Go back to book page
Unlock the full book for $2.99
Chapter 1
The Approaching Storm
“Emma.”
The sound of my name makes me jump. “Sorry, yes?”
Dad’s leaning into my bedroom, a half-smile on his face. “You going to stand at the window all evening watching the rain?”
“I might. It’s mesmerizing.”
In fact, the only thing spoiling the view is that I’m so close to the glass it keeps fogging up. Outside, rain pours at a steady rate. The road is a lake now. It’s already over the sidewalk and creeping up the lawn. It won’t get far, because our house is on a fairly steep slope, but I’m betting the people at the end of the street will be flooded out again . . .
“Emma!”
I laugh and turn to him. “Sorry! What?”
“I came to tell you that if you’re planning on getting a shower tonight, you should do it now before the lightning gets here. I saw a few flickers earlier. It’s a long way off yet, but it’s gonna be a big one. The biggest of the week, I reckon.”
“Do you think she’ll be out in it?”
He sighs. “The so-called Storm Witch, you mean?”
“There’s nothing so-called about her. She’s real. I’ve seen her. Well, I’m pretty sure I have.”
“Oh, that random woman you saw in the rain when you were a kid . . .”
I turn back to the window. It’s getting dark a little earlier than normal. The clouds are practically black. “You can’t get much stormier, right?”
“True. But whoever this ‘Storm Witch’ is, and whatever it is she does out there in the lightning, you kids are staying well away. Understood?”
It takes me a second to figure out how to avoid such a promise. “A-ha! So you do think she’s real.”
“I didn’t say that.” He’s silent for a moment, and then he pads across the room to stand next to me. We stare out together. “I think she’s probably some crazy homeless woman who loves getting drenched. And yeah, that’s probably who you saw when you were little. But all these people who say she ‘steals the lightning’—well, obviously they’re as crazy as she is.”
My dad’s always been so close-minded about spooky stuff. Mom’s the opposite; she believes in ghosts and UFOs and everything. But Dad goes out of his way to be skeptical.
“You’re right,” he says softly.
I look sideways at him. “What about?”
“It is mesmerizing.” He’s staring out the window with a dreamy expression. “It’s a gully-washer tonight. I bet Ted’s outside right now with his broom, trying to sweep the water away.”
Ted’s the guy at the end of the street, one of a few whose house stands slightly downhill from the road and always gets hit hard in rainstorms. “He’ll need more than a broom. Dad, it's literally been storming all week. Have we ever had this much rain?”
I’m joking, so it’s a surprise when Dad seriously considers my question. “The worst I remember was when you were four and had your eye surgery. It rained all night, but we got to the doctor’s office safely at 8:45 AM. Coming home later, though . . . It was still raining, and to make it worse, the water was running down off the hills. Took us an hour to find a way into town. Every route you can think of was underwater except for one narrow back road.”
I remember that morning—not because of the eye surgery, but because of the scary lady I’d seen standing in the rain. To this day, the memory of her lingers in my head.
“So this isn’t as bad?”
“Well, it might be. Too early to tell.”
Outside, I swear the black clouds are descending on us, about to smother our subdivision like a colossal dripping sponge. It’s kind of freaky—but at the same time, I’ve always liked storms as long as I’m safe inside the house.
“Nate’s probably scared out of his mind,” I tell Dad with a smile. “He gets nervous easily.”
“Is that the boy you like?”
Arrgh! Not this again!
“No, Dad. Nate’s just a friend.”
“But he’s the leader of this Darkness club or whatever it’s called?”
“Darkseekers,” I automatically correct him. “And no, you’re thinking of Ben.”
“Ah. That’s right. Ben.” He’s silent for a moment, and I honestly wish he’d quit right there. “So Ben’s the one you like?”
“Dad!”
“What? I’m just asking. He’s twelve, right?”
“Yes, Dad. Him, Nate, and Mia—they’re all in my grade.”
“Good, good. I don’t want you hanging out with older boys, that’s all. I’m not even sure I like you hanging out with those two all the time. If Mia wasn’t part of your club, I’d have to—”
Luckily, Mom interrupts this super-humiliating interrogation by calling up the stairs to us. “You guys want frozen pizza and a movie?”
