Ash and Darkness (Translucent #3) by Dan Rix Read Free Book Online

wind. Not a rustle.
    The silence made me nervous, and I checked over my shoulder.
    No one behind me.
    Megan’s house wasn’t too far. About a mile on the side streets. I could bike it in a few minutes.
    She would know what was going on.
    I wrestled my bike out from behind the garage and took off pedaling up the street, craning my neck as I passed each house. Did they have power? No one kept their lights on in the day, though, so it was impossible to tell.
    Hair whipping my bare shoulders, I flew down the next hill and slowed at San Roque Road, glanced both ways. Not a car in sight. I coasted right through. Weird.
    Usually it was busy.
    No one at the next intersection either, and I didn’t even bother slowing at the stop sign.
    This couldn’t be right. Zero cars? What time was it?
    As I sailed through yet another deserted intersection, my unease only grew. The streets, the silence . . . it all felt wrong.
    Still, I refused to acknowledge it.
    Hardly anyone ever drove back here. It could have just been a slow day. It was all residential. In fact, my mom had specifically taken me down this street to avoid traffic when I first got my learner’s permit.
    Before I could stop myself, the memory triggered a hideous landslide in my mind—first my permit, then my license . . . and then hitting and killing Ashley Lacroix on Foothill Road. At once, a sour feeling spread into my stomach.
    I threw my bike down at Megan’s curb and ran to her front door, more anxious than ever to see her. We’d gone through that nightmare together. She was the only one who understood, the only one who knew.
    I wiped away the strands of hair glued to my sweaty forehead and rang the doorbell.
    Except she wouldn’t have been the only one if I had confessed to Emory like I was supposed to . . . like he deserved.
    Another stab of guilt.
    Instead, I’d lied to him. Like always.
    I’d fallen into his arms and missed my one chance, like always.
    Like the heartless, wicked creature I was.
    I wasn’t going to miss it again.
    As soon as Megan and I dealt with dark matter, I was going straight to Emory’s house, marching right up to his door, and confessing everything. I killed your sister. I did it. I was the one, Emory. Yeah, it was an accident . . . but then I hid the body.
    The doorbell hadn’t even rung. I pressed it again.
    Nothing happened.
    Did doorbells require electricity? I rapped my knuckles on the wood, and waited.
    Please be home, please be home.
    I scanned the street behind me. Her Ford was parked in the shade, right where it should be. So why didn’t she answer?
    I knocked again, louder this time.
    “Megan!” I called, leaning to the side to shout around toward her bedroom window. “Megan, open up! It’s me!”
    No one stirred inside the house.
    “MEGAN!” My voice echoed up and down the eerily quiet street. I spun around, my eyes darting from one lawn to the next. All still. No movement.
    Suddenly, I felt very alone.
    Where was she?
    Maybe away with her parents. You’re freaking out over nothing, Leona.
    I tried the handle. Locked. Andcovered in so much dust my fingers left smudges. Just like everything else. Seriously, this was really starting to creep me out.
    Only one thing left to do. Sorry, Megan, but this counts as an emergency.
    The third flower pot on the right. I nudged it aside and plucked the hidden key out of the ring of stained tile. With a final glance behind me, I let myself into the house.
    “Megan!” I shouted from the foyer.
    No reply.
    I tried the lights. Nothing.
    Power was out here too.
    I crept up the hall, floorboards creaking underfoot, and peeked into her bedroom. “Megan?”
    Empty.
    I leaned inside—
    A spiderweb brushed my cheek. I flinched back, swatting at my face and hair.
    Okay . . . weird .
    Swinging my arms to clear the web, I advanced all the way into the room. It looked like, well . . . Megan’s room—sheets wadded at the foot of the bed, heels spilling out of her closet,