Read Online The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: James Patterson, Michael Ledwidge
Tags: FIC002000
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Daniel. He’s gone. Let me fix a place for you to sleep.”
I stood there watching Phoebe arrange pillows and sheets.
She isn’t thinking that I . . . I mean, she doesn’t think that she and I would . . . WHAT?
A pillow hit me square in the face.
“You sleep in the closet here, Daniel. In case my mom or dad opens the door, okay? See you in the morning.”
“Oh yeah. The closet. Perfect,” I said.
“Night, Daniel,” said Phoebe.
“Night, Phoebe,” I said.
From the closet.
Not so terrible, actually.
Safe anyway.
Chapter 42
MY DREAMS that night were as vivid as ever, six hours of full 1080p resolution. Which would have been really great if every dream hadn’t been a
soul-sucking, bloodcurdling nightmare that no one in their right mind would watch after dark.
In the worst one, The Prayer was chasing me through my house with a couple of bloody scythes. As I ran into the kitchen, the floor gave way under my feet, and I fell face-first through a moldering coffin onto the chest of a decomposed corpse in a wedding dress. I stared into empty eye sockets as peeling, blackened lips pursed themselves together, ready to give me a kiss. The corpse was Phoebe!
Shoe boxes in the closet went flying as I woke up, flailing. I wiped my sweat-drenched face with a sleeve before I poked my head out the closet door.
Phoebe wasn’t in her bed. That was funny. Funny odd. The room was dark. The alarm clock on the desk said it was 6:51. Had she gotten up already?
I listened for the sound of a shower.
Nothing.
The alarm clock clicked to 6:52 as I glanced over at the open window above her unmade bed. A bad feeling started in the pit of my stomach. This was weird.
Where was she?
I pulled on my sneakers and decided to search the house for Phoebe, forgetting that her parents might see me. At alien hyperspeed, I blurred through the upper three bedrooms.
Phoebe wasn’t in the shower.
Phoebe wasn’t anywhere in the bedrooms.
Not in the attic either.
Phoebe was gone.
Chapter 43
I STOPPED OUTSIDE the kitchen doorway when I heard her parents talking in there.
“What do you mean she’s not in the house?” Phoebe’s mom was saying.
“I noticed her school bag’s gone,” her dad said. “Maybe she went in early to study. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
I heard a phone lift.
“Who are you calling?” asked Phoebe’s father.
“The police,” said her mom.
“Honey, there’s no need to panic. We should think this through.”
“She’s the only daughter we have left,” her mom said, sounding as freaked as I was feeling. “You
think
it through while I
do
something.”
No,
I thought, closing my eyes.
This is not good.
People just didn’t disappear in the middle of the night. At least not willingly. If Phoebe wanted to head to Malibu without me, she would have said something. I was right there in the closet, wasn’t I?
I fast-forwarded myself down the hallway, through the family room, and out the front door.
I had to find Phoebe.
Before Ergent Seth did.
Chapter 44
MY PANIC STATE had pretty much quadrupled by the time I burst through Glendale High’s front doors a few minutes later. I raced up and down the halls, ripping open doors and sticking my head into empty classrooms like a lunatic escaped from an alien asylum.
There goes her dad’s theory,
I thought, sprinting through the deserted cafeteria.
Phoebe isn’t here at school.
Not even in the corner of the library where she’d first told me about her sister’s being missing.
Phoebe’s words from the night before burned in my ears as I passed her locker.
You’re like my guardian angel.
Yeah,
I thought, sick with worry.
Or maybe I’m the one who led Seth to you.
“There you are,” Mr. Marshman said as he practically clotheslined me in front of his office. “We’ve been trying to call your house. There was a mix-up, and we forgot to give you your placement exam. I’m glad you’re here early. You can take the test
I stood there watching Phoebe arrange pillows and sheets.
She isn’t thinking that I . . . I mean, she doesn’t think that she and I would . . . WHAT?
A pillow hit me square in the face.
“You sleep in the closet here, Daniel. In case my mom or dad opens the door, okay? See you in the morning.”
“Oh yeah. The closet. Perfect,” I said.
“Night, Daniel,” said Phoebe.
“Night, Phoebe,” I said.
From the closet.
Not so terrible, actually.
Safe anyway.
Chapter 42
MY DREAMS that night were as vivid as ever, six hours of full 1080p resolution. Which would have been really great if every dream hadn’t been a
soul-sucking, bloodcurdling nightmare that no one in their right mind would watch after dark.
In the worst one, The Prayer was chasing me through my house with a couple of bloody scythes. As I ran into the kitchen, the floor gave way under my feet, and I fell face-first through a moldering coffin onto the chest of a decomposed corpse in a wedding dress. I stared into empty eye sockets as peeling, blackened lips pursed themselves together, ready to give me a kiss. The corpse was Phoebe!
Shoe boxes in the closet went flying as I woke up, flailing. I wiped my sweat-drenched face with a sleeve before I poked my head out the closet door.
Phoebe wasn’t in her bed. That was funny. Funny odd. The room was dark. The alarm clock on the desk said it was 6:51. Had she gotten up already?
I listened for the sound of a shower.
Nothing.
The alarm clock clicked to 6:52 as I glanced over at the open window above her unmade bed. A bad feeling started in the pit of my stomach. This was weird.
Where was she?
I pulled on my sneakers and decided to search the house for Phoebe, forgetting that her parents might see me. At alien hyperspeed, I blurred through the upper three bedrooms.
Phoebe wasn’t in the shower.
Phoebe wasn’t anywhere in the bedrooms.
Not in the attic either.
Phoebe was gone.
Chapter 43
I STOPPED OUTSIDE the kitchen doorway when I heard her parents talking in there.
“What do you mean she’s not in the house?” Phoebe’s mom was saying.
“I noticed her school bag’s gone,” her dad said. “Maybe she went in early to study. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation.”
I heard a phone lift.
“Who are you calling?” asked Phoebe’s father.
“The police,” said her mom.
“Honey, there’s no need to panic. We should think this through.”
“She’s the only daughter we have left,” her mom said, sounding as freaked as I was feeling. “You
think
it through while I
do
something.”
No,
I thought, closing my eyes.
This is not good.
People just didn’t disappear in the middle of the night. At least not willingly. If Phoebe wanted to head to Malibu without me, she would have said something. I was right there in the closet, wasn’t I?
I fast-forwarded myself down the hallway, through the family room, and out the front door.
I had to find Phoebe.
Before Ergent Seth did.
Chapter 44
MY PANIC STATE had pretty much quadrupled by the time I burst through Glendale High’s front doors a few minutes later. I raced up and down the halls, ripping open doors and sticking my head into empty classrooms like a lunatic escaped from an alien asylum.
There goes her dad’s theory,
I thought, sprinting through the deserted cafeteria.
Phoebe isn’t here at school.
Not even in the corner of the library where she’d first told me about her sister’s being missing.
Phoebe’s words from the night before burned in my ears as I passed her locker.
You’re like my guardian angel.
Yeah,
I thought, sick with worry.
Or maybe I’m the one who led Seth to you.
“There you are,” Mr. Marshman said as he practically clotheslined me in front of his office. “We’ve been trying to call your house. There was a mix-up, and we forgot to give you your placement exam. I’m glad you’re here early. You can take the test
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