I break away from the window and shout down to her. “Yes! Can I choose?”
“Sure. And then I’ll choose the movie.”
“No, I meant can I choose the movie—” Too late I realize she’s messing with me. But an amazing comeback springs to mind. “Fine, whatever. But make sure it’s not too cheesy.”
I wait. The silence lasts at least four seconds. Then, her voice floats up the stairs again. “The pizza or the movie?”
Now it’s my turn to laugh.
Thankfully, Dad seems to understand his chance to interrogate me about boys is over, and he leaves without another mention of Ben. I have maybe thirty minutes before the pizza will be ready, so I curl up on the bed with my phone and start texting.
I’ll be honest—it’s Ben I’m wanting to text. I have to do it through the Darkseeker group, though, otherwise it’ll be weird. And plus, sometimes Mom steals my phone when I’m asleep and checks it. I got mad the first time she did that. But did she act guilty? Nope. She just looked me right in the eye and told me flat out that it’s her right as a mom, and that I’d better not hide behind a screen lock or else. She was deadly serious, too. That’s why I have to delete messages from time to time.
So I text the group and keep it simple. Hey guys, you watching this storm? We’re gonna need boats in the morning.
Those awful black clouds! It’s hard to tell if it’s still day or not! We’re in for an all-night rainstorm. And the flickers of distant lightning are getting closer.
The first rumble comes at the exact same moment my phone dings. Mia says, That’s if our houses don’t get washed away first.
Seconds later, Nate joins in. Possibility of flash floods this evening, and dangerous lightning storms overnight.
Thanks, I write back. Have you been watching the weatherman, by any chance?
Yep. He also mentioned a strong possibility of Storm Witch sightings.
I have to think about that for a moment. Are you serious?
No.
Of course not. Nobody on the TV would mention anything related to the supernatural here in Darkhill. It’s like there’s a huge conspiracy to keep all the mysterious stuff under wraps. Yet pretty much everybody has heard of the Storm Witch, and I’m betting half the town will be wondering the same thing tonight: Will she be out in it?
But the only morning news will be the state of the roads, the fallen trees, the flooded basements, and so on. Nothing about crazy ladies standing with their arms out straight in the pouring rain while lightning flashes overhead.
I can’t help wondering where Ben is. He hasn’t replied yet.
The three of us chat for a while, talking about the weather and the hope that school will be canceled tomorrow morning, or at least delayed a couple of hours. I hate Mondays.
Our chat is pretty innocent. Nothing specific about ghosts or the supernatural. But we’re all thinking about it. How exactly do we, the Darkseekers, do our jobs? How do we sneak out in this weather and track down the Storm Witch? How do we even begin to find out where she might appear tonight?
I wonder about this while munching pizza with my parents in the living room. In fact, I’m still wondering long after Dad gets our movie started. It sucks to be twelve and not allowed to just go off on my bicycle with friends whenever I feel like it. They couldn’t stop me if I were eighteen, like my sister in college. I’d have my own car then. Being a Darkseeker would be much easier—nobody to hold us back, and no need to be so secretive. If we wanted to go out in the rain at night to find the Storm Witch, we’d just go.
But I’m not eighteen, and if I’m not careful, my parents will ground me for even longer.
We’ve been trying to track the Storm Witch all week and make it our third official case, complete with filmed evidence. As much as I’d love to meet at Darkseekers HQ—in Ben’s dad’s shed—and continue our investigation, I have to resign myself to watching a family movie with my parents. Tonight’s storm probably has the highest chance of an appearance by the elusive woman, but it’s so stormy out there that everyone’s on edge, and the chances of being allowed out are zero. The mission is dead in the water.
Ha! Dead in the water. That’s pretty funny. Ben would like that pun.
I sneak a glance at my phone again, trying to ignore my dad’s disapproving glare. He really doesn’t like me taking my attention off the movie even for a second.
There’s still no word from Ben. It’s not all that strange that he hasn’t responded yet, just annoying. We can’t make joint decisions without him. He needs to pick up his phone and get back to us soon, or the Darkseekers will be down to three. And I think we all agree that three just isn’t enough of a group. It has to be four.
