They hurried through the forest to where they’d hidden Jack. Quickly, they cleared the branches, and there he was. Eyes closed. Body curled.
“Is he...,” Mariana began and then stopped, afraid to continue.
Claire knelt and placed her hand a few inches from his mouth. She felt his breath cupped in her palm. “He’s alive.” To him, she said, “Jack? Jack, wake up. Jack, it’s over.”
His eyes opened very, very slowly. “Did... did... did it get me?”
Claire paused before answering, listening to the birds sing above them. A breeze rustled the leaves, and the air smelled sweet as moss. “You’re safe.” She felt it was the truth, though she couldn’t explain why she felt so certain. “We all are.”
Mariana patted his shoulder. “And if Claire says it, you know it’s true.”
Together, they helped him stand. “Come on,” Reyva said. “Let’s get you home.”
Twenty-Nine
With the park ranger, they delivered Jack to the hospital. He was immediately given an IV and whisked away to be examined, all the while shouting that his dad hadn’t wanted to kill Mackenzie—ithad made him do it—and that his dad shouldn’t have killed himself.
Claire hoped he had the sense to watch what else he said. She couldn’t remember ever telling Jack anything about the cave. After all, for much of the time they’d known him, including much of the boat ride back to civilization, he’d been unconscious. With luck, he wouldn’t even know there was a secret to be kept.
That was the best they could do.
And it’s good enough, Claire thought. Despite the odds, they’d survived.
They talked to the police one more time, explaining that they’d suddenly remembered Jack—they’d forgotten in the stress of it all, they’d claimed. The police told them that they’d found Mackenzie Williams’s body, and, even more, that Jack’s father’s body had washed to shore and been discovered by a localfisherman. His rifle sling had gotten tangled around his body, and the coroner had confirmed that the bullets that killed both him and Ms. Williams were from that gun, registered to him. The police had their own theories for why he’d shot his girlfriend and why he’d burned down the Lake House (as they believed), and Claire, Mariana, and Reyva nodded along for all their ideas—happy enough that no one suspected either them or the truth.
By the time the police released them, they were hungry again. Asking a nurse at the hospital’s front desk, they got walking directions to the town’s pizza place, and they strolled there, arm in arm. It was late in the evening—the first few stars had appeared—and Claire listened for the birds. There weren’t as many in the heart of town, and they were harder to hear beyond the usual cacophony of cars and people. But they were there, returning to their nests for the night. She imagined that after this summer, she’d always listen for them.
Mariana bought the pizza with her parents’ credit card, and soon they were ensconced in a booth by the window with the pizza in front of them. Steam rose off the gooey cheese, and it smelled more glorious than Claire could have imagined. Diving for it, they each took a slice.
Closing her eyes, Claire bit into it.Bliss, she thought.
Then she thought of how hungry she’d been on the island, and her heart began to race again. Running through the first twenty-five digits of pi, she steadied herself and opened her eyes to see her two friends. The sight calmed her more than anything else she could think of.
“Okay,” Mariana said. “Greatest wish. Reyva, do you want to start?”
“Not our greatest fear this time?”
Mariana waved a hand airily. “Already faced that. Greatest wish, and it can’t have anything to do with the Lake House.”
“I wish we’d ordered more pizza,” Reyva said.
Claire looked pointedly at the only half-eaten pizza. They weren’t in danger of starvation today.
“I’m planning ahead,” Reyva said. “Like Claire does.”
Fair enough. Claire took a sip of soda and thought about how nice it was they hadn’t had to boil their beverages. “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you’re home?” she asked Mariana.
“Visit my car,” Mariana said without missing a beat. “Then check the mail, to see if the parts I’ve been waiting for have arrived. Then I’ll leave a message for my parts dealer, asking why the parts haven’t arrived yet. AndthenI’m calling you two, and we’re going to talk all night long while I start packing for California.” She said the last bit with relish.
“My parents have phone rules,” Reyva said.
“You’re going to break them, because your parents sent you to a camp that doesn’t exist to play host to an evil spirit, even if they don’t exactly remember that last part. Just the sheer fact that they sent you to a defunct camp and didn’t check to make sure you weren’t abandoned on an uninhabited island without food, water, or shelter means they totally owe you.”
Reyva brightened. “Good point.”
“Honestly, that probably explains why mine were so on board with the idea of me moving in with my cousins,” Mariana said. “Wonder what else I can ask them for....”
Claire grinned. She had every intention of forgiving her parents—she’d seen firsthand how the spirit could mess with the mind—but maybe she’d forgive themafterthey agreed to let her visit Reyva and Mariana as often as she wanted.
