Drowning in Fear (A Weirdville Book)

By Majanka Verstraete

For as long as he can remember, Nolan has been afraid of drowning. The fear is so bad he can’t even go swimming with his friends.

In an attempt to help him get over his fears, his Dad signs him up for a summer camp near Lake Weird. Ever since Nolan heard the news, he’s been having nightmares about an abandoned cabin near a lake, and about him drowning in water thick as blood.

Nolan is certain his nightmares are related to his fear of drowning, but when he arrives at summer camp, and finds out there’s a cabin near Lake Weird that matches the withered cabin from his nightmares, he realizes something more sinister is going on.

Can Nolan find out the reason why he’s spent his entire life being afraid of drowning? How is it connected to the spooky cabin from his nightmares, and the lake surrounded by creepy, crawling mist?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Majanka Verstraete
• Release date: Sep 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005951368

Majanka Verstraete

Majanka Verstraete begged her Mom to teach her how to read while she was still in kindergarten. By the time she finished fifth grade, she had read through the entire children’s section of her hometown library. She wrote her first story when she was seven years old, and hasn’t stopped writing since. With an imagination that never sleeps, and hundreds of possible book characters screaming for her attention, writing is more than a passion for her. She writes about all things supernatural for children of all ages. She’s tried to write contemporary novels before, but something paranormal always manages to crawl in. Majanka is currently studying for her Master of Laws degree, and hopes one day to be able to combine her passions for law and writing. When she’s not writing, reading or studying, she likes watching “The Vampire Diaries” and “Game of Thrones,” spending time with her friends, or playing “World of Warcraft.”

Book preview

Drowning in Fear

(A Weirdville Book)

Lower Grade Chapter Book

Majanka Verstraete

www.WhimsicalPress.com

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DROWNING IN FEAR

(A Weirdville Book)

Copyright © 2021 Majanka Verstraete

Originally published in 2013

Art Copyright © 2013 Noelle Giffin

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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system, copied in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise transmitted without written permission from the publisher. You must not circulate this book in any format.

This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return it and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Find out more about the author and upcoming books online at www.majankaverstraete.com or @iheartreads.

Disclaimer:

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or the author has used them fictitiously.

Other Books by

Majanka Verstraete

Valentina’s Spooky Adventures

Valentina and the Haunted Mansion

Valentina and the Whackadoodle Witch

Valentina and the Masked Mummy

Weirdville

The Doll Maker

House of Horrors

Fright Train

Drowning in Fear

The Clumsy Magician

Grave Error

Sally Sleuth

Sally Sleuth and the Missing Mice

For a complete, up-to-date list of her other books, visit her website:

www.MajankaVerstraete.com

Dedication

For all those kids out there who love telling scary stories to their friends, and reading scary books in bed at night, wondering if they should leave the lights on or not after reading.

Hope you enjoy this story as well!

Chapter One

Nolan gazed down into the pool of thick, black water below. The lake stretched on in front of him, a sleeping monster ready to swallow him whole the moment he dipped his foot in it.

He turned back toward the house he’d come from, a nondescript two-story wooden building, barely more than a cabin. Light burned in the upstairs bedroom, and it didn’t feel right—its glow too golden, too luminescent, as if it didn’t come from this world at all.

A black shadow appeared behind the glass.

Nolan panicked and put a step back. His foot slipped on the wet surface, and before he had time to cry out, he fell down into the lake below. Water rolled over him in black, thick waves, pulling him under.

He screamed, but no sound came out. Water burned his eyes and engulfed him, threatening to drown him. He fought against the darkness, struggled to stay afloat, but the water was sticky and thick, almost as thick as blood, and he couldn’t move at all....

***

He woke up screaming.

Sweat rained down from his forehead and he shivered all over as he took a deep breath, trying to calm down. He was safe at home, in his own bedroom, not near the lake or the house he’d never seen before—not stuck in the nightmare.

The door burst open and his mom walked in. Her blonde hair looked completely disheveled and her bathrobe dragged over the floor, as if she’d rushed to put it on before darting to his room.

The first few nights it happened, she’d run in, eyes wide, worry turning her face into a wrinkled mask. Now, although her lips curled in annoyance, she still rushed over to his room every time.

He loved her for that.

Did you have the nightmare again?

Yeah. He wrapped his arms around himself. Now that he’d stopped sweating, he realized how cold his room was, as if he’d somehow been transported to the Arctic.

Mom sat down on the edge of the bed, kissed him on the forehead, and pulled him close. It’s okay, sweetie. It was just a dream.

The first time he’d had the nightmare, he’d believed her. It seemed logical. Dad had just broken the news to him that he’d enrolled him for a summer camp near a lake, in this stupid town called Weirdville. Mom had been so mad she hadn’t spoken to Dad all day. Nolan was mad too, but he wasn’t good at ignoring people, and way better at throwing temper tantrums. He’d crashed through the house like a tornado, jumped up and down the stairs, screamed at the top of his lungs.

The worst part was that he understood why Dad had done it. He’d gone behind Nolan’s back—and his Mom’s—in signing him up for the summer camp.

In high school, Dad had won the national swimming competition: 100 meters. He went swimming practically every day.

Nolan, on the other