The Howling Ghost by Christopher Pike Read Free Book Online

and kissed him on the cheek. He had never been kissed by a girl before except his mother, who didn’t count. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. He was too scared to kiss her back, especially in front of Sally, who suddenly looked a lot like a shark herself. He just smiled and tried to give her hope.
    â€œMaybe we’ll find your brother,” Adam said.
    Cindy spoke simply, staring at him. “I know you’ll find him, Adam.”
    â€œOh brother,” Sally muttered. “He’ll be lucky if he comes back in one piece.” But then Sally acted concerned and touched Adam’s arm. “You know, I’m kidding. You be careful, both of you.”
    â€œIf we really wanted to be careful we wouldn’t get in the water,” Watch muttered.
    They got in the water anyway. Watch let the air out of Adam’s BC—his buoyancy control device, whatever that was. Almost immediately Adam began to sink. Yet he didn’t panic. He had never beenunderwater with a mask on before, and he was amazed at how beautiful it was. Different colored fish swam by. The sunlight shining through the surface of the water was like a ray from an alien sun.
    They sank steadily and didn’t stop until they were down thirty feet. Adam could at least read his depth gauge. Unfortunately, it was much darker than it had been near the surface. Adam could only see ten feet in any direction. Watch bobbled beside him and raised a hand in an OK gesture. Adam flashed back an OK sign.
    Watch had been right about one thing. Adam felt completely weightless, as if he were in outer space. It was a great feeling. He was glad he had decided to give it a try.
    Watch pointed out toward deeper water, away from the jetty and over to the reef. He wanted Adam to follow. Adam nodded his head. It was interesting communicating without talking.
    They moved forward. Adam quickly discovered that he swam faster if he didn’t use his arms, just his fins. He felt very comfortable under the water, and his fear of sharks almost went away. He watched as his silver bubbles rose slowly to the surface. He wondered if Cindy and Sally could see their bubbles.
    Two minutes later they were at the reef. They werenow forty-five feet down, and it was as dark as half an hour after sunset. The reef was not made of coral, but of jagged rock. Watch had explained that coral only grew in warm water. As they drifted over it, searching for signs of a wrecked ship, Adam imagined he was floating over the surface of a distant moon. Even though it was dark, up close the beautiful colors remained. He wished he had a camera to take pictures to show his family. He knew they wouldn’t believe his story without proof. He wouldn’t have believed it himself.
    Watch handed Adam a flashlight. Adam didn’t know why he hadn’t given it to him on the surface, but figured Watch must have been afraid he would lose it before he grew comfortable underwater. The flashlights were small, not very powerful, but the beams lit up the rocks somewhat. Watch flashed his light in and out of the crevasses for any sign of the wreck.
    They had been searching the reef for maybe thirty minutes when Adam suddenly felt something slide down his front. Looking down, he realized Watch had not tightened his weight belt enough. It was about to slip off. The weights, Adam knew, helped hold him down. He had not forgotten his lungs would explode if he rushed to the surface. A wave of terror swept overhim. Instead of grabbing the slipping belt, he grabbed Watch’s arm and pointed frantically at what was happening.
    Watch looked over.
    At that moment Adam’s weight belt fell off completely.
    The belt sank like a rock, disappearing into a deep crevasse.
    Adam felt himself begin to float upward. Quickly.
    Oh no, Adam thought. His lungs would explode.
    Soon he would see his blood. Yuck.
    He would die. The fish would have him for food.
    But Watch grabbed him and pulled him down