Read Online Juniper Berry by M. P. Kozlowsky - Free Book Online

that . . . it couldn’t be . Trembling, she focused her binoculars on the floating objects. Yet what she saw didn’t make sense; any and all logic must have been washed away by the rain. There, in her father’s left hand, and one more in her mother’s right, were balloons. Green and violet balloons, on strings, like one would see at a carnival. Together, Mr. and Mrs. Berry walked through the woods like lost children.
    Juniper finally pulled the binoculars away from her weary eyes. Her heart was beating ferociously. Her hands trembled. What is going on? What is this? What is happening?
    It was time to find out.
    With her parents back in the house, Juniper climbed out of the ditch. Kitty, perhaps sensing fear or danger or something more, whined. “No,” Juniper whispered, “I have to do this, Kitty. I have to know.”
    As quietly as she could, dripping wet, Juniper opened the back door and went inside. It was an hour when only the house was supposed to talk with its creaks and cracks and ticks and tocks. Yet in reaching the hall, her sneakers squelching softly, she heard whispers. She couldn’t make out any of the words but managed to follow the wisps of sound around several corners.
    Her parents were in the dining room.
    Down the hall she skulked, moving at a careful pace toward them, until she could hear their conversation clearly.
    â€œAre you ready?” her father asked with a shaking voice.
    â€œI hate this part,” her mother replied.
    Juniper crouched all the way down and extended her neck much like a turtle to peer into the room. Her parents were seated at the table, one on either end, holding the balloons to the granite surface with both hands as if about to eat them. Their eyes seemed hungry, but their tense bodies appeared to be working against them.
    â€œIt’s for the better. It’s for our future. We need this.”
    Slowly, her mother nodded.
    â€œAt the same time, then. On three.” Her father began to count, “One . . . two . . . three.” And up the balloons went to their mouths, their hands frantically undoing the knot. Ravenously, they began to suck the air from inside.
    It was the noise that brought Juniper to her feet. They slurped the air like soup, except the pitch grew and grew, turning the air into a mighty wind down their throats.
    Without thinking, Juniper ran into the room. “What are you doing?!”
    And that was the moment she knew real fear.
    Her mother turned to her, her face nearly melting, the skin bubbling from beneath, and screamed at her in a voice of utmost horror. “Get ooouuuutttt!” The words sounded strangled, deep, like a straining and damaged foghorn. Her mother’s eyes were no longer her own; they bulged grotesquely, yet the irises shrank away. Her mouth drooped and sagged as the air of the balloon found its home inside her body, her skin turbulent like boiling water. Bestial moans crept from across the table. There, her father’s head was leaning back, eyes to the ceiling as if satisfied, yet his legs shook violently and his body twitched. Not once did he turn to his daughter.
    The veins in her neck pulsating viciously, Mrs. Berry screamed again, “Get ooouuuutttt!” And Juniper fled the room.

Chapter 6
    A FTER A NIGHT OF LITTLE SLEEP and much fear, Juniper warily descended the stairs. Already, something was clearly out of place. She smelled the wafting scent of eggs and heard the sizzle of a skillet upon the stove. She made her way through the house and entered the kitchen on an orange-skied morning. Her mother and father were at the table eating breakfast, with nary a word passing between them. But there was no doubt Juniper entered a room humming with plenty of good cheer.
    â€œWonderful to see you’re up,” her mother said. “We’ve saved you some.” She pushed a plate of scrumptious scrambled eggs and sausage toward a dumbstruck