Psychic Science


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Copyright © 2023 by Lerner Publishing Group, Inc.
 
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 Darby Creek 
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 241 First Avenue North 
 Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
 
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 Cover and interior images: Copyright ©2019 Aleksandar Grozdanovski/Shutterstock (background); solar22/Shutterstock (zombie); Milano M (chapter number background)
 
 Main body text set in Janson Text LT Std. 
 Typeface provided by Adobe Systems.
 
 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
 
 Names: Hicks, Kelli L., author. 
 Title: Psychic science / Kelli Hicks. 
 Description: Minneapolis : Darby Creek, [2023] | Series: Sinkhole | Audience: Ages 11–18. | Audience: Grades 10–12. | Summary: In spite of their differing opinions—while Anna believes in science, Caleb pursues the paranormal for his social media program—the two friends must work together when a strange purple mist turns the animals and people of Foggy Creek, Texas, into zombie-like creatures. 
 Identifiers: LCCN 2022023505 (print) | LCCN 2022023506 (ebook) | ISBN 9781728475516 (library binding) | ISBN 9781728477985 (paperback) | ISBN 9781728479552 (ebook) 
 Subjects: CYAC: Supernatural—Fiction. | LCGFT: Paranormal fiction. | High interest-low vocabulary books. | Novels. 
 Classification: LCC PZ7.1.H5437 Ps 2023 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.H5437 (ebook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23 
 
 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022023505 
 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022023506
 
 Manufactured in the United States of America 
 1 – TR – 12/15/22 
 
 
 
 
 
 1
 
 Caleb and Anna walked toward their last period classrooms. He had computer science. Hers was calculus. The classrooms were right next door to each other. 
 Today, he pulled out a photo of a mysterious creature. “Check this out,” he said. “This sighting is legit.” 
 “You could not be more wrong, Caleb. Don’t you get tired of having this same argument over and over again? These creatures are not real.” 
 “I could not be more right about this, Anna. Don’t you get tired of being so boring?” he asked. 
 Anna let out a frustrated breath. She pushed her shoulders back and closed her eyes. “Listen, Caleb. There is no proof that there is a strange, hairy beast roaming the city.” 
 It was Caleb’s turn to pause and think before saying something that was going to make him sound ridiculous. Or worse, make Anna think she was right. 
 “Anna, there is a witness. He has a picture. It is a credible sighting.” 
 “I know you believe in this paranormal stuff, Caleb. But the witness is an older man with poor vision, and he has made these unfounded claims before. The picture shows a blurry image. This is not proof. It could be a total fake. I am walking away now, Caleb. This conversation is over.” 
 After Anna stormed out of the computer lab’s doorway, Caleb looked at the photo and sighed. Then he made his way to his computer desk. He sat down and waited for Ms. Smith’s instructions. It wasn’t long before he was lost in a daydream. 
 He and Anna had been friends since they were in kindergarten. When they were little, Anna always got excited about going on an adventure and usually agreed to go along with Caleb’s ideas and schemes. He never suggested anything that could have gotten them hurt or was overly dangerous, but they used to have fun. 
 He remembered one time when they were about eight or nine years old, they rode their bikes all the way to the sinkholes at the edge of town. If their parents knew, they would have been grounded forever. They found a small puddle and decided it looked fun. It was strange to have standing water anywhere during the dry Texas weather in Foggy Creek, but the air was scorching so they splashed like a couple of wild birds taking a bath. The puddle was much deeper than they thought it was going to be. Soon, they were taking turns digging down into the water and grabbing whatever their hands touched. He remembered the feel of thick, black mud oozing through his fingers and what seemed like sticks that poked his hands as he blindly grabbed under the water. He even thought he felt something squirmy brush against his fingers. He jerked his hand out of the water as fast as he could. Anna’s laughter, though, kept him hanging around the puddle of water longer than he wanted to be there. Anna was fearless. She kept digging deeper and deeper until, suddenly, she got really wide-eyed and let loose a high-pitched squeal. 
 “Holy cow, Caleb. Look at this! Have you ever seen anything like this before?” 
 Her hands came out of the puddle holding a weird fishlike thing. He thought it might be what brushed against his fingers when he dug into the mud. The thing wiggled in her hands. It shimmered in the sunlight, a silvery greenish creature with four small, webbed feet and a long, scaled tail that whipped back and forth. Two small cone shapes stuck out from the side of its face. And it had only one eye! It was so creepy. 
 Anna shouted. “Caleb! Help!” 
 The creature dug deep into her skin. Blood poured from the puncture wounds on her hand. Caleb grabbed Anna’s hand and hit the creature against the ground until it let go and disappeared down into the water by the sinkhole. He had never seen anything so strange before. 
 Even though Caleb knew Anna always tried to be brave, he could tell that her hand was aching. Her lip