From Ant to Eagle(15)

“This is probably midway between our houses,” Aleta suggested.

“Yeah, probably,” I agreed, feeling suddenly sad that the day was coming to an end.

I didn’t want the day to be over. It had been the most fun I’d had since moving to Huxbury. My mind fumbled for a way to ask her to hang out again but asking felt awkward, I needed a reason. Another run? Heck, even that pain was worth it. But then an idea came to my mind and I blurted it out before I had time to think it through.

“We should make the pond our Secret Spot,” I said. “We could meet back here tomorrow morning—bring snacks and Goosebumps books—then spend the day reading by the pond.”

“A Secret Spot?”

“Yeah, you know, a place that only the two of us know about. A safe place we could run away to if Huxbury were ever taken over by pirates or escaped convicts or zombies. I’m pretty sure even the farmers who own these fields don’t know about the pond. It’ll be a place all to ourselves.”

I realized halfway through my speech that I was talking to Aleta as if she were Sammy. The pirates, the escaped convicts, the zombies—these were all stories Sammy and I talked about. We had been searching for a Secret Spot for years. We’d had a few—the creek, a hidden nook behind a bush at the back of the house, the closet in our old home in London—but none of those were actually secret. Mom and Dad always knew about them. The pond was different. It was actually a secret. It was perfect.

Aleta smiled. “I don’t think it would be the first place I’d run away to if the town were taken over by zombies but okay, I like the idea, we can have a Secret Spot.”

Later that night, Sammy asked me what I’d done all day. It was harder than I thought to keep the secret. A big part of me wanted to say, “We found a pond on the top of a mountain with a mudslide over a thousand feet long and a view so far that if you look at it for too long you go permanently blind.”

But a Secret Spot is a secret and I wasn’t about to ruin it.

“Nothing,” I told him, “just went for a run.”

And the Secret Spot remained a secret.





CHAPTER 10

THE FLOOR FELT COOL UNDER MY FEET AS I KNELT AND BEGAN rummaging through the snack cupboard in our kitchen. It was early—really early—and outside it was still pitch black. My parents wouldn’t be up for a few hours and I wanted to keep it that way so I was trying to be really quiet. I reached carefully into a box of granola bars, pulled out a handful and put them into my open backpack. The rest of the boxes I tried were empty—I’d been taking snacks all week to the Secret Spot with Aleta so we were running low.

Next I moved to the refrigerator. There wasn’t much there either. I’d eaten all the sandwich meats and Mom hadn’t gone shopping to replace them yet. I grabbed a couple yogurts and thought about whether they would go bad before we had the chance to eat them. If the weather was as hot as it had been the last few days, they wouldn’t last more than a few hours.

I shoved them in anyway.

We could eat them as a mid-morning snack.

I tried to look through my backpack to see what I had so far but it was too dark to see—I hadn’t turned any of the lights on for fear of waking someone. I used my hand as my eyes and felt inside the backpack.

Goosebumps book, three bananas, two juice boxes, granola bars and two yogurts—I was all set.

I turned around to leave but let out a sharp cry when I saw someone standing in the shadows behind me.

I cursed myself when I saw that it was only Sammy in his Spiderman pajamas. I hoped I hadn’t woken up my parents.

“Jeez, Sammy,” I hissed, “don’t sneak up on me like that! How long have you been behind me?”

The small silhouette shrugged.

“Why are you up? You should still be asleep—it’s really early.”

Sammy ignored my question. “Where are you going?” he asked.

“I’m going to meet Aleta,” I said. “I have to leave or I’ll be late.” I started moving toward the door but Sammy followed right beside me.

“But it’s still night out.”

“It won’t be soon and we want to see the sunrise. Which is why I have to go now.” I sat down and started pulling on my shoes.

“Can I come?” Sammy asked, sitting down beside me and grabbing his boots.

I let out a long exasperated sigh. “No, Sammy, you can’t come. You’ve had fevers all week. Mom wouldn’t be happy if you went outside this early when you’re not feeling well.”

It was the truth. Sammy had been sick all week. Every morning when I’d gotten up he’d still been in bed—which was not like Sammy to sleep in—and his sheets were always drenched with sweat from his fevers.

Of course there was a bigger reason Sammy couldn’t come but I didn’t want to mention the Secret Spot or he’d start asking questions.

“But I feel better!” Sammy whined, his voice louder as he sensed I wasn’t going to let him come. I knew if I didn’t think of something quickly the tears would start and Mom and Dad would wake up.

As usual, my mind went to the Levels.

“Why didn’t you say you felt better?” I said, sounding as excited as possible without raising my voice. “I’ve been waiting for you to get better all week so you could start your daily missions!”