The Reservoir Read Online Free Page A

crazy,” Zack quipped, and then dashed toward her and tackled her.  The two fell to the floor, arms and legs flailing.
    “You guys!” Holly admonished.  “Over here?  We have a friend in need…”
    She sent a glance at Daniel.  Suddenly, he looked better.  His pale face had taken on a healthier, rosier hue. 
    “Are you guys telling the truth?” he asked Niqui first, and then Holly.  “You really thought you saw those things?”
    “Yep, among other things,” Holly replied.  “There’s something about having your body floating on hundreds of feet of manmade lake that congers up all sorts of fearsome things—makes the imagination run wild.  And the fact that operators at the dam can flip some sort of switch or such and make the water level either rise or lower is also kind of creepy.”
    “But I wasn’t even in the water,” Daniel protested.
    “It’s the shadows,” Holly declared.  “The shadows will fool you every time.”

Chapter Three
     
    “Everybody in?” Zack asked. 
    The group of kids settled into the boat.  Holly took hold of the towable and carefully situated it on the seats in the front of the boat, and out of the way for the time being.  “Can you see all right?” she asked Zack.
    Since he was so tall, he could easily see over the tube as long as he stood up.  He began carefully backing away from the dock.  Holly noted right away that he knew what he was doing, as he easily navigated away from the stump patch.
    Once they’d cleared the shallows and entered deep water, she breathed a sigh of relief.  She noted Niqui was sprawled out on the back seat, closest to the outboard motor.  Kendall sat on the seat that backed up to Zack’s driver’s seat, while Daniel took the seat that backed to her passenger seat.  Zack kept the boat to a sedate pace, perhaps topping out at ten miles per hour. 
    “Can’t you go any faster than this?” Kendall called out with frustration.  “My eighty-six-year-old great grandfather drives faster than you do.”
    “Just trying to see what I’m up against,” he replied, glancing at Holly, who rose to stand and began pointing out landmarks.  She gave him the same spiel David had given her, warning him about the island, with its steep underwater inclines, and the stump patch coming up on their right.  She also warned the group as a whole to keep their eyes peeled for stray logs, since they were prevalent in the water—particularly after a rain storm.
    “Why don’t we head over to the bridge—to the channel leading to the Siouxon?” she suggested.  She was curious to see how high the water was at this point during the day.  It was nearing six-thirty.  Had the water level been lowered?  Or had it gotten deeper, thanks to water being released into the reservoir from the dam above? 
    Zack proved to be the epitome of caution and restraint, ignoring Kendall and Niqui’s cries for increased speed.  “Let me get the feel of the boat,” he called back.  “Every boat is different.”
    “Yeah, yeah,” Kendall murmured.
    Upon reaching the bridge, Holly noted the water was high and she didn’t want to chance going under it, lest the water rise and trap them.  There was no telling when they might get out if they did happen to get stuck, and it would be mortifying for the county law enforcement, who policed the lakes on boat and jet ski, to find them trapped. 
    She knew she would never hear the end of it from her brother or stepfather, particularly since David was a deputy who worked Marine Patrol for the sheriff’s office in the adjoining county.  During the summer, he often patrolled Yale Lake, as well as Lake Merwin nearby. 
    Holly directed Zack to a nearby cove.  He turned the boat around and they motored at a sedate pace to the cove which was just north of the bridge.  Zack set the boat to idle, shut it down, and then asked Daniel to help him drop anchor. 
    “Anybody want to take a dip?” Holly asked.
    “Keep your vests