Council of Peacocks Read Online Free Page A

only body in the
seat.”
    It was difficult for Josh to drive with
Tonia’s body in the driver’s seat. He had to twist his own body at
awkward angles to reach the gas pedal. His instinct told him to
keep driving. Eventually they would hit a town or something. Still,
he gave in to the pleas from Matt and the others.
    “I’ll stop up ahead at the crossroads,” he
said. It was the safest place he’d seen so far. There was a hundred
yards of clearing between the vehicle and the edge of the woods.
Once he reached it, he hit the brakes. He put it in park but kept
the motor running.
    He got out as Brian and Matt moved Tonia’s
body to the back seat. Jan went to him and they embraced.
    “How are you so calm?” Jan pulled back and
looked into his eyes.
    Josh looked away. “I’m just in survival mode.
We shouldn’t stay here long. They have vehicles.”
    “We can’t be far from the cabin.” Jan took
out her cell again and tapped the screen. “This is really weird.
There are cell towers everywhere. I’ve never had service
interruption up here.”
    “They could be jamming it.”
    “Are you serious? Is that possible?”
    “We need to get going.” Josh put an arm
around her and pushed her back toward the van. “We’ll call my dad
from the cabin.”
    “Your dad? Shouldn’t we call the police?”
    Josh spat and smacked his head. “I’ll explain
later.”
    As soon as the front seat was clear he
started driving again. He did not wait until Tonia’s body was
secure. No one complained. From the wide-eyed expressions on their
faces, Josh suspected his level of composure scared them as much as
anything else. He wanted to explain to them why he was handling
this so well, but knew he couldn’t. His dad had sworn him to
secrecy.
    He was tempted to go as fast as the SUV could
take him, but the flat tires made steering unpredictable. The sound
of rims scraping against the road was eerie and deafening. They
needed to move quickly; no one would have a problem tracking
them.
    Brian came forward and spoke to Jan. “Can we
switch spots?”
    Jan looked at Brian curiously then slipped
past him to sit beside Rebecca. He drank more vodka and stared
openly at Josh.
    The longer the stare continued, the more
uncomfortable Josh became.
    “What’s up, Bri?”
    “Did you catch a look at them?”
    Josh nodded. “Just shadows. Three of them.
They look big.”
    “Did they look human?”
    “What?” Josh glared at his friend. “Of course
they looked human. What are you talking about?”
    “I remember, Josh. We’ve never talked about
it but I do. Remember the bush party?”
    “There were a lot of bush parties.” A series
of images flashed through his mind, but Josh couldn’t place any of
them.
    “Not like this one.” Brian stared out the
window. “Grade 10, after the football game. A gang crashed it and
beat the hell out of Tommy Delonki. Remember? He died a few days
later?”
    Josh nodded slowly. “Sorta. What does that
have to do with me?”
    Brian let out a snort. He coughed a little
and then let out a long slow breath. “Either you think I’m a moron
or you honestly don’t remember. I’ve struggled for years with those
memories. They can’t be real but I remember them. I guess if you
found a way to block it all out you’re the lucky one.”
    Josh shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He
looked in the rear-view mirror to see if anyone else was listening.
Matt was staring straight ahead; Jan still held his hand. Rebecca
was draping a blanket over Tonia’s body.
    “Bri, I’m not really sure what you’re talking
about. I barely knew Tommy Delonki. I think we had a few classes
together but that’s it.”
    “You really don’t remember?” Brian turned in
his chair to face him. “Tommy was your next-door neighbor. You were
best friends until high school. Ring a bell? That night, at the
party, you and I were doing shots when Tommy came racing out of the
dark. He was all cut up and bruised wearing only a pair of