Dark Screams, Volume 1 Read Online Free

last!
    —
    The weeds reached the edge of the highway by dawn and began to grow around a signpost that said CLEAVES MILLS, TWO MILES. The round stalks whispered and rubbed against each other in a light dawn breeze. There was a heavy dew and the weeds sucked it up greedily.
    Jordy-food.
    A fine planet, a wet planet. A ripe planet.
    Cleaves Mills–food.
    The weeds began to grow toward town.

The Price You Pay
    Kelley Armstrong
May 2, 2012
    As Kara wobbled from the tavern, she reflected that being drunk wasn’t nearly as much fun as she remembered. It’d been nearly two years since she’d had even a sip of alcohol. That wasn’t in response to any problem—not unless you considered getting pregnant a problem. Kara certainly did not. Having Melody was the best thing that ever happened to her. Given her life so far, the bar of comparison wasn’t set very high, but still, motherhood was amazing, and well worth a few years of sobriety.
    “Which way’s the car?” Ingrid slurred beside her.
    “Over there.” Kara pointed to the taxi stand. “It’s that yellow vehicle with the nice man who will take us home.”
    “I’m not leaving my car here overnight.”
    “Yes, you are, because I promised Gavin you wouldn’t drive.”
    Ingrid rolled her blue eyes. “When did you get so old?”
    When Kara didn’t answer, Ingrid’s voice took on a hint of a whine. “I need to move my car. It’s brand-new and a lease, and if they tow it, they’ll scratch it. I’ll have to pay—”
    “Where are you going to move it to?”
    Ingrid pointed an unsteady finger toward a sign advertising all-night parking for $100. Kara presumed it really said $10, despite what the blurry numerals suggested.
    Damn, why’d she let Ingrid talk her into this?
    Because you’ve been letting her talk you into crazy shit for almost twenty years.
    True. They’d met in preschool, and had been inseparable for most of their lives. Eighteen months ago, Kara married Gavin and moved to Seattle. Then Ingrid came west and stayed. So they were together again, getting in trouble again.
    Kara hadn’t wanted to come out drinking, but Ingrid had insisted. It was Kara’s twenty-first birthday and time for her first drinking party. First
legal
drinking party, that is. She’d taken her first drink at thirteen. Got drunk for the first time at fourteen. Not surprisingly, Ingrid had been there both times.
    “Go move the car,” Kara said.
    “Come with.”
    “I’ll walk and meet you over there.”
    Ingrid giggled. “You can barely stand, Kare-Bear. It’s a hundred feet. Come on.”
    Kara sighed and followed Ingrid to the car. They got in. Ingrid pulled onto the road and shot away from the paid lot.
    “Hey!” Kara said.
    “I’m looking for a cheaper one. I don’t have ten bucks.”
    Kara slapped a twenty on the console.
    “You need that for diapers and shit. Stop being such an old lady and let me drive you home. It’s all country roads, anyway. Nothing to hit.”
    “Except deer, coyotes, bears, the occasional hitchhiker…”
    “I’ll avoid the animals. If the hitchhiker is cute, I’ll pick him up.” She grinned over at Kara. “Give you a proper birthday party.”
    Kara flipped her the finger and fastened her seat belt.
    —
    “Yep, it’s an engine.” Kara peered under the car hood. At least she was no longer seeing double. She was also, unfortunately, not seeing the problem that had them pulled over on an empty wooded road. “I have no idea what’s wrong, but Gavin will be here in fifteen minutes. If he can’t fix it, he’ll give you a lift. Gavin—”
    “Gavin, Gavin, Gavin,” Ingrid huffed. “Do you know how sick I am of hearing his name? How many times have you brought him up tonight?”
    “Um, twice? First when I said you shouldn’t drive and second when you proved it, leaving us stranded by the side of a very creepy road.”
    “The
car
left us stranded.”
    “I thought you said it was new?”
    “It is. This is the first problem I’ve