seemed to lose whatever
color they had. “No,” she said, shaking her head, then turned to
Vivian for support. She’d probably expected her to call me mental,
but Vivian didn’t contradict my words. “Have you gone out of your
mind? Our father’s dead,” Bev went on. “Mom told us he’d died in a
car crash—”
“ But she never showed any
pictures of him,” I said.
“ And mostly likely you’ve
never visited his grave,” Vivian added.
I nodded.
“ That’s ridiculous,” Bev
said. “You two are making things up.”
“ Bev, listen to me—” I
insisted.
She shook her head in denial, then
stood and mumbled, “I need to find him.”
“ No, wait,” Vivian raised
her hand to Bev, but my sister already headed for the door in
confident strides. She stormed out of the house, leaving the door
ajar.
“ What’s wrong with you?
Why did you tell her?”
Guilt-ridden and panicked, no longer
feeling the pain in my hand, I pushed myself to my feet and
followed Vivian who ran after Bev.
When we reached the door, Bev was
already far from the house, running towards the school.
“ Bev!” I hollered, but she
didn’t stop. “Damn it!”
We darted after her, but we weren’t
nearly as good runners as Beverly.
As I swung my arm it hurt so badly I
had to slow down. When we got to the school building—or to what was
left of it—Bev wasn’t there. Charred stumps stuck out of the ground
like fingers of a burnt hand.
“ Bev!” I shouted. “Beverly
Blackwell!”
As I inched closer to the forest, it
turned to lifeless gray, and I knew it was another Shadow. It felt
like forever since I’d last stepped into one. I hoped I wouldn’t
have them anymore, but a veil of gray proved me wrong.
The picture flickered before my eyes,
and the next moment I found myself in the forest, right where I’d
found Greg Thornby’s body.
What the hell’s
going on here? Grass crunched under my
sneakers as I walked farther into the Swamps. I’d never been where
I was heading, but my strides were confident, like I’d known what
lay beyond.
The picture flickered again, and I
stood in front of a circle made up of thick logs sticking from the
ground. I counted seven of them, and each except for one had a
motionless body tied to it. I took in large gulps of air, hunching
my shoulders at the inevitability of what was going on.
Something moved behind me, but so
quickly I had no chance to defend myself. Someone’s shape pounced
at me, and next moment a sharp blade stuck out of my stomach, blood
seeping profusely. I dropped to my knees, defeated without a fight.
My hands clung to my stomach gushing with crimson. Then I dropped
dead.
I forced myself out the Shadow and
found myself clinging to the ground. Vivian kneeled beside me,
pleading with me to respond.
I’d just died in a Shadow. That was
the Shadow I’d always feared to see, the one that I feared would be
the last thing I’d experience in my miserable life. But as I was
lying there on the ground, Vivian kneeling over me and peppering me
with questions that I didn’t hear, all I cared was the indelible
image of those tied to the logs.
Nathan.
Audrey and Wayne.
Terry and Beverly.
And Vivian.
Chapter 12
Mom hadn’t returned from work that
day, which meant I was left on my own. I still hoped she might have
been busy and her phone was dead so she couldn’t call and warn me,
but deep down inside I knew my father had done his best to deprive
me of everyone who could support me.
Now that the school lay in ruin, and
Wayne, Terry and Beverly were gone, townsfolk went crazy over their
safety. Some left Olden Cross; others stayed locked inside. Chief
Coleman searched the area with his men, but still hadn’t found
Aiden and his captives.
After my father’s appearance, I
started seeing Vivian more often. She’d found out that my mom was
gone, so she dropped in to check on me. It took me some time to
convince her that I was all right, although it seemed she
color they had. “No,” she said, shaking her head, then turned to
Vivian for support. She’d probably expected her to call me mental,
but Vivian didn’t contradict my words. “Have you gone out of your
mind? Our father’s dead,” Bev went on. “Mom told us he’d died in a
car crash—”
“ But she never showed any
pictures of him,” I said.
“ And mostly likely you’ve
never visited his grave,” Vivian added.
I nodded.
“ That’s ridiculous,” Bev
said. “You two are making things up.”
“ Bev, listen to me—” I
insisted.
She shook her head in denial, then
stood and mumbled, “I need to find him.”
“ No, wait,” Vivian raised
her hand to Bev, but my sister already headed for the door in
confident strides. She stormed out of the house, leaving the door
ajar.
“ What’s wrong with you?
Why did you tell her?”
Guilt-ridden and panicked, no longer
feeling the pain in my hand, I pushed myself to my feet and
followed Vivian who ran after Bev.
When we reached the door, Bev was
already far from the house, running towards the school.
“ Bev!” I hollered, but she
didn’t stop. “Damn it!”
We darted after her, but we weren’t
nearly as good runners as Beverly.
As I swung my arm it hurt so badly I
had to slow down. When we got to the school building—or to what was
left of it—Bev wasn’t there. Charred stumps stuck out of the ground
like fingers of a burnt hand.
“ Bev!” I shouted. “Beverly
Blackwell!”
As I inched closer to the forest, it
turned to lifeless gray, and I knew it was another Shadow. It felt
like forever since I’d last stepped into one. I hoped I wouldn’t
have them anymore, but a veil of gray proved me wrong.
The picture flickered before my eyes,
and the next moment I found myself in the forest, right where I’d
found Greg Thornby’s body.
What the hell’s
going on here? Grass crunched under my
sneakers as I walked farther into the Swamps. I’d never been where
I was heading, but my strides were confident, like I’d known what
lay beyond.
The picture flickered again, and I
stood in front of a circle made up of thick logs sticking from the
ground. I counted seven of them, and each except for one had a
motionless body tied to it. I took in large gulps of air, hunching
my shoulders at the inevitability of what was going on.
Something moved behind me, but so
quickly I had no chance to defend myself. Someone’s shape pounced
at me, and next moment a sharp blade stuck out of my stomach, blood
seeping profusely. I dropped to my knees, defeated without a fight.
My hands clung to my stomach gushing with crimson. Then I dropped
dead.
I forced myself out the Shadow and
found myself clinging to the ground. Vivian kneeled beside me,
pleading with me to respond.
I’d just died in a Shadow. That was
the Shadow I’d always feared to see, the one that I feared would be
the last thing I’d experience in my miserable life. But as I was
lying there on the ground, Vivian kneeling over me and peppering me
with questions that I didn’t hear, all I cared was the indelible
image of those tied to the logs.
Nathan.
Audrey and Wayne.
Terry and Beverly.
And Vivian.
Chapter 12
Mom hadn’t returned from work that
day, which meant I was left on my own. I still hoped she might have
been busy and her phone was dead so she couldn’t call and warn me,
but deep down inside I knew my father had done his best to deprive
me of everyone who could support me.
Now that the school lay in ruin, and
Wayne, Terry and Beverly were gone, townsfolk went crazy over their
safety. Some left Olden Cross; others stayed locked inside. Chief
Coleman searched the area with his men, but still hadn’t found
Aiden and his captives.
After my father’s appearance, I
started seeing Vivian more often. She’d found out that my mom was
gone, so she dropped in to check on me. It took me some time to
convince her that I was all right, although it seemed she
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