tentacled creatures dead on the shore.
A ragged fringe of white foam spread toward him. Shiner stopped walking. A couple of yards before reaching their feet, the foam settled and faded away. Jeremy heard the water receding, a fresh wave washing in.
“The others must be over there,” he said, nodding to the left.
Shiner turned her head that way. Then she looked forward again. Her hand tightened against his side, so Jeremy pressed her a little bit closer.
“I guess we should go over there,” she said.
“Yeah.”
But she didn’t move, so neither did Jeremy. He realized his heart was beating more rapidly than before.
This is fine, just standing here, he told himself.
He wondered what she was thinking about.
“You’d think we could hear them,” Shiner said.
“Should we try to find them?”
“Do you want to?” she asked.
He shrugged. He wanted to stay right here. And that was weird too. Tanya was the one he was crazy about, not Shiner. He could be with Tanya right now—looking at her, hearing her voice.
But I wouldn’t be holding her like this, he thought. She’s Nate’s girl. I don’t stand a chance with her.
“I think I might quit trolling,” Shiner said.
“Really?”
“I don’t know. Killing a guy like that. I hate the trolls, but killing them…”
“If you quit, when’ll I see you?” The words were out before he had a chance to think about them and back off.
She turned her face toward Jeremy.
“Why don’t you give me your number?” she said.
His heart felt like a drumming fist.
“I…we just got our phone. I don’t know the number. If you give me yours…”
“I can’t,” she said. “I’d like to, but I’m not allowed to get calls from boys.”
“Huh?”
“My mother, she’s…a little peculiar. She thinks I’m too young to have a boyfriend.”
“How old are you?”
“Sixteen.”
“Same here.”
“Maybe we could meet somewhere,” she suggested.
“Sure.” He felt as if he could barely breathe. “Yeah. That’d be great.”
“How about here at the beach tomorrow afternoon? The fog’ll probably burn off by noon. How about one o’clock? We could meet over by the lifeguard station.”
“Great.”
Shiner squeezed him against her side.
Then someone came striding along the beach in front of them, and they both flinched.
Nate. Barefoot and wearing a wet suit. Carrying a surfboard under one arm.
He turned and came toward them. A few strides away, he stopped. His head swiveled from side to side. “Where are the rest of them?” he asked.
“Over there someplace,” Shiner said. She raised her left arm and pointed.
He started away. “You coming?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Shiner let go of Jeremy, and they both started walking along behind Nate. Jeremy’s side felt cold where she had been pressed against it.
“Tanya?” Nate called.
“Over here.” Tanya’s voice sounded far away, but straight ahead.
Shiner took hold of Jeremy’s hand. Her warmth seemed to flow up his arm and fill him.
He found himself thinking about tomorrow. It would be like having a real date with her. He hoped she was as pretty in the sunlight as she seemed in the darkness. She would probably be wearing a swimsuit—maybe some kind of a bikini. And they’d be meeting near the lifeguard station, so Tanya would be there. He could look at both of them.
It’ll be great, he thought.
Then he saw three faint dark figures standing in the fog ahead of Nate. The naked body of the troll lay at their feet. The cuffs had been removed.
Shiner didn’t let go of his hand when they joined the group. Jeremy was glad. In a way, it seemed as if she were showing him off, saying, “Look what I’ve got.”
He felt as if the two of them had suddenly become a “couple.”
“Anybody see you?” Tanya asked Nate as he set his surfboard down beside the corpse.
“Nope. Maybe some trolls, but I didn’t spot any.”
“This is one troll they won’t be getting their hands on,” Samson said.
He and Nate crouched at the other side of the body. They rolled it over onto the surfboard. Jeremy’s stomach clutched a little when he saw the broken legs flop loosely. But he was relieved that the troll was facedown now, penis out of sight. There was a dark splotch on one of the buttocks. A birthmark?
“He’s going to slide right off there if we don’t strap him down,” Nate said. “I couldn’t find any rope. Any of you wearing belts?”
“Yeah,” Samson said. “Won’t go around him and the board, though.”
“We’ll need a couple, at least.”
“I’ve got one,” Jeremy said.
Shiner said, “Me too.”
“Sorry,” said Randy, and lifted his jacket as if he felt the need to prove he had