“Okay!” Nola snaps. “Fine! So it just never came up before.”
“Never came up?” Lamar stops, turns around, and stares at his girlfriend. “There are entire books on the history of Wardwell Island. Our book store sells them, the souvenir shops sell them. I’ve read most of them. Not one freaking word about nuclear testing.”
“Those books are for tourists!” Nola’s shouting now. “You think some family on vacation wants to hear about all the radioactive material that’s still sealed up inside this hill? You think that little tidbit will make people eager to spend their next vacation here? You think there should be T-shirts with mushroom clouds printed on them? Great idea!”
“Whoa!” Lamar holds up his hands in surrender. “Calm down—”
“Oh, shut up!” Nola sounds close to tears. “You’ve got no right to tell me to calm down. He’s not your grandfather. He hasn’t been keeping all this a secret from you.”
“No,” Lamar agrees quietly. “But my stepmom has. Maybe . . . maybe everyone has.”
Silence for a moment. Zack finally clears his throat. “What do you mean, Lamar?”
“I’m not totally sure,” says Lamar. “But I want to find out. I want to find out what Weird Hal meant about a bad bargain. And about a curse. I want to find out what we haven’t been told, and why. What about you two?”
Relief swooshes through Zack. Finally, he’s not the only one who feels the need to investigate. “I’m in.”
Lamar looks at Nola. “What about you, babe?”
Nola huffs out a sigh. “Don’t be stupid. Of course I’m in.”
Chapter 6
The Wi-Fi at the B&B is terrible. His dad always complains about it. But Zack works with what he’s got. His assignment is to check the Internet for information about nuclear testing on Wardwell Island. Meanwhile, Nola and Lamar will try to find out what their families know.
Sitting on his bed in Room 4, he stares at the search results on his laptop screen.
The nuclear testing on Wardwell Island is not a government secret. A quick search brings up the basic information. The military did conduct a nuclear test here sixty years ago. It was called Project Pandora. A bomb did explode under Moray Hill. And apparently Hal was right about how normal this was. Similar tests happened in Alaska, in the deserts of the southeast, in the South Pacific islands. A few of those tests went horribly wrong. Radiation spread beyond the blast sites—damaged the environment, made people and animals sick. Cancer-level sick. Some people in the Pacific islands died from the effects of radiation.
But most tests were pretty low-key, pretty routine. An underground nuclear explosion is so hot that it melts the rock above it—turns that rock into glass. That layer of glass keeps the bomb’s radiation safely contained. No harm, no foul. Some websites claim that radioactive material actually has leaked in lots of locations. And that the US government just won’t admit it. Other websites say radiation can’t get past that glass shield for at least ten thousand years. Zack can’t find any debate about Wardwell Island specifically, though. Nobody seems to think anything was especially sketchy about Project Pandora.
Nobody mentions a curse.
Zack wonders if his dad knows about these nuclear tests. Behind the Curtain is always running stories about secret government programs. Or at least government programs that have been involved in shady stuff. Maybe he should ask his dad about it . . .
Someone knocks on Zack’s door. Ben calls, “Zack? We’re going to bed. Dad says to be ready for breakfast by seven tomorrow.”
“Okay, Ben. Night.”
Ben opens the door and slides his head in. “Hey, I’m glad you still do this stuff with us. It wouldn’t be that much fun with just Dad.”
A tiny black hole opens up in Zack’s chest. “Sure it would, buddy. Dad’s a cool guy.”
“Yeah, but we’re not cool enough for him.” The black hole deepens. “Anyway, thanks for not being like older brothers on TV.”
Zack forces a smile. “No problem. See you in the morning.”
After Ben closes the door, Zack stares up at the ceiling. If he stares long enough, he’ll start to see patterns in the plain white paint job.
Mostly, he sees those three-spoked wheels.
