Dark Tales 1 by Viola Masters Read Free Book Online

screamed through her.
    Darryl was shouting, “Amy, what did you do?”
    The woman was staring at the gun. “It went off. It just went off. I wasn’t even holding the trigger.”
    Molly tried to speak and blood caught in her throat. No words emerged, only gurgling.
    The other two ran, and Molly saw her phone come out of her tiny purse where 911 was dialled. She watched the phone float to the floor as seven shimmering figures surrounded her.
    Gerald’s voice whispered in her ear, “We said you couldn’t speak. We didn’t want to say why. See you in a few minutes, darling. We have centuries of playtime lined up.”
    She stared at the spectral faces watching her as she waited for the ambulance to show up before she died. Molly felt herself leaving her body as the police came through the door.
     
    “Damn it! What was all that stuff before if I wasn’t dead yet?” Molly put her hands on her hips and glared at the men around her.
    Gerald chuckled. “We just wanted to make sure that you didn’t enter the light. This place is so much more fun. We promise to keep you entertained.”
    A man she didn’t remember seeing before stepped forward. She would have remembered him; he was built like an ox.
    “It seems that you have a penchant for cursing, little miss. That means you are in dire need of discipline. Come here; I am going to take you over my knee.”
    She looked at him and stepped back, but two of the others cut off her escape route. He grabbed her and literally tucked her under his arm while he walked to a chair, sat down and settled her over his knees.
    He lifted her skirt up and tucked it over her back then pulled her panties down to expose all of her to his hand. The first smack drove all thought out of her head.
    The second smack was distracting, because the other six had formed a semi-circle around her with their chairs while she was spanked, and through the spectral veil, she watched the ambulance attendants work on her.
    It was a death that lacked dignity, but she had centuries to work out a way to get her revenge.
     
     

 
     
Cross Country
     
     
    L
    ea huffed and tried to keep up with her group. She really didn’t want to be here, but her friends had bullied her into coming with them to round out their number. If she weren’t there, they wouldn’t have gotten the discount on the guide.
    There was nothing like being used for your ability to be a warm body.
    She was last in line again and shuffled along in the trail of the man ahead of her. The group was getting further away again, and she fought to keep up.
    That night, they were going to spend the evening at a lodge prepared for their group, and the next day, they would return to the base camp. Lea was counting the minutes until she was out of the snow pants and into her car.
    She mindlessly shuffled ahead, taking stock of the sweat on her skin as well as the ache in her butt. She fell a lot.
    The snowy world around her was beautiful, but the laughter from the group up ahead wrecked the promise of silence that the white world was giving her.
    She cruised into a clearing with calls of, “There she is.” And “Finally. Lea, what kept you?”
    She flipped them the bird and set her poles so she could drop her pack and get her thermos out.
    She looked around, found a spot, released her skis and headed over to a snow-covered log.
    Lea watched the couples interacting, and she fought the urge to groan. Although Samantha had been married for three years, she was trying to bat her lashes at the guide and get him to help her form.
    Lea shook up her soup and poured a measure of it into her cup. She sipped at it slowly while the guide moved around the group to brief them on what was happening next.
    When it was her turn, Brady brushed the snow off the log and settled down next to her. He leaned over. “You are miserable, aren’t you?”
    She made a face. “Yup. Just counting the hours.”
    “Why are you here? You don’t seem the type to make it this deep