Crystal (Silver Hills #2) (3 page)

"She started it," Jade argued.  She took another lick before letting a drop of melted grape drip to the floor.

"Alexa," I nodded.  "My room?"  She sighed, letting her chair grind against the tile floor as she stood up and stomped down the hallway.

"I know you have cooler friends," Jade said quietly.  "That girl is a train wreck waiting to explode."

"How would
you
know," I chuckled.  "You're ten."
She shrugged, neglecting to wipe the dried purple around her lips.

"I dunno
," she shrugged.  I rubbed the top of her
messy
head.  She hated it when Grandma Nettie did that.

"You know Jade," I laughed.  "You're sort of a weirdo."

"Well . . . we
are
related."  She smirked, biting off the top of her grape Popsicle.  "That means you're a weirdo too."

Chapter Three

The Keeper's Curse

The air was cool in my bedroom as I
jumped out of bed and
slid
my feet into
a pair of warm snow boots
.  The windows were foggy and the harsh winter winds shook the
window
panes.  A full moon
h
ung in the night sky.
I hadn't slept at all
. 
Saturday was here and I'd stared at the alarm clock on my nightstand waiting for midnight to come.  A faint light appeared through the open curtains
. 
It
blink
ed once.  Then twice.  It was Alexa.  I
could see her blurry outline
through the window, shivering in the cold.  It was time to go.

I'
d laid a few things out on my dresser – silver earrings, my
grandmother'
s ring, pink lipstick, and of course a spray of
Mom'
s
expen
sive perfume.  A subtle smile crossed my face as I
ch
anged into a pair of blue jeans and grabbed my
pink
ski coat.  My
chest beat uncontrollably as
I
crept along the upstairs hallway, careful not to wake
my parents
. 
I tiptoed down the staircase, opening
the front door just a crack
and
letting snowflakes escape from the cold.  A few frozen flake
s stuck to my eyelashes
. 

"
Crystal
?  Where are you going?"
  The quiet whisper from th
e top of the stairs made my entire torso freeze.  I turned around to see my wide-eyed little sister
.  Jade rubbed her eyes and brushed a strand of tangled hair from her face.

"
Go back to bed,"
I whispered
, shooing
her
away.  B
ut Jade stood staring
.  "I'
ll be bac
k soon.  Just go back to sleep."

"You're meeting Alexa, aren't you?" she questioned.

"Don't worry about that," I said quietly.  "I'll see you in the morning
,
okay?
"

"But," she hesitated.

"If you rat me out, I'll tell Mom that you and Troy were the ones who broke the lawnmower.
"

"Fine," Jade nodded. 
She gave me a disappointed look (the same face Mom made)
before dragging her feet
bac
k to bed.
Here I come, Brett. 
I forced my
self to transition into the cold, quietly sh
utting the front door behind me
.  The wind was getting worse but trudging through the snow to meet Brett seemed worth
it.  I
ran
through falling powder
towards Alexa'
s red
,
puffy coa
t as my
tee
th chattered
. 

Alexa
jumped up and dow
n, shivering in her
brown snow boots - a ridiculous looking attempt to st
ay warm.  She nervously giggled as I
kicked aside pile
s of snow, trying not to get my
favorite pair of jeans
get
wet.  Street lights lit
our neighborhood, revealing a
snowy path leading towards the woods.  Alexa stuffed her flashlight in her pocket.

"Dang," she whispered.  "
I could
probably smell you from Main S
treet."

"Huh?"
  I grabbed her by the arm as my thoughts wandered
in a
nd out of Brett-themed fantasies
.

"Well at least you don't smell like a vat of cotton candy," Alexa chided.

"Why are you so picky about perfumes?" I questioned.  I could see the steam of my breath as it left my mouth.  "Let's go over the plan one more time."

"I'm pretty sure I've got it."  Alexa shook the snowflakes from her ponytail.

"We can't mess this up," I whispered.  The street was silent and even the sound of our boots pushing through
the snow echoed down the drive
.
  "Who knows what Brett has planned?"

"Fine," Alexa sighed.  She patted the lining of her coat.  "You got the pocket knife?"

"Right here."  I nodded, pulling a small pocket knife from my coat
.
It had
a light sketch of a bald e
agle on the handle
.

"
Good," Alexa continued.  "Have it out when we run into the school house.  We'll both yell something about an angry bear
-
"

"I thought it was a
wolf?" I interrupted.

"Okay," she muttered.  "We start freaking out about a wolf and when I po
ke the middle of your back -
"

"I turn around and 'accide
ntally' cut
your stomach," I finished.
  A mischievous look crossed Alexa's face as she patted the bulge in her coat again.

"
And underneath this is a pil
e of fake guts," she chuckled,
her breath forming a cloud of steam around her face.

"You better deliver a fab performance," I said, touching the warm spot on her
belly.  I could feel
thick padding and a squishy mess under the fabric.

"Oh it'll
be
top notch . . . Oscar worthy."  She walked faster past the last street lamp and pulled out her flashlight again.  My a
rms were shaky as we dragged our
feet through the snowy forest, moving
more quickly
the deeper we got.  The evergreens swayed in the brisk breeze and the harsh air grew colder.

My stomach felt like jelly as the old school house came into sight.  The wooden walls of the one room cabin were covered in frost.  Thick icicles hung from the part of the roof that was still standing and through the cracked window, the entire inside looked black.  Alexa switched off her flashlight, letti
ng the moon illuminate the tree
tops.

"You think they're inside?" I whispered.  Alexa nodded, pointing to a tiny trail of tracks that was almost fully covered by snowfall.

