Echoes (Whisper Trilogy Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

the remains of sacrificial animals left by crazy devil-worshiping kids. His immediate reaction was disappointment. The circular clearing was barren. For all the greenery around them, Scott couldn’t see a single plant growing from the earth within the eighty-foot diameter clearing. Even though there was no visual stimulus, both boys felt the change in atmosphere. It was thick and heavy, the word greasy springing to Scott’s mind, reminding of the countless times he had walked in on his mother and father post-argument, and how there would be an awkward, uncomfortable vibe in the air.
    “Look at the trees…” Cody whispered.
    Scott was unsure at first what his friend was getting at, until he looked harder and saw it. They didn’t grow inside the circle. Branches which reached towards sunlight curved away from the inner perimeter of the clearing and grew back into the forest, leaving a dense and almost impenetrable outer perimeter.
    Scott could feel his heart thundering as he glanced at Cody. Neither of them said anything, even if both had noticed the absolute silence surrounding them. Cody stepped into the circle, bravado forgotten as he walked towards the center.
    Scott followed, conscious of just how loud his every movement was.
    “I don’t like it here,” Scott whispered.
    Cody nodded. He was starting to feel nauseous, and was sure as he looked into the twisted mass of trees that he was being watched from within the shadows. Even the air was sour, and carried a bitter taste—
    Blood
    —which left a nasty, coppery film in the back of the throat. Other than the two boys, the circle was a sterile anomaly, utterly devoid of anything resembling life. A slight breeze pushed towards them, briefly interrupting the silence. There was a smell on its edge, a kind of sweet rot which wasn’t exactly repulsive. Visions of soft, overripe fruit jumped into Scott’s mind. Cody could only think of blood.
    He had removed the heavy wire-cutters from his bag, although he didn’t know why. He looked at his friend, who was too busy looking for movement in the trees, then down at the tool in his hand. He felt as if he was trapped underwater, and everything around him had become slow and muted.
    Everything apart from the whispers in his head.
    They were perfectly clear, as were the things they were telling him to do. He shifted his gaze to Scott, tightening his grip on the wire-cutters. Images of blood fired into his mind’s eye, and he quite clearly saw Scott lying on the ground, his face a pulpy mess, his open stomach cavity steaming as their warm contents met the cold air. He could see it distinctly. He took a half-step towards his friend. Cody envisioned the noise it would make, a thunderous wet crunch as steel met skull over and over again.
    The wind spoke, and Cody listened.
    Moving with more grace and absolute silence than he ever thought possible, he took another half step forwards and clenched tighter on the heavy wire-cutters.
    “Hey! Hey you kids!”
    The spell was broken by the voice of the security guard rolling across the circle. Cody blinked, and realized what he was about to do. He staggered back as Scott turned towards him.
    “Shit, run man, run!”
    The two turned and crashed into the undergrowth, running from the security guard, who was at the opposite side of the clearing and trying in vain to drag his dog into the circle so he could pursue. The tan Alsatian refused, digging its claws into the dirt and pulling away, whimpering all the while.
    Scott and Cody sprinted through the trees. Scott was just running from the security guard, Cody however was fleeing something else entirely. He was fleeing the voices which had almost made him kill his companion.

CHAPTER 4

    Edgar Rollins lived in a converted townhouse on the outskirts of Oakwell. Set in two acres of land, it afforded him privacy and was, by Oakwell standards, a luxurious property paid for in the most part by the U.S. military post-retirement. Although he