What Scares You the Most? Read Online Free PDF Page A

groaning, struggling.
    And then…there were only two of them.
    Kristen and April sprawled beside each other on the ground. The blue-cloaked woman was gone.
    Shaking her head, Kristen pulled herself up, panting hard. “Almost…” she choked. “I almost had her.”
    â€œWhere is she?” April whispered, struggling to find her voice. “Where did she go?”
    Kristen didn’t have time to answer.
    â€œCongratulations, you two!” The girls heard a man shout. “You won!”

10
    â€œThe contest is over!” Donald Marks called. “You’re the winners!”
    Both girls jumped to their feet as Donald Marks appeared. Running hard, his bald head gleaming in the blue light off the rocks. The huge man tromped heavily as he ran, his fists pumping the air.
    â€œKristen, where did that woman go?” April repeated.
    Kristen stared straight ahead and didn’t answer.
    â€œI said you won! Aren’t you excited?” Marks ran up to them. He stared at them, sweat pouring down his forehead. “What are you two doing out here?”
    Her heart pounding, April stared hard at him. She struggled to think.
    She suddenly found herself wrapped in a damp fog. The fog swirled around her.
    She could feel it wash over her—wash through her.
    A cold, cleansing fog.
    It disappeared as fast as it had come.
    April and Kristen gazed blankly at each other. Almost as if seeing each other for the first time.
    â€œI don’t remember,” she finally answered Marks. “I don’t remember why we came out here.”
    Kristen frowned and shook her head. “I don’t remember either,” she said shakily. “It’s the strangest thing.”
    A grin spread over Marks’s round face. “At least you’re okay!” he boomed. “And we have a winner! Your team has won the bravery contest!”
    April and Kristen exchanged glances.
    â€œYou mean…this was all part of the competition?” April asked.
    Marks nodded, still grinning. “We’ve been watching you the whole time. And you two girls showed true bravery by venturing out here in the middle of the night. Congratulations, your team has won a hundred thousand dollars!”
    â€œWhoa!” April cried. “You’re not kidding? A hundred thousand dollars? I—I don’t believe it!”
    A smile slowly spread over Kristen’s face. She slapped April a high-five, then hugged her.
    April stared hard at Marks. She still felt as if she were gazing through a thick fog. Her whole body was trembling with the effort to stand up.
    Why did she feel so weak?
    What were she and Kristen doing out in the middle of the night in front of the rock caves?
    She couldn’t remember.
    Marks placed an arm on her shoulder. “April? Are you okay? You don’t seem very excited to have won so much money!”
    â€œI…I am,” she said. “I guess I’m shocked. When you left the island, I thought you weren’t coming back. I really thought that…” Her voice trailed off.
    And then she remembered something else. “Marlin,” she said. “Mr. Marks—Marlin is missing. This afternoon, he—”
    â€œWe found him,” Marks interrupted. He turned and pointed down the rock hill. “On the other side of the island. Marlin is okay. A few broken ribs.”
    Kristen gasped. “But—what was he doing all the way over there?”
    Marks shrugged his broad shoulders. “Rick and Abby are taking care of him. They’ve called for a chopper to take him to the main island.”
    â€œBut—what happened to him?” April demanded.
    â€œWe’d better hurry,” Marks said. “Anthony is waiting at the dock. Let’s get to the boat and find you some food to eat. You must be starving.”
    April nodded. I haven’t eaten in two days, she realized. I guess that’s why I feel so weak.
    Marks glanced at the