Read Almost Dead (Dead, #1) for Free Online

or Mia again. Will they ever find me? Will they ever learn what happened today? What if they think I disappeared? Maybe, in their minds, I just ran away. They knew my feelings towards Briarhaven, how I hated the town. How I wanted to escape and see the world.
    “Hel plt lo ? Were you dropped on your head as a baby or something? I’m talking to you.” Laney’s annoying voice cuts through my reflection process.
    Exhaling a rattled sigh, I ask, “What do you want?”
    “I want to know what your genius plan will be,” she says. “Have you considered a way out of this place while you were in La-La Land over there?”
    I sit up, slowly, and glare at her. “Actually, I was considering whether or not my family will ever find me. My body. Whatever. ” I can’t be certain, but there seems to be a faint glimmer of sadness in Laney’s eyes. As soon as it appears, however, it’s gone. “Have you wondered that, too, or were you just worried about how mangled your face looks?”
    Laney rises rather quickly and pats her cheeks with both hands. “Oh, my God. Is it mangled now?”
    Ignoring her, I stand and begin traipsing back toward the scene of the crash.
    “We have to get back. We’re getting weaker,” I say.
    “None of this makes any sense.”
    “Wherever we are, whatever this place is”—I glance around, at the depressing, gray , dreary world we’re stuck in—“it doesn’t want us to leave.”
    My theory must be correct, because, as we near the crash site, I’m able to move about more quickly, and I don’t feel so light-headed anymore. The fog has dissipated some, but not enough that we can see our vehicles. The only way I remember the round about locations of our cars is the cluster of trees growing near mine, and then straight back from there is Laney’s vehicle.
    Lowering myself to the ground, I sit in the mist, which persistently churns around me. Laney decides to sit, too. Even though we’re isolated from the real world, there are some similarities. Trees, grass, bushes, fog—all things found in our reality, yet they also exist here. What if we’re the only ones in this spot? Like, maybe we created our own parallel dimension when we died, so it’s just the two of us for the rest of eternity…
    As I rid myself of bad thoughts, I realize this location has its own distorted beauty. This would be Mia’s wet dream, living out the rest of time in a place where no color existed. She’d be so jealous of me right now.
    Laney scoffs. “Do I even want to know why you’re smiling?”
    “I was thinking about your sister and how much she’d love to be in your place.”
    “Well, I would gladly give it to her,” Laney says. “I mean, you two freaks belong here. A normal person’s nightmare is your sanctuary.”
    “Look at you,” I sneer, “thinking outside the box. I guess all of that blonde hair dye hasn’t murdered your brain cells after all.”
    She sticks outalse stick her tongue. “Oh, shut up. At least I don’t drink the blood of my enemies.”
    “Funny. I don’t recall drinking yours.”
    “ Not yet,” she retorts.
    “Indeed.”
    Lying back, I allow the fog to bury me under a thick, white blanket. Technically, there isn’t a sky, as the gray extends as far the eye can see, so it’s not like I’m missing out on stars or the moon. I’ve never realized how important they are until now.
    Soft weeping comes from my right. I sit up, far enough to notice Laney hunched over, her face buried against her bent legs.
    “Crying isn’t going to help, ya know,” I say, even though I sound like a complete bitch. Well, let’s be honest, I am a complete bitch. But also, I’ve never really been in a situation where I needed to comfort someone.
    “You don’t understand!” she yells, fists tightly clenched. “I have family, friends—people who care about me. I have to get home. There’s an important pageant next week, and I’ve been busting my ass to win that crown.”
    Are her tears even