Read Online Spring-Heeled Jack by Wyll Andersen - Free Book Online

students were being assigned their
dorms and roommates. You could request roommates if you wanted, but
Atticus didn’t know anybody, so his was picked at random. Luckily,
Brock was a good random.
    Initially, Brock was very intimidated
by Atticus and how quiet he was. His nose was always stuck in a
book and very rarely did he speak. But, one night, Atticus got
terrible food poisoning. Brock was supposed to go out with some
friends, but he couldn’t leave Atticus alone. So he cancelled his
plans and stayed with him all night telling jokes, helping him get
to the bathroom when needed, and just talking. Ever since then, the
two were best friends. Atticus knew he could count on
Brock.
    A wide smile spread across his face
and he sat up. The warm feeling didn’t last long though. Suddenly,
Atticus felt a sharp tingle run down his spine. He was completely
petrified. It felt as if a thousand eyes were on him. It required
all of his willpower, but Atticus turned around.
    He saw a figure standing at least
thirty feet away in the shadow of the English and History building
wearing a long dark brown cloak. No part of the person was visible
except for its eyes, but from a distance, they were impossible to
see.
    Atticus felt his heart race and his
hands shake. He reached into his pocket and felt his locket. It
gave him strength. It reminded him why he was doing all of this.
The cloaked figure wasn’t anything to be afraid of.
    As he thought that, the cloaked figure
began to leave. Atticus felt its gaze leave him and he could
finally move again. He wasn’t sure what happened. Why was he
frozen? He’d been scared to the point of freezing up before, but
never like that.
    Atticus watched the figure disappear
into the shadows and a wave of adrenaline washed over him. He
wasn’t sure what, but a conclusion popped into his head: “A
ghost!”
    Nothing could shake the feeling that
the cloaked figure was the ghost Mike asked him about. It wasn’t
anything supernatural, just someone hiding in the shadows waiting
to strike. And Atticus hated that. The dark was the worst. You
never knew what lurked within. You couldn’t plan anything in the
darkness, and worst of all you could never be prepared. The dark
was the ultimate unsolvable puzzle.
    But despite all that, Atticus couldn’t
let the Ghost get away. He had to confront him, or at least find
where it was hiding.
    Atticus snuck behind the figure,
always trying to keep it at a close enough distance so he could
easily tail it, but far enough so he wouldn’t feel suspicious.
Atticus wasn’t the stealthiest kid, but he figured if he kept his
distance and was silent, he’d be fine. After all, that’s all there
was to being stealthy, right? If so, he figured he was doing a dang
good job.
    Atticus continued to follow the Ghost
for several minutes without it ever catching him. At least, he
hoped it hadn’t caught onto him. Every once in a while it would
stop and look around and Atticus would be forced to jump behind a
bush or tree or bench.
    The Ghost lead him through all sorts
of dark places between buildings and Atticus started to fear that
it was leading him into a trap.
    Finally, at one intersection
between two halls, the Ghost came to a stop. Atticus was about
twenty feet behind, waiting and watching. The cloaked figure looked
left, then right, then left again. Atticus wished his Queen of Spades allowed
him to read minds because it was killing him not knowing what the
Ghost was up to.
    If he could read minds, he felt this
whole debacle would be solved already, but then what would be the
fun in solving puzzles.
    After a few seconds, the Ghost turned
back and faced Atticus. In a panic, he tried to jump back and hide
in the shadows, out of the figure’s line of sight. The sun was at
his back, so he thought that maybe he’d be well enough hidden. But,
he was wrong. The Ghost stared straight at him, right in the eyes,
and once again Atticus was paralyzed with fear. It gestured for him
to