Nigh - Book 1 Read Online Free PDF Page B

Gruff. If you need to, the keys are in the
ignition.”
    She turned around to make sure Molly had heard her.
Her best friend’s usually warm features were set in grim
determination. She nodded and squeezed Al’s shoulder.
    “Don’t worry about us. We’ll be fine. Make sure you
take care of yourself, okay?”
    Al managed to give her a grin. “I always do!”
    Molly nodded again and put her hands around Gruff,
to either comfort him or make sure he stayed there. Al wasn’t sure,
but was grateful either way.
    “Make it fast, Al. Get them out and get yourself
out.”
    “I will. Promise.” Al took a deep breath and stepped
out, gently closing the door behind her. It still seemed to echo in
the quiet mist. She couldn’t hear a sound. Either the entire town
had gone quiet, or the mists were somehow absorbing the sound. No
emergency vehicles sounded in the distance, despite the multiple
accidents they’d witnessed.
    Al took a step toward the shop, thought better of it
and decided to head to the trunk first. She popped it open and
grabbed Big Bertha. The cool metal of the wrench made her feel
better, or at least more grounded. Like it was the one real thing
she could count on in these surreal surroundings.
    Her breath curled in front of her and she pulled her
leather jacket closer around her. The day was growing unseasonably
cold. The mist formed in tiny crystals, wisps she could actually
see shifting in the air around her, not a blanket as usual but like
tendrils.
    Alva walked carefully around one. From up close, it
shimmered like tiny snowflakes on a fresh bed of sunlit snow.
Except the shimmer moved together, curling on itself and around
objects. She forced herself to stop staring and avoided them.
    She headed to the shop bay door, stepping over the
liquid on the floor. It was dark, the sun blocked by the mists. Al
debated whether or not to try to turn the shop lights on, but
wasn’t keen on attracting more attention. She headed to her bench
and grabbed her big flashlight. She clutched Big Bertha more
tightly.
    “Steve?” She called out softly.
    No answer.
    “Louise? Jack? Carl?” Her voice sounded small and
afraid in her own ears. She shined her light to her left, to see
the rest of the shop. A car was half jacked up, the front end
fallen straight off. Al forgot her worries as she rushed over. Who
the hell would put a car poorly on the jacks? That was Mechanics
101 – you didn’t mess around with safety.
    She headed to the front and shined her light down.
Carl was pinned down, his torso crushed by the large car. “Shit.
Carl.” She knelt by him, but his eyes were staring up and the blood
around his mouth was already hard.
    “Steve!” She shouted this time, in her frenzy. Why
hadn’t they helped him? He was just an apprentice. They shouldn’t
have even left him alone to jack the car!
    “Louise, Jack!” She looked back down at Carl but had
to look away, his open eyes filled with the same mist as outside.
She stood up, swayed, steadied herself. She fought through her
nausea to find the others.
    Maybe she could still help them. A noise in the
break room caught her attention. She slowly walked toward it,
forcing herself to keep her light ahead of her and not glance back
at Carl. She didn’t want to look at him ever again, if she could
avoid it.
    The break room door was closed. Al tried to open it,
but it was locked.
    “It’s Al. Open up!” She heard a muffled sound, maybe
crying. “I’ve got Gruff and Molly. The car’s up front and we’re
gonna get out of here,” she said in her most reassuring voice,
again forcing herself not to look at Carl. “But I need you to come
on out.” She paused, then added more urgently. “We need to go.”
    The noise came again, this time as a more strangled
cry. She thought she recognized Jack. “Jack? Jack. I’m coming in!”
Al shouldered the thin door and it easily cracked and buckled,
swinging in. Al practically landed on her face. She hadn’t expected
it to give