Shiloh Season Read Free Page B

and I figure he's probably already asleep. We played so hard and so long he's a right to be tired.
    I wasn't, though. Hard to sleep with cars going by every few minutes, the beam from their headlights traveling along the wall. I'm lying there on my side, about to close my eyes, when suddenly this horrible face with red eyes and green lips pops right up beside me, not five inches from my own, and bobs up and down-a floating head.
    I yell. Can't help myself, and then David's having a laughing fit down below.
    "Settle down, you guys," comes Mr. Howard's voice as he passes our door.
    I want to know how David did that, though, so I crawl down the ladder and push my way onto David's bed, punching his arm. David's got his head under the covers, he's laughing so hard.
    "How'd you do that?" I whisper.
    David shows me this rubber Halloween mask. He puts
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    it on and holds a flashlight under his chin. Then, when he moves around and all that's lit up is the mask, it looks like a floating head. I'm thinking how I can't wait to try that on Dara Lynn.
    We lay on our backs on David's bunk and talk some more about school and the story Michael Sholt was telling, about Judd getting in a fight with someone. We talk about the way he's been drinking lately, and I tell him Ma's guess-that Judd looks in the mirror and don't like what he sees.
    David raises up on one elbow. I can just make out his face in the dark. His eyes are wide open.
    "You know what that means!" he says. "What?"
    "He's a vampire!" David says, his eyes about to jump out of his head. Even when David knows it's crazy, his imagination still runs off with him.
    "You're nuts," I say.
    "Vampires hate mirrors. If they ever look in a mirror, they die or something."
    "Then if he was a vampire he wouldn't even have one!" I tell David.
    "Oh," David says, and lays back down. A minute goes by and David pops right up again.
    "A werewolf!" he says.
    "David, you're as crazy as Grandma Preston," I say, and then I'm ashamed. It's not like she wants to be.
    But David's excited all over again. "It figures, Marty! He looks in the mirror and sees fur and fangs, and he just goes a little crazy. The only way to find out ..."
    I know what's coming before David ever says the next word.
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    "I'm staying at your place tomorrow night. We'll go check out Judd then. Okay?"
    "Okay," I tell him.
    David don't think Judd Travers is a werewolf any more than I do. He just likes the idea of spying on him-stirring up a little excitement.
    I crawl back up in the top bunk and can hear David snoring after a while. I fall asleep some time later, but don't know how long it's been 'cause all at once, middle of the night, there's this loud yell.
    My eyes pop open, and the yell seems to hang in the air like an echo.
    Can't figure out where I am. The bed's smooth, not lumpy like our couch. Then I remember I'm at David Howard's, and figure it was me who yelled. Wondered if I'd woke him up.
    The dream was so real. Dreamed I'd just got up out of bed and walked home. Seemed to be half light-early morning, maybe-and I was hoping Ma would be up, tell me Shiloh was okay. But nobody seemed to be around, and I could see Shiloh sleeping out on the porch.
    Whew, I'm thinking. He's all right.
    Everything looks calm and natural, but just as I get close to the house, I see this long stick there in the bushes.... Looks like a branch has fallen out of a tree, maybe, and then I see it's not a stick at all, it's a gun, and it's pointed straight at Shiloh.
    It's the kind of dream where your legs don't move, and you yell and yell, but no sound comes out.
    Except I must have made some noise, because next thing I know I hear footsteps out in the hall and our door clicks open.
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    "Everything okay in here?" comes Mr. Howard's voice, real soft.
    "Yeah," I say. "We're okay."
    Mr. Howard closes the door again and I look at the clock. Four fifteen. Can't wait for it to turn light so I can go check on my dog.
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    Four
    Dad come by in the jeep next