Read Online After Dark by James Leck, Yasemine Uçar, Marie Bartholomew, Danielle Mulhall - Free Book Online Page A

up Oak Avenue, I realized they should have called this town Tall and Steep Hills instead of Rolling Hills. It hadn’t seemed like Oak was straight up and down when we were driving in the truck, but it was a different kettle of fish when you were on foot. The fact that the day had quickly gone from mildly hot to scorching wasn’t helping matters — and as delicious as the Re-Animator had tasted, it wasn’t doing much in the way of Re-Animating me. I would have curled up and turned into a puddle of goo on one of the big front yards, but I thought it would reflect badly on Mom, so I kept trudging onward and upward, withering away a little with every step.
    Saturday, 10:35 a.m.
    By the time I staggered back into the driveway, I was soaked in sweat. I kind of noticed the beat-up red pickup truck parked beside the inn, and some part of me realized there were four men sitting on the steps of the front porch, but I was too exhausted to really care.
    â€œKind of hot,” one of the men said, standing up as I wobbled toward him. He was tall, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, but that was pretty much all I registered.
    â€œI’ve seen hotter,” I said and wiped the sweat off my face with my shirt.
    â€œI’m Jake,” he said, holding out his hand. “Jake Steel. We’re helping out with the renovations.”
    â€œCharlie,” I said, pushing past him, stepping around the other three and lying down in the shade of the front porch.
    â€œIs your mom around?”
    â€œPaint …” I mumbled.
    â€œWhat?” he asked, but luckily that’s when Mom pulled into the driveway. I was too tired to answer any more questions.
    â€œIt was nice to meet you, kid,” he said, and walked away.
    I heard Mom introducing Lilith and Johnny to Jake, and then they headed back my way.
    â€œThis is my other son, Charlie,” she said.
    I opened my eyes a crack. Jake, his three helpers and Mom were standing over me.
    â€œWe’ve met,” Jake said, smiling.
    â€œCharlie, get up,” Mom barked. “I need you to help Johnny and Lilith put the paint cans in the cellar.”
    â€œJust give me two more minutes,” I said.
    â€œUp!”
    Using every ounce of my will, I sat up and wiped the sweat out of my eyes. Jake and his crew, who were all men who looked like they’d enjoy shoveling rocks just for kicks and giggles, shuffled by in dusty work boots. That’s when I noticed a fifth man who was with them. He was leaning against the wall by the front door, deep in the shade. He was wearing the same kind of dusty boots as the others but was wrapped up in a black jacket with the hood up. I started to sweat more just looking at him. Under the hood, he was wearing a Boston Red Sox ball cap, the brim pulled low, and under the hat he had on a pair of black wraparound sunglasses. He stared at me for a few seconds and then went inside after the others.
    â€œGet up, Charlie,” Lilith said, walking by with two cans of paint in each hand and going inside, too.
    â€œBro,” Johnny called from the back of the truck, “get over here and grab some cans!”
    â€œEasy does it, Johnny,” I said, getting up and dragging myself over to the back of the pickup. “Not all of us ate a five-thousand-calorie breakfast.”
    â€œYou could use the exercise, Chuck.”
    â€œThere’s got to be thirty cans of paint back here,” I said, looking into the back of the truck.
    â€œThirty-five,” Johnny said.
    He handed me a can, and I started back toward the front door.
    â€œSeriously, you can handle more than one, right?”
    â€œI need a bit of a warm-up,” I said. “I don’t want to pull any muscles.”
    Johnny passed me on the way to the porch. He was carrying three cans of paint in each hand, but the front door was closed, so he had to stop and wait.
    â€œYou see,” I said, opening the door, “it’s a good