Bad Moonlight (2 page)

“Hey—watch it!” Caroline protested to Joey. She reached up and tugged his fluttering hair.

“Caroline, are you flirting with me?” he called back.

She let go of his hair. “For sure,” she muttered sarcastically. “I only flirt with members of my own species!”

Danielle and Mary Beth laughed. Caroline had a quick mind and a sharp sense of humor.

Behind them in the backseat, Billy and Kit were asleep. Their heads bounced against the seatbacks as Joey stormed along the narrow highway. But the bouncing and jarring didn't wake them.

Danielle glanced back at the two guys.

Billy Dark was the manager of the band. At twenty-two he was the group's oldest member. Kit Kragen
was two years younger than Billy. Kit was a roadie, the equipment manager. But he was so good looking, girls in the audience usually paid more attention to him than to the band members!

Far below the guardrail, dark farms and empty fields whirred by. The air from the van's open windows felt hot and damp.

“I've been thinking about names for us,” Caroline said. “And I thought maybe—”

“That's all we ever think about,” Mary Beth interrupted. She was a short, pretty girl, with straight, carrot-colored hair cut very short and intense green eyes.

Intense
was the perfect word to describe Mary Beth, Danielle thought. Mary Beth took
everything
seriously. She was the band's drummer, and her playing was as precise and intense as her mind.

“I think we should call ourselves the Beatles and stop thinking about it,” Caroline joked.

Danielle laughed. “Wasn't there already a group with that name?”

“And they did okay—didn't they?” Caroline replied. “So maybe the name will work for us!”

“Can't you guys ever be serious?” Dee Waters demanded, turning in the front passenger seat to face the other three girls. She wore her dark hair in tightly braided cornrows. Her long, amber earrings matched her almond-shaped eyes and complemented her brown skin.

Dee had been so quiet, Danielle had practically forgotten she was sitting up there. Caroline, Mary
Beth, and Danielle had been talking the entire trip. Dee had stared silently out the window, refusing to join in.

Will she ever be friendly to me? Danielle wondered.

Will Dee ever get over her resentment that she's not the band's lead singer anymore?

Danielle suddenly remembered her audition for the band. Caroline's family had an unfinished room above their garage. The band used it for rehearsals. Danielle had auditioned for them there.

She had been so nervous. She knew she had a good voice. And she knew she was a pretty good songwriter.

But would they like her?

When she arrived, they had all greeted her warmly. Billy had been especially kind. He introduced everyone, making little jokes about each one. “Watch out for Kit,” Billy warned. “He bites.”

Danielle's hands trembled as she opened her guitar case and prepared to sing one of her own songs for them.

“Everybody be nice to Danielle,” Billy told the others as they sprawled around the small room. “She's going to be a famous songwriter some day.”

The room was cluttered with amps and guitar cases and coils of cable. Joey, the sound guy, plugged her guitar into an amp for her. He flashed her a thumbs-up.

The others smiled and watched eagerly as Danielle sat down on a tall stool and tuned up.

They had all been so nice, so welcoming.

Everyone but Dee.

Dee had sat glumly against the wall with her arms crossed. Her unhappy expression never changed.

Even when Danielle finished her first song to applause and cheers, Dee didn't move. She stared at Danielle, a bitter expression on her face.

After her second song they made Danielle wait outside. It didn't take them long to make a decision about her. Billy came hurrying down the steps. “You're in!” he told her, wrapping her in a warm hug. “You and Dee will be lead singers. And we want to learn that second song you sang. It's really excellent!”

What a happy day that was.

If only Dee hadn't tried to spoil it. She had come up to Danielle in the driveway as Danielle started to her car. Dee whispered her words. But Danielle heard them very clearly.

“You don't belong in this band.”

That's what Dee had said. Her whisper so cold. Like a chill wind.

“You don't belong in this band.”

And then Dee turned, her eyes darting around, making sure none of the others had seen her. She strode quickly away, returning to the garage.

Danielle had tried to win her over ever since.

But Dee remained cold and unfriendly.

“I don't know why I stay with this band,” Dee was saying, turning from the front seat. “I mean, no name? A band with no name? That's just pitiful.”

“You stay because you're hot for
me!
” Joey chimed in. He took his right hand off the wheel and slid it around Dee's shoulder. “Admit it, babes.”

“Get your hand off me,” Dee warned playfully. She grabbed his wrist and started twisting it. “Unless you want to drive one-handed for the rest of your life!”

“Ooh!” Joey cried. “I love it when you come on to me like that!”

Dee let out a cry of disgust.

Joey returned his hand to the wheel. But he turned back to Danielle, Caroline, and Mary Beth. “I know what you should call the band!” he shouted, grinning.

“Joey—please!” Danielle pleaded. “Watch the road! We're on the edge of a cliff!”

“You should call it Joey's Groupies!” he declared. He tossed back his head, his long hair flying behind him, and started to utter a loud howl.

But the cry was cut short as the van slid out of control.

Danielle shrieked.

The tires squealed as Joey hit the brake.

Too late.

Danielle heard the crush of metal as the van crashed through the low metal guardrail.

She screamed again as the van sailed off the edge of the cliff.

Chapter 2

WHAT'S WRONG WITH ME?

T
he van shot through the night sky. Far below, Danielle could see jagged rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

The rocks gleamed like knives in the moonlight.

Then the van's nose tilted down.

Danielle pitched forward violently in her seat. She screamed again as the van aimed straight for the gleaming moonlit rocks.

She felt a rough jolt, followed by the sickening crunch of metal. The van's front wheels struck the rocks.