Heck, that was why Ben recruited me in the first place a few weeks ago . . .
Chapter 2
New Recruit
It all started a few weeks ago, at lunchtime on a typical Thursday in the school cafeteria.
Well, maybe not so typical. Usually, I’d be sitting with my friends over on the other table. On this day, I was sitting with a guy I hardly knew.
“Why four?” I ask him.
Benjamin Pitt sits across the table from me. He’s already wolfed down his lunch, and he’s eyeing mine like he’s still hungry.
“One is no fun at all and really dangerous,” he explains. “Two is way more fun. It’s better when you can share the story, and it’s safer as well. That’s why Nate and I formed the group. Three is great—an extra brain means more ideas. We brought Mia on after she pestered us about it, and at first we weren’t sure, because . . . well . . .”
“Because?”
He hangs his head. “Because she’s a girl. And we thought maybe a girl would . . . spoil it? But Mia’s great. She worries too much, I think, but she’s way braver than Nate.” He frowns. “Braver than me as well, probably.”
Ben is surprisingly honest. I’ve always liked him from afar, though I don’t really know him that well. We share some classes, and Nate is his best friend, but I know Nate even less. As for Mia, my friends can’t stand her. They think she’s moody and rude, and they’re right . . . but, well, she’s a little bit impressive as well. She’s like one of those small yappy dogs who think they’re an Alsatian.
“But with four,” Ben goes on, “we can divide and conquer. You can’t do that with three. Well, you can, but it’s not fair on whoever’s alone. So with four of us in the group, we can investigate more efficiently.”
I’m still puzzled. “And why me?”
He smiles and gestures toward the table my friends are sitting at. “Take a look. What do you see?”
Sighing, I turn to study the girls. There are four of them without me—and they’re all staring at us with confused expressions. Holly acts like I’ve betrayed her; she’s shaking her head and really putting it on. That’s just how she is, though. The others aren’t so bad, just bewildered. They’re going to have a lot of questions for me after this.
“I see a group of girls,” I tell Ben. “I don’t get it. What do you mean?”
He eyes my uneaten half-sandwich again. “You’re not like them. Well, you are when you’re in their group, but I’ve seen you when you’re not.”
I’m not sure how to take this. “You have?”
“Yep. I saw you reading a book once—The Wayward Ghost, I think it was called? But you hid it away when you were with your friends. And when Coach Andrews was talking about the Civil War and mentioned the ghosts of Chickamauga Battlefield, I noticed you leaned forward with your ears pricked up, unlike your friends, who giggled the whole time.”
“My ears pricked up?”
Ben points at me. “We also need someone who can write reports, and you are a good writer. Why else was your essay printed out as an example to the rest of us last Tuesday? It was awesome.”
Now I’m suspicious. “It was stupid.”
“Tell you what, just give us a chance. Me, Nate, and Mia—we formed a club that investigates the paranormal around Darkhill. I’m thinking you’d be a perfect fit.”
I should be eating my lunch, because we only have three minutes left, but I’m just so mystified by this conversation that I can barely give it a thought. “Perfect for what?”
Ben leans forward and stares at me with those startling blue eyes. “Join us after school. Give us a couple of hours, and if you’re not interested, then fine. But I bet you’ll be glad you came. I reckon we’re exactly what you’re looking for without even realizing it.”
I’m not even sure how to respond to that.
He shoots a glance toward the other table. “They’re your friends, Emma, but I don’t think they’re you.” Abruptly, he pushes his chair back and stands. “If you’re interested, meet us at the Cold Falls sign.”
I’m suspicious again. “How’d you know I live in Cold Falls?”
“All four of us do. That’s another reason you’d be perfect. We all live in the same subdivision, a few minutes apart. Anyway—be at the entrance at 4:00 PM. Or not. Up to you.”
He grins and leaves.
My friends immediately come rushing over to crowd me, and Bridget is the loudest as usual, demanding to know what all that was about. Nona keeps trying to drag me away, like she has more of a right than the others to hear the gossip. I don’t even have time to tell them anything because the bell goes and it’s time to get to the next class.
“Sum it up real quick,” Arlen urges as we join the masses heading for the hallway. “What’d he want?”
