Crimson Falls (The Depravity Chronicles) Read Free

head
while others were crawling from the large wound on the back of his neck. Anna
was speechless.
    “See this?”
David asked Anna as he gestured toward the wound.
    “What the hell is that?” Anna asked. Protruding from Alan’s neck was a large, yellow object.
    “I’m not
entirely sure,” David said as he studied it. “But I can’t remove it until we
get him back to the morgue.”
    “Of course,”
Anna said.
    “I can tell you
one thing for sure,” David said as Anna stood up, folding her arms across her
chest. She waited impatiently as he continued to look at the yellow ‘specimen.’
    “And that would
be?” she pushed.
    “He sure as hell
didn’t fall on it.” 
       
    * * * * * *
    3
     
    Trevor did his
best to push Jake off him. He refused to be the pawn in this dumb cop’s
relentless pursuit of his mother.
    “Get off me,
jackass,” he shouted as he saw his mother stand up again. She glared at him,
just like she always seemed to do.
    “Yeah, language,
right,” Trevor shot back.
    “I’m past the
point of giving a shit about that,” Anna barked.
    “Oh,” Trevor
murmured, stunned by his mother’s rare show of aggression. “I’m sorry.” He
managed a smile, feeling a little guilty that he was causing a scene as Acorn
Alan was lying dead on the ground.
    Then it hit him.
He had just seen a dead body. A small chill traveled down his spine, but he did
his best to disguise it.
    “Mom?”
    “Yes, Trevor,”
Anna said, seemingly a bit more in control of her emotions.
    “What happened
to Mr. Brickton?”
    “He died.”
    He swallowed the
answer he wanted to give, and instead chose a more diplomatic approach. “I
figured. I mean, like, what happened?”
    “We don’t know
yet,” she said in a monotone voice. Then she suddenly stopped and took him by
the shoulders. “Trevor Blackwood. You cannot say a word to this to anyone. Do
you understand me? Anyone!”
    “I get it Mom.
Geesh.”
    Anna extended
her hand. He looked at it in confusion.
    “I need your
phone.”
    “What?”
    “Your phone.
Cough it up. Right now.”
    “But Mom!”
    She stared
directly into his eyes. “Now.” He reached into his pocket and surrendered his
phone. “Not a word to your brother or sister, either.” She paused, as if
reconsidering. “Not yet. Not until we can talk about it as a family. But right
now, I need to take you home and get back to work.”
    As Anna and
Trevor began walking back up the yard toward the house, the wind howled through
the trees. Trevor looked into the forest that surrounded them on all sides. He
had enough sense to realize that Mr. Brickton had not died of natural causes.
For a moment he thought he saw something moving behind the trees.
    “Mom!” he
shouted in fear, pointing away from the house. Anna quickly unsheathed her gun
and glared toward where Trevor was pointing.
    “I saw it too!”
Jake yelled as he ran toward them. Everyone stood motionless. Watching.
Listening.
    “How could
something just disappear?” Trevor asked, breathing heavily.
    “I don’t know,
and I don’t like it,” Anna said. “Jake, call dispatch and get the dogs out here.
We need to get a team together to move through these woods. Sam, take Trevor
and go to my house. Get my kids and bring them to the station. I don’t want
them to be alone. And make sure to spread the word.”
    “Uh, Sheriff?”
Jake asked.
    “What?”
    “The dogs? A
team? Aren’t you worried that you’ll cause a panic? I mean, the whole town will
know in a matter of minutes and we have no idea what actually happened here.
Dr. Styles may have been a bit overdramatic.”
    “Do what you’re
told,” Anna said briskly.
    “But I don’t
want you to lose your job,” he said.
    “And she doesn’t
want anyone else to die, dumbass,” Trevor shouted. Anna grabbed her son’s arm
tightly.
    “Just do it,”
she said. Sam and Trevor nodded and walked toward the driveway. By this point
three other deputies were making their way through the