Read By the Pale Moonlight (Book One of the Moonlight Series) for Free Online Page B

moments
in life.
    Despite that, here was the perfect
opportunity to rectify the situation. And for a good cause.
    I dug my fingernails into my palms. "Is it
true you found Kim Urwin?"
    "Why?"
    "I-I heard you did, and I was sort of hoping
you could tell me anything you saw."
    He didn't bat an eye. "Why?"
    I swallowed hard, unsure of what to say. "She
was a friend," I blurted out, the lie rolling off my tongue all too
easily.
    He laughed then and took another drag off his
cigarette. With fluid movements, he pushed off the wall and
approached me. He was almost as tall as Ty, and his close proximity
forced me to look up at him. I struggled to maintain eye contact,
knowing deep down that his speaking depended on it. I caught a
whiff of car grease, no doubt picked up from the gas station where
he worked.
    "Well?" I said.
    "I've seen you, you know?" His eyes burned
into mine. "You're lying. You and your little friends didn't have
time for girls like her."
    His words dinged home beneath what little
armor I had left. Shame rose up my neck. "You don't know anything
about me."
    "That's where you're wrong. You treated her
like garbage—worse." He paused and his words sank in deep. My chin
trembled slightly, and I fought to keep control.
    "I'll ask one more time. Why do you want to
know?"
    When I didn't answer, he flicked his ashes
and laughed, no humor in the sound. "Run back to your friends." He
smiled then, and a chill swept over my skin. "Safety in numbers,
right?"
     
    o0o
     
    Caleb's words haunted me when I returned to
class. With talk of the assembly and Kim's death still buzzing in
the air, no one paid much attention as I slipped into my seat. Was
he behind the attacks? No. He couldn't be. Whatever had been in
that hallway with me, it hadn't been human. It had to be the same
animal responsible for Kim's death. But then, why couldn't I shake
the feeling Caleb knew more than he let on?
    "Ms. Wilhelm, can you answer problem number
five?"
    I stared at Mrs. Spradling blankly, my face
burning with embarrassment as she repeated the question. Unable to
collect my thoughts and focus, I mumbled a quick no. She gave me a
disapproving frown and moved on to the next student.
    I slid down in my chair and kept my head low
for the remainder of the period. When the bell rang, I uttered a
hasty apology to her before rushing to my locker. Lunch was next,
and I quickly stuffed my books inside and slammed it closed. I
needed to find Ty.
    I didn't spot him amongst the students
crowded together in the cafeteria. When he failed to show, I took a
seat with David and Jenna at our usual table. They gave me
identical puzzled expressions when I didn't eat, but quickly became
distracted in their usual gossip session with the other students
crammed around us. I tuned them all out, my numerous worries
warring for dominance of my thoughts.
    I gazed off into the distance, eyes unfocused
as I tried to work out how Caleb figured into the whole thing.
Someone passed into my line of sight, and I snapped out of my
reverie. Melanie Hoffs, tray in hand, made her way across the room
to an empty table in the corner.
    Her dark brown hair went uncombed and there
were deep circles under her hazel eyes. Her skin was pale, causing
the light smattering of freckles across her nose to stand out even
more than usual.
    Several of my friends pointed in her
direction, disdain mingled with amusement on their faces. The words
"what a loser" and "maybe she'll be next—if we're lucky" reached my
ears and my mouth gaped open in shock. Sobs came from the corner,
and I turned to see Melanie quickly collecting her things, tears
running down her face.
    Everything seemed so surreal—as if I watched
from some far off place, helpless to make it stop. The laughter
only increased at Melanie's apparent distress, and the more they
laughed, the more disjointed her movements became. At last, she
gave up and ran out of the room.
    I slammed back into real time. Standing, I
shook my head in disgust at