“Just—” I start, and then realize I don’t actually want to tell them. Because the truth is, I love all things supernatural, and none of my friends do. This is one subject we don’t share. “He was just . . .”
“Is it a date?” Holly asks, and I have to wince at the acid in her voice. “With the lanky, curly-headed Pittmeister?”
Nona sucks in her breath. “Ooh, is that it? Oh, Emma, he’s cute!”
“He is not,” Bridget argues.
Arlen swats at her. “Hush, girl. Emma, tell us more.”
“There’s nothing to tell,” I protest, feeling like I’m being swept along on a babble of voices as we’re herded like sheep around the corner.
Somehow, I weasel out of any further details. If they want to think it’s some kind of date, then fine. That’s probably easier than explaining about a gang of ghost hunters. I can imagine their snorts of laughter already. Yeah, I’ll definitely keep that to myself.
School lets out slightly after 3:00 PM, and I find Dad waiting at the roadside as usual. I hurry to get in the car, partly because I can see Holly searching for me, but also because my dad’s playing his eighties music too loud again.
We get home seven minutes later, and I work through a math problem real quick just to make Mom think I’m on it—then beg her to let me out around 3:55. For a horrible moment, it seems like she’s going to insist I finish school work first, but she relents and tells me to be back for dinner.
I ride to the Cold Falls sign and arrive at 3:59. Ben is already there, and so are the others.
“Glad you could make it,” Ben says with a smile. “You know Nate, right? And Mia?”
“Hey,” I say to them.
They nod and give me half-smiles. It’s pretty clear that asking me along is completely Ben’s idea. Mia is suspicious for some reason, or maybe challenging. Nate’s okay, though, just confused.
Ben looks over his shoulder at them. “Like I said, four is better. And I think Emma’s the right person—the fourth Darkseeker.”
“We’ll see,” Mia mutters.
We set off, Ben leading the way, and Mia a close second. Cycling makes conversation more difficult, but I’m glad to ride in silence for a while. I just wish I knew where we’re headed.
Nate rides alongside me and keeps cutting glances my way. Eventually he says, “Ever seen a ghost?”
“Sort of.”
His eyebrows shoot up, and he wobbles a little, veering from side to side. “You have? Where? When?”
“The Storm Witch. I had eye surgery when I was four, and it was raining that day. I mean, raining a lot. I remember thunder and lightning, but mostly I remember the rain . . .”
“You had eye surgery, and mostly you remember the rain?” Nate says with a shudder. He keeps twisting around to study me as if I have terrible scars on my eyeballs that he hadn’t noticed before. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you, uh . . . ?”
“I had a lazy eye,” I tell him. Weird how I’ve never mentioned this to any of my other friends. “It would point off to the side a little when I wasn’t focused on something. The doctor snipped a muscle, shortened it, and reattached it again. Very quick and easy. Only took twenty minutes.”
Nate is horrified. “They snipped a— That must have been horrible!”
I laugh and shake my head. “The doctor gave me something to help me relax. My parents said I was giggling like crazy right before going into surgery. Anyway, afterward, when we were driving home, I was gazing out the side window and saw a lady standing in the rain, just for a few seconds as we passed a street. Just standing there, drenched. She turned and glared at me, and I was really scared. My parents didn’t see her. Mom told me my mind was playing tricks on me, that I was still woozy from the surgery.”
“You saw the Storm Witch,” Ben says softly, who’s now dropped back a little to listen. “All those years ago, you saw her!”
“I didn’t know who she was back then. For a long time, I assumed my parents were right and I’d dreamed her up. But recently, I’ve heard rumors about this crazy woman standing out in the rain, and . . . well, now I’m certain it was her.”
“So is this why Emma’s here?” Nate asks the others. “Because she’s seen one of the targets on our To-Do list?”
Ben laughs and shakes his head. “No. I had no idea she’d seen the Storm Witch. I just thought she was cool and would be a good fit.”
A warm glow fills my chest. So Benjamin Pitt thinks I’m cool? Mind you, his enthusiasm is heavily outweighed by the looks Mia keeps giving me. I’m not sure what her deal is.
I refuse to ask where we’re going. I don’t want to seem nervous or uncertain. Just go with it.
