The Star Group by Christopher Pike

kissed my head. “You are my Spaceman.”
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    TO MY IMMENSE SURFRISE, I HAD NO trouble convincing the others that we needed to go away together for a few days. It seemed that all of them, including Shena, had been thinking the same thing. I wondered how much Mentor had been working on each of us. I was especially pleased that Shena was receptive. Her breakdown at Disneyland seemed a forgotten nightmare. It was Shena, in fact, who located our retreat cabin, a three-bedroom exposed post and beam affair on a back road off the main highway to Lake Arrowhead. The place bordered another smaller lake, and Shena said the real estate agent had emphasized its isolation and serenity. I was impressed with how fast Shena had found the cabin. We chipped in to pay for it, but I believe Shena paid more than her share. She was clearly anxious to be with Jimmy for a spell. I hoped they could out their differences.
    As we turned off the main mountain road and cruised down into the heavily wooded valley and saw Crystal Lake for the first time, I felt a calm steal over me. The place was familiar, I felt as if I had dreamed of it for years. The smooth mirror-like lake water called to me. If I stared into it at night, I wondered, would I see the mysteries of the starry sky? I had spoken only once to Mentor since he had given me my orders. I had brought the few supplies he had said would be necessary to awaken our Star Group. Actually he spoke of them as symbols of a deeper reality, not intrinsically important, but useful as tools to help our minds expand.
    The whole valley appeared deserted. I was puzzled since it was Friday and the weekend was coming. Shena explained; she seemed to know a lot about the area.
    “This is mainly a skiing valley,” she said. “During the summer everyone locks up their houses. The lake is not large enough for waterskiing or powerboats.”
    “But it looks like you can fish on it,” Sal said, admiring the lake. He enjoyed fishing. Sometimes he brought his rod out on his surfboard, along with his cigarettes. He had once caught a two-hundred-pound tuna from Huntington Beach pier and swore he had eaten the whole thing in a week's time.
    “The fishing is supposed to be good,” Shena said.
    Sal was driving us into the valley in his van. “I would like to get a rowboat and go out on it,” he said. “What do you say, Jimmy?”
    “I would just as soon swim in it naked with my girlfriend.”
    Shena hesitated, then smiled. “I'm game.”
    “I'd just as soon swim in it naked with all the guys,” Gale said.
    “Hey,” I complained.
    “I'm not taking my clothes off in front of you guys,” Teri said.
    “You may as well,” Sal said. “I've shown Jimmy and Daniel those nude photos I took of you.”
    “I had six of them blown up and plastered on my bedroom walls,” Jimmy said.
    Teri chuckled. “Fortunately I never strip in a room where there is a camera. For that reason I know your photos are probably of Gale.”
    “Hey,” I said.
    “Maybe they are,” Jimmy muttered, casting Gale a quick look. Sal glanced at her as well, and I couldn't help noticing the disturbing dynamics. But Gale kept her gaze straight ahead and focused on the lake. I would have given a pretty penny to know what she was thinking right then. What night she was remembering.
    When we reached the cabin, five-sixths of the gang set about unloading and exploring. They all wanted to get the best room. But I never cared where I slept, and wanted to get out and stretch my legs. I set off by myself around the lake, still marveling at its serenity. It was the kind of lake where a stone could skip a dozen times and I picked up a pebble and got it to jump more than six times on my first try. The body of water was a quarter mile long, half that wide, an almost perfect oval.
    The smell of the surrounding pines penetrated deep into my lungs and cleared out years of accumulated smog. The simple act of breathing was invigorating. I had