Predator Read Online Free PDF Page B

you think Kelsi fears them?”
    “Why not? Part of me does too and always will. When I was a boy, my granny told me all kinds of stories about how the Benandanti transformed from normal men and women into lycanthropes and then went into hell to battle witches and fight the Devil. It used to scare the crap out of me.”
    “Gee, I can’t imagine why,” Bree said with her eyebrows raised. She turned to Liam. “So, did he tell you the same stories when you were a kid?”
    Liam chuckled. “Of course.”
    Conor grinned mischievously.
    Sensing someone behind her, Bree turned and saw Kelsi.
    “I’m not feeling so good all of a sudden,” Kelsi said. Her voice sounded strange, like her words were broken into pieces.
    Bree’s dad hustled to Kelsi’s side. “What’s wrong?”
    “I don’t know.” Kelsi doubled over and grabbed her knees. “I think I’m coming down with something. I feel kind of lightheaded, like maybe I’m getting a fever.”
    Bree shifted her gaze toward her dad and then back at Kelsi, who seemed a little redder than usual. But it was hard to tell with her bent over like that.
    “If you need to go home,” her dad said to Kelsi, “go ahead, but we have hours of work ahead of us and it’s supposed to rain tomorrow. I want to get this done before the storm destroys the site.”
    Bree crossed her arms, not at all surprised at her dad’s comments. He was brushing Kelsi off, just like he did to her, to focus on science.
    “I can give you a ride,” Liam said. “I have to go ref a cricket tournament.”
    Kelsi hesitated. “No, I’ll be okay. I’ll just call for a taxi.”
    “You sure?” Liam asked. “Because it’s no problem, really.”
    Kelsi straightened but kept her gaze locked on the ground. “I’m good. I’ll see you tomorrow. At least I hope so anyway.”
    Kelsi gave her camera to Bree’s dad, and Conor helped her up and out of the hole. After taking two steps, Kelsi stopped and glanced over her shoulder and down at the hand.
    Bree saw something in Kelsi’s face. Was it curiosity? Disgust? Fear? A little bit of each? But before Bree could ask her about it, Kelsi turned and headed off across the bog.

Chapter Ten
     
    Although they had covered a decent area, it was slow going. Portable spotlights threw confusing shadows. They finally removed the hand from the bog. Then they sifted peat for bits of clothing or other pieces of bone or anything else they could find that would help identify the remains.
    Bree bagged a small piece of fabric. It was woven, probably part of a shirt.
    Then she turned to her dad, who had become more energized the longer they worked. “How are you not tired? We’ve been at it all day.”
    “How can you be? This is so exciting.”
    Before Bree could respond, the rechargeable spotlights dimmed. One shut off; the other followed.
    “I hope we can squeeze a little more juice out of the lights,” Conor said.
    Guided by a faint glimmer of moonlight peeking from behind the clouds, Bree climbed out of the hole. Within seconds, the cloud obscured the moon, plunging her into total darkness. Despite the fact that her dad and Conor were nearby—she had heard them scramble out of the hole—Bree felt all alone.
    And that feeling scared her more than anything.
    Bree heard the noise before she caught the movement. It came at her from the left—a slow and steady swishing sound, low and at the ground, measured and deliberate. Definitely something bigger than an Irish hare or an otter. Much bigger. And faster. It closed the distance between them and the swishing became louder and louder. The noise seemed to magnify in the dark.
    “What is that?” Bree said with a cracked voice. “What do we do?” She banged the side of the spotlight next to her, tried to get it to turn back on. But it didn’t even flicker.
    “Stop making noise,” her dad said. “And stay still.”
    A hand caught Bree’s arm. She stifled a scream.
    “Take it easy. It’s me.” Her dad pulled Bree