When we make a turn onto Emerson Road, all I can think of is the landfill. My dad brings me here sometimes to help him offload the trailer, and the smell of the place always makes me gag. It was so bad once that I refused to get out of the truck, and Dad was annoyed at me until he realized I was actually trying hard not to vomit. I have a pretty sensitive nose.
“We’re here,” Ben announces as he makes a sharp turn and heads offroad. We follow a chain link fence up a slope, and the ride gets really bumpy and steep. Before long, we’re walking our bicycles over the top of the hill.
The landfill spreads out before us. It’s not a nice view. It’s literally nothing but ugly brown hills—no grass, no trees, nothing, just tracks in the dirt where massive bulldozers run back and forth.
Luckily, the stink is pretty mild at this distance.
“Darn it,” Mia says, snapping her fingers. “We didn’t bring a picnic!”
Ben laughs. “Yeah, I slipped up there, didn’t I? Would have been a perfect place to sit and enjoy the scenery.”
Nate has been musing over something since arriving. “I think I get why we’re here. Is this the skeleton story?”
Ben nods and grins. We take his cue and let our rides fall to the ground, then follow as he ambles closer to the fence.
“There’s an old story,” he says as he curls his fingers around the links, “about a woman who murdered her husband. For whatever reason, she poisoned him, hauled his body into the trunk of his car, and drove out here to the landfill one night. She poured gasoline on the seats and set a fire, and it all went up in flames. And that was that—she walked three miles back home in the dead of night.”
“But . . . ?” Mia prompts. She shoots me a glare as if to say she’s only asking for my benefit.
“But the man wasn’t completely dead.”
Nate gasps. “I never realized that. Explains a lot.”
I’m a little in the dark about this. “Explains what?”
Ben turns to me. “The car went up in flames, and he burned alive—but when the police showed up the next morning, the trunk was open, and the body missing. Nobody could explain it. Ever since then, people have witnessed a fiery skeleton staggering about in the landfill . . .”
“Ooh,” Nate whispers.
Mia arches an eyebrow at me. “So we’re here to see this fiery skeleton? Seriously, Ben, what are the chances?”
He turns to her. “Here’s the thing. We’re Darkseekers, and our mission is to get supernatural beings on film. So we’d better get used to long waits in depressing places. I doubt we’ll see anything here today, but I thought it would be worth a try. Plus, we get to meet Emma and see if she’s a good fit for our team.”
“I doubt she has what it takes,” Mia mumbles.
I think she meant only for Ben to hear, but I caught every syllable. Do I get angry, though? Nope. My dad always says, Don’t get mean, get even. I’m not sure that applies here, because she’s not so much mean as rude. Still, I plan to show her I’m no pushover.
“A fiery skeleton? Bring it on.”
Chapter 3
No Power, No Service
Mom and Dad are really into the movie. Me? Not so much. I’m too busy daydreaming about my first week as a Darkseeker.
The memory of that day at the landfill still makes me smile—and shudder. We spent literally hours there, waiting, watching, and talking, and just when it was time to give it up and head home, we caught a glimpse.
It was really no more than a tiny movement among the piles of junk. The landfill is a bit like a miniature mountain range, only way uglier and stinkier. Okay, maybe it’s nothing like a mountain range. Point is, on one of the slopes, Mia spotted something moving, and she told us to shut up and watch.
Honestly, we all thought it was probably just a homeless person digging around. But the flames told us otherwise. This figure was dark and thin—like bony thin—and had little flickering flames about its person. It wasn’t exactly the flaming monster Ben had in mind, but . . . it was something.
And that was that. The briefest of glimpses, like all those people who spot the Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster. It was enough, though. I was hooked. After that came a quick visit to the House of Haunts, and that really sucked me in.
And since then, we’ve had run-ins with the Ghost of Direwood and the Gas Mask Kid.
Yep. I’m a Darkseeker for life.
The rain is coming down hard. It’s pouring over the gutter, and Dad has mentioned a few times this evening how he needs to get up there and clean it out, especially as it’s a little loose. Problem is, he only ever thinks about that during a downpour like this, and who in their right mind wants to go out then?
Ahem. Me.
