A Triple Scoop of I Scream Read Online Free PDF

breath on an impressive string of expletives.
    He hauled himself up on the dock, shook off dog-style, then clambered into the boat to pull on his clothes. He found a stack of beach towels folded under one of the seats and wrapped one around his head, one around his shoulders, and draped one over his lap. Thomas’ teeth chattered as he untied the boat and shoved off. He drew hard on the oars to pull away from the shadowy shoreline. As soon as the rowboat slid into the sun, the warmth began to soothe his shivering. He pulled up the oars and laid them in the boat, letting himself drift while he rubbed his hair dry. He draped the damp towel over the bench seat, pulled out his cellphone and watched the bars slowly illuminate. When he had three, he touched the telephone icon and tapped ‘Messages’. There were eleven.
    Fuck.
    Three were hang-ups and two were from the producers of Paranormal Research Team wanting to know when he was coming back to work. The next five were from friends wanting to know when he was coming back to civilisation.
    “Maybe never,” he said to the empty lake.
    The next number looked familiar, but he didn’t make the connection until he heard Bridget O’Malley’s voice.
    “Thomas, it’s Bridge. Mike and I are in Wisconsin. He talked Toni into buying some run-down ice-cream parlour—a very fucking haunted ice-cream parlour. Tom, you know I wouldn’t bother you if I didn’t have to…”
    There was a pause and Thomas frowned. Bridget usually debriefed him in efficient rapid-fire partial sentences and in the six years he’d known her she’d never once called him Tom.
    The wind suddenly picked up and a hawk screamed overhead. Thomas flattened his palm over his open ear so he could focus on the rest of Bridget’s message.
    “…Toni made contact. We didn’t know she was doing it—hell, I don’t think she knew she was doing it—so we couldn’t help her. She wasn’t prepared. This is a strong fucking spirit, Thomas. It drained her. I mean it totally drained her. It happened so fast. We were all just hanging out and she went into some kind of trance. The next thing we know, she’s on the floor—out cold.”
    A chill zipped through Thomas’ body and the hair on his arms prickled up. He pressed the phone against the side of his head and squeezed his eyes shut as Bridget went on.
    “…She’s been in and out of consciousness since yesterday, babbling some scary fucking shit. She’s in real trouble, Thomas. Toni needs you.”
    Thomas tapped out a text and waited for the phone to chirp its confirmation that the message had been sent. He picked up the oars and turned the boat around. He knew he’d slide out of the tiny reception node before Bridget picked up his four-word reply.
    I’m on my way.

Chapter Five
     
     
     
    They think I’m nuts.
    Toni couldn’t force open her eyes, but her ears were working—if only intermittently. Mike was there with Bridget and sometimes the new guy. What was that guy’s name? Liam, maybe? They were talking about her, how she’d acted like she was in a trance then stared at herself in the mirror before passing out, and the strange things she’d been muttering in her sleep.
    Bridget was telling the whole story again. Why was she doing that? Toni wanted her to shut up.
    They hadn’t seen Daisy in the mirror—the frail little thing who looked like she’d stepped out of the 1920s. They hadn’t seen the lights surge. They hadn’t heard the radio crackle and screech. And they hadn’t heard what Daisy had said.
    “I want to tell you my secret.”
    The memory of that desperate whisper—amplified through the radio speakers—made Toni’s skin tingle. She wanted to get up. Her mouth was dry and she had to pee. She had to open her eyes. She raised her eyebrows, hoping her lids would follow. She moaned.
    “Toni?”
    Toni wrinkled her brow. She was still asleep—still dreaming. Thomas’ voice sounded so real. She wondered if she would be able to see him