Danielle's head snapped back. The windshield shattered. Glass flew into the van.

We're going to die, Danielle thought. We're all going to die!

“We're going to die!” she screamed aloud.

“Danielle!”

“No!” Danielle cried. She bent forward and covered her face with her hands. The van was flipping over. Tumbling through the air like a toy car.

In seconds we'll all be dead, Danielle thought. She squeezed her palms against her eyes and waited for the fatal impact.

A hand touched her shoulder. It felt warm and comforting. Long fingers gripped her tightly and gave her a gentle shake.

“Danielle!”

Caroline's voice.

Slowly Danielle looked up. Her friend's blue eyes were filled with concern. “Danielle, it's okay,” Caroline murmured softly. “Everything's okay.”

“But the van—” Danielle stopped. She could feel the van's rocking motion as it moved smoothly along the highway. She could hear the whine of the tires on the road. She raised her eyes to the windshield. Smooth, unbroken glass.

We didn't crash, she thought. It never happened. It was a fantasy. A violent, terrifying fantasy.

Danielle took a deep, shaky breath. Her heart was still beating wildly.

“What happened?” Caroline asked. “What was it, Danielle?”

“The van went off the cliff!” she gasped. “Joey howled, and then the van went out of control. I could see us crashing through the guardrail. I saw the windshield crack. I even felt it when we hit the rocks!”

“No wonder you screamed like that,” Mary Beth said softly.

Danielle took another deep breath and glanced around. Billy and Kit were wide awake now. Staring at her. Dee was watching her, too, frowning.

Danielle turned away and met Joey's shade-covered eyes in the rearview mirror. Joey grinned, a little shame-faced. “Sorry about that, Danny,” he told her. “I didn't mean to scare you.”

“You
should
be sorry,” Dee snapped. “We're lucky you
didn't
drive us off the cliff.”

Joey shrugged. “Hey, I said I was sorry. Anyway, blame the moon.” He chuckled and pointed out the window. “Almost full tonight, see? The moon always makes me a little wild.”

Danielle glanced out the window at the night sky. The moon hovered low and bright. Cold looking, she thought with a shiver. Like ice.

Billy laughed softly from the back of the van. “It doesn't take the moon to make
you
wild, Joey.”

“For sure,” Dee muttered.

Joey chuckled again. The van picked up speed.

“Sure you're okay, Danielle?” Billy asked.

She turned around in her seat. Billy and Kit were both watching her.

Kit's dark brown hair blended with the shadowy dimness in the back of the van. But his eyes—a pale blue, surrounded by thick black lashes—narrowed with concern.

Billy was worried, too. Danielle could see it in his hazel eyes and the frown on his high forehead. He's
such a great guy, she thought. Great looking, too. Dark-blond hair, an athletic body, a dimple when he smiled.

“I'm all right, I guess,” Danielle told him. “I—I'm sorry. I know you guys were asleep. I didn't mean to freak everybody out like that.”

“Hey, no problem,” Billy assured her. “Your scream was better than an alarm clock. And this is a rock band, right? We're supposed to be a little freaked-out.”

“Maybe that's what we should call ourselves,” Caroline said. “A Little Freaked-Out.”

Mary Beth shook her head. “I don't like it.”

Caroline laughed. “I was kidding, Mary Beth.”

“Hey, how about the Un-nameables?” Joey called out. “You like that one, Danielle?”

“Drive, Joey,” Billy ordered. “Just drive.” He leaned forward. “Don't pay any attention to Joey,” he whispered loudly to Danielle. “We hired him for his muscles, not his brain.”

“I heard that!” Joey pretended to be insulted.

Danielle forced a smile. She knew they were trying to cheer her up.

It was working.

But not completely.

If only she could stop having these horrifying, lifelike fantasies.

Danielle leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

“Feeling better?” Caroline whispered.

“A little,” Danielle replied. “I just wish I understood
what's happening to me. Why do I keep having these awful hallucinations?”

“You can blame Joey for this one,” Caroline told her, tucking a strand of long blond hair behind her ear. “He was driving too fast. Everybody knows how nervous you get on the road. I mean . . . ever since your parents' accident.”

Danielle felt a lump in her throat. It happened every time she thought about her mother and father.

Almost three years ago Mr. and Mrs. Verona were driving home from a convention when their car spun out of control. It broke through a metal guardrail—and tumbled over a cliff onto rocks fifty feet below.

It happened on a night like this, Danielle thought. On a road like this. Clear and dry. Moonlit.

But it wasn't a fantasy.

Her parents had died.

They had both been thrown from the car. The rocks had slashed them like blades.

No! Danielle told herself. Aunt Margaret never said they were cut up. She never told me any details. I'm just imagining that part.

Imagining the worst.

“I still can't believe it happened,” Danielle whispered to Caroline. “It was night, and Dad was used to driving at night. And he was such a careful driver. I mean, he never went even a mile over the speed limit. I used to tease him about getting a ticket for being
too
cautious!”

Caroline shook her head sympathetically. “The fantasies started after the accident, didn't they?”

Danielle nodded. The fantasies were like nightmares. But she wasn't asleep when they happened. She was wide awake—and terrified.

“Have you talked to Dr. Moore about them?” Caroline asked.

Danielle sighed. “What
haven't
I talked to him about?”

She had been seeing Dr. Moore since the accident. The psychiatrist was trying to help her get to the bottom of the fantasies. “Once we find out what's causing them, Danielle,” he told her, “they will stop.”

I hope he's right, Danielle thought. And I hope it happens soon.

The fantasies were getting worse. More real. More violent.