Read Online Nightfall by Ellen Connor - Free Book Online Page A

his blood.
    â€œWhat the hell is this?” he asked her.
    His low, private whisper broke the hold. She looked away, and Mason faced the odd congregation.
    â€œLet’s just say I’ve been fighting these things for some time,” he said. “They used to be people. I saw them up and down the East Coast, moving inland by degrees, devouring everything and spreading their evil.”
    â€œI heard about that,” Angela whispered. “But it just sounded too ridiculous. It would’ve been on the news, people turning into creatures. The New Media Coalition said—”
    â€œForget what they told you.” Mason retrieved his shirt and pulled it back on. “Eastern Europe went silent first, yeah? It’s been years since anyone heard reliable news from across the pond. It’s our turn now. The change has been transforming the world for a long time, but it’s moved on to producing those monsters. They’re unpredictable, and smarter than they look. One advantage we have is that they don’t like the snow. But no matter who they used to be, they’re our enemies now. Never forget that.”
    Silence greeted his statement. He could only hope they were strong enough to steel themselves and ditch the lives they’d known before. That hard break was the only way to deal with the new reality.
    Jenna broke the tension. “How’s Edna doing?”
    â€œI’m awake,” the woman answered as Bob knelt to check on her. “If you know about those creatures, then you know what’s happening to me.”
    Aw, shit. She was so damn lucid. Preternaturally so. No incoherence despite a sky-high fever, which meant she was that other kind of doomed. This wouldn’t be pretty.
    He crouched on the hearth of the cold fireplace, a few feet from her pallet below the built-in bookshelves. “You have probably two days. No more than four.”
    Edna nodded.
    â€œThis is ridiculous,” Bob said. “She’s got a bite, that’s all. She’ll be fine.”
    Mason studied her. “What do you think, Edna? What’s it feel like to you?”
    Her eyes looked cataract-covered, glazed with thick white mucus. A fine trembling claimed her entire body. “My skin itches—not the bite, but all over,” she said through chattering teeth. “Worse than the flu.”
    â€œI know. I’m sorry.”
    â€œAnd ...” She shook her head and looked to the ceiling.
    â€œEdna?” Bob put a hand on hers, but Mason noticed how he hesitated before touching her. “What is it?”
    â€œI keep dreaming of spiders.”
    â€œAnd you guys think I’m messed up,” Tru said bitterly.
    Edna didn’t seem to hear him. “I was a spider. Isn’t that strange? I worried about the cold because it was my time to die, but I kept working to make sure the eggs were all right.”
    A shiver chased across Mason’s scalp.
    â€œ Charlotte’s Web ,” Angela said, hushed.
    â€œYes, like Charlotte. I was Charlotte.”
    â€œEdna,” Mason said. “You have to listen to me. Soon, your body will try to ... shift. And it’ll most likely fail. It’s not a pretty death. But I can end it for you. If you want me to.”
    Robert’s face twisted, horror stricken. “You’re kidding, right? This is sick!”
    â€œIs she a danger to the rest of us?” Angela’s eyes gained a keen, hard look.
    â€œI don’t think so,” Mason said wearily.
    â€œSo you’re thinking of killing her?” Bob scrambled to his feet and stood like a linebacker. “I won’t let you. She’s a guidance counselor , for Christ’s sake!”
    â€œRobert, let him talk,” Edna said softly. “I can barely even see. What choice do I have?”
    â€œYou can choose to die now.” Mason stood, his words calm but his posture a silent counter to Robert’s threatening stance. “Or