Blue Moon by Cindy Lynn Speer Read Free Book Online Page B

so, for no amount of preparation had readied her to face him again.
    She ran to the front of the house. Dashiel wasn't coming; he stood just out of sight, barking like he was trying very hard to communicate something extremely important.
    "Alright, boy,” she said with a shaky voice. “I hope to God you know what you're doing."
    She gathered her courage, and followed him into the woods.

Chapter 4
    If you asked Alex how he came to be tied to the train tracks, he would have told you he had no idea.
    He had a long time to think on it. He remembered double-checking the door to the hotel room, showering for a very long time, watching TV while he drank some soda then crawling gratefully into bed. That was it. An exciting life, to be sure, but nothing meriting this kind of treatment.
    The whole situation had a surreal quality to the point where he now expected to see melting alarm clocks, and birds made out of fire. To his knowledge, only virtuous young women in frilly white dresses ended up in this situation, not boring young men in faded striped pajamas.
    He blinked at the sky, trying to figure out what the constellations were above him. He struggled against his bonds, more to warm up a little and pass the time than because he thought it would help. The ropes and duct tape that bound him were thick and tight, and he had very little room to move.
    After a while, his new favorite time-passer became trying not to think of how badly he needed to pee.
    Alright, he told himself. I need to think my way through this, be rational.
    He studied the tracks, which went for a ways before disappearing around a bend. He was not happy to note that they were shiny from use, nor could he make out any skeletons of weeds growing up between the ties. He strained, trying to take the best look around he could. He could see no house lights, no cars, no signs of humanity save for the power lines that ran parallel to the tracks.
    "Hello?” he yelled anyway. “Hey, out there! The next time you decide to kidnap me let me put a coat on first, okay? It's effing cold out here!” He paused. No movement in the bushes, no response of any kind. Silence. He liked silence right now, though. It meant he had a little longer before chop time.
    "I don't see the sense,” he continued, “in kidnapping a man whose PJs have worn spots in them. If I had money, I'd at least be sleeping in something a little less vintage."
    He shifted. The rocks were beginning to cut into his flesh, but for some odd reason, it didn't really bother him. The cold didn't, either, although he could feel it wearing away at his resistance.
    He wasn't happy to be in this situation, but he wasn't going to whine about it. His friends back at work would think he was unnaturally calm, and this might be true. He wasn't the kind of person to feel too deeply. He wasn't shallow, but he had to admit he wasn't extremely passionate. He liked to call himself even-tempered, but the truth was, he had an almost magical affinity for staying calm. It was going to serve him well now. He'd hate to spend the last moments of his life a sobbing, screaming idiot.
    Who are my enemies? he wondered. He yelled “Hello” once in a while as he tried to think. His ex-fiancee? No, she'd already gotten what she wanted, i.e., rid of him, so there was no point. Anyway, they really didn't dislike each other, had just sort of grown apathetic. Although, come to think of it, their breakup scene hadn't given her much to recommend him to her. ("I don't want to marry you, Alex.” “Oh. Okay. If you're sure.” “What do you mean okay? Don't you care?") And on, and on ... but they'd made a kind of peace when he left.
    Work? He couldn't think of anyone there, where he was considered just one of the guys. People had actually said they'd miss him when he left. He lost his job because the company needed to downsize. They decided Alex's office only needed four accountants. Those with seniority stayed. He knew it wasn't personal. He was