Sheep's Clothing by Gary Lewis (dark books to read TXT) 📗

car. "I've been up and down this road for..." He paused for a couple seconds. "Must've been over an hour."

"Well, genius," Sarah said, tightening her lips around her smile. "If it's a straight line and you're going back and forth."

"What?" David asked, the frustration building in his chest.

"I'm just saying," she said. "If you'd have kept going, I was sitting right there.” She raised her arm toward the large, weathered rocks piled beside the sharp curve in the muddy road. “You obviously didn't walk very far."

"What time is it?" David asked, looking at his phone.

"Forgetting how to read time now, are we?" Sarah said in a tone that set David's face on fire.

"Signal is completely out. I got nothing," he said, looking at the watch on Sarah's hand. "Not even the time."

Sarah huffed. "You know, you can fix that so it doesn't need network to-"

"What time is it already?" David interrupted loudly.

"Calm down, princess." She shook her head as she lifted her wrist. "It's 4:16,” she said. “Do you need to know if it's AM or PM?"

"No,” David said, swinging his arm at the dark sky. “It's obviously midafternoon." He lifted his eyes toward the stars that twinkled between thick, rolling clouds that drifted overhead. Of all the people, why do I get stuck here with her. 

“You know, David…” Sarah said as she continued marching ahead down the dark gravel road.

“What is it, Sarah?”

“Just because I never ask,” Sarah said. “Doesn’t mean I don’t wish you could help me with my yard some time.”

“How was I supposed to know that?” he asked.

“Really, David? You walk through it all the time,” she said. “Maybe if you paid more attention before you rush inside.”

David paused to think as he continued following her down the dark, wooded path. “I really want to, it’s just that I’m not sure I would know where to start.”

“Have you noticed how quiet it’s gotten out here?” David asked.

Sarah continued silently marching ahead while David followed. He wondered why she even brought up the yard work and why it was a big deal.

"Maybe we should just take the woods straight toward town and avoid the trails and roads," Sarah said.

David couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I just love how you're always full of bright ideas," he said. "I really think it'd be best if we stick to the open road for now."

She walked ahead of him, nodding her head up and down. "Yeah, because werewolves are definitely afraid of roads."

David really didn't like the idea of heading back down into the woods, especially when it meant leaving Tony and the others behind.

"Well, there's a forestry service road that runs almost parallel to the Bluff Mountain Trail," David said as he walked faster to keep up. "And it passes near the lake right by town, but there's probably more than a mile of brush and hills between the trail and the road."

"Then it's settled!" Sarah said, palms to the sky. "Let's finally get the hell out of here."

David followed as Sarah strode toward the left edge and peered down the ravine. One cautious step after another, she slipped beneath the cover of branches and leaves, climbing further down. "You coming?" Her voice was as inviting as the buzz from a hornet nest.

He slowly crouched and turned, placing one foot onto the rough, rocky hillside below and then another, eventually scaling his way down the wet slope until he was surrounded by thick forest. "As long as we stay on a general eastern course we should cross the trail and then come to the road eventually," he said.

"In other words, as long as we can find which way is downhill," Sarah said with a light laugh.

Visibility was a joke as the forest quickly swallowed them in darkness. They continued striding sideways down the hill, often stepping into the unknown in hope of a proper footing.

"Did I mention how much I love your ideas yet?" he asked, propping his foot against a tree on the nearly vertical slope to catch his breath.

"Yes,” she said, the amusement obvious in her voice. “I believe you did."

To his right, Sarah's arm stretched forward, grabbing a soggy tree for support. The dead wood collapsed and she slipped straight down with a scream. David grappled her with both arms and they fell into a slide together down the hill. Bundled together by their arms, they tumbled and shouted, crashing through unseen vegetation, cracking sticks and bumping rigid rocks until they slowed into a controlled slide, finally stopping where the earth leveled out.

They laid against one another, his arm still crammed between the damp hillside and her back. David could taste Sarah's breath as it brushed closely against his face. "Are you ok?" David began feeling around to make sure she wasn't wounded in the fall. The light touch of her fingertips rolled their way up his other arm. Through the darkness, he could see her staring back at him. As her body relaxed and pressed firmly against his, David stared back into her blue eyes. His heart thumped harder. He pushed his forehead against hers and she tilted her head back and started to breathe harder.

A bright light swept through the woods ahead and they both turned to face it. Voices soon followed.

"No. I'm telling you. Those were people."

"People getting eaten alive," another said. "Let's just go already."

Sarah pulled away and they brushed themselves off to head in the direction of the voices.

"There's two of them," Sarah said, marching toward the sounds while David followed.

As he followed the bouncing beams of light between the tree trunks ahead, his mind drifted back to the hillside exchange.

"Earth to David," Sarah said. "I need you paying attention. We don't know what we're walking into here."

"Sorry," David said. "I don't know what got into me back there." He silently awaited a reply, but she didn't say a word.

"Is Jan going to hear about this?" he asked. Still no answer as they got closer to the others.

"Sarah," he spoke louder. "Are we even going to talk about what