The Creature from Club Lagoona
Read The Creature from Club Lagoona Online
Authors: R.L. Stine
1
“âC
lub Lagoona,'” Mom read from the booklet. She had to practically shout to be heard over the small plane's engines. “Â âThe water adventure of a lifetime!'Â ” She grinned at me.
I pointed to my ear and shook my head. Maybe if I pretended I couldn't hear her, she'd give up.
But she continued reading. “Â âRelax in Club Lagoona's fabulous saltwater Atlantis Swimming Pool. You'll think you're in the ocean.'” She stopped and squeezed my arm. “It's the biggest pool in the world, Tad! Sounds great, huh?”
I tried to smile. “Can't wait.” I put my copy of
Jaws
down on my lap. The plane was really small, and we were the only passengers, so I glanced out the round airplane window.
Maybe I shouldn't have. Below me was endless ocean. Probably crawling with sharks.
“I'm going to snorkel! And learn to scuba dive!” Polly, my younger sister, shouted from across the aisle. She's nine and loves to swim.
“Listen to this,” Dad chimed in. He had a copy of the booklet too. “They've got a glass-bottomed boat, a Log Flume of Doom, and something called the Creature Water Slide!”
“Great!” Polly shouted. She would have bounced out of her seat if she weren't strapped in.
“How about you, Tad?” Dad flashed the booklet at me. “You ready for the Log Flume of Doom?”
“Count me in,” I replied. I gave him two thumbs-up.
I picked up my book again and flipped nervously through the pages. How could I tell them the truth? I'd kept my secret for twelve years. I covered it up so well that no one guessed.
They probably wouldn't have believed the truth anyway. They would never have imagined that I, Tad Hawkins, captain of the Shadyside Middle School soccer team, king of slam dunks, all-around jock, was actually scared to death ofâ
“Let's get wet!”
Polly squealed, interrupting my thoughts. “That's Club Lagoona's motto. Cool!”
I slammed my book shut.
Water
. Water scares me to death.
I hate the way water gets in my nose and eyes. I hate the way my wet hair sticks to my face and neck. And I particularly hate not knowing what's
under
the water. I guess I hate
everything
about water.
All these years I avoided swimming lessons by being too busy with soccer and basketball.
But at Club Lagoona, there would be no escape!
“Ready to
get wet,
Tad?” Polly shrieked at me. She kicked her feet against her seat.
I ignored her.
“Don't be such a wet blanket, Tad,” Polly teased. “Get it?
Wet
blanket?”
I shot her a nasty look. She tugged her baseball cap low over her dark hair. But I could still see her green eyes laughing at me.
Polly and I look alike. “Like two peas in a pod,” Mom always says. But, boy, are we different. Especially when it comes to water.
“Can you keep it down, Polly?” I complained. “I'm trying to read.”
“How can you read now?” Polly demanded. “We're going to Club Lagoona! All the kids in Shadyside are totally jealous. Club Lagoona looked awesome in the TV commercials! And even better in the booklet!” She waved a brochure at me. Then she opened it up to read from it.
“Everything in Club Lagoona has to do with water,” Polly reported. “The rooms are decorated in blue
and green. There's an underwater restaurant. And there's even a video arcade with the new, advanced Underwater Terror 2 game!”
“Great,” I grumbled.
It all sounded like torture to me.
I've been scared of water for as long as I can remember. I still think about the time I lost my tooth in the bathtub. It was sucked right down the drain.
I shuddered, trying to shake off the image of that vanishing tooth. Swirling and swirling down that dark hole. I lowered my eyes to my book again. The shark in the book circled a kid on a raft. It moved closer and closer. It opened its mouth. Itâ
“Got you!” my sister yelled, reaching across Mom and jabbing me with her snorkel.
My head nearly hit the roof of the plane. “Quit it!” I shouted back.
“Stop arguing, kids,” Mom ordered.
“Look,” Dad called. “We're here!”
I closed my book and gazed out the window. Lagoona Island was a small private island off the Carolina coast. The only thing on it was Club Lagoona.
Oh, man! Not only was the island surrounded by all that ocean, there was water all over the island!
The tallest fountain I'd ever seen sprayed straight up into the air. A gigantic pool of water shimmered
nearby. People on Jet Skis zoomed around a wide moat circling the hotel.
A helicopter hovered nearby. I could see someone dropping boxes marked
SUPPLIES
out of the helicopter to the moat-surrounded resort. That's weird, I thought. Why don't they just carry the stuff there?
I flopped back against my seat and shut my eyes. I had a feeling this was going to be the most awful vacation in the history of the world.
“That must be the landing strip,” Mom pointed out, leaning over my shoulder.
