AltDeath.com by Lynne Hansen, Sally Bosco

From the Publisher

An online murder mystery club for teens discovers they have a real murder to solve when one of their members is found dead under suspicious, perhaps even paranormal circumstances. The AltDeath Club knows that their friend Rachel didn't commit suicide. Her blue lips and withered body are not the product of poison like the Rappahannock police believe. An energy vampire is prowling their isolated stretch of Northern Neck, Virginia. The AltDeathers must find the killer before they, too, fall prey to the vampire's foul trap. Through their investigation, Tori St. James, her wheelchair-bound boyfriend Matt, and the rest of the AltDeath Club uncover the truth--that cyberspace...has fangs.

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WHERE THE HECK is Rachel? Tori St. James thought, pacing the nearly empty hallway of Rappahannock High School.

The tardy bell clanged and Tori slammed her locker. Great, now she was late for first period. It was just geometry, and Mrs. Ford was the biggest pushover in Northern Neck Virginia, but it frosted her. She expected her best friend to show up when she had promised.

Tori raked her fingers through her spiky black hair. What was she thinking? This was Rachel she was talking about. She had better show up by second period. Rachel was her lab partner in marine biology and they had split the prep chapters. Without Rachel she'd only be able to turn in half the assignment.

She waited five more minutes and then skulked into her first period class. She ducked her head and whispered, "Sorry, I was in the bathroom. You know, female stuff."

Mrs. Ford plucked at the gray sweater clinging to her shoulders. A strand of pearls clasped the sides together. "That's fine, dear. Go and take a seat."

Tori sat down next to Dexter Huntington, the webmaster of the AltDeath mystery club. He really got off on creating the website where they solved their mysteries. He was a little bit too much of a techie sometimes, but he let her copy his geometry homework, which ramped him up a couple of notches in her book.

AltDeath stood for Alternate Deaths. The group took turns writing mysteries for their website, www.AltDeath.com. Each mystery featured club members taking turns as both victim and murderer. Together they role-played many alternate lives, and of course, deaths. It made life in the middle of nowhere a bitmore bearable.

After class Tori grabbed Dexter. "Have you seen Rachel?" she asked.

"She was in the AltDeath chat room Sunday night, but she logged off pretty early and I haven't seen her since. She's probably ditching again."

"The least the wench could have done is take me with her," Tori said, and laughed. "Can I borrow your cell phone?"

"Sure." Dexter pulled a black Nokia out of his pocket.

"And give it back next period?"

Dexter sighed, pretending it was a huge imposition. "Oh, very well." He grinned, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "You girls just love to walk all over me, don't you?" Dexter tugged on his black Got root? tee shirt and unclipped the cell phone from the belt hoop of his straight-legged jeans.

Tori patted him on the arm and then headed for second period. "Thanks!" she called back over her shoulder. Tori quickly dialed Rachel's number.

"Hi, this is Rachel," the message said. "You know what to do at the beep—say something nasty." Rachel's devilish giggle cut short at the tone.

"Rachel, call me on Dexter's cell phone. You're not allowed to cut class without me. Call me."

That bum. She had better be at the dentist or in the hospital or something.

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. What if something really was wrong? She wanted to be mad at Rachel, and she had every right, but suddenly she just felt weird. What if she had been in a car accident or—

"Where the heck is Rachel?" Veronica asked, playfully grabbing Tori by the arm. Veronica was another member of the AltDeath club. She was super-model material, a leggy blonde who always dressed in the latest fashions. Today she wore a short Tarlatan skirt, a white blouse, and a pair of impossibly high heels. The heels gave her an excuse to grab her preppy boyfriend Howard's bicep whenever she tottered on them. Despite her killer looks, Veronica was okay.

Tori tried to shove her anxiety away. "She didn't show up to first period?" Tori asked the couple. Veronica, Howard, and Rachel shared first period English.

Copyright © 2004 Janice Strand and Sally Bosco.