Draugr Read Free Page A

FRIENDS!” I yelled, to show I wasn’t frightened. Angie’s back straightened and I realized I had startled her. She frowned at me. I shrugged. “I don’t think there’s a soul around. It doesn’t seem like anyone’s been out here for years.”
    Michael had jogged ahead and had almost disappeared around a corner. He certainly seemed to be in a hurry to go nowhere. Angie and I doubled our pace until we caught up with him.
    Now the trees were definitely bigger and older, their thick, dark roots creeping over the path. Twice I almost tripped. I was starting to get a little tired and hungry. I wondered how long we had been out here. I looked at my wrist but it was bare.
    â€œWhat time is it?” I asked.
    Both Michael and Angie stared at their bare wrists. They had forgotten their watches too.
    Michael looked at his other wrist. “I swear I put mine on this morning. I remember taking it off the dresser next to the bed.”
    â€œI wonder if we should go back?” Angie whispered. She looked a little pale.
    â€œGrandpa’s probably getting worried about us,” I added. “We’ve been gone for hours, I bet. It might even be lunch time.”
    Michael shook his head. His dark hair had flipped over one eye. “Let’s just explore a little farther. This has to go somewhere.”
    â€œWell . . . okay,” I agreed. Angie nodded but didn’t meet my eyes. We went ahead.
    The path grew narrower and now the trees seemed to be leaning over us. We were in a world that was part shadows and part light. And it was cold. Some of the winter air still clung to these trees.
    â€œI see something—someone,” Michael said a second later. He was a few yards ahead of us again.
    â€œWhat is it?” I strained my eyes.
    â€œA little kid, I think.”
    We came over a rise and into a dimly lit clearing. Michael was right. There, standing next to a dying tree, was a young boy, maybe five years old. His clothes were ragged and torn. He was shimmering and hard to see.
    â€œGo away,”
he moaned.
“Go away. Bad here.”

3
    â€œDo you think he’s sick?” I asked. He certainly seemed unhealthy, all pale and thin. He leaned against the tree. His mouth was still moving, but no sounds were coming out now. We walked slowly towards him.
    â€œIt looks like there’s something wrong with him . . . like he’s lost,” Angie said. “But how come we can’t get near him?” The closer we came, the farther away the boy seemed to get, moving from tree to tree. But he still stared at us, holding one hand out as a warning.
    His mouth opened and closed. A second later I heard the words as if they were being carried on the wind.
“Go away!”
    We edged closer. He retreated backwards, but I couldn’t see his feet move. He seemed to be drifting away from us.
    â€œI’m going to run,” Michael announced.
    â€œI don’t think that’s—” I started to say, but Michael had already dashed off. He pushed branches aside and hopped over fallen logs. He was halfway to the little boy when I got a strong feeling in my gut that something terrible was going to happen.
    â€œMichael! Michael!” I screamed but my voice was a whisper now, like I was yelling into a great big empty space. I looked at Angie. All the blood had drained from her face.
    I squinted into the distance. The boy’s mouth was moving faster, his eyes wide.
“Bad here! Bad!”
    Michael tripped once and got up, brushed himself off, and kept running. Finally he was right in front of the kid. Michael seemed to be shimmering too.
    â€œEvil!”
The child yelled.
“Evil!”
    Michael reached out a hand.
    The boy vanished.
    Michael patted around, looking this way and that, then turned to us. “Do you see him? Do you see him?” he yelled.
    â€œNo,” Angie answered. It took us a few seconds to get down to