The First Church Read Online Free PDF Page B

ran for the exit.
    Something screamed behind him, and the window to the left shattered.  Shards of glass buried themselves in his arm as he reached for the door, but Joe’s adrenaline pumped viciously through him. 
    He ripped the door open and flung himself from the building.  His feet caught on the last step, and he smashed face first into the asphalt.
    Yet he managed to get up and run. 
    Off to the right, he saw the kitchen light on in Mrs. Staples’ house, and he ran for it.
    From the office, the unseen creature shrieked out a question Joe couldn’t understand, and with the Lord’s Prayer on his mangled lips, he sought refuge with the old woman.
     

Chapter 11: Detective Dan Brown Times it Right
     
    Dan had been a cop for twenty years, and he had seen a lot.
    Two boys with their eyes gouged out was a new one, though.
    He rubbed the back of his neck for a minute and glanced at his watch.
    Twenty to one in the morning , he thought.  A sigh escaped his lips, and the elevator door opened.
    The hospital in Lebanon, New Hampshire was never exactly quiet, but it was strangely peaceful on the ward as he stepped out into the bright fluorescents.  Beneath the smell of cleansers, he could smell sickness, and his skin crawled.
    Dan hated hospitals ever since he’d watched his mother die of cancer when he was a boy.
    With a grunt, he pushed aside the memories of childhood trauma and walked towards Matt Espelin and Carlton Talbot’s shared room.  The night nurse looked up from her station, and he smiled at her as he came to a stop.
    “Detective Dan Brown, New Hampshire State Police,” he said in a low voice as he took his badge out.  He handed it to her so she could look at it.  The young Spanish woman jotted his badge number down in the visitor log along with his name, and smiled as she handed it back.
    “How are the boys in one-twelve?” he asked.
    “Quiet,” she answered, glancing over at the room.  “The mothers are in there now.”
    “How are they?”
    The nurse shook her head.  “Not good.  I think they may have fallen asleep, but they wake up any time we pass by the room.”
    “Not surprised,” Dan said.
    A noise came from the room, and he and the nurse looked at the open doorway.
    “Hello?” a voice asked.  “Hello?”
    A boy’s voice.  Tired and stressed.
    The nurse stood up, and Dan followed her into one-twelve.
    Mrs. Espelin and Mrs. Talbot blinked as they sat up in their chairs.  One of the boys, it looked to be Matt, sat up in his bed.  His eyes were bandaged, and he had unshaven blonde stubble on his face.  The pale blue hospital johnny, he wore, hung on him.
    “Matt,” Mrs. Espelin said, panic threatening to burst from her.  “Matt, I’m here, baby.”
    “Mom?” Matt said.  “Mom, oh Jesus, Mom is this real?”
    His voice climbed an octave.
    “Yes,” she said, standing up and grabbing his hand.  “Yes, but I’m right here.”
    “Oh no,” he moaned, collapsing back against his pillow.  “Oh no, no, no !”
    Carlton continued to sleep.
    Dan stepped forward and tapped Mrs. Espelin on the shoulder .  Her head snapped around, and when she recognized him, she nodded.
    “Matt,” Dan said in an even voice, “my name is Detective Dan Brown.  I was wondering if you could tell me what happened to you.”
    The boy bit his bottom lip, and his chin trembled.
    “Matt,” Dan said softly, “you’re not in trouble.  I can promise you right now.  You are not in trouble, okay?”
    “Okay,” Matt whispered.
    “Good,” Dan said.  “Very good.  Now, tell me what happened, please.  I really need to know.”
    “We heard about the ghost,” Matt said in a low, husky voice.  “We wanted to see it.”
    Dan fought the urge to ask about the ghost, but he waited.
    “So, we had a key.  We had stolen it from Mrs. Staples.  She thought Jim Bogue had it, but we took it.  We wanted to see the ghost, so we snuck in after the Rev left and Mrs. Staples went home.  We were