The Howling Ghost by Christopher Pike Read Free Book Online Page B

teeth. Big eyes. An ugly face.
    Adam screamed inside his mask.
    He dropped his flashlight.
    Everything went dark. Perfectly black.
    Oh-no. Oh-no. Oh-no.
    At that moment Adam knew he was doomed. The horrible creature coming toward him was about to take a big bite out of his face, and then it would crawl through the hole and eat his brains. For several terrifying seconds Adam floated frozen, waiting to be devoured by the monster from the deep.
    Yet the seconds ticked by and nothing bit him. Also, when he finally opened his eyes, he realized that his flashlight had not gone out. It was floating just below his feet. Only the beam was pointing into a closet and was no longer lighting up the storage area. It had gone black because he had almost blacked out.
    Adam reached down and grabbed his light.
    He saw the creature again.
    And screamed again.
    Then he stopped, embarrassed.
    The creature looked scary, but it wasn’t that big. He realized he was looking at a one-foot-long electric eel, which was similar to an underwater snake. The little eel actually seemed more terrified of him. Adam flicked his hand once, and the thing darted away. Now Adam decided it was time for him to get away. If Watch had entered the wreck, he wasn’t there now.
    Adam turned and swam back the way he’d come.
    He thought he was going back the way he’d come.
    But he didn’t emerge back into the ocean.
    Instead, he found himself in a stateroom.
    He floated up into it and shone his light around.
    He must have gotten turned around.
    Probably when he closed his eyes and screamed into his mask.
    Adam noticed something funny about the large stateroom. It was filled with air. It was a good thing. Adam checked his own air supply. Again he almost fainted. His panic attack with the electric eel had drained his tank.
    He had 0 psi.
    Adam gagged on the regulator in his mouth.
    It was not giving him any more air.
    He pulled it out of his mouth and drew in a deep breath. The air in the stateroom was old and smelled like fish. But at least it fed his lungs; he wasn’t about to complain. Adam couldn’t believe how he had gotten himself into such a mess. He was fifty-five feet underwater and his tank was completely empty. Worse, no one knew where he was.
    Adam searched around some more with his flashlight.
    It was then that he saw something worse than an electric eel.
    A million times worse.
    It was a slimy skull. A whole skeleton.
    It floated toward him.
    Adam screamed. No one heard him.
    And the skeleton kept coming.

7
    â€œI lost him,” Watch said as he climbed back onto the jetty.
    â€œWhat?” Sally screamed. “How could you lose him?”
    Watch sat on a boulder and pulled his face mask off. “He dropped his weight belt and I went down to retrieve it. But it was stuck between two rocks. I had a hard time getting it loose. When I finally returned to where I’d left Adam, he wasn’t there.” Watch glanced around. “I don’t suppose either of you has seen him?”
    â€œOf course we haven’t seen him!” Sally yelled. “You were supposed to take care of him!”
    â€œI’m sorry,” Watch said.
    â€œYou’re sorry!” Sally cried. “You just murdered my future senior prom date!”
    â€œIt’s a long time till senior year,” Watch said. “You might meet someone else you like.”
    Cindy had tears in her eyes. “Is Adam really dead?” she asked.
    Watch hung his head sadly. “I’m completely out of air. He has to be, too. Unless he grew gills in the last few minutes, I don’t see how he can be alive.” Watch looked out to sea and sighed. “He was so young.”
    Cindy put her hand to her head. “Oh no. This is all my fault. Poor Adam.”
    â€œStop sobbing,” Sally snapped at Cindy. “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Sally paused to think. “Why would Adam have left the spot where you left