Chapter 3

Mia came running into Hannah’s house. “Sorry I’m late! Jasmine wouldn’t leave me alone. She kept wanting to hang out.”

Hannah looked up at the clock. “Crap! We can take my mom’s car. She’s working late, and my brother is at football practice.”

“If you think it’s a good idea.” Mia was nervous. Hannah only had a provisional license. One driving ticket would ruin her chance of getting her driver’s license any time soon.

“Otherwise we won’t get out there in time. We don’t have a choice.”

They hopped into the silver minivan. Hannah anxiously adjusted the mirrors and checked her seatbelt. Then she adjusted the mirrors again.

“Um, don’t mean to rush you, but I think the sun is going to be down any second,” Mia said.

Hannah backed the car out of the driveway, then popped it into drive. “You want fast, you’ve got it!” Still, Hannah’s “fast” was just a little speedier than an elderly driver’s.

They drove beyond the neat and tidy rows of houses in town. The road followed an old creek that used to be mined for iron ore. The ore gave the water a red tinge. They were driving slightly downhill until finally the creek disappeared into a large clump of trees. The sun was starting to set behind them.

Hannah parked and Mia leaped out of the car and ran for the row of pine trees that surrounded the bog like a giant fence. Hannah trailed close behind.

The ground beneath them was soft like a hollow grave. A huge blackbird cawed its warning at them. Locusts buzzed and frogs croaked loudly.

Strange-looking plants grew at the edge of the bog. Trees stuck out of the bog. Their branches seemed to be reaching out for help before they drowned in the bog’s acidic water.

“Are you ready, Mia?” Hannah asked.

Mia held Grandma’s butterfly clip out to the bog like she was giving it to someone.

“Death to life you must cross through. Into the Gateway we summon you.” Mia chanted it over and over again, saying it louder each time.

The sun dropped behind the horizon, where the earth met the sky. The animals and bugs went silent. The sky turned a bright shade of purple. Hannah and Mia had never seen a color like that.

The bog, which had just seconds ago been lapping at their feet, began to bubble. It burped and belched up sulfur-smelling air, as if hell were breathing on them. Mia trembled, clip in hand. She wanted her grandma back more than anything, more than life or death, heaven or hell.

Then in the distance, across the bog, a figure appeared. Mia saw it first. The figure—a woman—walked on top of the bog’s boiling surface.

“It’s Grammy,” Mia shouted. Fear shot through her. What if Grammy was no longer in a form she recognized? What if she was a zombie? What had they done?

The figure got closer. Hannah and Mia could see it was not Grammy at all. She was young and tall, with dark hair. This strange woman continued walking—no, running—toward them. She was tripping and stumbled over the bubbling water, but she kept coming.

Hannah stepped back, never turning her eyes from the figure coming for them. “Oh God! She’s mad. A-a-and she’s coming right for us.”

“No, no.” Mia was strangely calm. “She looks desperate, maybe even scared. Definitely not mad.”

The two girls had no time to call out to her or to run. Before they could do anything, she was gone.

Stunned, silent, Mia and Hannah looked out over the bog. Its bubbles and belches had stopped. The smell lingered, but there was no sign of the woman in the bog.

“Was that real?” asked Hannah.

“I think so,” replied Mia. “What did she want?”

“I don’t know. Something important, based on the way she was running.”

They turned to head back to the car. Getting to the row of trees, they saw another dark-haired figure approaching. This one was very much alive and angry.

“Who do you think you are, ditching me like that? I thought we were best friends. I thought we did everything together! You didn’t even ask me to come with you.” Jasmine sounded really hurt. “I knew something was up when you had that stuck-up smile in the library. You couldn’t wait to get rid of me after school, could you, Mia?”

“I just figured you wouldn’t want to come out here.”

“How did you know where to find us?” asked Hannah.

“Let’s just say I had a hunch. Besides, it’s not that far.” Jasmine was trying hard not to yell anymore. “Oh, and nice car, Hannah! I’m sure your mom would love to hear how you stole it!”

Hannah got scared and said, “Jasmine, don’t. I would be grounded for life. Don’t tell her PLEASE!”

“Whatever. I’m not a snitch.”

“You want a ride back to town?” asked Hannah.

“No. I’d rather bike home than be with you traitors.” Jasmine looked as though she were about to cry. She turned and started walking toward the bog.

“Should we stop her?” whispered Mia.

“She’ll be fine. I don’t think she will be summoning any ghosts,” said Hannah. “Besides, she needs some space.”

Mia walked around the back of the car to get into the passenger seat.

“Look,” Mia said, pointing to the rear window.

“That’s strange,” said Hannah. “There’s writing on the window . . . and it’s backwards.”

They got in the car. Looked in their rearview mirror. The words had been written in mud: Beware of the jeweler’s son.

“That was what Miss Jones said to us in the library,” said Mia.

“Jasmine must have written it.”

“I guess. But why?”

“Probably to spook us,” replied Hannah.

“It worked,” Mia said. She had the eerie feeling that someone was watching them.