Hair in All The Wrong Places Read Online Free Page A

him suspiciously. “You have to get out of here now! No one’s supposed to be out,” she said, looking around as if expecting someone to step out of the fog at any time.
    Something occurred to Colin. “What are you doing out here? Were you at the meeting?”
    She looked taken aback. “No, well … no. Colin, you have to take this car back wherever you got it and get home. In fact, you should just drive straight home. Quickly.”
    Colin didn’t know why Becca sounded so anxious, but he recognized an opportunity when he saw it. “You’re probably right; I’ll just drive home and bring the car back in the morning.”
    â€œGo, now!”
    â€œGood night, Becca.” But she was already walking away from the car and was quickly swallowed up by the fog.
    Colin stepped on the gas and sped the rest of the way out of town. If he did pass anyone, he didn’t realize it. He eased off the gas as he approached the old forestry road and wondered what could have got Becca so agitated? And why was she out so late anyway? Had she been at the town hall meeting?
    Putting Becca out of his mind, he was determined to forget about his strange encounter with the cloaked stranger and Mr. Emerson, and concentrate on the task at hand.
    Mustering up as much courage as he could, Colin turned onto the dark road, accelerating into the night.

Chapter Three
Dark Roads
    D riving wasn’t a difficult task; the car was old and bulky but so heavy that it hugged the corners. When he reached the one-mile marker out of town, the fog lifted, and it looked like the night would be clear from here on out.
    Colin’s mind blurred with thoughts of Becca, Mr. Emerson, his grandmother, his parents, the town meeting, his aching ribs, Gareth Dugan, the cloaked figure—it was all making his head hurt.
    Concentrate on driving, Colin!
    It wasn’t long before the tall trees on either side of the road blocked his view, and he only occasionally caught glimpses of the bright, full moon. Colin had never travelled this road before and wasn’t sure how far north it ran before joining the main highway.
    The loud, cynical portion of Colin’s brain continuedto argue that not only would his parents send him straight back to Elkwood, but they would probably dismiss his worry and misery as silly teenage stuff. At this depressing thought, Colin eased off the gas for a moment as he considered returning to Elkwood to face the wrath of his grandmother.
    No, he was going. He stepped on the gas and flicked on the radio to take his mind off things.
    Most of the stations Colin chanced upon contained the sweet rhythmic sounds of static, but occasionally, the old radio would grab a piece of a tune from an oldies station. As the road began its steep descent down to a tree-filled valley, an Elvis Presley song began to play, but then the song was gone again, replaced by a male voice shrouded in static.
    â€œAlpha and beta units stay on him! If we lose him now, we may not get another chance,” growled the voice.
    Must be a radio play
.
    â€œHe’s too fast,” responded a female voice. “What’s the six on the chopper? We need it now! The trees are too dense, I repeat, the trees are too dense.”
    â€œAffirmative, beta unit. Chopper is en route,” said the male voice.
    Not a very interesting radio play
.
    But as there was nothing else on and at least the signal seemed to be clear, he just left the dial where it was.
    â€œAlpha unit is down!” said a different male voice in a panic. “It just tore right through us. Jensen is down. Burke is missing! Oh God, this is a mess. Just a mess!”
    â€œPull yourself together!” ordered the first male voice. “You’re a trained agent! Get it together! Where did thesubject go?”
    Agent? Subject? This is just lame.
    â€œIt’s breaking east,” said the second male voice. “No wait, south! It’s heading south