Wander Dust by Michelle Warren Read Free Book Online Page A

knees hit the floor in my momentary shock. My boy , the one from the photograph, stares back at me with his sparkling green eyes. His face is flustered. Without speaking, he lifts one finger, pressing it to his lips, urging my silence.
    I’m confused and relieved all at once. Somehow his image calms me just as it has before. As I begin to smile at him, the gang yells at us from a distance. “There she is!”
    The boy’s chin juts in their direction. When I follow his gaze, I see the gang is closer now. My eyes dart back to my boy in confusion. Is he one of them? I don’t have time to figure it out.
    I look down at his hand. He’s still clenching my sweater, so I strain away from him, pulling farther, twisting and turning until my arms extract from my sleeves, and I’m free. With my bare limbs now exposed, they swing freely by my sides as I fall into a full sprint again. As I glance back over my shoulder, I see the gang descending on the boy. Before I see what happens, I hurl myself back into the crowd, disappearing from all of them.
    A new train rolls to a stop next to me. If I time my escape correctly, I can jump on and ride away before the gang catches back up with me. I race to the front car and take one more quick glance back.
    I collide with someone. Their arms fling themselves around me in a cage grip. In response, I tense my muscles and thrash my body, willing myself to break free. The person won’t let go. I’m trapped.
    “Seraphina—Seraphina, what’s wrong? It’s me.” When I recognize the voice, I look up at her, but my hands are still clenched, and I’m on the verge on tears.
    Mona’s hands release me and move from my waist to rest on my shoulders. She attempts to calm me by placing her face level with my eyes. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”
    I stand, confused, staring at her lightly crinkled eyes. It takes several seconds to really see Mona, to understand she’s really here.
    I need to protect us.
    I turn, shifting square in front of her, to defend us from the gang. They must be right behind us by now, so I’m ready to punch or kick anyone that nears. With adrenaline coursing through my veins, I begin to shake. My trembling fingers brush tangled hair away from my face so I can scan the crowd over and over again. After a moment, I realize they’re gone. Vanished.
    When I turn to face Mona, my body trembles, uncontrolled. Mona seems to define the tremors as hypothermia because she instantly rubs her mittens up and down the length of my naked arms to warm them. Right now, I wish the friction would start a fire, but the thought makes me think of the Lady in Black, and I know if I had to choose, I’d rather be cold.
    “Where’s your coat?” Mona demands.
    I stay silent, still confused by our meeting. Jittery, my eyes flicker around. I’m sure the gang will appear again at any moment.
    “Where’s your luggage? What’s happened? I was worried, so I came looking... you didn’t answer your phone.” Her questions and concerns come faster, but I’m still nervously scanning for them.
    Mona pulls my face toward hers. “Seraphina, are you okay?” she asks. Concern flashes in her eyes, but I can’t answer. I realize I’m still breathing too hard from running.
    Mona shimmies out of her coat and wraps it tightly around my body. She pulls me into her arms and guides me through the open train doors. She takes a final glance over her shoulder at the station, probably to ascertain what I was running from.
    I know she won’t see them. The gang has disappeared, just like the Lady in Black. I force their images out of my head. The gang is not real. I’m crazy.
    On the train, Mona and I sit in silence. As the city speeds past us, she studies me. I stare blankly out the window, trying to understand what’s happening to me. The Lady, the candles, my hand, the boy, the gang—if one more unexplained thing happens to me I might crack in half. I burrow farther into her quilted coat, wishing I could hide