Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella by Jamie McGuire Read Free Book Online Page B

pushing the door. It resisted, sticking like it always did, and then creaked as it opened. Any other time, that noise would barely register, but when the world was so quiet, any sound we made might as well be a dinner bell.
    Dad walked onto the yellow-and-green linoleum kitchen floor. “Scarlet?” he called just barely loud enough for anyone to hear.
    “Get ready to leave,” Tavia said, glancing over her shoulder. “Just in case.”
    “I’m not leaving without my mom,” I said.
    “I have to potty,” Halle said.
    “Pee-pee,” Tobin said.
    Tavia patted his back. “Me, too.”
    Dad reappeared, all color gone from his face.
    “Oh Lord Jesus,” Tavia said. “She’s not—”
    “No,” Dad said, rubbing his forehead with his thumb and index finger. “She’s not here.”
    “What?” I shouldered past him. “Mom?” I called. “Mom!”
    I searched each room in a panic. When I returned to the living room, Dad, Halle, Tobin and Tavia were all staring at the wall.
    The drips of black spray paint had dried a few inches below the words that Mom had hastily written on the wall.

    “No!” I said, staring at the wall. “I told you! I told you she’d come here!”
    Dad reached for me. I pushed him away, my shoes crunching on the glass piled on the carpet. She’d come here for us. She had just been a little over a block away, and we’d missed her.
    Tavia put Tobin on the floor, but he was clinging to her leg, only one train in his hand.
    “Jenna, you have to keep your voice down,” Dad said.
    Halle sniffed. “It’s okay, Jenna. We’ll just go to Red Hill. It’s the safest place, remember? Mom said so.”
    I wiped my nose, looking to Dad. “We’ve got to get to your Tahoe. We can be there by this afternoon.”
    Dad shook his head. “Jenna, the interstate is blocked. You heard what that guy said.”
    I lowered my chin. “Mom made it here somehow. She knew she could get to Red Hill from here. We’ve got to leave now. She’ll be worried sick if we wait too long.”
    “Jenna—” Dad began.
    “I’m going!” I said. “I need her. I want to be with her”—tears streamed down my face—“for however long that might be. And if you won’t go with me, I’ll go by myself.”
    “No!” Halle threw her arms around me.
    Tavia blinked and then looked to Dad. “What is Red Hill?”
    Dad sighed. “It’s a ranch, northwest of here and across the state line.” He sighed. “I’ve never been there, Jenna. I don’t know exactly where it’s at.”
    “I do!” Halle took a breath and began to sing.
     
    West on Highway 11
    On our way to heaven
    North on Highway 123.
    123? 123!
    Cross the border.
    That’s an order!
    Left at the white tower.
    So Mom can clean the doctor’s shower.
    Left at the cemetery.
    Creepy…and scary!
    First right!
    That’s right!
    Red! Hill! Roooooooad!
     
    Tavia smirked and put her hands on her hips. “Who knew? I’ve been traveling with Beyoncé all this time.”
    Halle beamed. It was the first time I’d seen her smile since Mom had dropped her off at school the morning before. That seemed like an entire lifetime ago.
    “We know the way,” I said to Dad. “You just have to drive us. It’s secluded and stocked. Mom always said it would be the best place to go, and she’s there.”
    He shook his head. “It’s a long way, honey. We should wait here until things calm down.”
    I held up my hands and then let them fall to my thighs. “Dead people are walking around outside. We don’t have time. She’s waiting on us!”
    “Okay!” Dad said. “Okay, just let me think.”
    “While you think,” Tavia said, “we girls had better take advantage of a working bathroom. Let me take Tobin first.”
    Halle and I agreed, and then when they emerged, I led Halle in by the hand. In the dim room, she hummed from the toilet, and then she washed her hands as I sat down. I didn’t realize until that moment just how much I’d needed to go.
    “We have to be more careful,” I said.