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

up his arms, up his neck, and down to his six pack that I couldn’t stop glancing at. I mean come on, who wouldn’t wouldn’t stare at that?

Focus, October!

I realized belatedly how quiet it was and glanced up from Michael’s abs, slowly realizing everyone was glaring at me. Except for Michael. He wore a satisfied, cocky smirk for about a half a second, until his attention was once again on the decaying black python at his feet. Its tiny bones peaked through its shedding snake skin, and its red beady eyes were staring up at him with...dare I say, love? Affection?

“Don’t move, man. Let’s just figure this out,” Jason said. “What’s the deal with this place?” Jason ran a hand through his mocha hair as he glanced around the room until he met my eyes. “And why do I get the feeling this is your fault?”

“My fault?!” I screeched, but was interrupted by Jessica, who skittered into the room and took a flying leap onto my shoulder.

“Holy pumpkin, people! Can’t an arachnid get some decent shut eye around here?!” She perched on my shoulder and faced Michael. “You’d think you’d be able to recognize your familiar when you see him. Honestly, what did Alfred ever do to you?”

I snorted and covered it up when the guys shot me a glare, but I could have sworn Norman looked a little smug. I noticed belatedly that he still had the little bat on his shoulder.

“Leave Billie out of this,” Norman hissed, inching away from me as he noticed me staring.

“Billie?” I asked in disbelief. “You named him?”

Norman rolled his eyes. “Jessica told me his name was Billie,” he said, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. “Kind of rude not to use it, right?”

“I mean…” I shuffled on my feet under his intense stare.

“Guys!” Michael shouted. “I don’t want a fucking familiar! Get this thing out of my room right now!” Alfred slithered over the mattress, and Michael had no more room to back up. He was plastered against the wall now. “Holy shit, holy shit!”

“Stop being a baby,” Jessica drawled. “You’re going to feel really stupid about this later.”

Alfred didn’t hesitate. The snake slithered right up Michael’s leg, twisting upwards until he wrapped around his torso. Michael froze completely, his bright blue eyes going wide. Before any of us could do a thing, the snake reared back and sunk its fangs into Michael’s flesh, and he cried out in shock at the pain. “Fuck! Get it off!”

“Just give it a second,” Jessica said with a laugh. Apparently, she found all of this incredibly amusing. Honestly, I kind of did too. It was sort of nice seeing my tormentors out of their element for once.

“What the hell is it doing?” Freddy asked, taking a hesitant step forward. “Michael, you okay, man?”

Michael’s eyes had gone completely black, and his whole body seemed to be calming down as the snake began to…absorb into his skin. I blinked a couple of times, shaking my head. The snake faded like smoke, leaving behind what appeared to be a tattoo type mark that wound around Michael’s entire torso. Michael glanced down, his shoulders losing all of their tension. I watched in disbelief as his lips tilted upwards.

A black flame flickered over his fingertips as his fingers morphed into sharp claws. We stared in disbelief, and I stumbled, tripping over my feet and into a hard chest. A pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist, catching my fall. I was too wrapped up in Michael to realize what was happening.

Freddy’s grip on my waist tightened as he seemed to force me back a step, as if protecting me from one of his best friends. Freddy’s muscles bunched, and something poked me in the side, causing me to yelp, but Freddy only shoved me towards his brother. Norman caught me and pulled me so close, I could feel him sniffing my neck. My pulse raced for many, many reasons.

“Bro, you good?” Jason asked hesitantly, stepping into the room.

Michael’s head popped up, the black beginning to recede from his eyes and disappear from his hands and arms. “I’m good. Alfred won’t hurt me, we have a mutual understanding. Jessica was right…”

“Of course I was,” she sniffed. “I told you I’d be your official tour guide, but did you listen? Nope!”

There was a hiss, right before a massive cloud of white filled the room, covering Michael in foam. It was only then that he finally snapped out of his trance and backed into the wall, sinking down and sitting in a daze on top of his mattress. That snake tattoo was still there, but the claws and fire were gone.

“Goodie, you kids are up!” Pip said, holding a fire extinguisher on her hip as the foam began to dissipate. I stared at the red canister in disbelief. Where the hell did that even come from? Pip continued before I could ask. “Chop, chop, lazy bones. It’s time to head into town.”

“What the hell for?” Norman grumbled, staring at my neck with a hungry look in his eyes.

At the same time, I asked, “How come?” I cut him a glare, pulling away slightly.

“Places to be, creatures to see,” Pip singsonged, clapping her hands to get us to move. “We said we’d give you a week to figure everything out, but that doesn't mean we should let ourselves become idle, now does it? Besides, you need supplies if you’re going to be staying here forever.”

My stomach dropped, but in the next heartbeat, I felt a cold breath on the skin of my neck.

“Dude, again?” Freddy grumbled, glaring at his brother, who still had a hold of my waist. “Stop sniffing her, or you’ll catch some kind of freaky disease.”

I jerked away from Norman, who was indeed sniffing my neck. “Both of you stay the hell away from me!” I spat, shaking out my hair and shivering. “Seriously, I’m going to start rubbing myself in garlic.”

“Morning, guys.” Maddie peeked