Fire in the Woods by Jennifer M. Eaton Read Free Book Online Page A

concrete.
    David reared back, nearly knocking me over. “What the…”
    I tightened my grip on his arms. “Dude, it’s only a bird. Chill out!”
    “I’m sorry. It frightened me.”
    His eyes remained on the little brown-spotted minion-of-doom as it hopped onto the road. What kind of idiot got spooked by a bird? I didn’t push it. David obviously had serious issues. Hopefully they weren’t the homicidal kind.
    I cringed.
    No. He was just a guy who needed help. No homicidal anything.
    David’s gaze shifted from left to right. “Where are we going, anyway?”
    “Don’t be so scared. It’s not like the whole world is looking for you. What are the chances of your father just happening to be on Maguire, and driving down this road at this very minute?” I tried to gauge his reaction, but his expression didn’t change. He was worried about more than his father, I could tell. Was it really the MPs? The regular police? Worse? Maybe eventually he’d open up to me.
    As we turned onto my street, an open-top jeep sped toward us. David cried out and jumped away from the road. One of the soldiers inside waved as they drove by.
    “I really think I need to go back to the woods,” David said.
    The jeep turned the corner, not even hesitating at the stop sign. “It’s nothing. They’re only going to work. You need to lighten up.”
    You should bring him back to the gate. Turn him in. This is bigger than you, and you know it. If the Army is looking for him something is seriously up.
    I scoffed at my own idiocy. Paranoia was so un-cool. He’d be fine. He was just out of sorts with a fever or something. Besides, if he was a fugitive, and I helped him, I may just be setting myself up for the story of a lifetime.
    Or a lifetime behind bars.
    I decided to go with the first scenario. Much better karma.
    Head tucked down low, David allowed me to guide him while I kept a careful watch on the neighbors’ windows and front porches. The last thing I needed was a nosy housewife calling my dad.
    David dug in his heels as we turned up my walkway. He wrenched against my grip. “What’s that?”
    “My house.”
    “Your house?”
    “Yeah, this is where I live. David, are you delirious or something? Where did you think I was taking you?”
    I placed my hand on his arm. Perspiration beaded on his brow and his tee-shirt seemed far damper than it should have been in the light rain.
    Sweat?
    David scrunched his eyes closed and stumbled foot over foot. A torrent of unintelligible words streamed from his lips as his body went limp.
    My knee slammed on the pavement as I reached down to catch him—but he was nowhere near as heavy as I expected. Weird.
    His eyes opened and rolled back into this head. He coughed once before his gaze re-focused on me.
    “You’re done. I’m calling an ambulance.”
    He grabbed my arm. “No! I just need to get warmed up.”
    I shook my head and helped him back to a standing position. “I think it’s more than that, and something really strange is—”
    “I promise you, I’m just cold. Please just…” His words lost themselves inside a moan, and another shaking chill brought us both to our knees. David’s shoulders stiffened between my hands, becoming board-rigid before shaking fitfully.
    “Shoot,” I whispered, rubbing his arms in a fruitless effort to warm him.
    The sky opened up. Rain pummeled us. The sound roared through the compound.
    David’s pupils fixed on a point behind me. His jaw vibrated in time with the tremor. Dark wet tresses matted to his forehead. Water trailed from his bangs and down his cheeks.
    I gripped his face and pointed it toward mine. “David. David, listen to me. I need to get you into the house.”
    His eyes didn’t focus. His teeth chattered.
    “Okay. Let’s hope you heard me.” He grimaced as I hauled him to his feet. His shiver tightened his joints. The stiffness in his body fought against me as we made our way to the door.

5
     
    Beneath the overhang, I fussed with