Poet Anderson ...Of Nightmares Read Online Free Page A

moment he woke up, or at least they had since his parents died.
    The sound above the car quieted and the moving train pulled to the platform, hissing and staggering to a stop. The three boys moved down the row of seats, staring at the doors, worried what would happen when they opened.
    â€œWhat’s on the roof?” Poet whispered to Sketch, not taking his eyes off the doors.
    â€œI think we’re about to find out.” Sketch’s voice shook, and he looked sideways at Poet. He nodded down the car instead of toward the platform. “On the count of three,” he breathed out, “run.”
    Poet clenched his hands into fists, his adrenaline spiked. Gunner backed quietly toward them, his chest heaving. How long is this train? Poet wondered. Long enough to outrun whatever was after them? He sure as hell hoped so.
    He swallowed hard, darting a look between Sketch and the doors. The view outside the train window was dingy white subways tiles, no longer pristine and new like earlier. There was no exit on either side of the platform, almost like there was no outside. Like they were trapped.
    â€œOne,” Sketch said, reaching to put his hand on Poet’s upper arm. Gunner stepped back. There was a hiss in the gears above the door, signaling they were about to open. Poet could barely breathe.
    â€œTwo.” Sketch gave the others a hard look, preparing them. He took a big gasp of air and said, “Th—” The subway doors opened.
    Long silver nails clicked and cut into the metal as a creature pulled itself through the doorway. Its feet thudded on the grated floor, and it turned to scan the three boys, a low growl issuing from its throat. Poet’s eyes rounded as he took in the image of the beast—its composition a mixture of every terrible thing he could imagine. It was huge, a four-legged creature nearly too big to fit in the train car. It had green scales along its raised back—jagged like shards of glass. Its eyes were blood-red, and its double rows of shark-like teeth looked ready to tear into Poet.
    The creature settled its gaze on Poet, as if it knew him. Poet’s stomach twisted in horror, but it wasn’t just because he was scared. He was sure he’d seen this monster before. In fact, he thought he’d seen it every night since the accident.
    The monster rolled back its head and let out an ear-splitting roar, making the entire car shake and the windows rattle. Poet flinched and the subway doors closed, trapping them in with the beast.
    â€œRun!” Sketch yelled, reading the threat before the monster attacked. The three boys hadn’t taken two steps before the creature was galloping toward them, laying waste to the subway car. Smashing seats and lights, pulling down half the ceiling as it maneuvered its massive body further down the train. Gunner—although a big guy—was out ahead, running faster than Poet thought possible. Sketch was using the pole to slingshot himself forward, his movements fast and blurred, leaving Poet behind with a monster at his heels.
    Poet tried to imitate Sketch, but his sneakers kept slipping on the floor. The monster lunged for him, just missing, sending a hot, foul-smelling breeze over the side of Poet’s face. I’m not going to make it , he thought, his chest heaving as he sucked in air. He turned to look over his shoulder at the monster, hoping it would fall back.
    It did. Its nails scraped horribly, but slid against the metal, slowing it down. Hope surged and Poet rushed ahead—noticing that the end of the car was coming up. But more alarmingly, Sketch and Gunner were gone. Completely disappeared.
    Poet scanned for them quickly, but found only an empty subway train. He was running out of room. He skidded to a stop at the back of the car without an exit. He spun around quickly, finding the monster galloping toward him again. He only had a second to think. The closest door was behind the monster—meaning