The Dead Game Read Online Free PDF Page A

able to see anything, but only felt something fly by very close to her head—much too close for comfort. She waited a few seconds and then slowly stood up. She didn’t see any sign of anyone or anything. Darkness was quickly approaching, so she ran home.
     
    As she sprinted along the shaded walkway, a strong wind mysteriously kicked up out of nowhere. The trees began to sway, throwing their leaves at her—as if in anger. Linda raced until she bumped headfirst into Todd, who was strolling in the opposite direction.
    Todd stepped back and looked into her eyes, “Why are you wandering around alone? There are evil things lurking in the dark…ready to pounce on unsuspecting mortals.”
    His eyes were open very wide, revealing a wild—maybe even deranged—look. For a fleeting second she felt afraid of him, until she realized that it was concern she was seeing reflected in his dark eyes.
    She has heard weird things before, but this was way out of the ballpark of normal. She stared at him accusingly. “What’s your problem? Why are you freaking out on me?”
    “It’s always good to be careful and not to tempt fate,” he whispered, “that’s why we are going to the party together.”
    “I’m only going to the party with you since Shana has made me promise to stick by your side like glue,” admonished Linda, even though she liked the idea of his being concerned for her.
    “That sounds promising. I’ll pick you up on Friday night,” he replied in a soothing voice. “But first I’ll walk you home. There’s definitely an eerie feeling in the air tonight.”
    She did feel the extreme tension in the air. She didn’t know if she was imagining it, or if it was only the usual tension between her and Todd. Whenever he was near, she experienced a strange tingling sensation; whenever she looked into his big brown eyes, she felt herself melting inside and getting tongue-tied. Failing to say something clever, she usually went mute and said nothing. Today she’d experienced this rippling tension around her—even before she’d bumped into him. She was happy that he was escorting her home, since she did feel safer with him by her side.
    Todd quietly accompanied her home and even checked inside her apartment for possible intruders. She slowly followed at his heels. They made their way back to the front door, where Todd placed his hands on her shoulders and gazed deeply into her eyes. “Will you be all right? I can stay here with you,” he offered.
    Even though this sounded more than tempting, she refused his generous offer. “I’ll be fine.” She was afraid to have him in her apartment—all evening or even all night. What would she say to him? She was still too nervous around him. She needed baby steps in order to get used to being with him. One day they might even have a full conversation.
    Watching her face, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before turning to walk away.
    Linda had closed her eyes, hoping for a brief second that he was going to kiss her on the lips, but instead only felt a small peck on her cheek. Of course, she scolded herself, he wasn’t interested in her in that way and she was just fooling herself again with false hopes and dreams. But as she was lying in bed later that night, trying to fall asleep, she thought that anything could happen at a party...or even the next time they met late at night in the moonlight….

Chapter 3
    E arly next morning, Linda woke to a loud chorus of birds harmonizing outside her bedroom window. Her cats were snuggled contentedly at her side. In the light of day, the events of last evening seemed unreal and just a figment of her overactive imagination. She couldn’t believe that Todd and Shana had said all those creepy things yesterday. Even the lingering shadows and the strong gust of wind seemed to be only the result of bad weather and her weird thoughts.
    It was a beautiful, windswept morning in early September. The day began like all the others: she woke early