly open. Natalie’s dad stumbles as the others help him climb in.
Can’t breathe.
The ground moves under me as someone pulls me in next. Natalie’s face swims into view, her eyes full of panic and her forehead clammy. “Hold onto me… Don’t let go…”
There’s apop-pop-popof corks ejecting from three vials.
Three amber blobs wriggle and morph like slugs, hugging the house and stretching across it, growing bigger, bigger, until…
Hisss…
“Cover!” Natalie wraps her arms around me and holds me to her chest.
There’s a scramble as everyone tries to get into the van in time.
The song hits one final “now,” and theentire house explodes.
From the Journal of Hazel Okada
PROJECT STATUS
Create interactive web map – DONE
Scrape the internet and social media for strange animal sightings and paranormal incidents – DONE
