Read Online Vanish by Tom Pawlik - Free Book Online Page A

something. A chill crawled down his spine.
    Whispering.
    Just as he had heard in the woods at the gas station.
    One voice whispered something Mitch could not make out. Another voice whispered back.
    He thought he glimpsed a shadow moving behind the shrubs in the neighbor’s yard. A voice inside his head screamed,
Get out of here
!
    Heart pounding, Mitch thumbed the ignition and snapped the bike into gear. The rear tire squealed and the back of the bike spun around, laying down a circle of rubber.
     
     
     

Chapter 13
     
     
    CONNER LAY ON HIS BACK, groaning and unable to move.
    Slowly the face leaning over him came into focus.
    It was a boy, no more than nine or ten years old and rail thin. Large brown eyes peered at Conner from under a thick mop of dark, matted hair. He wore an old flannel shirt a few sizes too big for him and torn jeans.
    This wasn’t Matthew.
    Conner struggled to sit up. His head was spinning. “Wh-who are you?”
    The boy backed away from him, crouching down beside the mausoleum. His gaze darted around the cemetery and back to Conner.
    Conner rubbed his eyes. “Did you hear me? Who
are
you?”
    The boy lifted an arm and pointed in the direction of Conner’s car.
    Conner shook his head. “What’s the matter? Can you understand me?”
    The boy narrowed his eyes for a moment, then pointed to the car a second time.
    “You need a ride?” Conner nodded. “I can give you a ride. Are your parents nearby?”
    The boy was looking around the cemetery again. His face was grim and focused.
    Conner got to his knees and stood up. The ground seemed to sway beneath him. He took a few shaky steps toward the boy. “Do you have any family? Have you seen anyone else around here?”
    The boy slowly moved away from the mausoleum and circled Conner, keeping his distance. He pointed again toward the Mercedes and motioned Conner to follow.
    “I just want to know who you are,” Conner said. “Can you speak English?”
    The boy peered at Conner’s mouth. As if trying to understand what he was saying.
    Conner nodded. “English? Do you speak English?”
    The boy shot a glance beyond Conner and his eyes widened.
    Conner spun around. The cemetery was empty. Nothing moved.
    He turned back to the boy. “What’s wrong? What’s going on?”
    The boy lunged forward and caught hold of Conner’s arm. Conner tried to pull away but the boy’s grip clenched around his wrist.
    “I said, I need—” Conner stopped. The boy was still looking past him and Conner suddenly felt a chill. He turned around and gasped.
    Something was standing beside a large headstone twenty yards away.
    Conner stumbled back into the boy. “Who—who is that?”
    He couldn’t make out any details. It was no more than a fleeting gray silhouette that ducked behind the stone. Then from the corner of his eye, Conner spotted a second shadow just as it moved behind a tree.
    “What is it? What’s going on? Who are they?”
    The boy tugged Conner’s arm. Harder now. Conner’s chill turned to fear.
    The kid knew something. He knew enough to be afraid of whatever those things were.
    They hurried to the Mercedes. The boy crawled over the driver’s side into the passenger seat. Conner got in and started the engine.
    “Just tell me what’s going on. Who are they?” Conner’s voice quivered. He tried to maintain his composure.
    The boy peered through the window and shook his head. His expression was more stern than afraid.
    “Maybe they have some answers.”
    The boy glared at Conner and pounded on the dashboard.
    Conner glanced back out the window. His eyes widened.
    One of the figures was standing over Matthew’s grave. This one made no attempt to seek cover. It just stood there. Watching them.
    Conner squinted and rubbed his eyes, but it was as if he were looking at it through an out-of-focus lens. Everything else was clear; he just couldn’t seem to focus on the figure itself.
    Then it moved!
    It walked toward them with wide, deliberate