The only way is to sneak out after everyone’s gone to bed—just like we did last night as part of our Gas Mask Kid investigation. The Darkseekers are going to be exhausted if we keep this up!
The movie is okay, but I have too much on my mind to get into it. Luckily, I have enough throw pillows and a blanket to hide my phone while I secretly text the others. The living room is pretty dark, so I turn the screen brightness way down.
Who’s up for an adventure tonight?
I have to wait a few minutes for a response. Meanwhile, my phone reminds me I need to delete some files or I’ll run out of space. It’s been doing that a lot lately. I know I have quite a bit of video of the Ghost of Direwood and the Gas Mask Kid, but really? I start to browse for stuff I can get rid of, but a notification distracts me.
I’m game, Mia says.
That makes me smile. I can imagine her scowling, wishing she’d suggested it first. She’s not so bad, now that I’ve proved myself a worthy Darkseeker.
Nate’s answer is predictable. No way.
And so is Mia’s retort. That’s okay, Nathaniel. You stay home with your cuddly bear. She adds a few heart emoticons afterward, and then an eyeroll.
It’s a complete waste of time, he protests. We’ve been out in these rainstorms all week and haven’t seen a sign of her.
But tonight’s storm is a big one, I argue.
I don’t think Nate is convinced, though. Either that or he really is just too scared.
Still no Ben to weigh in on the decision-making.
What time? I ask anyway. Say 2:00 again?
Mia agrees, and Nate goes silent. I have a feeling he probably won’t offer a ‘yay’ until Ben forces him to.
At the sign, then, I suggest.
Thing is, it doesn’t really feel official yet. Ben is the driving force behind the Darkseekers. He needs to—
A terrible crash of lightning makes me jump almost out of my skin. Mom lets out a cry as well, especially when the lights flicker. It’s so loud that Dad’s eyebrows rise half an inch, and he looks off toward the window.
“Good Lord!” my mom exclaims. “I just about had a cow!”
Dad pauses the movie. “Wonder if that hit anything in our yard.” He starts to get up—and then the power goes out.
“Aww . . .” Mom says.
But then there’s a beep, the lights come back on, and the TV brightens again. There’s no picture yet—it just reads Stand by.
“Well, I guess—” Dad says, still poised to get up.
The power goes out again. This time it stays dark. Meanwhile, the rain hammers the glass even harder, lightning flickers, and a huge rumble of thunder tells us the storm is right outside. We sit there in utter darkness except for when flashes turn everything to daylight.
I check my phone. To my surprise, there’s no service.
“We have no signal,” I tell my parents, waving my phone at them.
Of course they both have to check for themselves, though I’m not making it up.
Dad is really puzzled—at least as far as I can tell in the glow of his phone screen. “Weird. You’d think there’d be some service somewhere . . . It’s times like this I wish we still had a landline.”
I can’t help feeling a little excited, but that might just be my way of covering my nerves. “I bet all the cell towers have been hit. We have no house phone. There’s no internet or TV. We’re completely alone.”
“How about a game?” Mom says. It’s weird, but I can see her getting up in the strobing lightning flashes, and it’s like flicking through a series of still photos. “We’ll get some candles. What do you want to play?”
I sigh. “Actually, I might just go to bed.”
“Spoilsport.”
Dad doesn’t seem too interested in a game, either. He’s more concerned about the frozen food if the power stays off all night. “Nobody open the fridge or freezer if you can help it, okay? Stuff will stay frozen all night if we leave it shut. Dang it, I might have to get the generator out—in this weather.”
Mom hands me a candle, and I take it upstairs. She warns me “No shower!” and I can’t help rolling my eyes. As if! One nearby strike and I’d be dead meat—an electrocuted naked corpse on the bathroom floor. How embarrassing!
It’s only 10:30, three and a half hours before I need to sneak out of the house. Might as well get some sleep.
I slide into bed. My parents will be up for a while longer yet, even during a storm. Or maybe longer because of it. I’m disgusted with my phone, though. No phone signal! What the heck? Is that even possible?
I jab at it anyway, writing You got service? and trying to send it. It just says ‘delivering’ for ages and then returns an error.
I try phoning Mia. Nope.
