Heart Murmurs Read Online Free PDF Page B

— the tunnel solidifies so quickly her forehead crashes into the dark rock in front of her.
    A tree stump materializes at her feet. I know it is exactly like the one she used as a child to play post with her sisters. She shoves the letter inside, jamming down the carved top.
    â€œBeth, are you mad?” I hurtle forward, pushing her out of the way. I lift it… but the letter’s already gone. “Haven’t you broken enough rules already?”
    Beside her, a handful of toadstools rot—the dank stench immediately surrounds us. Her hand accidentally brushes a circle of flowers; they wither and crumple to dust.
    Her brown eyes are wild and empty. She slumps against the tunnel wall, scratching her fingers down her face. “I cannot do this anymore. I don’t want the responsibility. I—”
    â€œSo you thought you’d just pawn it onto me? Is that what she told you?” I jerk my head toward the stump.
    A snuffling fills the air, and a blast of acrid smells: gunpowder, decay… and one most familiar. One whose presence fills me with indignation… death. I smell death.
    â€œOh, Morgan!”
    â€œRun!” I grasp her hand, hurtling her down the passageways, which have altered since we entered. I weave right, then left, hoping I am heading toward the house.
    The snuffling rises and rises into a frenzy. A growl rips behind us. Just a few feet behind.
    My gut twists like a slipknot, strangling my stomach. The odor intensifies, and I choke, coughing into the crook of my arm, gasping for pure air.
    â€œI never should’ve given in. I’m so sorry, Morgan. They’re coming.”
    I grasp her hand tighter as the whirling circles imbedded in the tunnel’s walls pop in and out; in orderly intervals like a swinging pendulum.
    People appear at the holes, all with searching eyes. They aren’t solid; their bodies are more like puffs of gray smoke than flesh and blood.
    One man, in a uniform like the one I once wore, steps out into the tunnel. As his feet pass the circular threshold, his body solidifies, to black and white. He’s headed in the direction of the snuffling.
    â€œNo, stay away from them!” Beth chokes.
    â€œBeth, he’ll be fine — they aren’t after him!” I yank her arm, wheeling her around, and pull her toward the steps.
    They arrive.
    Thundering, cloven hooves barreling down the tunnel .
    So large, only two can fit at one time.
    Adrenaline bursts at the back of my spine, coursing down my arms in stuttering shockwaves of fear.
    I push Beth up onto the stairs.
    Sweat breaks on my brow . I hate them . My hand slips to my waist, for the ghost of a pistol, left on my dresser.
    â€œBlast. Go Beth, hurry!”
    I turn around, squinting into the tunnel’s depths. I see its condemning, coal-black eyes.
    The sharp, white tusks jutting from its mouth.
    Beth scrambles through the trapdoor. I fly up the ladder behind her and feel hot pain as its bristles cut my ankle.
    My hands grasp the hardwood floor, and I heave myself up, swinging my legs out in one motion.
    We lunge for the door in unison, and it slams shut with a bang. The sound echoes through the empty shop.
    Beth steps back in fear. The sound of tusks scratching against wood lifts the door an inch.
    I jam it down with my boot, and throw the bolt.

 
Chapter Six
    The Heart is Treacherous
    Â 
    â€œNo, Mom. I’m fine. If I feel… weird, I’ll go to Claire’s.” I roll my eyes at Claire as she eases her Mini-Cooper into Orchard House’s gravel parking lot.
    She rolls her blue-eyed ones in return, but they quickly flick forward, waiting for my conversation to be over. She knows as well as I do where it will go. How it will end.
    With me alone in the house, as usual .
    The brief interlude of extra attention after my surgery is officially over.
    â€œNo, it’s fine. I’ll see you after both your shifts are over. Yes, I’ll page you. Mom