EPPINGTON: THE GUARDED SECRET by Tanya Taylor (red queen free ebook TXT) 📗

I know you. You don’t have a clue about what’s really going on or how to fix any of this.” She was clearly frustrated.

“You’re right, but I sure as heck will try and that counts for something.”

She caressed my hand. “Of course, it does.”

We waited for Rob for at least another twenty minutes before Sam and I became worried.

“Do you think he’s gonna show?” she asked. “Maybe they got him. It’s been about an hour since we parted ways.”

I wasn’t sure what to think, but the possibility that he’d been influenced, I guess you could call it, had crossed my mind from when I first met up with Sam and realized Rob was nowhere in sight. “I don’t know,” I replied.

Suddenly, there was a loud screech downstairs. Sounded like the door. “Someone’s here,” I said.

Sam stood up; a worried look blanketed her face as she stared toward the doorway.

I went over to get a peep downstairs, when I saw Rob hurriedly making his way up. “He’s here!” I told her.

“What a relief!” Sam replied.

Moments later, Rob entered the room. He was sweating and looked frantic.

“We thought you weren’t coming!” Sam exclaimed, very happy to see him.

“I wasn’t sure I’d make it.” He flopped onto the bench by the window, then focused on me. “I did everything you said; didn’t make any eye contact. But I had to pass a few dogs getting to my house and then on my way here they all seemed to be giving me this suspicious look. Man! My nerves were on me. I thought they were onto me. So, I went and took the back route to dodge anybody who might want a piece of me, but then I saw about twenty dogs standing around the park and I turned back. That’s what took me so long to get here.”

“What about your folks? Are they under the spell?” I asked.

He quickly nodded, yet with noticeable disappointment. “They’re not there, man. Believe me when I tell y’all.” He glanced at Sam. “What I saw a while ago was a shell of them. It’s like something took over their body.”

Sam patted Rob’s shoulder. “I know what you mean. Same thing with mine. I was talking to them and it was like I wasn’t even there.”

“Same here,” I said.

“So, what are we supposed to do now?” Sam asked.

“We have to put our heads together this time, guys. We have to do something to make our folks normal again and at the same time keep ourselves safe. The answer’s out there; we just have to find it.”

Sam nodded.

“Does your cell have a signal?” I asked Rob.

He slid it out of his pocket. “No, but we always have a signal in here!”

“It’s not having a signal in here that’s the problem,” Sam said. “We’re not getting a signal anywhere.”

“Maybe the thing we saw—that UFO knocked out the signal,” I surmised.

“But you said Dillinger was on the phone,” Sam returned. “If by chance he was using a cell phone, it makes sense to believe that only they have access to the signal and not us.”

Rob was flabbergasted. “Dillinger was using the phone?”

“Uh-huh?” Sam replied.

“Seems like the mutts are definitely trying to take over our town,” Rob opined. “Doesn’t look like cats and other animals have been drinking the same weird juice as they were.”

“I noticed that,” Sam commented. “It’s just the dogs from what I could tell. Our cat, Lucy, seems like her old self. She was the only normal one in the house!”

“Why dogs though?” I wondered. “Why not all the animals? Seems even stranger that it’s just the dogs, don’t you think?”

“I’d say so,” Sam replied. “Chief Mays’ poodle seems to be the leader, if not one of them. The crazy stuff she said out there in the road boggles my mind and honestly scares the hell out of me.”

I sat down next to Rob while Sam stood near the window, peeping out occasionally.

“I say we stay here together until we can figure out what’s going on,” Sam suggested.

“We’ll need food,” Rob submitted. “We can’t stay here without food.”

“I agree—which means we’ll have to go back to one of our houses at least, to get the food,” I said.

“We can go to my house,” Rob replied. “Mom always keeps the cupboards and fridge stocked up. We can get plenty of stuff for a few days. I don’t think they’ll be eating it anyway.”

“Why do you say that?” Sam asked.

“I think I know why,” I interjected. “Some talk of dog food?” I looked at Rob.

He nodded. “How do you know?”

“My mom offered me dog food. I still can’t believe it.”

Sam frowned. “Are you guys for real?”

“Yep,” I said. “It’s all weird, to say the least.”

“That’s beyond weird!” Sam exclaimed. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if any of my peeps offered me cat food! I’d tell them to get their heads checked.”

“I don’t think that would help, considering the circumstances,” I told her. “What’s going on in this town is beyond any shrink’s expertise.”

“What’s funny though...” Rob added, “...is that we don’t even have a bloody pet! And they still mentioned how we’re having dog food for dinner. Guess they plan to go out and shop for some.”

“That’s true!” Sam’s eyes widened. “Y’all don’t even have a pet!”

We decided to make a move for the food after nightfall. That way, we figured we could maneuver about better without being easily noticed. After another hour or so of brainstorming and exploring different scenarios that might explain what could be happening in Eppington, there was one thing that was blatantly clear: We were only three regular kids in a town overrun by some sort of strange phenomenon. And if we couldn’t get to the bottom of things soon, there was a high chance that our town would be doomed forever—and eventually, the three of us might become victims ourselves.

6

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As we walked down the street toward Rob’s house, I must admit, the whole time it was