A Place So Wicked by Patrick Reuman (life books to read txt) 📕

The rock vanished straight into the glass, fading from existence like a forgotten memory.

She shook her head. No. This wasn’t possible. No! She ran for the door, grabbing the handle. But as soon as she touched it, the metal knob burst into a thin, black smoke. It drifted up into the sky, joining the rest of the darkness. She stepped back, nearly stumbling.

What light was still there began to vanish as the darkness moved in on her.

Her eyes shot open. She was in her bedroom again. She felt the blanket resting on top of her and the pillow under her head. She allowed a heavy breath to ease from her lungs as she spotted Richard standing in front of the window looking outward.

She yawned. “Babe, what are you doing?”

He didn’t move. Her eyes drifted shut, her body still enormously tired, even more exhausted than when she had first gone to bed. They opened again, and he still stood there.

“Come back to bed,” she whispered.

He responded but barely loud enough for her to hear. “We have to go. We have to go. We have to go.”

“Go where? It’s the middle of the night.”

“We have to go.”

“You can go. I’m going back to sleep.” She rolled over, her arm landing on a lump.

It took her mind a moment to process it, but when she did, she leapt from the bed. The area by the window was empty. She looked down at the lump, her body shaking. She remembered the entity from her dream, the black smoke that filled every corner of existence. Gathering herself the best she could, she stepped back toward the bed and reached for the hump. In a swift, quick motion, she pulled away the blanket.

It was just Richard, his head tucked partially under his pillow, snoring softly.

22

Stars peeked out from between fast-drifting clouds. It didn’t feel very windy there, but way up in the sky, it must have been a different story. The signs of the previous rainfall still loomed. Toby suddenly felt a cold hand wrap around his own. He looked down, smiling at Addy’s hand in his. He couldn’t believe his luck. Though, amazingly, this—Addy kissing him and holding his hand—was already beginning to feel normal. Like this was how it was supposed to be all along.

“I couldn’t sleep,” she said.

“I just woke up.”

She looked at him for a moment, analyzing him. “Bad dream? Or was it me tossing the rocks?”

He hesitated but then nodded. “The first one.”

“I’m sorry. That’s no fun.”

The ensuing silence continued until they reached the end of the road. It wasn’t an awkward silence, though. It was as if everything they needed was already right there, so there wasn’t anything that needed to be done or said.

“So a nightmare, huh. About what?” she asked.

He opened his mouth to speak but stopped himself before the word ghosts could slip out. This was his first…girlfriend. He wasn’t about to risk blowing that because he thought he saw a ghost.

He faked a smile. “I don’t remember.”

She squeezed his hand. “Yeah, that happens a lot. I hardly ever remember my dreams. Probably for the best.”

“So, where are we going?”

Her smile turned to a grin. “It’s a surprise!”

A surprise, he thought, would be his parents going into his bedroom and finding him not there. The even bigger surprise would be how long they grounded him for. He really hoped that didn’t happen.

“So, what’s your favorite color?” he asked.

She looked at him, a smirk tilting the edges of her mouth upward like she was moments from laughing. “My favorite color? Red, I guess.” She laughed. “Yours?”

He considered it, perhaps for the first time since he was little. Blue, maybe. Or maybe not. The question suddenly seemed more difficult than he had expected.

“Black?” he said.

“Good color. Ummmmm. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

Happy was his first thought. Most of his life, until now, was spent feeling empty and painfully alone. There was nothing specific that he woke up for other than to continue his life. He hardly had friends, no girlfriend, and didn’t much care about his grades. He knew it was a dismal way to live, but he couldn’t help it.

“I’m not sure,” he said, knowing she was actually referring to a career, not his mental state.

“Yeah, me neither.” She laughed. “I suppose I’ll go to college and figure it out there.” She brushed her hair behind her ear. “Turn this way.”

She pointed toward a tree line. It was dark out, but even darker beyond the foliage where light could scarcely reach. His heart sank. She turned, pulling him with her. The trees looked like a mouth, a dark pit ready to swallow them into blackness.

He didn’t want to go in there, but he also didn’t want to look weak. They were just trees, he told himself, nothing to be afraid of. Plus, she clearly knew where they were going. Or so he hoped.

As they drew closer, the trees seemed to stretch toward the sky like they were made of rubber and were being pulled by the clouds. He was trying to control his breathing, to keep himself steady and calm. He wasn’t sure why he was even feeling this way. Addy, on the other hand, was just fine. There were no signs of apprehension on her face. Not even the slightest hint of fear or even nervousness.

They moved down a narrow trail, trees and bushes on both sides of them, the air too dark to tell exactly how dense the place was. He could barely see in any direction. If Addy were to take off into the woods for whatever reason, he wasn’t sure he would be able to find his way back out, not until morning at least. And even