The Haunting of Secrets Read Online Free PDF Page B

flashlight dropped in the scuffle, flip it on,
and point it directly in her face. There within the small circle of
light I find my salvation, my reward for all of my efforts. I take
off her blindfold and soak in the look of pure terror on her face.
I let it fill me as I relish in the power it invokes. The old
saying is true: good things come to those who wait.
     

 
    Chapter
Seven
    ~ Is That a Zombie? Nope, It’s Just
Me ~
     
    The world previously cloaked in darkness
regains light and I am once again in my bedroom. Dejana is sitting
in a chair next to my bed, her face blanketed in fear. She is
wringing her hands together in agitation. Despite my fragile state,
I want to comfort her.
    “Please tell me I didn’t look like one of
those zombies on The Walking Dead while I was in the
memory,” I tease hoping to get her mind off what she just
experienced.
    I’m fairly sure Dejana is in shock. Mary once
told me that I go limp, almost death like when I’m enveloped by
someone’s memory. It scared her so much the first time it happened
that she was on the phone calling an ambulance when I came back to
my reality. She said my lying there limp was scary enough, but
nothing compared to what happened with my eyes. The core was so
clouded over she could see nothing, no pupils or irises, only
swirls of white. She compared it to the sky coming down from the
heavens to take up residence in my once blue orbs. She admitted it
was eerily beautiful. Leave it to Mary to take something completely
wrong and make it seem angelic. Thankfully, it does not happen that
often since it still scares Mary.
    I see that Dejana isn’t taking the bait.
    “You were just laying there, Aimee. You were
so incredibly pale and so still that I couldn’t even tell if you
were breathing. I had no idea what to do! You told me that you
absorbed memories, that you think you’re cursed, but I honestly
didn’t believe you. And your eyes,” she sputtered. “Oh, God, your
eyes! They became white and I just froze. I’m so sorry, Aim. I just
froze.”
    “It’s okay. I promise I’m okay now. Look at
me please,” I plead with her.
    It took a minute for her to calm her sobbing,
but she finally lifts her face from her hands and very slowly looks
at my face.
    “See. No white eyes,” I explain. “They’re
back to their normal blue. Everything is going to be fine. I
promise.”
    My being in control despite the obvious
freakiness of the situation seems to calm Dejana. She stops crying
and bravely comes to sit next to me on my bed. I feel it creak as
she plops down next to me and fluffs the pillow before covering it
completely with the purple comforter that dons my bed. Despite the
sheer terror she must be feeling, she still wants to help me. With
the memory behind us for now, thankfully things are starting to go
back to normal.
    “So,” starts Dejana, a bit of pep back in her
voice. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. Now that I can look at you
without freaking out, you want to tell me what you saw in the
memory?”
    I sit still for a moment, debating exactly
what to tell her. How well will she take the news that there’s a
killer at our school? Will she freak out and finally decide to
never talk to me again? I can’t let that happen. Dejana is the only
real friend I have ever had. On the other hand, she is logical and
super smart. If I’m going to catch this guy, I will need her help.
I’m not sure how I want to phrase it, but in the end, I just decide
to tell her the unadulterated truth.
    “There is a killer at our school and I have
no idea who he is,” I state as calmly as I can, careful not to
mention the exact perverseness of his methods.
    For a while, Dejana doesn’t move as she sits
beside me on the bed, her eyes casting a variety of emotions. I
can’t tell what she’s thinking, but I see confusion, fear, and
uncertainty etched in every feature. I’m certain she’ll walk out at
any minute, but she doesn’t move as she has some kind of