Death of the Body (Crossing Death) Read Online Free PDF Page A

in his expression of doubt. The other side seemed smooth but worried. When his eyes met mine, he spoke out of the doubtful side of his mouth, “To the cellar then?”
    We were met by the smell of damp earth, which was heightened by the stacks of potatoes, beets, and other earth-grown edible roots stored here. The cellar was carved down and back, so it was larger than the house that sat on top of it. Even with its size, there wasn’t much room. Navigating around the stacks of vegetables was something I could never do too easily.
    We made our way to the back where the dim light that shined through the cracks of the wooden floor above us couldn’t reach. I heard Hailey mutter a spell, followed by the same electric crackling that buzzed in Ralph’s fingers when he had snapped them at me earlier this afternoon. We were bathed in light. Hailey had found one of the candles my mom had stashed down here for when she needed to go into the cellar at night.
    When we reached the back wall, we could hear the pounding of horses’ hooves above us. It started out as a gentle rumble but grew into a roar forceful enough to shake dust loose with the vibration. My heart beat rapidly as I realized how many men were filling our city, yet Joshua still hadn’t come for us. Hailey’s face looked ghostly white in the candlelight, her blank expression disheartening.
    “Keep the light toward the back,” I commanded in a whisper. “We don’t want it shining up through the floorboards and giving us away.”
    Her eyes weren’t full of fear. Instead they were vacant.
    Ralph, on the other hand, looked furious. His eyes were large black disks and his hands were balled into fists. His red hair appeared redder against the packed clay of the wall behind him, the fiery glow of the candle emphasizing every out-of-place hair on his head. He looked disheveled and wild.
    I jumped at the sound of heavy boots on the floorboards above us. I was surprised and tensed with fear. The hooves and sounds of wagons outside continued to roar, and now there was somebody in my house.
    I hoped it was Joshua coming to get us but I didn’t see how that could be possible with all the clamor going on outside. Did Joshua get caught?
    Hailey gasped and Ralph shot her a look that cut her off in the middle of the noisy breath. She put her hands to her mouth and her gaze shot to the entrance to the cellar.
    We all listened as the footsteps moved around above us. I lost all hope that it was Joshua coming to get us when they didn’t head directly toward the cellar door.
    I tried to keep my breath deep and regular as a second set of steps echoed across the boards.
    “So this is where they are going to have us held up?” a deep voice grumbled.
    The first man answered, “Just until we can rebuild some of the larger houses.”
    “They’ll have us spread all over the city at this rate.”
    Hailey’s reaction to the voices was to push her back against the dirt wall as far as she could. Ralph had moved so close to her that it looked like he might have been holding her to keep her from collapsing. I was paralyzed.
    There was an unusual sound, like someone dropping nails on the boards above us followed by the echo of heavy breathing. I could tell it was coming from above but I had never realized how sound echoed around the cellar. Rational thought also made me think the heightened senses from the adrenaline running through my body weren’t helping.
    Whatever was now in my house, in addition to the two men, moved with exceptional speed.
    “Ag… get down!” I heard one of the men command. “Clayton! Where can I put your mutt?”
    “I think this place has a cellar.”
    Now it was my back against the wall. I had no idea what a “mutt” was, but more importantly, these men knew about the cellar. I saw Ralph and Hailey duck behind a pile of potatoes as footsteps approached the cellar door. Ralph whispered, “Apage!” and we were plunged into darkness.
    My eyes didn’t