Read Online Ghost Leopard (A Zoe & Zak Adventure #1) by Lars Guignard - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lars Guignard
Ads: Link
thankful she didn’t ask us to pay. We sat at a wooden table in the smallish room and slurped back the slightly spicy broth. I kid you not that I did not say a single word to Zak. He seemed to get the hint because he didn’t say anything to me either. Maybe he’d seen me crying earlier. Maybe he was just respecting my privacy. I didn’t know. We thanked Sai with a smile and a little nod when we were done, and went up to the room.
What can I tell you? The room was no Delhi Grand Palace, but I didn’t really care because I was totally exhausted and just glad to have a place to rest. The medium-sized room had a concrete floor and stained plaster walls, with two beds and a single ceiling fan churning the heavy air. The rough wooden beds had scratchy ropes strung across them to make mattresses, kind of like a hammock. I locked the door with the dead bolt and lay down on the nearest bed without saying a word. I swear I was fast asleep before my head hit the ropes.
I had another one of my weird dreams that night. It started off pretty normally given the events of the day. I dreamt I was in a confusing, crowded city. I was being followed. I looked behind me and I couldn’t see who was following me, but I knew that whoever it was, he was there. I walked more quickly, bumping into people as I moved, but still, I was being followed. I broke into a run, then hid in a doorway. It didn’t matter. Whoever it was, was still coming. I ran up the stairs and hid in a room. The room looked a lot like the room I had gone to sleep in. Plaster peeled from the walls and a ceiling fan spun slowly above. I could hear footsteps. There was nowhere to go. I hid on the cool concrete floor under the rope bed. I couldn’t see much from under there, but I heard the footsteps enter the room. Then the footsteps faded away. Sunlight flooded the room. It was day. And when I looked across the floor I saw four giant muddy paw prints on the concrete.
I woke up. I was in the same room as in my dream. The slow-moving fan continued to spin, sunlight filtering in through the dirty, cracked window. Zak was still asleep on the other side of the room. I watched as more of the delicate spotted blue butterflies fluttered around. I had read about them in the flora and fauna section of my guide book. They belonged to the Swallowtail butterfly family. I was pretty sure the one’s here in the hotel were called Blue Mormons. I stood up and stepped across the room to shake Zak awake.
“Wake up,” I said.
“Sleeping,” Zak murmured.
“Wake up, or else.”
“Or else what?”
“Or else I’ll never talk to you again.”
Zak opened an eye. “Is that a bad thing?”
I looked away from Zak. Even after he had gotten us into a mess like this, he was still making jokes. I had to admit, even I thought it was almost funny. My eyes wandered around the simple old room, before settling on the floor. There were four giant, muddy paw prints on the bare concrete floor. Zak saw them too.
“Whoa,” Zak said.
Whoa was right. I didn’t say anything. I just stood there looking at the paw prints; two by the door and two on the other side of the bed. They were exactly like my dream. And they weren’t there when we came into the room the night before. I was sure of it. At least I didn’t think they were. But it was dark, so who knew? I pushed the thought from my mind.
“Come on, let’s go,” I said.
We had no luggage to pack except for a plastic bag Zak had picked up somewhere, so we left the key on one of the beds and headed outside. The sun was already high in the morning sky and it felt good on our backs, warming us up even as we sloshed through the brown floodwaters. Though I tried to push the muddy paw prints out of my mind, the thought of them just kept coming back. I told myself that just because the paw prints matched my dream, it didn’t mean anything. There were a lot of explanations. Maybe the guest before us kept a tiger in the room.
What can I tell you? The room was no Delhi Grand Palace, but I didn’t really care because I was totally exhausted and just glad to have a place to rest. The medium-sized room had a concrete floor and stained plaster walls, with two beds and a single ceiling fan churning the heavy air. The rough wooden beds had scratchy ropes strung across them to make mattresses, kind of like a hammock. I locked the door with the dead bolt and lay down on the nearest bed without saying a word. I swear I was fast asleep before my head hit the ropes.
I had another one of my weird dreams that night. It started off pretty normally given the events of the day. I dreamt I was in a confusing, crowded city. I was being followed. I looked behind me and I couldn’t see who was following me, but I knew that whoever it was, he was there. I walked more quickly, bumping into people as I moved, but still, I was being followed. I broke into a run, then hid in a doorway. It didn’t matter. Whoever it was, was still coming. I ran up the stairs and hid in a room. The room looked a lot like the room I had gone to sleep in. Plaster peeled from the walls and a ceiling fan spun slowly above. I could hear footsteps. There was nowhere to go. I hid on the cool concrete floor under the rope bed. I couldn’t see much from under there, but I heard the footsteps enter the room. Then the footsteps faded away. Sunlight flooded the room. It was day. And when I looked across the floor I saw four giant muddy paw prints on the concrete.
I woke up. I was in the same room as in my dream. The slow-moving fan continued to spin, sunlight filtering in through the dirty, cracked window. Zak was still asleep on the other side of the room. I watched as more of the delicate spotted blue butterflies fluttered around. I had read about them in the flora and fauna section of my guide book. They belonged to the Swallowtail butterfly family. I was pretty sure the one’s here in the hotel were called Blue Mormons. I stood up and stepped across the room to shake Zak awake.
“Wake up,” I said.
“Sleeping,” Zak murmured.
“Wake up, or else.”
“Or else what?”
“Or else I’ll never talk to you again.”
Zak opened an eye. “Is that a bad thing?”
I looked away from Zak. Even after he had gotten us into a mess like this, he was still making jokes. I had to admit, even I thought it was almost funny. My eyes wandered around the simple old room, before settling on the floor. There were four giant, muddy paw prints on the bare concrete floor. Zak saw them too.
“Whoa,” Zak said.
Whoa was right. I didn’t say anything. I just stood there looking at the paw prints; two by the door and two on the other side of the bed. They were exactly like my dream. And they weren’t there when we came into the room the night before. I was sure of it. At least I didn’t think they were. But it was dark, so who knew? I pushed the thought from my mind.
“Come on, let’s go,” I said.
We had no luggage to pack except for a plastic bag Zak had picked up somewhere, so we left the key on one of the beds and headed outside. The sun was already high in the morning sky and it felt good on our backs, warming us up even as we sloshed through the brown floodwaters. Though I tried to push the muddy paw prints out of my mind, the thought of them just kept coming back. I told myself that just because the paw prints matched my dream, it didn’t mean anything. There were a lot of explanations. Maybe the guest before us kept a tiger in the room.
Similar Books
