Page 22 (1/2)

"Hello? IsDexDeclan Foray there?" I asked, heart in my throat

"No He’s not," the wootten the wrong nuainst the darkness

"It’s not the wrong nuht now," she drawled on, her voice sounding ratherwicked

Ridiculous, I toldnumber because it’s dark out, and you’re in the et some old woman on the line who just wants to talk

"You’re right I do want to talk," the woman continued "That’s why I called"

Had I just said that all out loud? I put my head to my forehead It was clammy with cold sweat

"I called you," I said, barely above a whisper "I’ nu up and stared at the phone for a few seconds It was my familiar iPhone, filled with music and useless applications, but it felt alien to me

I was about to press the hoan to di out

"No!" I yelled and plucked it off the tree I frantically turned the knob, hoping it would release as or wax, or whatever was inside If it didn’t, in a few seconds I would be alone in the dark again

My actions did nothing But just as the fla move out of the corner of my eye

I looked to my left There was another lamp further down the road It flickered just as the one I was holding went out for good

I didn’t kno it happened to be alight like that I didn’t know if there was someone down there who turned it on Perhaps that person had been hiding in the trees the whole ti me Maybe it was the old wohts I could either stand in the dark thinking about it, or I could ht I could see as trying to killto killon was not norination and adrenaline were onout of the dark behind ht I ran toward the next la it off the tree

It was the same as the other lamp The tree was the same as the previous tree Had I ran around in a circle?

No, that was iht would serve ling froet the fuck out of there

I plowed forward through the heavy woods of wet fir and dying oak trees,up with each step I took The path ahead shook with the sway of the lamp The way curved and I was soon able to make out the depression that could have only been created by tires My internal navigation syste northeast, which was the direction of Uncle Al’s and exactly where I wanted to go

I didn’t even care if I left Dex alone on the beach For all I knew, he could be back at the house waiting for airlfriend on the phone

That last thought ry and I was happy about it It was better to stew like a jilted teenager over Dex than it was to fully grasp the terrifying situation I was in

I ran for what see into the diain

"Oh, for fuck’s sake!" I screain a way, yet I still hoped that someone was nearby to hear it

I shook the la, "Fuuuuuck! Fuck you, lah, I took the lalass smashed everywhere and flickers of flame splayed out onto the leaves and roots For a o up in fla that wouldn’t be all that bad A forest fire would at least attract attention But in the end, the leaves were just too wet and all light faded

Tears formed at the back of my eyes I wanted to crawl up into a ball and cry my eyes out My heart was stressed, my limbs felt numb, and I wasn’t sure how much more horror I could take I was lost in the woods, in the dark, with nowhere to turn

The blackness was disorienting as well Dizzy, I put my hand out for a tree to supportthat was more soft than solid Soft and war a sweater

My hand was on someone’s chest

I screa it down the path as fast as I could

I was running blind The ground was undulating and I could have smashed face first into a tree at any , one foot in front of the other Before I knew it, I felt the wind in rass beneath h it was in the opposite direction of where I was certain the road was leading, I was on the plateau again, where the lighthouse should be I kept running until my feet started to slip; I instinctively kneas near the edge

I stopped, not a ht back onoff the waves and pushing one over

I could see the gleaht of the cliff as it dropped beneath me I took in the deepest breath I could and said a silent prayer, willing myself not to think about what had just happened Now that I was out of the woods, so to speak, and had found the coast, all I had to do was folloith the ocean to the left of me, and there was no doubt I would come across my uncle’s house

I exhaled and turned north, ready to jog back

A light came on beside me It slowly flickered to life in the eht and saw the laroundbeside me in mid-air

But I knew better