Dead End: Midnight Hollow by Penn Cassidy (free novel 24 TXT) 📗

The ground rumbled again, but this time it was different. The rumble was low, shallow, and thunderous. I peered past Freddy and Jason, and a hysterical sound fell from my lips.

“To the death!” came the smallest, squeakiest voice I’d ever heard. Jessica barreled around the headstones, and Maddie was sitting on her spidery back like a rider on a horse, with freaking Roger behind her, throwing rocks at the undead.

Jessica was currently the size of a Volkswagen Beetle again. Sparks of magic were flying from Maddie’s fingertips, and her battle cry was one for the history books. I realized that aside from that day in the library and that broomstick ride, this was the first real time I’d seen her use her powers.

“Be gone, foul beasties! Back to the graves with ya!” Mads shouted, her magic flying from her fingertips and zapping the undead in the butts.

Jessica was swiping corpses around left and right with her big spindly spider legs. Beside them was a massive greenish man standing over ten feet tall, with skin the color of moss and fat tusks protruding from his lower jaw. It took a second to realize who it was. Baen. It was freaking Baen in his true form, and he was crushing corpses under his fist like the Hulk.

“That’s my man! Don’t mind me, just staring!” Mads cheered on Baen, then blew him kisses before stampeding away on Jessica.

“Where's Cal?!” Jason/Damon demanded, grabbing my attention again.

I shook my head in shock. “Don’t hurt him, he’s on our side. No blowing him up.”

He gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing with rage. “He kidnapped you!”

“I don’t care, he’s the only reason the ritual isn’t working! Ichabod is trying to resurrect my mother, and Cal tricked him. It’s not going to work, but I need to get out of this fucking coffin!” I looked at Freddy next, his nose was in the air as he sniffed around the coffin, trying to figure out how to get me out. “We have to stop him before Calvin’s ward breaks around their graves!”

Freddy went to nod, but was thrown backwards when one of those clown assholes slammed into him from the side, its freaking toot horn blaring as they went down. I screamed his name, but I saw Norman there, ripping into the fucker’s throat a second later and spitting out the blood in disgust, his eyes completely black.

“And stay dead,” Norman mumbled under his breath and kicked the clown in the gut for good measure.

I knew they could take care of themselves, as they grew into their powers every day, but I still couldn’t handle the thought of any of my guys getting hurt. I’d already lost them once. I couldn’t waste this second chance.

My friends were fighting the attacking horde, and even Jason had to rip himself from beside my coffin to help. There must have been fifty zombies snarling, scratching, and biting. Payton and her mother were cowering, just watching the spectacle—bitches—until Mads hopped off a running Jessica and marched over to Payton with clear revenge in her eyes. Payton hopped off the tombstone with a back flip and shook her pom-poms in a come and get it motion.

“There's only one cheerleader allowed in this town, and that’s me! My name’s Maddie, head cheerleader at Sunset Hollow, prepare to die!” Mads took a fighting stance, but not before pulling off her hoop earrings and throwing them to Roger, who caught them without looking as he charged away into the zombies.

Look at his little legs go. So cute.

I shook my head and cheered for Maddie as she danced in place with her fists raised, dodging a pom-pom and doing a back hand flip that made her foot connect with Payton’s chin. Her head snapped back, and she spit out a broken tooth that added a gap between her teeth, her smile was even creepier now.

“You're going to pay for that,” Payton said with a lisp.

“Bring it on,” Maddie goaded and charged towards her head first like an all-star linebacker.

I saw Baen standing off to the side, throwing zombies around like flopping fish, but he kept looking over his shoulder to shout encouragement at his girl. That was kind of sweet in a weird way. Maddie kept swinging her arms, her fists connecting over and over again, until Payton’s face was black and blue instead of a powdery white. She passed out as Maddie stood to her feet, dusting off her hands, and then jumped in place, throwing Payton’s pom-poms in the air.

“Take that, you bitch. Who’s the cheerleader now?!” Maddie sneered down at her with a head bob and skipped away with a smile, all the way to Baen’s side, where she stroked his hulking back muscles in wonder.

“Where are the aunties?!” I shouted, terrified because if something happened to them, I’d lose it for good.

“Getting a special book at my shop,” Baen grumbled out as he lifted two zombies by the necks and sent them flying.

I closed my eyes in relief but snapped them back open when I noticed how silent it got.

My eyes went back to Ichabod, who suddenly stopped chanting and started cackling, his fingers curled towards the sky. My heart dropped into my stomach when I watched that green lightning strike the graveyard dirt, right over my parents’ grave.

“No!” I screamed, thrashing again. “Freddy, tip the coffin!” His head popped up at the sound of his name, and he fought to get back to me, biting through jugulars and clawing faces of the undead. “Freddy, tip this thing! Do it now!”

He took a running start and slammed into the stone coffin, making it rock. I teetered backwards, head spinning as he slammed into it again. I needed to face the moons. I needed the eclipse to shine directly on me for this. I was so out of my league here, still new to all of this, and it wasn’t fair.

The coffin toppled finally, and