Read Online Silence - eARC by Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin - Free Book Online

initial nervousness eventually wore off the more she talked with them, until—and this was the biggest surprise of all for her—she felt good, for the first time since she had arrived in Silence.
    Staci had actually lost track of time when Tim rang a bell that was at the cash register. The others looked up with a groan, but Tim shook his head. “You know the rules, folks. This is your half-hour warning. We don’t need the cops hassling us again for you being out after curfew.”
    “Curfew?” Staci said, aghast. “There’s a curfew ?”
    Jake shrugged his shoulders, grimacing. “Got enacted a few years ago. The cops have been pretty strict about it since it was actually a thing; bugging kids about being out too late is something for them to do besides sitting around bored, I guess.”
    “On game nights, depending on whose house it is, sometimes the ’rents let us all stay overnight,” Riley added. “So there’s that.”
    They all started to file out of the store after they had gathered up their belongings, each saying their goodbyes to Tim and each other.
    “You going to get some sleep, Tim?” Seth was shrugging a heavy backpack onto his shoulder; Staci had seen earlier that it was packed with rulebooks for RPGs and board games.
    “I only sleep every other leap year. Keeps me regular. Now git; I’ll see all of you when I see you.”
    Staci was the last to leave the store, giving her thanks to Tim again for helping her out and just being nice in general. She was about to walk after Jake, Riley and Seth, heading for her bike, when she felt someone grabbing her elbow; Wanda, staying back behind the rest.
    Jake turned around, looking for them. “You two coming?”
    “We’ll be a minute,” said Wanda, answering for Staci. Jake shrugged, and continued on with the others. Wanda waited until he was out of earshot before she spoke again. “Look…” She scrunched up her face. “I don’t know how much to say without making you think I’m crazier than you already do…but there’s a lot that is not right about this town, and it’s not just the Magical Cell Phone Hole we’re living in. So…I’ll just say this. Keep your eyes and mind open, and your mouth shut, and if things start adding up in a funky way for you, come talk to me, because it can’t be any worse than the shit I’m already thinking. And watch your back. Seriously, watch your back, and don’t let on that you’re anything other than a drone or an airhead.”
    Before Staci could reply, Wanda started walking quickly, catching up to the group. Staci followed her; once she was back with the rest of them, Wanda was chatting normally again. She had seen something in the girl’s face: real fear. Staci felt a very strong chill go up her spine. The rest of the walk was much like hanging out in the store; Staci said her goodbyes and traded contact information with everyone when it came time for her to split off for home. The rest of the way, she couldn’t stop thinking about what Wanda had said. Watch your back. Things aren’t what they seem. Somehow, as crappy as the house was (she couldn’t think of it as “home” yet, if ever), she was glad to get inside those four walls.
    * * *
    With the phone charged up again, Staci decided that for the foreseeable future, she actually had a schedule of sorts. Breakfast at the diner, because the food was edible and Beth was nice, and sooner or later they could probably figure out when and where they could hang out. Then up to Makeout Hill for as long as her phone charge would last. Then lunch either at the Burger Shack or the diner, and then to the bookstore. But today, she had one detour: combing the thrift stores for something that would make her stand out less. Maybe Wanda was crazy…but she still wanted to get some of that protective camouflage.
    Beth’s advice about the thrift stores was useful, but the pickings were pretty thin. She was either going to have to do laundry loads every few days, or find