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turned the key and as soon as the engine started up, coughing its regular

smoke, the spider skated away on the water’s surface. She waited, not

wanting to maim the thing before she got the motor going and carefully

moved the boat forward.

“It’s still coming!” Arabella yelled.

If Summer wanted to terrorize Arabella, she couldn’t have come up with

a better plan, though June was pretty sure her bestie hadn’t secretly put the

spiders into the boat. That would be too devious, and Summer wasn’t that

fond of them. It didn’t stop her from grinning devilishly.

“Death wish mother effer,” Summer muttered. She pushed the boat faster

and still, June could see the nasty beast sliding over the water at speeds she

didn’t know were possible, heading straight towards them.

“Hurry, Summer! It’s still freaking coming after us!”

Arabella climbed higher onto her seat, folding herself into an even

smaller ball. “What’s wrong with that thing? It’s possessed!”

“It might be,” Summer agreed. She kicked the boat into high gear so fast

that June and Arabella lurched forward. June braced herself with the dash,

but Arabella nearly toppled over the seats. She righted herself with ease, a

throwback to her cheerleading days from high school, and cranked her head

back around.

Thankfully, the spiders were long gone. They moved out into the lake,

away from the small island. She kept going, speeding past the deeper, open

waters and cutting through the other side, where a cluster of islands and

natural bays usually provided protection from the wind. They didn’t have to

worry about that. It was so hot there were hardly any other boats out on the

lake. Too hot for boating, even with the wind in their hair.

Summer suddenly slowed down and cut the engine between two islands.

She moved to the front, dug out the anchor, and threw it over. “Time for

swimming, bi atches. It’s too hot for boating.”

“I was just thinking that,” June said. She glanced over the edge of the