Read Online The Girl in Acid Park by Lauren Harris - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lauren Harris
Tags: Fantasy, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Teen & Young Adult, Paranormal & Urban, Mysteries & Thrillers, Fantasy & Supernatural
Ads: Link
twitched, illuminated the tip of his nose for just a second. A flashlight. Not a gun. Not much better, all things considered.
Then I realized Jamie had removed his glasses. I don't know when he'd done it, but he had. The flash of lenses would have given us away for certain. The guy was a fucking genius.
The beam jogged toward me, and I closed my eyes, feeling it pass in broken dapples across my line of sight. Why was my hair so red? Why? I had no idea whether he could see well enough through the wisteria and ivy to make out our shapes, but it didn't matter. If he didn't see us now, he would soon. Jamie's fingers clenched the back of my shirt, and I understood the unspoken agreement to run.
"Gustav. Listo. Vámonos guey !"
The flashlight beam swung away. The silhouette turned around. I got another waft of his mall-kiosk cologne as he shouted something back. The rest had gathered toward the VW van at the end of the drive, though I couldn't see them past their own van's lights.
A brief exchange followed, during which I don't think Jamie or I had a pulse. Then the the backlit figure grumbled something and turned around. I watched him kick at the foliage, trampling a path back to the driveway. He circumvented Jamie's truck, and the headlights finally hit him at an angle.
He was lean, but built like a bulldog, wide and low. Some narrow word was tattooed in gothic letters around his throat, but I couldn't read it. He had a squarish face and thick, short-cropped hair, but that was all I saw before he disappeared into the headlights.
It was another thirty or so seconds before I heard the roll and slam of a van door and the headlights bounced, bending toward the ground as the vehicle mounted the highway in reverse. The beams swung back toward the road, and with a surge of engine noise, vanished around the treacherous curve.
Neither Jamie nor I moved. I don't know how long we lay there with me clutching the cold whirligig, Jamie's arm half around me. We didn't even speak--just breathed. Eventually, we rolled to our knees and used one of the whirligig's cross-braces to pull ourselves to our feet.
I felt nauseous. My face burned and I leaned it against the rough metal. Jamie had hooked an arm over a whirligig struts and was rubbing his naked face.
We stood there a few more minutes, not asking each other the obvious questions. Somehow, it seemed like a good idea not to confirm anything we'd just observed until we were safely back at school.
I wanted to get there as soon as possible. On the other hand, I had no desire to end up as another rusting wreck around a pine tree.
"Can you drive?" I asked.
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at me...ish. Looked in my direction anyway. "We'll have to find my glasses."
"I thought you took them off!"
He grimaced.
"Shit. Was it when we ran into each other?"
"I don't remember--it wasn't really my priority at the time."
"Can you see well enough to look?"
"Yeah, I'm nearsighted--I just wouldn't trust myself to drive half high and half blind."
We picked our way back toward the driveway, patting the ground in our path as we went, in case his glasses had ended up in the woods. I walked one direction around the truck, and he went the other, and we met in front, empty-handed. He sighed.
"I could drive?" I said. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, which had a pine-needle stuck in it.
"That's probably for the best. At least I have a back-up pair." He fished out his keys and the tinkle of metal sent a shudder down my back. I retracted my hand a few centimeters. "I'm never buying wind chimes," I grumbled, making myself take the keys.
"Same." Jamie looked toward the road, toward the VW van where we'd last seen the girl. It was a pointless movement, since he apparently couldn't see shit. I crossed my arms. The ghost seemed to be gone, but I hadn't stopped shivering. Jamie rubbed his eyes.
"Big dark blur, big light blur?" I asked.
"Not even the light blur, but I appreciate the Star Wars
Then I realized Jamie had removed his glasses. I don't know when he'd done it, but he had. The flash of lenses would have given us away for certain. The guy was a fucking genius.
The beam jogged toward me, and I closed my eyes, feeling it pass in broken dapples across my line of sight. Why was my hair so red? Why? I had no idea whether he could see well enough through the wisteria and ivy to make out our shapes, but it didn't matter. If he didn't see us now, he would soon. Jamie's fingers clenched the back of my shirt, and I understood the unspoken agreement to run.
"Gustav. Listo. Vámonos guey !"
The flashlight beam swung away. The silhouette turned around. I got another waft of his mall-kiosk cologne as he shouted something back. The rest had gathered toward the VW van at the end of the drive, though I couldn't see them past their own van's lights.
A brief exchange followed, during which I don't think Jamie or I had a pulse. Then the the backlit figure grumbled something and turned around. I watched him kick at the foliage, trampling a path back to the driveway. He circumvented Jamie's truck, and the headlights finally hit him at an angle.
He was lean, but built like a bulldog, wide and low. Some narrow word was tattooed in gothic letters around his throat, but I couldn't read it. He had a squarish face and thick, short-cropped hair, but that was all I saw before he disappeared into the headlights.
It was another thirty or so seconds before I heard the roll and slam of a van door and the headlights bounced, bending toward the ground as the vehicle mounted the highway in reverse. The beams swung back toward the road, and with a surge of engine noise, vanished around the treacherous curve.
Neither Jamie nor I moved. I don't know how long we lay there with me clutching the cold whirligig, Jamie's arm half around me. We didn't even speak--just breathed. Eventually, we rolled to our knees and used one of the whirligig's cross-braces to pull ourselves to our feet.
I felt nauseous. My face burned and I leaned it against the rough metal. Jamie had hooked an arm over a whirligig struts and was rubbing his naked face.
We stood there a few more minutes, not asking each other the obvious questions. Somehow, it seemed like a good idea not to confirm anything we'd just observed until we were safely back at school.
I wanted to get there as soon as possible. On the other hand, I had no desire to end up as another rusting wreck around a pine tree.
"Can you drive?" I asked.
He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at me...ish. Looked in my direction anyway. "We'll have to find my glasses."
"I thought you took them off!"
He grimaced.
"Shit. Was it when we ran into each other?"
"I don't remember--it wasn't really my priority at the time."
"Can you see well enough to look?"
"Yeah, I'm nearsighted--I just wouldn't trust myself to drive half high and half blind."
We picked our way back toward the driveway, patting the ground in our path as we went, in case his glasses had ended up in the woods. I walked one direction around the truck, and he went the other, and we met in front, empty-handed. He sighed.
"I could drive?" I said. He scrubbed a hand through his hair, which had a pine-needle stuck in it.
"That's probably for the best. At least I have a back-up pair." He fished out his keys and the tinkle of metal sent a shudder down my back. I retracted my hand a few centimeters. "I'm never buying wind chimes," I grumbled, making myself take the keys.
"Same." Jamie looked toward the road, toward the VW van where we'd last seen the girl. It was a pointless movement, since he apparently couldn't see shit. I crossed my arms. The ghost seemed to be gone, but I hadn't stopped shivering. Jamie rubbed his eyes.
"Big dark blur, big light blur?" I asked.
"Not even the light blur, but I appreciate the Star Wars
Similar Books
