Shades Read Free

sleep and ignore the other guys or raid the cooler for more hot dogs.
    "You know," Flynn said, looking at Junior, "I don't think grizzly bears were ever known to hang out in New Mexico."
    "Nope," Junior agreed. "I watched a special on them on Discovery a couple nights ago. They always stayed up in the northern and coastal areas."
    Perry sighed in exasperation. "Doesn't anyone want to know what happened to Head-Eater?"
    "He got kicked out of the tribe," Flynn said, "then went on to wander around the neighborhood here. He ambushed and kidnapped people from wagon trains and in local settlements, then he killed them and ate them."
    "Probably left a pile of skulls around," Junior agreed. "He died, but since the tribe refused to bury him, his spirit still walks the desert and he's still eating people."
    Perry cursed and flopped back down on his sleeping bag. "You guys suck," he said, and before he finished the word, Tiller's panicked scream rang out through the nearby hills, washed away by the sudden peal of thunder.
    "Hey!" Flynn said. "That was Tiller!"
    Already galvanized into action, Michael, rising from the sleeping bag, peered into the darkness that had surrounded the desert campsite. Shadows stretched away and filled the night in all directions, hardly interrupted at all by the campfire.

“Where did Tiller go?” Junior asked anxiously.
    Kurt Bulmer raced from the tent and stood in front of the open flap. "What's going on out there?"
    As Junior tried to explain, Michael grabbed the backpack he'd been saddled with all day. He rummaged inside and came up with a flashlight. Grabbing the flashlight, he ran in the direction of the screams. The downpour that had finally begun stung his eyes and matted his hair, and had turned the dry desert floor into muddy slush.
    Tiller screamed again, but this time the effort was hoarse and wracked with pain.
    Michael played the flashlight beam over the hill in front of him. Scrub brush and cacti clung to the steep hillside. His right foot shot out from under him. He fell to one knee, but pushed himself forward again.
    The hill was steeper on the other side. Michael's tennis shoes tore through the muddy crust and he slid down, brushing up against a hedgehog cactus that left fiery nettles in his forearm. He ignored the pain and played the flashlight beam over Tiller on the ground before him.
    Tiller huddled on his knees in the mud. Rainwater ran in rivulets around him, threading through his hands pressed into the mud. He kept his head down and shuddered.
    "Tiller," Michael called, playing the light over the ground and the area around them. "Hey, Tiller."
    Tiller didn't respond except to bury his face in the mud between his hands.
    "What's wrong?" Kurt Bulmer called from the top of the rise Michael had slid down.
    Michael glanced back up the hill and spotted Bulmer, Junior, Flynn, and Perry standing there. The lightning
    cored through the sky above their heads, and thunder blasted away Michael's first attempt at a reply.
    "I don't know," Michael said.
    Bulmer started down the hillside but lost his balance on the slick mud and fell. He tumbled to the bottom of the hill while the others remained along the ridgeline.
    "Tiller," Michael said, trying to calm the guy with his voice. He released the rock and put his hand on Tiller's shoulder. "What is it? What's wrong?"
    "It's my dad," Tiller whispered hoarsely, rocking, shuddering, and trying to hold back choked sobs.
    "What about his dad?" Bulmer asked, standing nearby.
    "His dad is dead," Michael said.
    "I'm sorry to hear that," Bulmer said. "But we need to get him in out of the rain."
    Hooking an arm under Tiller's, Michael tried to help the guy to his feet. Tiller fought him off, pushing Bulmer away as well. "No!" Tiller shouted. "I can't leave!"
    "Why?" Bulmer asked. "You'll be more comfortable back in one of the tents."
    "My dad," Tiller said.
    Bulmer hesitated. "We'll talk about your dad."
    "My dad," Tiller tried again, "my dad doesn't want me