Crooked Hills by Cullen Bunn

Author:Cullen Bunn
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Horror, Fiction, General Fiction
ISBN: 9780982578933
Publisher: Earwig Press
Published: 2011-09-27T07:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

“SO WHAT YOU’RE TELLING ME is the dog is working for Maddie Someday.”

Marty spat twice and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. He left a slug-like trail of slobber over his knuckles.

We sat on the floor in Marty’s room, keeping our voices low. The weak glow of a small reading lamp pushed the shadows away. Looking out the window, I saw a light mist already creeping across the yard, the foggy shapes like living things. Talking about witches, I felt like I was huddled around a campfire telling made-up ghost stories—not getting ready to go outside and face a real one. I won’t even describe all the spitting going on while we talked about the witch. Suffice it to say, I’m surprised the carpet didn’t get soaked.

“It all sort of adds up, you know?”

For a few seconds, Marty looked at me curiously as he turned the idea over in his head. Then he gave up on trying to figure it out and admitted, “I don’t reckon I’m understanding you.”

“According to what I read, witches and warlocks can call upon evil spirits to serve them. They’re called familiars or fetches, and they look like animals.”

“I thought they used black cats.”

“Sure they do, but there’s nothing to stop them from using a dog. You and I both dreamed about Maddie and the dog. That might have been a coincidence. But Alex dreamed about them both, too, and we never mentioned the dog to him. There must be a connection.”

“Fair enough.” Marty nodded. “But Maddie died before my parents were even born. How come her mutt’s still snooping around in the woods? And what’s it doing digging near our house?”

“I haven’t figured that one out yet,” I said.

I should have told Marty I’d be spending the rest of my vacation inside, reading comic books and playing video games, avoiding the Bleeding Rock, avoiding the Crewes boys, and—especially—avoiding the fetch. But I knew I’d never be able to live my cowardice down. Besides, I was plenty curious to see what the dog was up to.

“We better get a move on. We’re going to be late as it is, and Lisa won’t wait for us forever. Is Alex sleeping?”

“Like a rock,” I said. “I was worried he’d have trouble sleeping after the nightmares he had last night, but he’s out cold.”

“Good. Let’s go.”

We quietly moved through the house to the back door. I didn’t even want to imagine the trouble we’d get into if we were caught sneaking out. No witch’s curse would be worse.

Getting out the back door without being seen was easy enough, since all the adults slept upstairs and Marty was an expert on opening doors without a peep from even the rustiest of hinges. As we crossed past the stairs, I thought I heard a tap-tap-tap sound from above. Mom typing away at her romance novel? It might have been my imagination. Mom wasn’t much of a night owl.

I felt as though the eyes of every ghost in Crooked Hills watched me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.