Shudder (Stitch Trilogy, Book 2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

faster, pressing Alessa forward ahead
of him, until he realized the sounds of pursuit on the right had
dropped off.
    He looked back quickly over his right
shoulder and no longer saw movement through the trees on that side.
Were their assailants falling back?
    Before he could consider, he found
himself flat out on his back, the world around him spinning
impossibly. He could hear Alessa calling his name, but she sounded
far away – so far away. The left side of his face was tingling
oddly, and when he pressed his hand to it, sharp pains shot through
him. He dropped his hand, the ache in his face subsiding, and tried
to concentrate on Alessa’s voice.
    “ Isaac, get up!” He could
barely hear her through the ringing in his ears. The world was a
blur of trees and starlight and snow – cold, cold snow. He rested
his throbbing left side against the frozen powder and relief washed
through him.
    But why was he lying here? Hadn’t he
just been running?
    Dazed, he tried to remember how he’d
ended up on the ground.
    And then from somewhere behind him and
to his left, whatever had been chasing them finally caught up. A
blur of movement leapt towards him, a vicious snarl ringing out
from its throat. Time slowed, but in his muddled state, Isaac
couldn’t think of what to do, couldn’t react. The menacing mass of
sinew descending over him, he felt alarm bells ringing somewhere in
his gut, but couldn’t remember what they meant.
    In that same instant, as Isaac lay
helpless, another form flew from his right, tackling the first in
mid-air as they crumpled to the ground in a tussle of growls and
yelps. His first thought was Alessa, but he could still hear her
calling his name from the opposite direction.
    And then someone had grabbed his hand
and he was pulled upright, and suddenly his feet were moving and he
was running again. Alessa looked back at him, her face
pleading.
    “ How did you manage to run
into a tree at a time like this, Isaac? I know it hurts, but we
need to get away while they’re distracted. Just a bit longer – keep
moving.”
    His head ached, but Isaac complied,
not knowing what else to do. Holding Alessa’s hand tightly, he
followed her into the darkness.
    The hearty scent of sautéed onions and
the sharp light of a new day roused Isaac from his stupor. Rolling
onto his left side to better appreciate the fire warming his back,
he was shocked by a smarting sensation as the side of his face
touched the blanket bunched beneath him. “Owww,” he
moaned.
    Alessa quickly scooted to his side and
slipped a plastic bag filled with snow in between his head and the
blanket he was using as a pillow. Her face was racked with concern.
“How are you feeling? Do you remember anything?”
    Isaac took a moment for the cold to
seep into his face and the pain to subside. “I remember running.”
His voice felt hoarse when he spoke. “My throat burning from the
cold. And then I remember being on the ground.”
    Alessa smirked, “You ran straight into
a tree, love. Like head on, at top speed.” She was clearly trying
to suppress her laughter.
    Isaac just groaned.
    “ I only caught it because
I looked back when there was all that commotion on the right – and
then BOOM! You were down.”
    Isaac got a mental picture of what he
must have looked like and chuckled, bringing a fresh wave of agony
to his head. “Argh. It hurts to laugh.”
    Alessa grinned. “I guess we probably
shouldn’t be laughing about it, anyway…” She shrugged. “I don’t
know what was following us, but I’m pretty sure we almost
died.”
    Massaging the snow bag
into the aching side of his face, Isaac replied, “Are you sure
I didn’t die?”
    Alessa smiled brightly and planted a
long, playful kiss on the right side of his lips, away from his
injuries. “Does that feel dead to you?”
    His eyes still closed, Isaac leaned
back and smiled. “Hmm… it feels like I might have died and gone to
heaven.”
    Alessa laughed heartily.
“Well I’m glad