Read Online The Light (Morpheus Road) by D.J. MacHale - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: D.J. MacHale
Tags: Fiction, General, Children's Books, Action & Adventure, Horror, Juvenile Fiction, Action & Adventure - General, Fantasy & Magic, Ages 9-12 Fiction, Science Fiction; Fantasy; & Magic, Children: Young Adult (Gr. 7-9), supernatural, Horror & Ghost Stories, Ghosts, Legends; Myths; Fables, Horror stories, Mysteries; Espionage; & Detective Stories, Ghost Stories (Young Adult), Mysteries (Young Adult)
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ahead of me. She must have gotten out of the yard and somehow
57
wandered over to the school. Our house was only a few hundred yards away. It wasn't impossible . . . unless you figured in the whole coincidence of it. Then again, I didn't know what she normally did during the day. For all I knew, she hung around at school all the time and was just as surprised to see me as I was to see her.
"Winston!" I shouted. "C'mere! Stop! Sit!" No amount of yelling got through. Every few feet she'd glance back to see if I was still following . . . like it was a game. Whenever she hit an intersection of corridors, she'd sit down with her tail wrapped around her paws. I'd approach her slowly while softly whispering, "Stay there . . . that's good . . . don't move . . . good kitty . . ." But as I was about to grab her, she'd bounce back to her feet and scamper off. Brat. It was making me nuts.
The school was one of those old-fashioned brick structures that probably started out as one building, but as it grew and new wings were added, it became a sprawling mass of interconnected modules. I had gotten lost in the labyrinth more than once. Apparently that wasn't a problem for Winston. She seemed to know exactly where she was going. How odd was that? My cat knew her way around my school better than I did.
She led me deep into the wing that housed the athletic department. The place was an odd mix of the old and the new. The gym was new, but the locker rooms were crusty old. The weight room was modern, but the pool looked like something my grandfather used to swim in.
The door to the boys' locker room was slightly open and Winston scampered for it.
"No!" I shouted. I was afraid she'd find a locker to hide in and I'd never get her. Of course, she didn't listen and shot inside.
There was an outside exit door across the corridor from
58
the locker room door. I was about ten yards away when I felt a rush of air. Instantly the locker room door closed and the door to the outside blew open. I stopped short. Doors didn't do that on their own. My logical mind raced for answers. I guess it was possible that Winston had somehow nudged the locker room door closed and maybe the gust of wind had kicked open the door to outside. But gusts of wind happened outside of buildings.
The exit called to me. I really wanted to get the hell out of there, but I had to find my cat. So I turned away from the outside door and entered the locker room.
The place was dark and musty smelling. Nothing new there. It was always dark and musty smelling.
"Winston?" I called out.
I saw my cat trot straight past a line of lockers, headed for the showers. That was good. If she went in there, she'd be trapped. I didn't hurry after her. I didn't want her changing her little kitty mind and hiding somewhere else. A few seconds later she skittered around the tile wall and disappeared into the large shower room.
"Gotcha," I said to myself.
I had to be cagey. Cats were fast. If she felt trapped, she could easily turn back and shoot past me. I had to hope that she'd stop in the dead end of the showers and end this dumb game of cat and mouse where ironically, I was the cat. I walked slowly toward the entrance to the showers.
"Winny!" I called in a friendly, singsong voice. "Time to go home."
Before stepping into the shower room, I heard a sound come from inside. It was the soft but unmistakable creaking sound of a door opening. That was impossible. There were no doors in the shower. I entered the dark space and waited for my eyes to adjust. Once I could make out detail, I looked
59
around the floor of the shower. Winston wasn't there. How could that be?
When my eyes adjusted further, I saw the answer. There was another door in the shower room. When it was closed, you might not even realize it was a door. I had no idea it was there, and I'd taken more than one shower in there. It was covered with the same tiles as the rest of the shower and looked like part of the wall. But it
57
wandered over to the school. Our house was only a few hundred yards away. It wasn't impossible . . . unless you figured in the whole coincidence of it. Then again, I didn't know what she normally did during the day. For all I knew, she hung around at school all the time and was just as surprised to see me as I was to see her.
"Winston!" I shouted. "C'mere! Stop! Sit!" No amount of yelling got through. Every few feet she'd glance back to see if I was still following . . . like it was a game. Whenever she hit an intersection of corridors, she'd sit down with her tail wrapped around her paws. I'd approach her slowly while softly whispering, "Stay there . . . that's good . . . don't move . . . good kitty . . ." But as I was about to grab her, she'd bounce back to her feet and scamper off. Brat. It was making me nuts.
The school was one of those old-fashioned brick structures that probably started out as one building, but as it grew and new wings were added, it became a sprawling mass of interconnected modules. I had gotten lost in the labyrinth more than once. Apparently that wasn't a problem for Winston. She seemed to know exactly where she was going. How odd was that? My cat knew her way around my school better than I did.
She led me deep into the wing that housed the athletic department. The place was an odd mix of the old and the new. The gym was new, but the locker rooms were crusty old. The weight room was modern, but the pool looked like something my grandfather used to swim in.
The door to the boys' locker room was slightly open and Winston scampered for it.
"No!" I shouted. I was afraid she'd find a locker to hide in and I'd never get her. Of course, she didn't listen and shot inside.
There was an outside exit door across the corridor from
58
the locker room door. I was about ten yards away when I felt a rush of air. Instantly the locker room door closed and the door to the outside blew open. I stopped short. Doors didn't do that on their own. My logical mind raced for answers. I guess it was possible that Winston had somehow nudged the locker room door closed and maybe the gust of wind had kicked open the door to outside. But gusts of wind happened outside of buildings.
The exit called to me. I really wanted to get the hell out of there, but I had to find my cat. So I turned away from the outside door and entered the locker room.
The place was dark and musty smelling. Nothing new there. It was always dark and musty smelling.
"Winston?" I called out.
I saw my cat trot straight past a line of lockers, headed for the showers. That was good. If she went in there, she'd be trapped. I didn't hurry after her. I didn't want her changing her little kitty mind and hiding somewhere else. A few seconds later she skittered around the tile wall and disappeared into the large shower room.
"Gotcha," I said to myself.
I had to be cagey. Cats were fast. If she felt trapped, she could easily turn back and shoot past me. I had to hope that she'd stop in the dead end of the showers and end this dumb game of cat and mouse where ironically, I was the cat. I walked slowly toward the entrance to the showers.
"Winny!" I called in a friendly, singsong voice. "Time to go home."
Before stepping into the shower room, I heard a sound come from inside. It was the soft but unmistakable creaking sound of a door opening. That was impossible. There were no doors in the shower. I entered the dark space and waited for my eyes to adjust. Once I could make out detail, I looked
59
around the floor of the shower. Winston wasn't there. How could that be?
When my eyes adjusted further, I saw the answer. There was another door in the shower room. When it was closed, you might not even realize it was a door. I had no idea it was there, and I'd taken more than one shower in there. It was covered with the same tiles as the rest of the shower and looked like part of the wall. But it
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