***
The breakfast buffet downstairs is as tasty as ever. Zack devours a muffin. He’s supposed to meet Nola and Lamar at the front desk by seven-thirty, before they head to school. Ben and Leah are studying an old-school fold-out map of the island. Dad’s bent over his phone, working.
They’re the only people in the room except for an older man sitting in a corner. Zack wonders about the friends of the lost tourist. Have they gone home? Or do they just have no appetite this morning? He takes out his phone and skims the headlines of the island’s local news site. The MIA tourist is the lead story. Jeff Aberthol, age 21. The Coast Guard is searching for the body, but if it’s been washed out to sea, they might never find it.
“Pretty awful about the missing guy.” Zack aims the comment in his dad’s direction.
“Yeah, it’s a real shame. And I’m sorry you had to deal with it up close—finding the boat.”
Sorry that you had to deal with it up close? “You’re always saying that we shouldn’t ignore tough realities.”
“Well, yeah. But I don’t want it to ruin our vacation for you. I mean, these things happen.”
Zack takes a closer look at his father. Everyone else on the island seems to sense that something’s seriously wrong. But Dad, Editor-in-Chief of conspiracy theories, has somehow missed the memo. To him, this just looks like an ordinary tragedy. Not that he’s looking very closely. He’s got way bigger stories to worry about.
Nola’s dad comes in, says good morning, and heads to the beverage table to check the coffee supply. The older man leaves his corner table and walks up to Mr. Halwin. This guy must be slightly deaf, because he talks loudly. His voice carries easily to Zack’s table.
“Excuse me. You’re the owner, right?”
“Yes, sir. What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for my wife. She went out for a walk early this morning. She was supposed to meet me back here for breakfast. But I can’t find her. And she didn’t take her phone with her. Have you seen her? Tall, very fit, lovely woman. Short white hair, in her seventies—but don’t tell her I let that slip. Jeannie Dyson is her name.”
“I’m sorry, sir,” says Mr. Halwin. “I haven’t seen her. Have you checked with the front desk?”
“I’ll do that now . . .”
Zack doesn’t feel like eating anymore. That unsettling, spooky feeling is back.
He texts Nola and Lamar.
I think someone else is missing.
Chapter 7
Nola is covering for her mom at the front desk. Which makes it easy for her to search the guest database. While she types and tries not to look shifty, Zack leans on the counter, staring at her earrings.
The B&B’s front door opens. Lamar charges in, backpack slung over his shoulder. “Hey, guys. First I’m stealing some coffee. Then we’re talking. Be right back.”
Nola barely glances at her boyfriend as he breezes by. Her eyes are locked on the computer screen. “Here we go. Jeannie and Brad Dyson. Checked in two days ago for a weeklong stay. Room 3. Now explain how any of that is helpful.”
Zack shrugs. “It’s not, I guess. What room was Jeff Aberthol in?”
“Room 1,” she says promptly. “I just cleaned it. So what?”
“I don’t know. I guess I just wondered if there was any kind of connection between them.”
“We don’t even know if Mrs. Dyson is actually missing,” Nola reminds him. “She might just be taking a longer walk than her husband expected.”
“Sure,” says Zack. “But is that what you think?”
She looks back at the computer screen. Her fingers tap lightly on random keys, not actually pressing down. “I don’t know what to think. Something feels really wrong, but I can’t figure out why.”
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“So you do feel that.”
“Yeah.”
Then he’s not imagining it. It really does seem as if the island has been standing on one foot for a long time and is suddenly losing its balance.
Lamar is back, coffee cup in hand. He leans across the desk to give Nola a peck on the cheek. “Okay, school starts in twenty-eight minutes, so let’s make this a lightning round. You first, Nola. You find out anything from your parents last night?”
She shakes her head. “Nothing that Grandpa didn’t already tell us. I mean, they admitted they knew about it. But they couldn’t explain why they’d never mentioned it to me. Or why we never learned about it in school or anything.”
