Chapter 29

She quickly put the gold back in the backpack. Was she crazy, or could she actually feel the bad luck crawling over her arms as she buckled the bag? Quickly, she threw the backpack back outside.

“What was that about?” her father asked.

“Nothing,” she lied. “I dumped out all the useful supplies, so I thought we could use the bag as another signal.”

She couldn’t tell him the truth. For one thing, he’d never believe her. And what if he did? What if he didn’t believe her about the curse, but wanted to keep the gold?

Kendal couldn’t take that chance.

“I thought you wanted to go for help,” her father said.

“Maybe tomorrow,” she said. Right at this moment, she felt too spooked to follow the cursed backpack outside.

Her dad looked confused, but he didn’t press. He wasn’t about to complain about his daughter not risking her life.

But that night, she couldn’t stop thinking about the gold. She thought about how Jeremy could buy the lodge with the gold, fix it up, and make it great again. Then she thought how the gold would allow her father to retire from the Navy. He’d never have to go out to sea for months at a time again. The gold could make them happy. She even started to crawl toward the entrance of the cave, her movements steady, trancelike.

“Kendal?”

It was her father.

She snapped her heavy eyelids open.

“You okay?” he asked.

“I am now,” she said.

At least I think I am, she said to herself. Or has the curse already set in?