Read Online Shifters (Shifters series Book 1) by Douglas Pershing, Angelia Pershing - Free Book Online Page B

good thing he ’ s out of shape. Alice and I tackle him just a few doors down from our room. He scrambles, scooting himself up against the wall and puts his hands up in front of him like he ’ s trying to stop us from hitting him.
    With terror in his eyes, he says, “Oh, God! Don ’ t kill me! I swear I won ’ t tell anyone! I swear. Please don ’ t kill me!”
    Seriously? He thinks we ’ re killers? Is that what everybody thinks?
    Alice gets in his face and yells, “What are you talking about?”
    “Please!” he pleads, huddling down like a frightened puppy.
    I ’ m trying to think! He is so scared. Of course, he ’ s going to tell someone he saw the crazy school bomber kids. Why wouldn ’ t he? What would Kai do with this guy? Geez . . . I have no idea what Kai would do, but Kai would.
    “Take him to the room!” I yell to Alice with my newly out of control voice.
    She grabs him by one arm while I grab the other, and we head toward the door.
    He keeps pleading, “Oh, God, no . . . please!” as we throw the door open.
    –RYLAND–
    What the heck is Tanner thinking? Oh, we ’ re already being hunted for murder, we might as well kidnap some random people. And Alice, I know you were just blown away by seeing your dad for the first time in like eight years, but you ’ re way smarter than Tanner!
    So anyway, Tanner, Alice, and some random guy burst into the room. The guy’s yelling and crying and pleading. “Please don ’ t kill me! I swear—I swear I won ’ t tell!”
    Kai bolts up off the edge of the bed. Tanner slams the door shut behind him. “What do we do?” he snaps at Kai.
    I want to scream. As if Kai has kidnapped people before! Tanner is such an idiot.
    Kai looks like he’s about to lose it. “Who the heck is this?” he snaps.
    “ I don’ t know!” Tanner yells.
    Alice steps between him with—are those tears on her cheeks?—a look of grim determination. “We have to kill him,” she says it so flatly I almost believe her.
    The guy is hysterical now, on his knees, begging for help. Kai looks horrified. Alice does sort of sound like a serial killer. Tanner looks half-horrified and half-amazed. Hopefully, he ’ s not psycho too.
    The guy is probably in his early twenties. I wonder briefly if he played football in high school. He has a pudgy-ish baby face that would be cute if he weren ’ t scrunching it all up and crying. He ’ s huge, like he would have been a defensive linebacker or something. He could probably take us all if none of us had superpowers and he wasn ’ t so terrified.
    “Okay,” I say hesitantly. “Okay, how?”
    Alice looks me right in the eyes. She’s up to something. I know it.
    “W-w-we can ’ t!” Melinda cuts in. She’s so scared and upset she ’ s shaking.
    “ I don’ t care what you say,” Alice says and slaps her across the face.
    Melinda ’ s head snaps back, and I can already see the dark red handprint appearing on her cheek. Everything in the room goes completely still and silent, save for Melinda ’ s quiet sniffling. “We do what we have to do,” Alice continues.
    “You ’ re just kids,” the guy begs. His words are almost impossible to understand because he ’ s sniffling so much. His navy blue work polo is covered in mucus and tears. Gross.
    Tanner’s looking at me, confused. He knows now that something’s up. He may not always like me, but he knows I ’ m not a killer.
    “What do we do?” he asks again, calmly this time.
    “Please,” the guy says. “Please, my name is Connor Jensen. I live at 755 Bentley Terrace. If I tell anyone, you can come and find me. Please.”
    Alice grins. This is really her plan? What’s to stop this guy from telling the cops the minute he thinks we ’ re gone?
    Then I realize. He won ’ t tell the cops until we ’ re not around, not a threat. When he feels safe. But we ’ ll be long gone.
    “Can we trust him?” I ask Tanner, looking as doubtful as I can manage.
    “ I don’ t think so,”