The Secret: A Thriller Read Online Free Page A

They’d known each other for most of their lives, and they’d always been able to carry on a whole conversation without words if they wanted to. Felicia won the battle, if there was one, and cleared her throat.
    “Guys, it was totally strange,” she started. “The police came about an hour before the power went out, and they were already talking about a shelter. Mr. Donnelly said our rehearsal was canceled but told Chief Eisler we kids would help with whatever they needed. The thing is…there wasn’t much we could do. Rachel and I helped get an inventory of the food in the cafeteria—which was almost none—and Robbie helped carry gym mats and stuff so they could be used for beds. But…nobody told us what the shelter was for .”
    Susie was shaking her head. “None of you thought you might need to call home?”
    Silence. Of course they hadn’t, though. They were teenagers. Hadn’t she met them before?
    I raised a hand. “Okay, everybody. We all know most of it. I think…I think the power went out, and the phones, at least partly because of something called EMP. It’s—”
    “Dad! That’s dope!” That was Robbie, excited but skeptical. “You mean like from a nuclear bomb?”
    I winced as the level of tension in the room rose. “Yes, theoretically , but it didn’t have to—”
    “Ash!” Rebecca interjected. “I was looking outside and saw a really bright light, like lightning but…different…just before the power went out. You’re actually telling me an atom bomb went off in the air? Above Henge ?”
    That sounded ridiculous. Which I guessed was her point. “No. I’m saying what we know is consistent with that explanation. For all I know the EMP came from lightning and this is just a bad storm. Um…nobody’s mentioned this yet, but Rose’s husband Hank was called in to the prison early this morning. And Chief Eisler told me there’d been riots. That the National Guard was being called in. But Doc Tim here,” I gestured toward him, “says there was something strange about a couple of patients he saw from the prison. Oh, and Eisler also said there had been some escapes. So we all need to stay close to home for a while.”
    Tim was shaking his head. “I can’t put all that together, Ash. So…maybe it doesn’t fit? Maybe there’s something going on at the prison, and the EMP is separate?”
    Susie laughed sadly and took his hand. “Oh, honey. And the police decided to make a shelter at the high school too, which they’ve never done before, for some other unrelated reason?”
    “Mom?” Robbie asked. “Do you think the guy on the roof might have been an escaped convict?”
    His eyes were gleaming. I guessed this was more fun than your typical Saturday afternoon in small-town West Virginia. But my gut clenched whenever I thought of someone—a stranger, on our roof—looking in on my daughter. Making him an escaped felon didn’t help. I thought about saying something…but Robbie would think of that angle on his own fairly soon, I was sure.
    Rebecca pursed her lips, thinking, and I could see she was editing again. “I doubt it, Robbie. This guy was…really hairy, all over. I’m pretty sure the prison requires haircuts and—”
    “All over?” That was Rachel.
    “He didn’t have any clothes on!” Abigail contributed, and buried her face against Rebecca’s stomach.
    I closed my eyes for a moment. I hadn’t realized she’d seen him too. “Okay,” I said, “so if he’s not from the prison he’s one more unrelated…weirdness. We’ll figure it out eventually. Meanwhile, though, I’ve got two ideas: First, we need to get the supplies out of my truck and into the house. Second, I think we should all stick together until this thing is over. That means overnight, at least.”
    Susie pursed her lips, but Tim was nodding. I didn’t bother asking which house we should use. Ours was bigger, and at the end of our cul-de-sac. And it had been a natural gathering spot for family,