The Biker (Nightmare Hall) Read Online Free PDF Page A

just boots.”
    “No, I don’t think so. They are very unusual boots. But they’re just a part of it. A part of the whole package. The Harley, all that black leather, even a face shield so no one will recognize you, those things are the rest of the package. And that package is having a lot more fun than I am, Pruitt. I want to see what it feels like to fly down the highway on the back of a Harley. You can help me do that. After all,” Echo added slyly, “I’m doing you a favor, right? I mean, I haven’t yet gone to the police or the administration and told them about the boots.”
    “Like they’d believe you,” he said flatly. He lifted his head again. “Take a good look at me, Echo. Do you actually know anyone who would take you seriously if you accused me of being the Mad Biker? Or any biker, for that matter.”
    Echo shrugged. “Maybe not. But I would at least make them think about the possibility, and that would spoil all your fun, wouldn’t it? I mean, once the suspicion had been raised, you wouldn’t dare climb on that motorcycle again, not for a long time. That would be really stupid, and I don’t think you’re stupid, are you, Pruitt?”
    “You don’t?” Now he looked interested. “I didn’t know you thought about me at all.” He paused, then added. “You don’t look like the biker type any more than I do.”
    “I’ve never been on a motorcycle in my life,” she said. “Never even thought about it until I saw you riding yours. Of course, I didn’t know at first that it was you. And I have to admit, you would never have been on my list of possibles.” She leaned forward, closer to him, and lowered her voice, although their dim little corner was deserted. “Is that why you’re doing it? Because it’s something no one would ever, ever suspect you of doing?”
    He sat up, plunking his booted feet down on the hardwood floor. “Never mind about me. I’m more interested in why you’re here.”
    “I told you. I just want a ride, that’s all. When I saw the way you handled that bike last night, well, it just looked like so much fun. I mean,” Echo amended hastily, “not the part about scaring people to death, making them fall all over each other. That’s pretty mean if you ask me.”
    “I didn’t.”
    “But just a ride, maybe to town and back. I don’t know anyone with a motorcycle, so you’re it.”
    “Oh, I get it,” he said. “You want something from me. You haven’t spoken to me in class all year, not so much as a hello, and now you suddenly find me fascinating? Because of a motorcycle? What is it about the bike that intrigues you? The noise? The power? The strength? Tell me. I’d like to know.”
    Echo felt her cheeks burning. He had a point. She hadn’t ever spoken to him, and even now, it wasn’t him she was interested in, it was the bike ride.
    “Aren’t you scared?” he persisted, his eyes still on her face. “You said that what I did last night and today, scaring those people, was mean. So why aren’t you afraid of me? How do you know I won’t do something really horrible to the one person on campus who’s guessed the truth? You’ve got nerve, I’ll say that. Hunting me down and blackmailing me into giving you a ride. Pretty risky, Glenn.”
    Echo bristled. “I’m not blackmailing you! I’m just asking for a favor. One tiny little ride, that’s all. Why can’t I come with you?”
    “Because you might tell, afterward.”
    She shook her head. “I wouldn’t. If I were going to, I’d already have gone to the administration or the cops and told them about the boots. Anyway, it’s not like you’ve killed anyone. You’re just scaring them. Is that a crime? Besides, you said yourself no one would believe me. They’d believe you over me any day, right?”
    He shook his head doubtfully. “I don’t know. Seems risky to me, taking on a passenger. I’ve been doing just fine on my own. Everyone says you’re trouble. I don’t want you screwing things