Read Nigh - Book 1 for Free Online Page A

clammy.
    “You holding up okay, Gruff?” she asked.
    “Never been better,” he whispered. She gave him some
painkillers and offered him her bottle of water. He took them and
leaned back against the seat.
    “So,” Gruff said, his voice gaining some strength
already. “What’s this about trying to stop this?”
    Al turned around. Hector caught her eye and she
thought she saw him flush before he looked away again. He reminded
her of a skittish animal. She exchanged a glance with Molly, who
still held Big Bertha like it was the last water on earth. Her best
friend merely shrugged.
    “It’s, ah, it sounds crazy.” His voice was soft. He
ran a hand in his semi-long brown hair. Not bad looking, but she’d
be more than happy to beat the pretty out of him to get some
answers.
    “You know what sounds crazy?” Molly piped up.
“Sunbeams that set fires. Tombstones that move. Mists that seem to
act with a purpose. That sounds crazy. Now dish up your crazy so we
can add it to the menu, or I’ll just save your face for
dessert.”
    Al fought against a grin. Hector looked at Molly and
sighed. “Not the most ladylike, are you?” he mumbled.
    “ You think she’s not ladylike,” Al said, “you should see
me. Once she’s through with you, I’ll finish you off. Start with my
stuff, thief. What were you looking to get? I assume you’re the one
who broke into my apartment?”
    He looked embarrassed. “Yes. I had to, to try and
stop this. To find the watch.”
    “The watch I bought? You stole it all right. I’ve
got half a mind to…”
    “No, I mean, not that watch. Stella’s watch.”
    Al’s eyebrow shot up. “You mean my
great-grandmother’s watch? Why the hell would you try and steal
that? How do you even know her name?” Her hand automatically went
to her jacket pocket to make sure it was still safe in there. She
felt the shape through the fabric and relaxed.
    Her movement didn’t escape Hector’s attention. Nor
did his attention escape Molly’s eye. “If you so much as breathe
her way wrong, I will smash you.”
    Al didn’t know if Molly had the strength to smash
anyone, but she could certainly do some major damage with Big
Bertha in her hands.
    “I won’t. I won’t, I just, if I can have the watch,
I might be able to slow it down. Or you can. You can crank it
yourself and slow things down.”
    “I can’t. It’s broken.”
    “What do you mean, it’s broken?” His panic echoed in
the car.
    “I mean it doesn’t work. Never has as long as I’ve
had it.”
    “But… It should. It shouldn’t break down. I made the
best watch I could…”
    “ Wait, what, hold on,” Molly said
before Al could jump in herself. “You made the watch? How the hell does that work?
You’re what, thirty, tops? That watch is like a hundred years
old!”
    Hector looked out the windshield, as if gauging his
options. He sighed and leaned back, giving Al a slight smile. “You
look like her, you know. Stella Alwilda Taverner. You look so much
like her.”
    Gruff, who’d been silent, opened his eyes.
    “Al…” He grabbed her arm and she looked to where he
looked, their right. The ground rumbled beneath them.
    Al was still deciding what exactly she would do when
a transport truck rumbled past her, blowing its horn continuously.
It was gone as quickly as it had arrived, swallowed by the mist. As
soon as they could no longer see it, they couldn’t hear it,
either.
    “Let’s go,” Gruff whispered. Al nodded and pressed
on the gas. She was terrified another truck would come barreling
out of the mists and take them out. Percival had won his fair share
of scrapes, but that was hardly a fair contest.
    “Al?” Molly said. “Where are we going? What do we
do?”
    “You seem to know more about this,” Al said to
Hector. “Where do we go? Don’t talk too much, I need to hear what’s
going on out there.”
    “We need somewhere safe where I can fix the watch
and get it going again.”
    “My house,” Gruff said. “I