Soul Crossed by Lisa Gail Green Read Free Book Online Page B

Demons.” She shivers.
    “I don’t know,” I say. “I mean, I think it just shows how great our collective imagination is as a species.”
    “So you don’t believe in that stuff?” she asks.
    “I think real evil isn’t so cut and dry. Sometimes it wears the face of a friend or an average person. That’s what makes it so insidious.”

Chapter 17
Josh
    When I can’t put it off any longer, I head over to Cam’s house. The way is familiar now. I’ve learned his mother works nights at the hospital, so he barely sees her. She has no idea what he’s up to. I wonder sometimes what type of woman she is.
    As soon as he sees me coming, he runs out to greet me. I follow him straight to the woods behind the condo, where I dump my backpack on the remains of a rotting gazebo. I’ve been here before.
    Over the past few weeks, he’s shown me his weapons. Several knives, a Ninja-style sword, a bow and arrows that he made himself, a handgun and a rifle he says used to be his dad’s. I don’t question this—just act fascinated while he practices on the trees.
    Today he pulls out the homemade archery set.
    “It’s cool and all, but I’ve seen it.” I wonder if I’m supposed to add
so go make a bomb, that’ll really impress me
. I can’t bring myself to do it.
    “Yeah, but I built something that’s gonna help us practice,” he says, and I try to act excited while he pulls out a big metal trap from some brush. Inside there’s a rabbit. It looks pretty scared, like it might keel over at any moment. Cam shakes the cage, and it skitters to the side blinking at me in Morse code.
Help me. Help me
. It’s just a rabbit, I remind myself.
    “Wow. You caught something.”
    “Yeah, and I’m building another one so we can both have a live target. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty tired of throwing knives at tree trunks.” Yeah, I was kind of tired of that. I’ve been purposely missing to keep him blind to my true nature. And also to boost his confidence. It might be working a little too well.
    “Sounds good, Cam.” I glance at my watch. Four o’clock. I have an hour to humor psycho, then I can have my reward. I only hope Grace doesn’t wear a cross.
    “I wonder what it will feel like,” he says. His face is flushed.
    “What?” I ask.
    “Dying. I wonder what it’s like to know that kind of pain is coming. That it’s the last thing you’ll ever feel. That there’s nothing you can do to stop it.”
    “I don’t know, dude. I’m guessing it’s a pretty shitty feeling. I don’t think most people know it’s coming, though.” I sure as Hell didn’t.
    “I suppose not. I doubt this little guy has any idea.” He pokes at the cage, and the rabbit shivers. I’m pretty sure it
does
know what’s coming. At least on some level.
    “OK, do you trust me?” he asks. Thunder cracks from above and we both flinch.
    “Sure.” I say it because he expects it.
    “Then go over there, and when I give the signal, open the door.”
    I hesitate. “You are going to wait until it’s
away
from the cage a bit?” I know he’s a good shot, but I don’t relish the thought of being pierced by an arrow. I may be already dead, but I can feel pain.
    “Of course,” he says. So I tote the cage over to the designated spot and watch for the signal. He readies the bow and nods. I open the cage. The rabbit hesitates, unsure of what to do. He’s used to freezing as a defense. But he’s also smart enough to know there’s only one way out, and it happens to be wide open.
    The rabbit bursts from the cage, bounding toward the cover of the trees. For a moment I think he’s going to make it, but the arrow slices the air, skewering him in mid leap. The sound is something akin to slicing through a rare steak, and I know I’m eating vegetarian for dinner.

Chapter 18
Grace
    Josh doesn’t keep me waiting for long. He pulls up in front of the school in a red Mustang convertible. The top is down despite the lightning that flashes