"You ready to make some nois
e?" Alexa quietly asked.  I peer
ed up at the snowy peaks that looked like black rocks under the moon.  Every sound the trees made in the breeze echoed through my ears along with the beat of my own heart. 
I hadn't done this in years
and I was nervous.  The only reason I beat Brett every time . . . well, I'm pretty sure he'd been letting me win for some reason.
  I doubt
ed
he'd pull the same stunt this time.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I sighed.

"When I count to three," Alexa whispered.  "We start yelling."  My chest thudded and my forehead felt prickly.

"They're not going to buy it," I said shaking my head.

"Maybe not," she agreed.  "But they won't be expecting what happens next.  Open up your knife."  My fingers shook as I reached for my pocket knife.  I grasped the handle, letting the blade shine in the moonlight.  "Oh and make sure you cry and stuff."

"Cry?"

"Uh, your best friend has just been gutted?" Alexa responded.  "You should make yourself cry."

"Fine," I gulped.

Alexa held up three fingers, beginning the countdown to
uncontrollable
madness.
  My spine felt sweaty under my ski coat. 
One,
Alexa mouthed.  My chest drummed like I was at a rock concert. 
Two. 
I was having second thoughts.  Maybe this wasn't the best way to freak Brett and Amber out. 
Three. 
Alexa's eyes bulged as she took off running.  She nearly tripped as the sound of her screams burst through the quiet woods.

I followed her lead,
letting a burst of yells vibrate through my throat.  Cold air filled my lungs and made me cough as I stumbled closer to the school house.  I ran towards the entrance with my pocket knife in front of me.
  My tense muscles trembled as I leaped into the small log cabin.  My entire face felt like it was on fire.  The school house was empty.  Shadowy corners were overtaken by the silence and moonlight spi
lled through
crack
s of
fallen roof.

I stopped, feeling Alexa's warm torso come to a halt behind me.

"Where are they?" she whispered.
  I shrugged as the room felt strangely quiet.  I could hear the light tapping of snowfall and the sound of my lungs gulping down air.  My hands and fingers felt tingly as I whirled around, expecting Brett to leap out from the shadows.  The fact that he didn't made me even more nervous.

"Shhh," Alexa quietly hushed, holding a finger to her lips.  She carefully stepped backwards
, trying to make her footsteps sound proof.  I forced myself to swallow the lu
mp in my throat as my eyes scanned the blurry darkness
.

Shadows seemed to dance in the corners.  I was so anxious that I was seeing things.  I briefly closed my eyes and focused on breathing normally.
  When I opened them again, Alexa had disappeared back outside leaving me alone in the crumbling one room cabin.
  I clutched my chest, waiting for a sudden noise tha
t was supposed to make me shriek
.  I couldn't let on that I was scared.

My heart jolted as Alexa's shrill scream cracked through the sky like a jet plane.  I jumped closer to the door, keeping my knife at the ready as she came skidding around the corner.  She fell face first into the snow as laughter replaced the horrifying cries.
  Amber's smug face made me want to charge at her full speed.

"And that wasn't even planned," Brett chuckled.  The fabric of his cocoa snowboarding coat stretched across his firm shoulders.  Alexa stood up, rolling her eyes as she spit snow from her mouth.

"Let's get on with it then," I said calmly, suppressing that fact that my heart had slightly collided with my brain.
  Alexa and I would have to improvise.  I quickly hid the knife behind my back.

"Oh don't pretend you weren't scared," Amber giggled.  The red streaks in her hair matched her scarf.

"You told her?" I asked, looking at Brett.  He shrugged.

"She pried it out of me," he responded.  "I promise."

"More like hustled it out of you," Alexa commented, wiping the snow from her pants.  I watched as she discreetly placed at hand on her stomach to make sure her fake guts were still secure.

"Hey," Amber shouted.  "We're ahead!  Fair and square."

"We'll see," I responded.  "Come on then.  You guys go first."

"We already made our splash," Amber continued.  "
You
guys go first."

"Is she serious?" Alexa chimed in.  "Honey, you ain't the boss."  Amber put her hands on her hips and looked at Brett.

"Brett," I said, taking a deep breath.  "You go first."  He grinned as his gaze met mine.

"Okay," he agreed.
  He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket.  "I need a volunteer.  A fearless volunteer."  He meant me.  Crap.

"I'll do it."  I stepped forward as Brett stared down at his paper.  He hesitated for a moment but quickly cleared his throat and
instructed us all to stand forming a triangle with me at the center.

"Are you ready?"  Brett's voice sounded a tad raspy.

"What exactly are you going to do?" I asked.

"Put a curse on you," he playfully replied.  Alexa laughed.

"
Wow," Alexa sniggered.  "A curse.  You must've spent all week thinking up this one!"

"Shhhh," Brett responded.  "Come on Alexa, I almost died trying to get it."

"Whatever."  Alexa cupped her hand around her mouth, giving Amber a dirty look.

"
You almost died?" I repeated.  "
You're making that up."  A cold
breeze blasted across my back, making the hairs on the back of my head stand straight up.

"Haven't you heard of the Keeper's Curse?" he said quie
tly.  I'd heard those words
before.  Grandma Nettie mentioned it once.  She even went as far as to claim that it had ruined her life until Dad told her to stop talk
ing about it. 

"Maybe?" I answered.  "I doubt it'll scare me."

"
Are you sure?" Brett said staring quizzically at my forehead.  "Once I say the words you're supposed to be haunted for life."