Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page B

time. He carried it back to the table and devoured it as fast as he could, chewing as little as possible, holding back the urge to gag. Despite his distaste for his aunt, he did not want to be rude.
    “Thanks,” he managed to get out and, after dumping his dish in the sink, he hurried back to the library. He collapsed into the same armchair and was immediately absorbed back into Tales .
    Beth never disturbed him. In the back of his mind, Cole eventually heard her close her bedroom door. He was lost in Poe's world, locked in the intense, gruesome situations of each story. He finished the book once , but his hunger for more could not be satiated so turned back to page one and started over again. By the time he finished the second time he could barely keep his eyes open. He had no idea what time it was, but he figured he had better head to bed if he wanted to make it through the next day. He placed the book on the floor and shifted positions, feeling the tingling, shooting pain through his sleeping legs.
    The creepy stories he had practically memorized were racing wildly through his thoughts. Ghosts, murders, gloom. The darkness around him seemed suddenly foreboding. Maybe it wasn’t such a great idea to read this so late. What was that noise? Did I just see a shadow move? Great. Now I’m scaring myself.
    He sat there for a few minutes, trying to calm his nerves and convince himself there was nothing there. Come on. Move. You have to get to bed. Trust me. There’s nothing to be afraid of.
    Get a book off the top shelf in the next ten seconds.
    Another one? Stop with all this unfair nonsense!
    But even as he thought it, he was up and moving, feeling no choice but to complete the request. His whole body resisted the quick movement , still being stiff from the prolonged sitting position. As he reached the bookshelf he realized he should have brought over the chair.
    Too late. Why am I not taller?
    He jumped off the floor, stretching his arm to its limit, trying to grasp a book, but just brushing against the spine. Not good , he thought as he came back down. He had managed to put enough pressure on the book to push it up against the one next to it, causing a chain reaction and sending the last three books on the end tumbling to the floor, to land with a deafening thud. At least I got a book down, he thought as he scrambled to get the chair so he could put the books back up.
    He was standing on the chair, holding the books, when heavy footsteps behind him made him almost drop them again.
    “What’s going on in here?” came an angry voice behind him.
    Cole spun around to see Beth in the doorway in her billowy white nightgown, her hair in even more disarray than usual.
    “Sorry, I was getting a book off the top shelf and dropped it,” Cole said.
    “Be more careful with my things or you won’t be allowed in this room anymore. You almost gave me a heart attack. And what are you still doing up? Do you have any idea what time it is?”
    Cole replaced the books and stepped down from the chair. “I was just heading to bed now. Good night.” He hurried to the door, shutting it in Beth's face before she could say any more. Dammit. These stupid agreements keep screwing with me. They’re going to get me in trouble soon. I gotta stop listening to them or find some way to turn them down. Who knows what it’s gonna ask of me next? Nothing good. It’s never good.
    After creating a makeshift bed, he crawled under the covers and looked at the clock. Was it really 2am?! Gonna be exhausted tomorrow. Thanks a lot Poe, he thought as he set the alarm. He shut his eyes and tried to force sleep, but the Poe stories were back, and every time he closed his eyes, he saw a different atrocity. He tossed and turned for over an hour, trying to block out all thoughts and clear his mind, but the images would not stop. Gonna have some fun nightmares tonight, he thought as he finally drifted off to sleep.
    That morning, the alarm sounded way too early,