The Creature from Club Lagoona by R.L. Stine Read Free Book Online

our shoulders from behind.
    â€œNot so fast, Guppies!”

9

    N eal and I froze. I gazed up into Barry’s face.
    â€œTime for you two to have an extra lesson,” he informed us. His voice was low and serious. His fingers dug into my shoulder.
    â€œN-n-now?” I stammered.
    â€œWe were just going to—” Neal began to protest.
    Barry cut him off. “Now, Guppies. Let’s go.”
    Barry marched us down to the pool like a couple of prisoners!
    The Atlantis pool was crawling with Club Lagoona staff. I had never seen so many in one place before. They gathered around the pool, watching us closely.
    â€œOkay, Guppies, let’s get wet! ” Barry bellowed.
    The staff peered at us silently. I wanted to bolt. But there was no way to escape. We were surrounded.
    I tried to stall. “Mark’s not here,” I declared.
    â€œHe already had an extra lesson,” Barry reminded me. “Now, hop in!”
    I stared at Barry. Something terrifying hit me.
    The last time we saw Mark he was with Barry. Then he vanished.
    Could Mark’s disappearance be connected to his extra lesson?
    I glanced at the staff positioned around the pool. They never took their eyes off us. As if they were waiting for something to happen.
    But what?
    I tried another tactic. “I have a cramp in my leg,” I lied. I reached down and punched my calf. I grimaced.
    No good.
    â€œYou’ll be fine.” Barry sounded impatient. “Get in the pool and walk around.”
    I slid slowly into the water.
    â€œHere. Put these on,” Barry commanded. He threw masks and flippers to us.
    â€œWhy do we need these?” Neal asked. He glanced at the silent staff members lined up along the sides of the pool.
    â€œYou’re diving for weights today,” Barry explained. “Now, hurry up and get them on.”
    I grabbed a pair of flippers. They felt heavy even in the water. I struggled to pull them on. They were hard and uncomfortable. I stretched the strap across my heels.
    â€œMine are too tight,” I complained.
    Barry rolled his eyes. “They’re adjustable, Tadpole. Now, hurry. You’re holding us up.”
    The flippers felt really funny. Like I had frog feet. I practiced walking in them. I had to lift my legs way up.
    I slipped on the mask. It covered my eyes and nose.
    Barry stood at the side and tossed in a weight. We were going to take turns diving for it and bringing it back up.
    I went first. I ducked underwater where the weight sank. It was amazing what I could see by wearing the mask. Neal’s legs and feet. They looked kind of pale blue.
    Just like what the shark sees in Jaws, I thought, shuddering.
    I kicked my feet. Whoa! The flippers sent me across the shallow end unbelievably fast. Two kicks and I was right above the weight.
    I reached down for it—and something in the deep end caught my eye.
    Two kids hovered at the bottom of the pool. They wore bright red bathing suits and scuba gear.
    In the deepest part.
    They stood on top of something. I peered harder.
    They were standing right on top of the biggest drain I’d ever seen!
    The sight of the drain made me remember my tooth disappearing down the drain in my bathtub. This drain was big enough to suck down a lot more than a tooth.
    A familiar whirring sound startled me. The same whirring I heard when the diver disappeared. When that horrible green thing appeared in the pool.
    I watched, stunned, as the drain slid open!
    The current in the pool changed. I could feel myself being sucked toward the open drain. My heart pounded triple-time.
    I saw the divers kick crazily. But their flippers were no match for the huge, sucking drain. As hard as they fought the current, they just stayed in one place.
    I watched in terror as something slinked out of the open drain. A long green tentacle! It waved through the water like a piece of giant, slimy seaweed.
    One kid must have seen it. His arms and legs started moving