Read Online Silence - eARC by Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Mercedes Lackey, Cody Martin
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another source for clothing. After going back to the house briefly to change—and getting a sleepy greeting from Mom, who was drinking coffee at the kitchen table—she headed back out to the Hill.
There was an addition she thought was kind of odd, since she had been pretty sure the thing hadn’t been there the last time. Lodged in among some rocks near that big tree was one of the creepiest lawn gnomes she had ever seen. Seriously, seriously creepy—if she ever saw a person with that expression on his face, she would just know it was a serial killer…and the thing even had a nasty-looking knife stuck in its belt. How could she not have noticed the thing yesterday? Her first reaction was to try and pitch it over the cliff, but it was wedged in there so hard it might just as well have been cemented in there, and she couldn’t even wiggle it. Finally she left it alone…but she had to go to the other side of the tree to sit, because it felt like the damn thing was staring at her.
Her phone was fully charged at least, and when she powered it on, it actually got three bars today.
But the results of getting a phone signal were…not what she had hoped for.
Okay, she hadn’t expected to get a flood of her friends going “Oh wow, that sucks so hard, move in with meeee!” but she also hadn’t expected fully half of them to unfriend her on Facebook either.
That…had been kind of a shock, actually, to look at her Friend List and realize it had gotten cut in half. She had actually sat there for a while, staring at the phone in her hand, feeling like someone had punched her right in the stomach.
The response from the rest had been pretty underwhelming. When they acknowledged her post at all, it had been on the other side of “I guess that must suck for you, now about me.…” And then they would rattle on about shopping, or a movie, or a date. It made her feel all hollow inside. Like…they’d already written her out of their lives.
And no emails from anyone but Dad. It was a delivery notice for the new mattress and sheets and things.
The phone seemed to drain down even faster than before. It was dead right after she read that email, and with that creepy lawn gnome on the other side of the tree, waiting for her, she didn’t even want to linger for a minute. On the way to the Burger Shack, she saw a couple more thrift stores and scored a couple more things.
When she got to the bookstore, Seth was there alone. “Hey!” he said brightly, as she walked in and said hello to Tim.
“Hey yourself…” She hesitated a moment. “Do you think there’ll be time to get me—”
“Net?” he finished for her. “Sure, I have everything I need on my lappie. Let’s go!”
Since he didn’t have a bike, they walked back to the house. Mom was, thankfully, already gone for the day. “Are you hungry?” she asked, as he got his laptop out and plugged the phone jack into the back of it, then set himself up on the sofa.
“I’m always hungry!” he said cheerfully, as the laptop began to make some weird noises she’d never heard out of a laptop before.
“I’ll fix you a sammich, and then I’ll get my machine,” she told him. She knew there was ham and cheese because she’d bought them and hidden them behind the pizza box. She brought him a soda and the sandwich; he thanked her absently, as he was doing…something…leaning over the keyboard and staring intently. She ran up, got her laptop, and came back down again.
“Okay!” he said, around a mouthful of sandwich, gesturing at the sofa. “Sit down, and get yourself signed up for the Stone Age.” She sat, and he put the laptop in her lap. The screen was…curiously barren. Really basic information and fonts, and next to no graphics…but there was a form to fill out, including her debit card information, and she followed it, picking a username and a password. Seth inhaled the soda and sandwich while she typed, and when she was done, she passed the laptop over to
There was an addition she thought was kind of odd, since she had been pretty sure the thing hadn’t been there the last time. Lodged in among some rocks near that big tree was one of the creepiest lawn gnomes she had ever seen. Seriously, seriously creepy—if she ever saw a person with that expression on his face, she would just know it was a serial killer…and the thing even had a nasty-looking knife stuck in its belt. How could she not have noticed the thing yesterday? Her first reaction was to try and pitch it over the cliff, but it was wedged in there so hard it might just as well have been cemented in there, and she couldn’t even wiggle it. Finally she left it alone…but she had to go to the other side of the tree to sit, because it felt like the damn thing was staring at her.
Her phone was fully charged at least, and when she powered it on, it actually got three bars today.
But the results of getting a phone signal were…not what she had hoped for.
Okay, she hadn’t expected to get a flood of her friends going “Oh wow, that sucks so hard, move in with meeee!” but she also hadn’t expected fully half of them to unfriend her on Facebook either.
That…had been kind of a shock, actually, to look at her Friend List and realize it had gotten cut in half. She had actually sat there for a while, staring at the phone in her hand, feeling like someone had punched her right in the stomach.
The response from the rest had been pretty underwhelming. When they acknowledged her post at all, it had been on the other side of “I guess that must suck for you, now about me.…” And then they would rattle on about shopping, or a movie, or a date. It made her feel all hollow inside. Like…they’d already written her out of their lives.
And no emails from anyone but Dad. It was a delivery notice for the new mattress and sheets and things.
The phone seemed to drain down even faster than before. It was dead right after she read that email, and with that creepy lawn gnome on the other side of the tree, waiting for her, she didn’t even want to linger for a minute. On the way to the Burger Shack, she saw a couple more thrift stores and scored a couple more things.
When she got to the bookstore, Seth was there alone. “Hey!” he said brightly, as she walked in and said hello to Tim.
“Hey yourself…” She hesitated a moment. “Do you think there’ll be time to get me—”
“Net?” he finished for her. “Sure, I have everything I need on my lappie. Let’s go!”
Since he didn’t have a bike, they walked back to the house. Mom was, thankfully, already gone for the day. “Are you hungry?” she asked, as he got his laptop out and plugged the phone jack into the back of it, then set himself up on the sofa.
“I’m always hungry!” he said cheerfully, as the laptop began to make some weird noises she’d never heard out of a laptop before.
“I’ll fix you a sammich, and then I’ll get my machine,” she told him. She knew there was ham and cheese because she’d bought them and hidden them behind the pizza box. She brought him a soda and the sandwich; he thanked her absently, as he was doing…something…leaning over the keyboard and staring intently. She ran up, got her laptop, and came back down again.
“Okay!” he said, around a mouthful of sandwich, gesturing at the sofa. “Sit down, and get yourself signed up for the Stone Age.” She sat, and he put the laptop in her lap. The screen was…curiously barren. Really basic information and fonts, and next to no graphics…but there was a form to fill out, including her debit card information, and she followed it, picking a username and a password. Seth inhaled the soda and sandwich while she typed, and when she was done, she passed the laptop over to
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