First Evil Read Online Free PDF Page B

wet ground beside Jennifer and grabbed her pale, limp hand.
    â€œNo!”
    At first Bobbi thought the low wail she was hearing came from her sister. But as the sound grew louder, cutting through the crackle and whisper of the wind bending the ancient trees of the cemetery, Bobbi realized it was the siren of an ambulance.
    Someone in one of the houses across the street must have seen the accident and called for help.
    A few seconds later three ambulances and a police cruiser pulled onto the wet grass, their flashing red lights washing over everyone, making everything seem too bright, the colors all wrong, too frightening, too vivid to be real.
    The white coats of the paramedics, scrambling through the wet weeds, flashed red and gray, red and gray. The light caught their hard expressions like those in artificial-light snapshots, freezing them in Bobbi’s mind. She knew she’d always remember every somber face, every flash of light, every second of this dark, wet nightmare.
    Behind the tilted tombstone, Ronnie stood crying, sobbing loudly, her mouth open wide, her eyes round. Kimmy and Debra huddled around her, trying to comfort her, their faces distorted by the flickers of red light too.
    The rain had stopped now, leaving the air heavy and cold.
    On the ground in front of the tombstone, several paramedics worked over Jennifer, speaking softly among themselves, softly but urgently.
    Gentle hands pulled Bobbi and her sister back. Two young police officers were questioning Simmons, who was shrugging and gesturing to the overturned bus. He appeared very frightened and upset.
    Radios crackled from the ambulances and the police car. A paramedic leaning over Jennifer spoke rapidly into a cellular telephone. The wind blew a shower of ice-cold rainwater down from the trees. Bobbi took a reluctant step closer.
    Was Jennifer alive? Were they bringing her around? She had to see.
    The white coats had formed a protective circle around Jennifer. Bobbi tried to make sense out of the buzz of low voices. She made her way to just outside the circle, her sneakers sinking into soft earth.
    One of the paramedics stood up. In the blink of redlight, Bobbi saw his eyes close, his teeth clench. “She’s gone,” he said.
    Another white-coated young man climbed to his feet, shaking his head.
    â€œGone.”
    Radios crackled. Ronnie’s sobs cut through the air.
    â€œNo!” Bobbi screamed.
    Without realizing it, without even realizing she was moving, Bobbi pushed past the grim-faced paramedics. She knelt at Jennifer’s side, stared down at her pretty, expressionless face.
    And Jennifer opened her eyes.
    â€œHey!” Bobbi cried. “Whoa!”
    Jennifer blinked. And stared up at Bobbi.
    â€œHey—” Bobbi called. “Hey—”
    Jennifer blinked again. Her lips trembled. Her dark eyes moved from side to side.
    â€œHey—she’s alive!” Bobbi called. “Hey—”
    Corky was holding on to Bobbi’s shoulders, leaning over her, staring down at Jennifer.
    Jennifer smiled up at them both.
    â€œHey—”
    Cheers and cries. Urgent voices. The crackling of the radios. A low voice speaking rapidly into a cellular phone.
    The sounds were drowned out by a rush of wind. It started to rain again.
    Bobbi stared at the flashing colors, the darting yellow cones of light from the flashlights, the pale white beams of headlights. The lights all melted into one and grew brighter and brighter until she had to close her eyes.
    Jennifer was alive. Okay. She was going to be okay.
    Her eyes still shut tightly, Bobbi said a silent prayer.
    When she opened her eyes, Jennifer’s gurney was being gently slid into an ambulance. Two more squad cars had pulled up. Several officers stood outlined in headlights, inspecting the overturned bus, shaking their heads.
    â€œLucky no one was killed.”
    The words floated through the air and repeated in Bobbi’s mind.
    The rain came down