SHUDDERVILLE SIX Read Online Free

spend the night at my place.”
    “Well, I don’t know.”
    “Don’t worry. It’s not like I’m a serial killer or anything,” he said with a laugh.
    She laughed, too.
    He handed her a couple hundred dollars, and that sealed the deal. Most people liked money. “I’ll give you another hundred in the morning.”
    “Well, okay,” she smirked, tucking the money into her bra. “If you insist.”
    Colton drove back home and parked his truck in the driveway. They got out and tripped up the walkway together. She grabbed him on the front porch. She tasted funny, like stale beer and cigarettes. She held his hand and pulled him inside. She looked around the place and said, “Wow. You could really flip this house.”
    “Do what?” he asked, panting a little.
    “You know, flip this house,” she explained. “Renovate the place and sell it for big bucks. It’s cute. It’s not half bad.”
    He slapped her on the ass. “I want to show you something.”
    “Aren’t you even going to ask me my name? Since I’m staying the night?”
    “Okay. What’s your name?” He grinned.
    She placed her hand on the banister and hurried up the stairs. “Jenny.”
    “Wait a second,” he said.
    “Catch me!”
    “Hold on.” He followed close behind. The carpet runners on the stairs were stained and threadbare from years of use. When they got to the top of the landing, her nostrils flared with revulsion. “What is that smell?” she asked.
    He looked at her. The air was tinged with the odor of animal feces, urine and garbage. It made him sick. He feared the worst—that she would lose her shit right now. That she would manage to escape and tell on him. Debris littered the hallway.
    “Wow,” she giggled, shocked and amazed. “An intervention should’ve taken place years ago. Kidding! I’ve seen worse. Don’t look so freaked out.”
    It made the skin on the back of his neck prickle and crawl. “Come back downstairs. We’ll have a drink.”
    “But seriously, what’s that smell?” she said, looking at him with stoned eyes.
    The doors to all four rooms on the second floor were closed. One of them was labeled DO NOT ENTER. Jenny opened that one and stepped inside. The windows were covered with old newspapers. The floor was tacky when you walked across it. There was a stomach-churning smell and mousetraps on the floor. There was a cage in the corner. The lights were off. It was dark.
    “Oh my God,” she whispered, cautiously approaching the cage. The smell was overpowering. She drew back. She didn’t want to look anymore. She tried to run away.
    He prevented her from escaping by choking the screams right out of her.
    Her eyes rolled up in her skull, her knees buckled and she dropped like a sack of potatoes.
    Blackwood, New York
    Benjamin heard the scream in the middle of the night again and bolted upright in bed. It sent shivers cascading across his shoulders. He looked over at Cassie, who was sound asleep beside him.
    He waited in the dark.
    It wasn’t going to go away.
    The screams weren’t going to end.
    He clapped his hands over his ears, which was crazy, since the screams were coming from inside his head. Make it go away, he prayed in the dark, dreading the next one.
    Dignity, Vermont
    Colton never panicked, but this situation was different.
    Bella was screaming. All the way from the basement.
    “Shut the hell up!” he hollered down to her.
    She stopped.
    He grabbed Jenny by the ankles and dragged the body across the hallway, then threw a powerful kick that bounced the bathroom door open. He dragged her into the tile-floored bathroom, gathered her up, along with her purse and jacket, and dropped everything in the tub. Her head bonked against the porcelain.
    He opened her purse and fished around for her wallet. He took all the cash and the rest of her pot and dropped the purse in the tub.
    He tromped downstairs and unlocked the basement door, fingers fumbling with the key. He could hear Bella screaming down there.