March Forth (The Woodford Chronicles Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

would have backed away further; as it was, she really had no escape. She tried to keep her voice gentle as she said, “Again, you’re right in front of me.  My eyes work.  So I can see you. I’m gonna go now, though, so calm down.  This aisle is all yours.”
    She tried to step around him but he blocked her path, so she put a hand on his arm and pushed gently.  It was more a gesture than an actual push, to show she was trying to get around him, but he steadfastly refused to move, so she put a little more muscle into the gesture.  However, he was about six inches taller and quite a bit heavier than she, and he did not budge an inch.  She may as well have been trying to push the bookshelf out of the way, for all the good it did.  Fear was starting to flutter around in her chest like a caged bird as she assessed the situation and realized a potential lunatic had her backed into the wall, trapped, and there was no one else in the fiction section.
    He stared at her hand on his arm while she tried to push him away, then his hand snapped up and wrapped around her neck.  She gasped for breath as he growled, “How are you doing this?”  For a second, she was mute with terror; then, she tried to scream.  It was, quite literally, a strangled sound, and it ended quickly as he squeezed her neck tighter, but it was enough to be heard in the mostly-empty, quiet library.  She could hear Barb’s footsteps hurrying over from the front desk as the older woman called, “You okay, honey?  What’s wrong?”
    The man in black let go and took a step back, leaving Deanna pale and shaking.  As the librarian rushed into the aisle and toward her, the words, “Call the police!” were forming behind Deanna’s lips.  She never got to say it, though, as she was shocked into silence when Barb stepped right through the man, as if he weren’t even there.  There was no special effect, he didn’t go transparent like a ghost in the movies; Barb just walked forward and put her hands on Deanna’s shoulders, never giving any sign that she was aware of anyone else in the aisle.
    “Honey, what’s wrong?  Do you need a doctor?”
    Deanna stared, wide-eyed, over the librarian’s head at the man in black.  She could not comprehend what had just happened.  “Barb…” she began, trying to figure out what to say.  “Barb, did you see that man in black?” 
    The librarian looked around for a moment before saying quietly, “Honey, nobody else is here.”  Deanna continued to stare over Barb’s head at the man behind her; the librarian took her silence and lack of eye contact as a sign that she was having a heart attack or something like it, so the older woman said, “I’ll be right back, honey, I’m calling an ambulance.  You’re going to be okay.”
    As Barb scurried back to the front desk to make the call, moving much faster than a woman of her size and age should be able to move, Deanna sunk to the floor, in shock.  She stared up at the man in black, wondering if he really was there or if she had finally, truly lost her mind.  She whispered, “What the hell is going on?”
    “I was kind of hoping you would tell me,” he said, squatting in front of her.  “I guess we should talk.”

Steven
    Ensign Steven Drisbane was enjoying his assignment in Woodford.  It certainly wasn’t what he had expected when he enlisted in the United States Navy, seven long years ago.
    He had been nineteen at the time, and had no idea at all what he wanted to do with his life.  He knew he didn’t want to work some dead-end, minimum wage job, nor did he feel any interest in any kind of career involving physical labor.  He figured he should go to college, but didn’t have a strong enough interest in any particular subject to get him truly motivated toward going that route.  Thus, when his little sister said she was going to join the navy after she finished high school, he decided he would do the same.  They could learn the ropes