“I learned a little online,” Zack says. “The test was called Project Pandora.” He gives a quick summary of his findings. “And did you know a nuclear blast can turn solid rock into glass? Freaking glass. And that glass is radiation-proof. It stops all the radioactive material from reaching the surface. Isn’t that insane?”
“How’s this for insane?” says Lamar. “I got Mom and Li to crack last night. Li was pretty shaken up. She actually wasn’t sick, just spooked. Because back when she first opened the book store, fifteen years ago or whatever, some local geezer sold her a book.” So far, so ordinary. Lamar’s folks buy people’s used books and resell them. That’s how their business works. But Lamar’s obviously not talking about a normal transaction.
Lamar sets his coffee cup on the desk and lowers his voice. “This book was called The Atlas of Cursed Places. Basically a normal atlas, with a bunch of maps, and background info on those areas. Except instead of your typical population statistics and whatnot, the information was about curses. It explained why certain areas had a curse, what caused the curse, sometimes how to break the curse.”
“This can’t be for real,” says Nola.
Zack says, “What did it say about Wardwell Island?”
Lamar swallows another sip of coffee. “Li claims she can’t remember much. Just that it had something to do with the sixty-year anniversary of the nuclear test. And that it involved people disappearing.”
Zack suddenly wishes he hadn’t eaten any of that muffin.
“We need to find Mrs. Dyson,” says Nola.
“But how?” asks Zack. “Where do we look?”
“Maybe The Atlas of Cursed Places will give us a clue,” suggests Lamar.
Zack turns to him. “Does the book store still have a copy?”
“It’s possible. I mean, someone might’ve bought it ages ago. But if it never sold, it would be in our ‘warehouse’—aka the basement.” Lamar drains his coffee cup. “I can’t check our inventory till this afternoon, though. Mom and Li would notice if I showed up at the store when I’m supposed to be at school.”
“Maybe there’s a copy at the local library,” says Nola. “I can check their online catalog.”
“If there is, I can go get it . . .” But that’s as far as Zack gets. Leah comes out of the dining room.
“Ready, Zack? Dad’s finally done with his coffee.”
Zack grimaces. He can try getting out of the hiking trip. But Ben’s words last night are still rattling around in his brain. I’m glad you still do this stuff with us. What could he say? Sorry, buddy. I have to break a curse today.
Lamar catches on right away. “Go do family bonding time,” he tells Zack. “We’ll take care of the book. And this afternoon, we’ll come up with a plan.”
***
Zack tries not to seem too distracted during the hike, for Ben and Leah’s sake. But it’s hard to focus on blinding blue skies and sweet-smelling fir trees and ocean vistas when all he can think is This island is cursed.
At the top of Moray Hill, they stop for lunch. Dad gets the sandwiches out of his backpack and starts passing them out. Ben says, “How come we never go down the other side? The east side of the hill?”
Zack takes a swig from his water bottle before responding. “Because the east side is private property.” He points to the familiar metal sign a few feet away from them. “See?”
“Yeah, but there’s private property on the west side too.” That’s where Nola’s grandpa lives. “How come there’s no sign there?” When Zack doesn’t answer his question, Ben asks another: “Who lives on the east side?”
“I don’t think anyone lives there. Someone just owns the land and doesn’t want people tramping around on it.”
“Do you guys want your sandwiches?” says Leah. “If you don’t, I’ll eat them.”
“I have to pee first,” says Ben. “Be right back.”
A red flag pops in Zack’s head. Ben’s not a talented liar. Dad would notice that if he paid more attention.
Zack stands up fast. “Me too.” He follows his brother into the trees.
***
“You’re not going to get me in trouble with Dad?” Ben whispers as they walk.
“Not unless you do something stupid. Stupider than trespassing, anyway.”
The trees thin out and they find themselves in a clearing. Across a long stretch of open grass, Zack sees a small concrete building. It’s the kind of building that looks depressed. Hunching close to the ground, gray and grimy. A coldness creeps into Zack’s head.
He’s sure of one thing: he does not want to get closer to that building.
