Hair in All The Wrong Places Read Online Free Page B

toward the logging road.
    Logging road?
    â€œThis is Commander Emerson,” interjected a familiar voice on the radio. “Don’t let this thing get away, you hear me?”
    â€œMr. Emerson?” said Colin.
    What am I listening to?
    â€œSir,” came the female voice again, “we have a problem. There’s a car coming down the logging road.”
    â€œWhat?” exclaimed Mr. Emerson. “How far?”
    â€œIt’s on track to intercept with the subject. We’re taking a shot at the subject, sir.”
    A gunshot ripped through the night air, and Colin took his foot off the accelerator, heart racing.
    â€œWe got him, sir!” said the female voice again. “He’s injured! The subject is moving away from the road.”
    â€œAnd the car?” said Mr. Emerson.
    â€œStill coming.”
    Colin didn’t know what to do. Were they talking about his car? Was that really Mr. Emerson? What’s the
subject
?
    In a panic, he stepped on the gas, heart racing, hoping he’d be able to get out of the area entirely.
    â€œChopper support is inbound,” said the original male voice.
    â€œCommander Emerson! The subject … we’ve lost him. No wait. He’s cut back to the road!”
    A massive creature burst out of the trees ahead ofColin, stumbling across the road, illuminated by a blinding spotlight. The animal looked like an enormous wolf, bigger than any man, but it stood upright! Stopping in front of Colin’s car, the creature turned its head and snarled.
    Colin panicked and swung the car to the right, but the tires lost traction on the gravel and the old, heavy vehicle lurched headlong into the creature. The front window of the car smashed, and metal tore as the creature scraped its massive claws against the hood of the car. The tires finally caught some traction, sending the car arcing across and off the road where it crashed through the trees and down a steep embankment. The creature clung to the hood of the car and snarled ferociously.
    Colin could hear deranged screaming and realized it was his own voice.
    The old Pontiac hit something hard, and Colin smashed his head into the steering wheel as the car flipped forward, and then everything turned a murky black.

    The world slowly spun back into focus and looked a lot like mud. Colin lay facedown on the ground, his heartbeat thundering in his ears. Or was it a helicopter? He remembered a helicopter. Mercifully, his glasses were still on his head but one lens was cracked.
    Colin rolled over onto his back, and a searing pain shot through his left arm. He vomited, mostly on himself.
    He pushed to his feet with his right hand but fell back to his knees, the ground unsteady beneath him, and he wanted more than anything to slip back into unconsciousness.
    What had happened?
    Moonlight shone through the trees and glanced off the chrome rims of his grandfather’s car, which was upside down and on fire.
    I crashed my grandfather’s car
.
    With that particular realization, Colin thought of his grandmother’s reaction and surged to his feet, stumbling toward the car.
    I shouldn’t be this close to a burning car
.
    He turned and staggered away, clutching his left arm close to his body.
    How did this happen?
    Colin could remember driving, he was listening to a radio show …
    He could hear a helicopter somewhere close, the low thump of the propellers resonating through the night air.
    Then he’d hit something. No, something hit him?
    Why can’t I remember?
    A low, guttural growl came from behind Colin, and everything flooded back to him.
    The wolf! The massive wolf! Big teeth! Big, sharp-looking teeth. The kind that eat things. They were chasing it and then I hit it. My grandmother is going to be so upset.
    Colin turned around slowly, watching as the area in front of the smashed car began to move. The moonlight was so bright here that even in his confused and injured state there was