The Xoe Meyers Trilogy (Xoe Meyers Young Adult Fantasy/Horror Series) Read Online Free

didn’t have much choice. I could come with you, just in case.”
    “Really?” Maybe things were looking up. “We’re going Saturday evening.”
    He cringed. “Oh. Sorry Xoe . . . football practice.” He shrugged and bit his lip. “I could cancel . . . ”
    “No, no it’s okay,” I assured. “I’m sure we’re just being paranoid.”
    Brian nodded slowly, still hesitating. He nodded again and stood up a little straighter, as if making up his mind. “C’mon, I’ll walk you to class.”
    Brian and I walked in silence the short distance to my geometry class. He stopped me before I walked into the classroom. “If you change your mind and want me to come, just call.”
    I had begun to say thanks just as Allison whipped by us, grabbing my arm and dragging me into the classroom. I waved to Brian as he turned to go to his next class.
    Allison and I snagged seats in the back just as the bell rang. She turned to me and opened her mouth as if to speak, but the teacher began her lecture, sealing any chance Allison had to talk. Assuming she was probably going to talk about Dan, I didn’t really mind. Allison crossed her arms and slouched down in her chair, seeming more than a little sullen. I looked out the window to our green surroundings and daydreamed for the rest of class, glad that I was no longer in the same room as Dan.
    After geometry, Allison had to rush to her yearbook committee meeting and I went to find Lucy. Lucy was already waiting outside the school entrance when I arrived, just like she always was. We started the short walk to our houses in silence, passing through the parking lot in front of the school, then veering away from the road to cut through the woods. We could get home following the road, but taking the trail through the woods cut about ten minutes off our journey.
    Before Allison got her car, she would insist on the longer route of paved road whenever she came home with us, as Allison isn’t big on the woods. They get her shoes dirty.
    Lucy and I walked along companionably, shaded by the pine trees that bordered either side of the partially grown-over trail. A narrow strip of deep brown soil was all that was left to show us the way, though we'd walked it so many times we didn’t need the trail to lead us home. I looked up through the trees to find that the sky had actually cleared up some. The warm sunlight leaked down to hit my face as we walked. I smiled and took a deep breath of moist, mossy air, then looked back down at the ground just in time to notice and hop over a puddle of water on the trail.
    I continued walking, paying more attention to where I was stepping, thinking that though it was pleasantly sunny, something felt slightly off. It then occurred to me that the woods were overly quiet. The usual ambiance of birdsong, and the scuffling of small creatures through the underbrush were completely absent. I stopped and scanned the area. Nothing moved. Lucy stopped a few feet ahead of me and looked back questioningly.
    All of the tiny hairs on my body stood on end, as if my skin were charged with electricity. Lucy slowly turned to fully face me. She glanced around us, then noticing the eerie silence, her eyes widened. I nodded to the trail, signaling that we should continue walking. We started off again without a word, trying to step as lightly as possible. Instinct told me to stay as quiet as I could, like a rabbit trying to avoid a predator.
    Suddenly a blue jay flew overhead, screeching out warning to all of the seemingly absent birds, then flew on away from us, leaving a weighted silence behind. My palms began to sweat. We walked for several minutes with only the sound of our footfalls and heavy breathing to let us know we hadn’t gone deaf.
    Lucy began darting nervous glances at me. I stopped again and gave her my full attention. She mouthed, “Should we run?”
    I began to shake my head in reply, when suddenly there was a loud crack to the left and behind us, as if someone had