Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella Read Online Free PDF Page B

don’t make it to the house.”
    Tavia and I nodded.
    Dad did, too. “I’m going to get back before anyone suspects anything. Act normal.”
    Tavia put her hand on my shoulder and sighed as Dad walked away. She closed her eyes and whispered a prayer. Then, she looked down at me. “Your dad’s as smart as I thought he was.”
    “Most of the time.”
    He wasn’t always worthy of father of the year, but I trusted him to get us to safety. He thought quickly, was handy with little to nothing, and had a decent aim. He’d even made me a console table once. When I was nine, I’d accidentally fallen on it, and it hadn’t even wobbled. When he did things, he would do them right. Mom had even admitted once that she missed that about him. It seemed to be the only quality of his that she could appreciate. She could trust him to take care of things, and he would take care of us.

“ IT’S DARK ,” I said, rolling up a blanket and gesturing for Halle to hold it under her arm.
    “So?” she said.
    “I’m going to tell you a secret, and you have to be quiet about it. Okay?”
    She gave a nod, already aware that she wasn’t going to like what I had to say.
    “Dad is going to take us home.”
    “But the governor—” she said.
    I shushed her. “Tavia and Tobin are coming, too.”
    Halle’s eyes bulged. “Is she the new girlfriend?”
    “No. No, she’s just a friend. They think it’ll be safer if we go to Dad’s house. Mom will go there, too, when she gets into town.”
    She frowned but agreed.
    I leaned down to whisper in her ear, “You have to keep this a secret, Halle. We’re going to sneak out. We’re not supposed to leave.”
    “Will they shoot at us?” Halle asked. She was always one for theatrics, but she was genuinely afraid.
    I shook my head, pretending to dismiss her concern. “No way, crazy pants.”
    Halle laughed once and rolled her eyes. When she turned, I swallowed hard.
    What if the shots we heard were from those wannabe soldiers gunning people down who were wandering around? What if they shot Mom? I shook my head, pushing those thoughts from my mind.
    More than one person had referred to my mom as a badass. No one would take her down before she got to us. By sheer will alone, she would find a way.
    “This blanket is yours to hold,” I said, holding out the tightly rolled wool.
    “I don’t want to hold it. You hold it,” Halle whined.
    “I’m holding the other one plus holding your hand.”
    She pressed her lips together.
    “Halle, this is important. You have to hold this, and you can’t draw attention to what we’re doing.”
    She leaned toward me. “I have to go to the bathroom.”
    I sighed. “You just went.”
    “I’m nervous,” she admitted.
    I kissed her forehead. “Me, too. We’ll go as soon as we get to Dad’s. It’s not far, I promise.”
    “But I have to go,” Halle said again, desperation in her voice.
    I looked to Dad. “We can’t go yet,” I whispered to him.
    “What? Why?”
    “Halle has to go to the restroom.”
    “Again?”
    “She’s nervous,” I explained.
    He sighed, frustrated. “Take her. Hurry. In and out.”
    I tugged on Halle’s hand.
    “The bathroom’s that way,” she said, resisting with every step.
    “There’s only one restroom, Halle, and there’s a line. You’re going to have to go outside.”
    “What? I’m not pottying outside!” she hissed.
    I forced her out the door and to a dark corner of the yard. “Halle,” I grunted. “Here. Squat.”
    “No!”
    “We don’t have time for this!” I said.
    Our voices were no louder than a whisper. We were well practiced in fighting just loud enough so that no one could hear.
    Halle grew sullen, her lips forming a hard line. “This. Is. Injustice,” she said, unbuttoning her jeans.
    “You don’t even know what that means,” I said, exasperated. I turned around but leaned back to murmur one last instruction out of the side of my mouth, “Don’t go on your shoes.”
    “My pee