On the Other Side of the Bridge by Ray Villareal Read Free Book Online

“What if the cops dust the place for fingerprints? They’ll know we were in there. If I go to jail, my parents are going to kill me!”
    â€œQuit your whining, man,” Slurpee said. “You been watching too many cop shows. The Marsville P.D.’s way too busy to waste their time fingerprinting the place. Right, Lonnie?”
    He asked him as if having a mother who was a security guard gave Lonnie insight as to what the police might do when investigating a break-in. But he had to say something to calm Axel down.
    â€œSlurpee’s right, Torres. The most the police will do is take down a report and file it.”
    Axel stopped whimpering and wiped away his tears. “Really?”
    â€œYeah, I’m pretty sure, especially if the guard tells the cops that it was kids who broke in.” Lonnie didn’t know if there was any truth to what he said, but at least it helped Axel regain his composure.
    They waited by the side of the building for a few minutes. Finally, Slurpee said, “I’m gonna take off.”
    â€œGo ahead,” Lonnie told him. “But I think me and Axel will stay here a little longer. Just be careful. If you seea cop car coming, hide in somebody’s yard or something.”
    Lonnie and Axel watched Slurpee hurry out of the Smile Easy Dental Center parking lot. Ten minutes later, they left, too, keeping an eye out for the police as they walked.
    They reached Axel’s house safely, and Lonnie hung around for a while. Then he made his way home, thinking they were in the clear.
    But he was wrong.

CHAPTER SIX
    T HE FOLLOWING MORNING , while Lonnie lay in bed, he heard the front door open and shut. Turning over on his side, he pulled back the curtain and saw his mother’s car sitting in the driveway. She had just arrived home from work.
    He heard her footsteps outside his door, then a knock. “Lonnie, are you up?”
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œGet yourself ready. I’ll fix you breakfast.”
    Breakfast? That was the farthest thing from his mind. Lonnie was still trying to recover from the nightmare he’d had.
    He dreamed he was back at the Martex warehouse, this time alone. The place was dark, except for a faint ray of light that shone from above. Tall bundles, casting ghostly shadows, surrounded him, and a strong odor of wet newspapers and mildew filled the air.
    Out of the darkness, a deep, raspy voice called out,
“Put your hands up and stand where I can see you!”
    Lonnie poked his head from around a bale of paper and saw a Wyndham Security guard. His first thought was that it was Mr. Barnaby. But as he looked closer, he realized it wasn’t him. It was someone—or something— inhuman. The guard wore a Wyndham Security uniform,but his face and arms were covered with rotting flesh and open sores, with yellowish pus oozing out. His teeth looked like corn nuts.
    â€œI see you, boy!
” the guard-thing bellowed, starting toward him with slow, but deliberate steps.
“You can’t hide from me!”
    A wave of terror welled up inside Lonnie. He backed away, trying not to make any noise. Then he broke into a mad run through the bundles of paper, which now formed a labyrinth, with endless tunnels and pathways.
    Behind him he could hear the
clop, clop, clop
of the guard-thing’s shoes as it picked up its pace.
    â€œYou’re not gonna get away from me this time, boy!”
    Lonnie turned to the right and hit a dead end. Back the other way he ran, made another right, then a left. Again, he was trapped.
    â€œRun, run, as fast as you can. I’ll still catch you. I’m the Security Guard Man!”
the guard-thing taunted. Then it let out a chilling laugh.
    Lonnie clamped a hand over his mouth in time to stop a scream from escaping. Right and left he zigzagged, but again he hit a wall.
    â€œI’m gonna getcha, boy! I’m gonna getcha!”
    Right, right, left. No good, either.
    Right, right