The Otherworldlies Read Online Free

slob.
    “Ya got a pair a lungs on ya, dontcha?”
    Fern wiped her eyes. She must gain control of herself.
    “Yes,” she said, brushing the sand off her uniform as she wobbled to her feet. She felt very shaky. Her whole body was numb except for her fiercely beating heart. She put her hands to her chest instinctively, hoping to contain it.
    The dirty man looked up to the sky and then back down to Fern. He laughed and held his clumpy beard with one hand. He smelled like rotting seaweed.
    “If it ain’t my lucky day,” he said, smiling. “Those eyes,” he continued, peering longingly at her face. “Looks like someone took ’em out of Phoebe’s head and put ’em in yours.”
    Fern held her hand out in front of her. If she slapped herself and couldn’t feel it, she would know she was dreaming. As soon as her palm hit her face, she knew this was far from a dream. Her cheek stung from the force.
    “Now then, there’s no need ta be doin’ something like that. This must be the first.” The man inched closer to Fern. His mouth housed a random scattering of yellow teeth. “You’ll learn in time.”
    “I fell asleep,” she said as her mind started to work for her again. “I was trying to wake myself up.”
    “Ya didn’t fall asleep, girlie. I’s standing right here and I saw ya. Ya appeared from nowhere.”
    Fern stared into the man’s eyes and a calmness descended over her. His clean blue eyes didn’t seem to match his hole-ridden T-shirt and ruddy face.
    She looked behind her as her survival instincts kicked in. She was on a small strip of sand between the rocks and cliffs. Fern recognized the place immediately: Pirate’s Cove.
    Pirate’s Cove, partially hidden from the larger crowds and waves of the main beach, was her favorite part of Big Corona. The small beach was accessed from the same parking lot as Big Corona, but faced the bay to the north instead of the open ocean. Parts of the beach were quite rocky, and there were a few small caves bored into the side of the sandstone cliffs surrounding the cove. Each visit, the twins usually dedicated hours to climbing Rocky Point and exploring every inch of the caves. Today the cove was deserted.
    “I’s glad I seen it with my own two eyes,” the man said as Fern began brushing the sand off her uniform. “A course, a course, you appear,” the man said. “Today! The anniversary a da Titanomachy! I’ve been comin’ here for a hundred years hopin’ one a ya’d appear.” Fern wanted to run as far as she could from this stranger, but he stood between her and the uphill path to the parking lot—the only outlet from Pirate’s Cove. Hundreds of years? Fern began to step backward, away from the man, whom she’d decided was clearly a lunatic. For a moment, she contemplated launching herself into the bay and swimming to the main beach to safety.
    “Don’t be alarmed,” the man said, his voice losing some of its strange drawl. “I want ta show you somethin’.” He gave her a wry smile, then dropped his metal detector and scurried to the furthest cave. Fern stared at him warily, unsure what to do.
    “I don’t mean to hurt ya, girlie.” His tomato red face contorted into a look of earnestness. “I mean ta help ya.” His eyes bulged out of his head like a lizard’s.
    Fern, who’d happened to be paying attention when Deputy Fairbanks had come to Mrs. Stonyfield’s class to warn the students about the danger of strangers, snapped back into stranger-danger panic mode. She stepped closer to the lapping tide, figuring she’d take her chances with the bay.
    “I’ll make a deal, then,” the man said, touching his stringy hair with one hand. “I can tell yer afraid. The Den’s open now, but ya should take a look for yerself. It’s important to ya, I swears.” He pointed to the cave closest to the path up to the parking lot.
    “I’ve seen that cave before,” Fern said, emboldened. She was sure she could outswim this man, should he lunge at