There's Something Out There Read Free Page B

we—”
    â€œJenna! Your arm!” Maggie suddenly exclaimed.
    Everyone turned to stare at Jenna’s arm. Bright red blood was soaking through the sleeve of Maggie’s T-shirt.
    â€œOh no! I’m sorry, Maggie!” Jenna exclaimed. “I didn’t realize it had started bleeding again. Ugh, look at all this blood on your shirt!”
    â€œDon’t worry about it,” Maggie said. “Brit, where’s the first-aid kit?”
    â€œI left it downstairs,” Brittany replied. “I guess you needed that Band-Aid after all, Jenna. I’ll go grab some.”
    â€œYeah,” Jenna replied. “I guess so.” She twisted her neck to get a better look at the cut. It had started throbbing again as blood oozed down her arm, and the smellof the blood—thick, with a metallic tang—filled Jenna’s nose.
    She wasn’t usually the type to get grossed out by the sight of blood. But this cut wasn’t usual, either. It was almost like it could stop—and start—bleeding at will. Jenna’s blood started to clot; she could see it in glob form, thick and gelatinous. It would quiver if she touched it.
    She closed her eyes.
    â€œJenna?” Laurel’s voice sounded very far away.
    â€œJenna! You should sit!” Maggie said urgently, pushing Jenna down onto the bed. “Are you okay?”
    Jenna shook her head, as if to clear it. “Sorry. I just got kind of light-headed there for a second.”
    When Brittany returned, she didn’t say anything as she carefully placed a square of sterile gauze over the cut and wrapped it with medical tape. “There,” she said, examining her work. “That should help.”
    â€œThanks,” Jenna replied, grateful for Brittany’s take-charge attitude.
    â€œYou should take it easy,” Brittany said seriously. “Just rest and relax so that your cut will stop bleeding.”
    â€œWeird cut, huh?” Jenna said, looking at the bandage. “It didn’t
seem
like a big deal.”
    â€œYeah,” Brittany agreed. “It must be deeper than it looks. Or maybe that’s just what happens when you get
marked by the Marked Monster
!”
    Brittany said that last part in such a funny, spooky-sounding voice that everyone started to laugh.
    â€œOh, because of the claw, you mean?” Jenna asked, suddenly feeling anxious, but forcing herself to laugh too. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I guess I did get marked by the Marked Monster!”
    Brittany turned back to the other girls. “We should watch another movie now,” she announced. “So that Jenna can chill and hopefully this cut can stop bleeding already. We wouldn’t want the Marked Monster lured here by the smell of blood!”
    â€œGross,” Maggie said, wrinkling up her nose. “No offense, Jenna. You know I love you, even when your arm starts bleeding all over my shirt.”
    â€œI’m really sorry about that,” Jenna said again.
    â€œJenna! Forget it. I’m just messing with you,” replied Maggie.
    â€œI’m ready for a movie,” Laurel spoke up.
    â€œDon’t think that watching a movie now will get you out of Truth or Dare later,” Brittany said, waggling herfinger in Laurel’s direction. Everyone laughed again; it was no secret that shy Laurel
hated
Truth or Dare. She could never decide between picking a dare or promising to tell the truth—probably because she knew that Brittany saved the worst dares and questions just for her.
    â€œI’m ready for a movie too,” Jenna spoke up, grinning at her friends. She knew the goofy comedy Maggie had rented would be just the thing to take her mind off that stupid cut.
    And the creepy feeling she got whenever she thought about the way that huge, growling dog had shown up right after she got it.
    And the way she’d felt a cold wave of fear when Brittany said that she had been marked … marked