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

edge
of the boulder that marked the entrance to the cave. Alessa rushed
to his side.
    “ Are you okay? Are you
sure you don’t want to stay put for a day or two?”
    Isaac shook his head emphatically.
Ouch. It wasn’t like they were on a schedule or anything, but
nevertheless, he was eager to be out of these woods before they had
another encounter like last night’s. “No, no, I’m fine.
Seriously.”
    Alessa huffed. “That’s what you said
when you fell off your bike and ended up hospitalized for a
week.”
    Isaac thought back to that incident –
he’d only been what, five or six at the time? It was so long ago he
barely even remembered – a whole lifetime ago it seemed, before
Paragon, before even the war. He hadn’t remembered even thinking of
it in recent years, let alone sharing it with Alessa.
    “ What made you think of
that? And how’d you know about it anyway?” he wondered
aloud.
    “ I don’t know, it just
popped into my head. You must’ve told me about it sometime. Didn’t
you?”
    “ I don’t think
so…”
    Alessa squished her lips
to one side in the adorable way she had when concentrating on
something, then shrugged. “I guess Joe must have told me, then. He
would have been seven or eight when it happened – it would probably
be pretty scary to have your younger brother in the hospital. I
know I would
remember if it was Janie.”
    That made sense to Isaac.
“Well, anyway, I was a little kid then. I’ll admit I’m not 100
percent, but if I needed to stay put, I would tell you, Less. I
don’t feel a need to play the tough guy to impress you. I
have other ways
of doing that,” he winked.
    Alessa laughed incredulously and shook
her head in dismay. “Well, you certainly seem like yourself. Just
let me know when you need a rest, okay?”
    “ Will do,” Isaac
agreed.
    Their progress the rest of the day was
slower than usual, but they managed to negotiate a steady pace that
assured Alessa she wasn’t pushing Isaac too hard while still
whittling away the miles. Finally in the early afternoon the
fatigue of Isaac’s head injury started to catch up with him, and he
requested that they stop for a short break.
    Plopping down in a small clearing with
a crumbling log against his back, Isaac took a long swig of his
canteen and exhaled contentedly. He noticed Alessa eyeing him
uneasily and gave her hand a squeeze. “Please, I’m okay. Just need
a few minutes. I’ll even nap if it will make you feel
better.”
    Alessa considered. “It would,
actually.” Unwrapping one of their few remaining energy bars, she
added, “And eat this.”
    Begrudgingly, Isaac took a few bites
and handed it back to her with a pout. “You finish the rest – it
tastes like cardboard.”
    Alessa gnawed off an end reluctantly
and put it away. “I never understood why Janie liked these so much
– something about the texture is just so… unnatural.”
    Washing down the chalky remains in his
mouth with another swig of water, Isaac snickered, “Agreed. If food
weren’t so scarce, I’d use these babies as kindling.”
    Isaac waited for a response, but
Alessa stared off into the distance, her mind obviously elsewhere.
He squeezed her hand once more. “Hey – you there?”
    She looked startled. “What? Oh, sorry.
Yeah, kindling, hah.”
    Isaac gave her a look. “Less. What’s
the matter?”
    Alessa sighed and fretted with her
cuticles before meeting his eyes. “I’m just so worried about
Janie.”
    “ Don’t be – she’s strong,
she knew what she was doing, she can fight off the effects of the
stitch…”
    Alessa sighed again and went back to
picking at her fingers.
    “ And yeah, the prison
sucks, but they’ve probably got her on another show by now, anyway.
Maybe she’s playing a famous socialite or a maid in a rich person’s
mansion or something – she’ll be perfectly comfortable until we get
back.”
    Alessa snorted, “Not if
they’re making her clean stuff, she won’t.” Smiling,