Secrets in the Dark Read Online Free PDF

watching
TV in the family room and I didn’t think they’d heard the doorbell.
Not over the sound of laughter from the television. I moved to the
door, placed my hand on the knob, and called quietly, “Who is
it?”
    There was no
answer.
    I glanced through the
peephole but couldn’t see anyone. My pulse increased as I reached
tentatively for the doorknob. Knowing Mom would ground me for a
week if she saw me, I opened the door a few inches and peered
out.
    No one was there. But a
package wrapped in brown paper leaned against the house near the
front door. I could see my name, written in fancy script in thick
black ink. I reached out, my fingers cold and shaky, and picked it
up, carefully, like it might blow up in my hand. I gave another
quick look around, wondering who could have left it
there.
    It was very dark past the
glow of the low-watt light on the porch. The clouds and mist from
the afternoon had thickened into a deep grey fog. The street lamps
could barely penetrate it, creating patches of dim light at regular
intervals that disappeared down the street.
    Though it looked like a
muffling blanket, the fog amplified sounds. I could hear the
mournful drone of the foghorn in the bay. The sound of fast moving
traffic on Highway 101, even though it was at least a mile away.
Closer at hand, I heard the sound of fog singing on the electric
wires.
    That was all.
    At first, I wasn’t sure
what I was listening for. With a start, I realized there should
have been footsteps. Where was the person who’d left the
package?
    Are they hiding? Are they just…watching me?
    How many times had I seen a
teenager standing clueless on a porch in a movie? Right before a
mask-wearing-knife-wielding maniac leaps out of the bushes. It
would really suck if that happened now. Especially since I wasn’t a
teenager yet.
    I looked around nervously,
half expecting someone to jump out and grab me. The faint sound of
gravel crunching close by made my knees shake and I sucked in my
breath in alarm. The night air smelled strongly of salt and dirt
and wet asphalt. I held that breath, keeping very still, my ears
straining for any other sound.
    What did I just
hear?
    The crunching sound came
again, then grew louder. I drew back, clutching at the doorknob
behind my back.
    What is it?
    When the neighbor’s dog,
Lucy, trotted out from the side of the house, along the gravel path
Dad built to the backyard, I couldn’t stop the giggle that erupted
from deep inside my chest. I watched Lucy head toward home, and
slumped against the house in relief. I let myself rest there
another minute, but nothing else moved.
    After assuring myself there
really was no one there, I brought the package inside and shut the
door, quickly turning the deadbolt.
    Note to self – Be careful.
The package might be something nasty from Ray or Andrew!
    I held the thin package
tentatively at arm’s length as I climbed
the stairs to my room. Andrew must be angry we’d gotten away that
afternoon. Who else would leave something for me on the porch, and
then hide?
    I grabbed scissors from my
desk and carefully cut away the brown paper and tape, exposing a
blank manila file folder. I opened it warily, ready to drop it if
there was something disgusting in it. Instead, there were several
color copies of old parchment pages, covered with small beautifully
formed letters. The top page said, “Book of Light and
Shadow”.
    There was a sticky note
inside that read:
    I know where you went.
Read this and share it with your two friends. Meet me tomorrow at
Johnny’s at 8:0 0
am.
    There was no signature.
    I was reading the note a
second time, wondering what it could mean, when my computer beeped.
I flinched at the sudden noise, then sighed in relief when I
realized it was 8:30. Time to talk to
Olivia and Faith.
    My heart was beating hard
enough that my fingers shook, making it hard to key in Olivia’s
number. Faith was already on the line. I described the package on
the porch, and the words