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driveway disappeared into a dark overhang of evergreen and bare-branched trees. Vee’s mom, who was a real-estate agent, had told the girls a Victorian mansion stood at the end of that road. She’d seen it when it was up for sale a few years ago. Back before the mysterious man nobody ever saw—and it was rumored,
hated children
—bought it. Another shiver chilled Esther and, glancing over at Aneta who was also darting glances at the gate, said, “Let’s hurry. I’m cold. That place is creepy.”
    “It looks like ghosts live there,” Aneta said, pushing more firmly on her pedals.
    An unearthly scream split the air. It began loudly and then tapered away to a screechy gasp.
    “What”—Esther said, running off the road into the dirt, narrowly missing the ditch,—“was that?”
    “It must be one of the ghosts!”
    “There’s no such thing as ghosts.” Even though Esther knew she was right, it didn’t stop her from getting back on and pumping her bike pedals.
    In seconds they had caught up to Sunny and Vee.
    The redhead circled her bike to swoop by Aneta and Esther. “We made it past the haunted house without getting sucked in by the ghosts!” Her usual mischievous grin preceded a big giggle, and she was off again.
    “You didn’t hear the scream?” Aneta asked.
    Sunny gave her a funny look as she rolled past to ride just a bit in front of Vee. “We’re living the yayness!”
    I bet she can’t tell if Aneta is joking or not
. Watching Sunny and Vee, Esther knew exactly what Vee would do, and she did. Standing up on her pedals, the long-legged and fastest runner of the Squad pumped twice, caught up to the shorter girl, and kept juuuusssst a tiny bit ahead of Sunny. Vee liked to win.
    “Living the yayness!” Esther grinned and threw a look over her shoulder. A truck was a long way back. She pedaled harder. “Let’s pass Sunny and Vee, Aneta. That truck is a long ways back. I bet Sunny and Vee think we’re slower than frozen honey!” She glanced over at her friend. “Ready, set, stand, and pump it!”
    She and Aneta stood on their pedals, laughing at their flapping rain slickers.
    “We are flying now!” Aneta hollered, her long blond ponytail flopping like a horse tail. “I hope we do not get rained on.” She pumped easily while Esther puffed.
    I want us to live the yayness of the S.A.V.E. Squad when we’re a hundred and eighty years old
.
    They pumped, laughed, and almost caught up to Sunny and Vee when a thunderclap shattered their laughter into shrieks.
    When had it turned like almost night? The wind, which had been behind them, viciously folded in on itself and now shoved at them, daring Esther and Aneta to gain any further ground. Heavy raindrops fell, some so big they hurt when they smacked on Esther’s helmet, some slipping between the air vents. “Ow!”
    Lightning. Lightning. What were you supposed to do when the sky spit bolts of lightning? Besides not be
outside
. Esther mentally scrambled through memories of fifth-grade weather camp.
    Another bolt split the sky. Esther counted, but no thunder followed. She stopped at ten. This was good. Her dad had taught her that counting the seconds between a lightning bolt and a thunder boom told you how many miles away the full storm was. Count three seconds, and the rain was three miles away.
Counting storms
, she thought, wishing Uncle Dave’s ranch was closer,
is more fun when you’re on a back porch watching it
.
    Crrrrr-accckkkk!
Another bolt.
    Aneta screamed, her face furrowed in fear as she turned a wet face to Esther. “What do we
do?”
    Sunny turned and yelled something like “Pedal for all you’re worth!” or maybe it was “Get down in the dirt”?
    “There’s a ditch by that big tree! We can hide there!” Vee leaped off her bike, tripped on the gravel, and tumbled toward the edge of the shallow ditch, her bike falling with her. Or rather, on top of her.
    “Vee!” Aneta, Sunny, and Esther screeched.
    “I’m okay, I’m