Too bad Ben is running toward it.
Chapter 8
The building’s windows are grimed over with dirt and dust. Ben presses his face against them anyway, trying to see inside.
“Ben, come on. I told you not to do anything stupid. Get away from there.”
“I’m just—”
“Ben. Look at the door.”
There’s a steel-reinforced door just a few feet away. Some sort of scanner is built into the handle. Above the scanner is a neon yellow sign.
CAUTION
RADIATION AREA
AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY
Below those words, there’s the same wheel design Zack has seen on so many people here. A circle, a dot in the middle, and three broad spokes in between, getting wider as they move away from the circle’s center.
Of course. It’s not a wheel at all.
It’s the symbol that means radioactive.
***
Zack drags Ben back the way they came. He’s consumed by the need to get away. He can’t explain it, the bone-deep urge to be as far as possible from that place. He just knows he’s not willing to fight that urge.
“You’re hurting my arm.”
“Then walk faster.”
“Why are you mad?”
Zack’s not mad. He’s deeply freaked out. But there’s no point telling Ben that.
“What do you think that building was? Why did the sign say ‘radiation area’?”
“I don’t know. Come on.”
This place is cursed. This place is cursed. This place is cursed.
They push through the trees to rejoin Dad and Leah. For once Dad’s not glued to his phone.
“What took you so long? Where’d you two go?”
“Just got a little sick to my stomach,” says Zack flatly. “I’m fine now. Sorry for the holdup. You can have my sandwich, though, Leah.”
“Zack, what’s the matter?” Dad asks, a little sharply.
Zack sucks in a breath. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
They walk a short distance down the hill. Still within sight of Ben and Leah, but out of earshot.
“Did you know the government did nuclear testing here? Back in the fifties?”
Blank look from Dad. “I don’t remember ever hearing anything about that. Why do you ask?”
“Because I think—this is going to sound weird. But the guy who disappeared? I don’t think that was just a fluke. Now another B&B guest is missing too. And I think there’s some kind of connection. With the anniversary of the testing . . . ”
None of this is coming out right. He can tell from Dad’s expression. “Zack, you’re not making much sense.”
Dad lets out a long, cautious breath. “Uh. Okay. Finding the tourist’s boat last night was obviously a shock. I totally get that. But I promise you, we’re perfectly safe . . . ”
“I’m not in shock!” Zack bursts out. Actually, maybe he is. But not because he happened to stumble upon Jeff Aberthol’s boat. “There’s something going on here, Dad. Something—”
“Zack, calm down!”
He’s not up for this. Why did he think he could explain anything to his father? Even when the topic was right up his alley, his father couldn’t give his son the time of day. They haven’t had a real conversation in years. “You know what? Forget it.”
He charges down the hiking trail, leaving them all behind.
***
“I found the atlas,” Lamar tells Zack over the phone. “The school library has a copy.”
“Seriously?”
“Seriously. Meet Nola and me at the Haven Café after school, okay? Like three-thirty. We’ll look through this thing together.”
“Okay.”
“I gotta go now, man. Lunch hour’s almost over. See you soon.”
Zack slips his phone back in his pocket and keeps walking down the hill. He reaches the fork where the path branches in two. The left branch will take him to the bottom of the hill. The right branch goes toward Weird Hal’s house.
Three-thirty. That’s almost four hours away.
He veers to the right.
***
Pounding on the door of a glass house feels risky. Zack doesn’t let that stop him. “I know you’re in there! I can see you!”
Weird Hal is in his living room, rummaging through a drawer. He hasn’t looked Zack’s way since Zack rang the doorbell, three full minutes ago. Now, he holds up a hand. Not in a shooing motion, but in a Wait one more minute signal.
Zack lets his aching fist drop to his side. He watches Hal through the transparent wall. Finally Hal seems to find what he’s been looking for. He closes the drawer, clutching a small rectangular object in one hand. Slowly he makes his way to the door.
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