Spindle Lane. Mark Reefe

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ red-eyed, and ready to go home.

      Chapter 3

      After a quick bite and shower, I was off to Paul’s to spend the night. Taking the Blue Beast would have been tricky with the stockpile of board games I was lugging, so I decided to walk the six blocks to his place. On any given summer night, Spindle was buzzing with activity. Whether it was adults walking off second helpings of baked beans or potato salad or screeching packs of kids locked in a heated game of wild hunt—our local souped-up version of tag—chances were you’d run into someone. But tonight was eerily quiet. A full moon floated high above, showering the neighborhood in cool blue light.

      In this wonderful netherworld of moon shadows, my imagination began creeping and crawling like kudzu. As I passed the Staubachs’ house, my body grew heavy. Eyes were on me, weighing me down with heavy stares. To my left and right, they watched from the inky darkness. A chill swept over me and I shuddered.

      “Stop it,” I whispered. “Not even five minutes out the door, and you’re already imagining sleestak and zombies. Why do you have to be such a freak?”

      As if answering the question, snapping twigs drew my attention to a cluster of pines on my right. I froze and stared into the blackness. The logical side of my brain suggested the source of the disturbance was probably a squirrel or maybe a cat.

      The other side of my brain was quick to counter. It was the contrary and often crazy side that was constantly getting me into trouble. Too big to be a squirrel or cat; they don’t break sticks.

      Maybe a big dog then?

      Maybe…maybe something else.

      Like what?

      Dozens of pairs of shiny blue marbles fluttered open from the shadows. Unblinking, they watched me with an alien hunger. The eyes had mouths beneath them, mouths with pointy teeth that gnashed up and down as whispers drifted on the night air.

      I leaned close to hear them.

      Nowhere to run. Nowhere to hide. He sees you.

      I was ninety-five percent sure the eyes, teeth, and ominous words were the products of my crazy side, but it didn’t make them any less real to me.

      My left leg moved forward first, followed by my right. Something pulled me toward the darkness and the mouths. More of them appeared. Teeth and eyes, eyes and teeth. They were whispering again. He’s watching you. No noses. No ears. Just fangs and glowing blue eyes hovering in the pitch black as if by magic. I stepped off the street and over the curb. They would have me soon.

      “Evening, Master Dwyer. Out for a twilight stroll I see.”

      The thunk of a game-packed milk crate hitting the pavement echoed down Spindle as I dropped my precious cargo and threw up my fists. “Whaa!”

      The moonlight shined off of Mr. Hutchinson’s silver hair. “My apologies. Didn’t mean to give you a start. I was just stretching my legs and enjoying the cool evening air. It truly is a beautiful night, don’t you think?” He gazed into the sea of eyes and teeth. “Something scurrying around back in there? I would be careful if I were you, son. The Packards said they spotted a skunk in their backyard yesterday. With the moon as lustrous as it is, our normally crepuscular friend could very well be on the prowl.”

      The only things I heard were moon and skunk. I looked back into the shadows and saw nothing but black. I said the only thing that came to mind. “Huh?”

      “Are you quite all right?”

      “I’m—I’m fine, sir,” I said while leaning over to pick up my crate. Fortunately, the drop had been a clean one and there were no casualties. With my cargo safely secured, I returned to the paved road and started back toward Paul’s. “Just thought I heard something messing around under the trees. Must have been some squirrels or maybe that skunk. Thanks for the heads up. Gotta go.”

      “Take care young man, and stay on the beaten path. And remember, beware the Jabberwock!”

      Something was familiar about his warning, but I couldn’t remember where I’d heard it before. When I looked back at Mr. Hutchinson, his leathery face was hard. “What?”

      “It’s said he has jaws that bite and claws that catch.”

      I stood silent and stared at him, wondering if old man Hutchinson was as nuts as Paul and most of the other kids thought he was.

      A smile split across his stony face, and he began laughing. “Just a little levity, Master Dwyer. Compliments of Lewis Carroll.”

      He was the strangest man I’d ever met. Bonus points for Mr. Hutchinson. “Umm, okay. Goodnight, sir.”

      With a nod and a wink, he turned and continued on his way up Spindle.

      Only minutes back into my journey, the weight of imagined eyes returned. This time I decided not to look into the darkness for fear of falling under their spell again. My parents say I’m blessed with an amazing imagination, but from experience I knew there were times it could go seriously Dark Side and send me on what amounted to a bad trip. A little spook and nudge would push me over the edge, and down into the rabbit hole I’d go.

      I started jogging.

      Though my street was deserted, there was always traffic on Belair and Stonybrook. If I could just make it to the end of Spindle where it intersected with the busier roads, I would be safe. It was Survival 101. Creatures of the night didn’t like leaving witnesses when they attacked. Everybody knew that.

      All fell silent behind me, but that meant nothing. There were things that could move without making a sound. There were shadow demons. There were wraiths. Such things, though never heard, could be felt when they approached. The nearer they got to you, the more you tingled. From the base of the spine all the way up to the back of the neck and then the brain, you felt the prickle of impending doom. By the time the goosebumps broke out, it was too late. I looked down to my forearms and saw an army of tiny hairs standing at attention.

      I broke into a sprint. Ahead a car whizzed up Belair while another passed in the opposite direction. Good, it was busy. With refuge just seconds away, an urgency washed over me. I wasn’t going to do it. Looking back would be a mistake. It always was. But I couldn’t stop myself. I glimpsed over my right shoulder. Something dashed across the street behind me. It was dark and blurred, but it was definitely there. “Fuuaaaaggghh!”

      I don’t know what the word meant; it just burst out of me. I think I started to curse but—despite my terror-induced state—I still managed to censor myself and utter something completely dorky.

      I kept running, being careful not to lose grip of my cargo once more. A few seconds later, I hung a left onto Belair. Once safe, I eased up and jogged the rest of the way to Paul’s.

      His older brother Perry opened the door. As far as brothers went, Perry wasn’t a complete tool. He was okay most of the time, but every now and then he would get a hair up his butt and mess with Paul and me for no reason other than that he could. Of course, Steve did the same thing. It must have been something in the big brother code: be nice for five days out of the week and then a complete dingleberry for the remaining two.

      “Why are you all sweaty and breathing heavy?”

      “Just getting some exercise,” I wheezed out. “Where’s СКАЧАТЬ