Read Online The Frenzy by Francesca Lia Block - Free Book Online
Authors: Francesca Lia Block
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and squirrels seemed to linger near, drawn to Joe Ranger in some uncanny way. One bird, so blue it looked purple and with a fierce expression, even landed on his shoulder when he stopped really still and called it. When it flew away he continued on, walking ahead, his long legs taking big strides while I scurried to keep up. He didn’t look back at me much but he held the branches so that I could pass through unscratched most of the time. Under my feet the earth throbbed with life and I could smell the sap in the trees and the minerals in the mud.
I knew that forest really well but I felt confused, as if we’d been walking in circles. Then Joe stoppedsuddenly and I almost bumped into him.
There was the cabin.
It looked abandoned except for the chickens squawking in the pen. There were no boots in front and the windows were shut tight. The trees had grown closer around it since the last time I’d seen it; they overhung the tin roof as if trying to protect it.
Joe walked up to the door and knocked gently. He was so tall that he had to stoop down so his head wouldn’t hit the porch.
We waited. After a while Joe said, “Looks like they’re not home. Maybe I was wrong….”
He came back to where I was waiting. I hadn’t wanted to get too close. I turned and started away. I wasn’t so sure about this idea after all, anyway.
Just then we heard a sound and the cabin door opened. The gray-haired woman stood there. Her blue eyes shone through the dim. I held my breath.
“Joe,” she said. It sounded like the way you would greet someone you had been waiting for for a long time.
“Sasha.” I’d never heard Joe’s voice like that. So serious and quiet, deeper than usual.
“You’ve come,” she said. Her tone was low and a little rough. I wanted to fall under its spell—let it lead me into a dark place where I could find who I was, but part of me did not want to know. I grew suddenly so weary, as if the forest were a dream weighing down on me, pressing me into sleep. I closed my eyes.
When I woke I was lying on a small cot in a darkened room.
I sat up. “Joey?”
There was silence. Then a woman’s voice said, “He had to go back. I told him you’d be safe here.”
She came toward me. She was wearing a floor-length silvery nightgown and her hair was the same, almost metallic in the candlelight. She had long, sinewy arms, strong arms. I looked at her hands. The middle finger stretched out beyond the others just like mine.
“I’m Sasha,” she said. “You’re Liv.”
I nodded.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
We? Who else was there? I looked around the room. The walls were made of rough-hewn logs. There was a large, soft deerskin rug on the floor. Besides the bed there were very few furnishings. Who was “we,” where were they and why had they been waiting?
As if she heard my thought, she answered it with a similar question. “Why did you want to find me?”
There was a reason, some reason, but I couldn’t think of it.
“How do you know Joey?” I asked because I didn’t have an answer for her. A question followed by a question followed by a question.
“We’ve known each other since I moved to town.” Her blue eyes were rimmed with dark lashes; it looked as if she had elaborate eyeliner on or it could have been natural. She touched her hair gently, where the silver caught the light. “I would have had him bringyou to me sooner but it wasn’t the time yet. You’ve been doing well so far but things are going to get harder now.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. It was dark outside; my mother would worry. I patted my pocket for my cell phone and took it out. She’d called. Corey had, too, probably. I wanted to reassure them and, in doing so, to reassure myself that I was okay, that I hadn’t lost my mind.
“I have to get home.”
“Yes, I know,” the woman said. Sasha. That was her name. “But there is something I need to tell you.”
I wasn’t ready; whatever it was, I
I knew that forest really well but I felt confused, as if we’d been walking in circles. Then Joe stoppedsuddenly and I almost bumped into him.
There was the cabin.
It looked abandoned except for the chickens squawking in the pen. There were no boots in front and the windows were shut tight. The trees had grown closer around it since the last time I’d seen it; they overhung the tin roof as if trying to protect it.
Joe walked up to the door and knocked gently. He was so tall that he had to stoop down so his head wouldn’t hit the porch.
We waited. After a while Joe said, “Looks like they’re not home. Maybe I was wrong….”
He came back to where I was waiting. I hadn’t wanted to get too close. I turned and started away. I wasn’t so sure about this idea after all, anyway.
Just then we heard a sound and the cabin door opened. The gray-haired woman stood there. Her blue eyes shone through the dim. I held my breath.
“Joe,” she said. It sounded like the way you would greet someone you had been waiting for for a long time.
“Sasha.” I’d never heard Joe’s voice like that. So serious and quiet, deeper than usual.
“You’ve come,” she said. Her tone was low and a little rough. I wanted to fall under its spell—let it lead me into a dark place where I could find who I was, but part of me did not want to know. I grew suddenly so weary, as if the forest were a dream weighing down on me, pressing me into sleep. I closed my eyes.
When I woke I was lying on a small cot in a darkened room.
I sat up. “Joey?”
There was silence. Then a woman’s voice said, “He had to go back. I told him you’d be safe here.”
She came toward me. She was wearing a floor-length silvery nightgown and her hair was the same, almost metallic in the candlelight. She had long, sinewy arms, strong arms. I looked at her hands. The middle finger stretched out beyond the others just like mine.
“I’m Sasha,” she said. “You’re Liv.”
I nodded.
“We’ve been waiting for you.”
We? Who else was there? I looked around the room. The walls were made of rough-hewn logs. There was a large, soft deerskin rug on the floor. Besides the bed there were very few furnishings. Who was “we,” where were they and why had they been waiting?
As if she heard my thought, she answered it with a similar question. “Why did you want to find me?”
There was a reason, some reason, but I couldn’t think of it.
“How do you know Joey?” I asked because I didn’t have an answer for her. A question followed by a question followed by a question.
“We’ve known each other since I moved to town.” Her blue eyes were rimmed with dark lashes; it looked as if she had elaborate eyeliner on or it could have been natural. She touched her hair gently, where the silver caught the light. “I would have had him bringyou to me sooner but it wasn’t the time yet. You’ve been doing well so far but things are going to get harder now.”
I wrapped my arms around myself. It was dark outside; my mother would worry. I patted my pocket for my cell phone and took it out. She’d called. Corey had, too, probably. I wanted to reassure them and, in doing so, to reassure myself that I was okay, that I hadn’t lost my mind.
“I have to get home.”
“Yes, I know,” the woman said. Sasha. That was her name. “But there is something I need to tell you.”
I wasn’t ready; whatever it was, I
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