The Ghost of Graylock Read Online Free PDF Page A

mistake. She was not dressed in white, but the bright flashlight had made it seem so.
    Bree was wearing the same blue T-Shirt and shorts as when they’d left the aunts’ house. That was how he recognized her.
    Still, something was strange here. Hadn’t she heard him calling? “Bree …,” Neil said quietly, calmly. She made no sign that she’d heard him. “Bree,” he said, louder this time. Again, nothing. This was weird. Too much like his mom. Neil had worried about his own shadow person; should he have been worrying about Bree too?
    Neil stepped through the doorway. Even though the room was about the same size as the other ones, this one felt smaller. Claustrophobic. As if the walls were moving in on him.
    He touched Bree’s shoulder. But she did not turn.
    Instead, she simply said, “There’s something about this room….” Her voice sounded foggy, as if she’d just woken from a deep sleep.
    “Let’s go.” Neil’s flashlight flickered. A flash of panic crackled his skin. Shadows leapt out from the walls momentarily before retreating swiftly back into place. Bree finally turned to look at him, but her eyes were blank, as if she were peering through him. Several seconds passed before she blinked and appeared to recognize him. “Come on,” Neil tried again. “We’ve got to find Wesley and Eric.”
    “Who?”
    Neil clutched the flashlight even harder and noticed his hand shaking. He answered slowly, carefully. “We came here with my friend Wesley Baptiste and his brother, Eric. Remember?” Under different circumstances she’d have poked his chest, thinking he was teasing, but now she merely nodded, thankful for the reminder. Neil reached out to take her hand, but she stepped backward toward the blackened window.
    “This room …,” she said, glancing over her shoulder.
    “What about it?” Neil said, frustrated, as he moved toward the doorway. At that moment, he only wanted to get back down to the common room.
    “Shh.” Bree cocked her head, listening to what sounded like silence. “Do you hear that?”
    A chill wrapped Neil’s body, head to toe. “Hear what?”
    “Whispering.”
    The flashlight winked out. Darkness came like eyes shut tight. Neil and Bree collided with each other before bouncing away. They both screamed, then froze, paralyzed by fear and a dizzying sense of disorientation.
    “We’re fine,” Neil said a second later. “The battery died.” He flicked the flashlight switch on and off, trying without success to milk the last of the juice from it. They were blind. After shoving the device into his bag, he managed to find Bree’s hand in the darkness. “Come on —”
    WHAM.
    The room shook. Neil felt himself fall backward, tripping and landing on a damp mattress. Bree’s voice lifted dramatically, “What was that ?”
    “I don’t know,” he said, standing. “Let’s go.” He dashed toward the doorway, only to meet a blossom of pain — his forehead and his nose felt as if they’d exploded. He groaned. Something wet dripped over his lip. He stuck out his tongue and tasted blood.
    “The door must have slammed shut,” said Bree, a disembodied voice beside him. Back to normal. “Are you okay? That sounded bad.”
    He wiped at his face, the warm liquid coating the back of his hand. “I’m bleeding.”
    “Your nose?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Pinch it. Up near the bridge.” Bree touched his shoulder. Neil heard her fidgeting with the doorknob. “This thing is stuck.” Neil’s entire face throbbed, but this news made the rest of his body feel numb. “Can you help?” Bree asked.
    Ignoring the pain, Neil reached out blindly. He grabbed the knob, but it wouldn’t turn. Even when he threw his weight backward, the door refused to give. “Are we trapped in here?”
    “Wesley!” Bree cried. “Eric? We know you’re out there!” She listened to the silence for several seconds. “This is not funny! Let us out!” She pounded on the metal door. It reminded him of thunder.