Dad and Polly looked out their side of the plane. “I think I can see the Log Flume of Doom!” Polly cried.
“Come on, everybody. We'll be landing in a minute. Grab your stuff,” Dad commanded.
I shoved my book into my backpack and within minutes we all piled off the plane. We gathered at the colorful entrance sign to Club Lagoona. I squinted in the bright sunlight and gazed across the broad moat. Exotic smells filled my nostrils.
“It looks like a fairy-tale kingdom by the sea!” Polly whispered.
“A tropical paradise!” Mom agreed.
“A fantasy island!” Dad added.
My worst nightmare, I thought.
“Welcome to Club Lagoona!” a voice boomed over a
loudspeaker. “Get set for the water adventure of a lifetime!”
The tall bushes made it hard to see what was on the other side of the moat. But I knew all the sameâ
water
. And lots of it!
Polly stood up on tiptoe. “I see water towers and slides!”
“Just look at those palm trees!” Mom added.
“Listen!” Dad commanded.
As we stood in silence, I could hear the sound of water rushing and people shouting and laughing.
“Let's go in!” Polly urged.
“How are we supposed to get to the hotel?” I demanded. “The whole place is surrounded by water!”
We all stared at the moat. It stood between us and the resort.
“Do we get to swim across?” Polly exclaimed, all excited.
Mom laughed and shook her head. “Sorry, Polly. There's a sign pointing to a bridge.”
I shouldered my backpack and trudged slowly behind the others.
Ahead of us was a rickety rope bridge. The kind you see in Indiana Jones movies. The kind that always gives way when someone's halfway across. So
that's
why they can't carry supplies to the resort, I realized.
I stopped walking. “Uh, is that thing safe?” I asked.
“It must be safe,” Mom replied. “There's no other way to get into Club Lagoona.”
“Sure,” Dad added. “It's perfectly safe. Look.” He took a few steps onto the bridge. He jumped up and down. The bridge shook but didn't break.
I watched the three of them make their way across. The bridge wobbled, but it looked as if it would hold me. I didn't like the way the bridge seemed to dip in the middle though. It practically touched the water.
That
made me nervous.
I stepped onto the bridge. It jiggled a little, but I took a deep breath, gripped both handrails, and kept going.
I stared straight ahead. One foot in front of the other. That's it, I told myself. You're doing fine.
“Hurry up, Tad,” Polly shouted from the other side. “We're missing all the fun!”
That's when I made a mistake. I looked down.
Water. On both sides of me. And there I was, stuck right in the middle of it.
I swallowed hard. The bridge shook more violently. Then I realized my trembling knees were making it vibrate.
Just keep your eyes straight ahead, I ordered myself. Stay focused on Polly, Mom, and Dad. And keep walking. That's the only way off the bridgeâwithout getting wet!
I approached the middle of the bridge. My heart
pounded harder. The bridge sank even farther than I thought, dipping just a little into the moat.
Water sloshed over my feet, soaking my sneakers. I gripped the handrails harder.
I trudged on, teeth clenched, feeling the water swirl around my ankles.
Then something caught my attention, just outside my view. What was it? I turned quickly to face it.
Something black and triangular cut smoothly through the water.
Is that a
fin
? I wondered. I thought of the horrible shark in my book. The black triangle disappeared behind me.
Panic made my whole body shudder. I tried to calm down.
There wouldn't be a shark in the moat, I reassured myself. It would be too dangerous for the people at the resort. It had to be my imagination.
But then I thought about
Jaws
. Nobody believed there was a shark there either. Not at first.
I took five deep breaths to calm down. Then I started walking again. The other side of the moat grew closer. I was nearly there. I was going to make it across.
“Tad! Look out!” Polly screamed.
I heard a splash. Something behind me broke the surface of the water. Waves washed over my feet.
The rickety bridge shook and swayed.
I clung to the sides, desperately trying not to fall.
I glanced over my shoulder.
The biggest shark I had ever seen rose up out of the water. Its massive jaws opened, revealing a mouthful of deadly teeth.
Then it lunged for me!
“N
oooooooo!” I shrieked.
Rows of razor-sharp teeth flashed in the sunlight. I let go of the handrails and covered my head. I backed up against one of the rope rails, trying to escape the shark. I held my breath, waiting for the sharp teeth to chomp down on me.
Nothing happened.
Did the shark sink back underwater? Did I frighten it with my scream? Or was it under the bridge, about to attack from the other side?
I peeked between my fingers.
The shark waited right in front of me now. Huge. Menacing. Awesome.
And only inches from my face. It opened and shut
its massive jaws. I froze. Was I going to be a shark snack?