What Scares You the Most? Read Free

mouth.
    He coughed harder, a choking cough.
    And a slimy pink blob flew onto his lap.
    â€œA jellyfish!” April cried.
    â€œOhhhh, gross!” Kristen groaned.
    Anthony coughed again. His whole body heaved. Another fat pink jellyfish slid from his open mouth. It plopped softly on top of the first jellyfish.
    April and Kristen gaped in horror as Anthony’s slender body twisted and heaved. Another jellyfish bubbled in his mouth, then dropped to the rocky ground.
    Finally, Anthony’s body relaxed. He breathed heavily, wheezing with each breath. He stared down wide-eyed at the pile of jellyfish he had coughed up and moaned.
    Staring at the glistening fat jellyfish, a wave of nausea swept over April. She shut her eyes and held her breath.
    â€œMarlin—” April suddenly remembered. “Where is he?”
    Kristen pulled April to her feet. She pointed around the curve in the rock wall. “He must have swum to shore over there.”
    â€œWe…have to find him.” As she tried to run, April felt waterlogged, heavy. Her legs didn’t want to move.
    She turned and saw the boat spinning in the water again. Spinning crazily, as if moved by an invisible force.
    And then suddenly, it tilted straight up—and slid down. The boat sank beneath the surface and didn’t return.
    April’s soaked sneakers thudded over the rocks as she followed Kristen around the curve.
    April glanced around the shore. “I don’t see him,” she muttered. “Hey—Marlin?” April called. “Marlin?”
    â€œHe has to be here. Where did he go?” Kristen asked in a trembling voice.
    Anthony staggered toward them. “Do you see him?”
    April shook her head.
    â€œI know I saw him swimming to shore,” Anthony said.
    â€œThen where is he?” Kristen demanded shrilly. “He’s the best swimmer of all of us! The best!”
    April’s throat tightened with fear. She glanced over the rocks, glowing dully under the cloudy sky.
    No sign of him.
    She turned back to the water. Wave after wave rolled to the shore, sending up white sprays of foam.
    No sign of him in the ocean either.
    A chill of fear ran down April’s back.
    He’s gone, she thought. He has disappeared.

4
    April kept staring out at the ocean. Was that Marlin’s head bobbing behind that rolling wave?
    No. Just a seagull, out for a wild ride.
    â€œWhere is he?” she murmured, “Where?”
    Shivering, Kristen hugged herself. “Maybe we should go back to the village and change into dry clothes,” she suggested. “Then we can search for him.”
    â€œNo!” Anthony cried. He was on his feet now, his pale face almost ghostlike. His wet clothes clung to him. His shoes sloshed as he made his way over the sand to them.
    â€œWe have to find him—now,” Anthony insisted. “I’m not going back until we find him.”
    â€œYou’re right,” April agreed. And then her voice broke. “I—I just don’t understand it. You saw him swimming to shore?”
    Anthony nodded.
    â€œSo where could he be?” April asked.
    Kristen and Anthony stared back at her blankly.
    â€œMaybe he saw something somewhere?” Kristen suggested weakly.
    â€œHe definitely wouldn’t go back into the water,” April said. “There was no reason to go back in.”
    â€œThat means he’s definitely onshore,” Kristen said. “Maybe we should go back to camp and wait for him. April, you know how he wanders off sometimes. You had to go rescue him on the rocks, remember? That’s how we won the loyalty contest?”
    â€œI…have a bad feeling about this,” April said softly. She pulled a chunk of seaweed from the collar of her T-shirt and tossed it to the ground.
    â€œWhat kind of bad feeling?” Kristen asked, shivering, water dripping off her.
    â€œWe don’t have time for bad feelings,” Anthony said,