Instinct Read Online Free PDF

animals crested the hill and disappeared, they began walking towards the house again.  
    As they neared, Judy saw that the first building was a big white estate. Behind it, several barns or outbuildings stood. All the windows were dark in the house.  
    “What do we do?” Viv asked. “Go up and knock?”
    “I suppose,” Daniel said.
    Bill apparently had another idea. He climbed over the fence that separated the pasture from the lawn. When he landed on the other side, he broke into a trot. Judy was just climbing down the other side when Bill was already looking into one of the dark windows.  
    “What’s he doing?” Viv asked.
    Nobody answered. Daniel, Viv, and Judy, stood there on the lawn. The grass was ankle high and damp with dew. Bill rounded the side of the house and they couldn’t see him anymore.
    They turned when the animals in the pasture thundered by again. She couldn’t really see them, but Judy assumed they were horses. She couldn’t imagine what else would run that fast. As if to confirm her speculation, one of the animals let out a questioning whinny. After a few seconds, it was answered by an animal from much farther away. Judy wondered if maybe Cincinnati was on the other side of that call.
    Finally, Bill came around the other side of the house. He ran back over to them.
    “I don’t think there’s anyone inside,” Bill whispered.
    “What about that person?” Viv asked. She was pointing towards the house. Judy looked up as the front door opened. In the darkness, they saw a candle appear.

    ✪   ✪   ✪   ✪   ✪

    Viv approached first, She paused at the steps and waited for the others to catch up.
    “Hello?” she asked.
    The candle wavered and then the door opened wider. Judy saw the shape of the person holding the candle. She couldn’t see the face.
    “Sorry to show up in the middle of the night,” Viv said. “Can we talk to you?”
    “Please,” a woman’s voice said from the darkness. “Come in.”

 
    CHAPTER 3: PENNSYLVANIA
     

     
    “T HERE ’ S A BIG ONE ,” Tim said. “Do you see a spot to land?”
    He glanced at his companion. The Golden Retriever probably couldn’t hear him. Tim wore his headphones out of habit and because the airplane was too loud without them. His voice was picked up by his microphone and echoed back into his own ears, so he didn’t talk all that loud. He circled the stretch of highway three times to make sure it looked okay for a landing. Everything looked clear, but he still felt nervous as he executed his landing checklist. He had one added item on the bottom of his list: check Cedric’s harness. He reached over and made sure the dog was strapped in. Cedric seemed to have a pretty good understanding of landing at this point, but safety was paramount.
    They touched down on the dashed white line and rolled to a stop.  
    Tim looked out every window before he cut the engine. He kept his hand on the throttle, ready to run it back up. There was nothing out there—just a stretch of highway with suburbs on one side and a junky field on the other.
    Tim spoke again as the engine wound down.  
    “Power lines, streetlights, overhead signs,” he said to the dog. Cedric looked over at him. “If a crosswind comes up, we have to get out of here fast. I should have picked a wider chunk of road.”
    Cedric fidgeted in his seat. The dog knew from experience that he had to wait for Tim to release him from the harness, but he was itching to get out of the plane.
    “Hold on,” Tim said. “Let me chock the wheels first.”
    Cedric let out a tiny sound.
    “Hold on,” Tim said again.
    He opened his door and jumped out quick. The brake would hold the plane as long as the road wasn’t sloped too much. It was hard to tell. He kicked the wooden blocks under the wheel and climbed back in. When he unbuckled the harness, Cedric squeezed by Tim and bolted through the door.
    Tim shoved his map into a bag and followed the dog out.

    ✪   ✪   ✪   ✪