I’m left staring helplessly at the screen. No service. I mean . . . what am I supposed to do now? There’s literally nothing!
My curtains are open. It’s pretty cool when the lightning flashes so hard that the rooftops light up, and in those instants, I can see how the rain is streaming down the window. I really think this storm is worse than the one Dad told me about earlier. It has to be.
And if it’s the worst storm in, say, the past eight years, then the Storm Witch absolutely has to be out in it.
All I can do is glance at my screen every few minutes. I turn my notifications up in case someone does manage to text or call me, but other than that, all I can do is wait.
And sleep. As noisy as the thunder is, I’ve always found storms pretty soothing, especially when it’s already done its worst and is starting to move away; then I feel safe, and I can relax and drift off. For now, though, it’s still raging pretty hard.
Before I get too comfortable, I set my alarm for 1:30 AM. I expect to wake up and find a bunch of messages from the other Darkseekers confirming they’re heading out to meet at the Cold Falls sign.
“Hope it’s not already too late,” I murmur into my pillow.
That kind of bothers me. The Storm Witch could be out there right now, soaking up the lightning. By 2:00 AM, she might be done. The storm could be completely over by that time, and we’d miss all the action.
Sighing, I crawl out of bed and head to the window. Yeah, I’m pretty sure the worst of it is past us. The lightning is still flickering like crazy, but the thunder is slow to follow and not nearly as violent. Even the rain is letting up.
2:00 AM . . . Can I wait that long? What choice do I have, though? Assuming the others are up for it, that’s the time we agreed. Well, Mia and I, anyway.
Another sigh escapes me. It’s so frustrating being a kid. Even if I wanted to sneak out right now, Mom and Dad would stop me. I have to wait until they’re asleep.
For some reason, our neighbors are outside. Ernest Taplow is hunched over on his doorstep, opening his umbrella. I recognize his old-man shuffle as he traipses down the path to the sidewalk. And there’s his wife, Goldie, with her own umbrella, waiting in the road ahead of him. In fact, at least five or six other couples are out as well, heading off somewhere . . .
My breath is fogging up the glass again. Downstairs, I hear the door open, and my dad calls out to our neighbor. The old man either doesn’t hear or doesn’t want to. He just continues walking with his wife, heading off down the street along with several others.
Dad says something to my mom, and I strain to hear their muted voices on the doorstep. I can’t make out their words, so I fumble with the window latch and push it open an inch. It doesn’t help, though.
I’m utterly mystified. What on earth is going on?
Maybe people are freaked out because of the lack of phone service. Maybe this is what people do when civilization breaks down.
I check my phone again. Yep—still out.
Peering down the stairs over the banister, I find my mom and dad dragging their coats on. “What’s happening?”
My mom frowns, blinking like I just woke her up. “We’re . . . we’re popping out for a while. Be back soon.”
“What? In this weather? Why?”
“Just go to bed, Emma.”
She’s already heading for the door with Dad.
“Mom? Where are you going?”
I’m kind of shocked when the door shuts. They’re gone. My parents have just left the house.
Amazed, I head back to my bedroom window. Sure enough, they’re hurrying off along the street with the neighbors—most with umbrellas, all hunched over, all splashing through puddles and disappearing into the darkness.
And it’s really dark. There’s no power, and the street lamps are out. No lights from inside other houses, just the occasional movement of flashlights, and the soft glows of candles. But the street is suddenly pretty busy—adults are emerging from their homes and hurrying off in the same direction my parents just went.
What. The. Heck?
I’m not sure how long I stand there in the window, puzzling over the sudden exit of my parents and ten or fifteen other couples along the street. No kids, though. Just adults. I imagine plenty of others like me have been left alone in the dark.
Others like maybe Mia, Nate, and Ben.
I take a deep breath and stand up straight. I have no clue what’s going on, but there’s something I do know: If my parents can walk out without an explanation, then I don’t feel a need to be so secretive. I can say I was scared and went after them.
Now, where’s my flashlight? I make sure to carry one with me at all times. We have our phones as well, but flashlights are better.
Well, at least when they work. Ghosts have a habit of messing with them, as the Darkseekers found out when we visited a haunted house . . .
Unlock the full book for $2.99