Read Spirit Mountain for Free Online

munching on their breakfast platters and pancakes until I slid into the booth across from him.
    My two talkative high school friends had told me that this diner was one of the most popular breakfast spots in Castleborough. Apparently, it was their version of IHOP, where all the high school students would gather after home games.
    Logan gazed at me curiously. “You made it. Was that your aunt out there? Did you get in trouble or something?”
    “No, not at all.”
    “Oh, okay.”
    One of the two servers swung by our table. “What can I get you to drink, sweetheart?”
    I glanced at Logan. “What are you having?”
    “Hot chocolate.”
    I smiled. Hot chocolate was always a remedy for winter. “Nice. I’ll have what he’s having.”
    “You got it. Whipped cream?”
    “Of course.” I flashed her a polite smile.
    The second the server walked away, I leaned forward. “Logan, you’re not going to believe what happened to me.”
    “Well, tell me!” He threw his hands out to insinuate he was going to drag it out of me.
    “Okay. I talked to my uncle. Apparently, my aunt used my windowsill as a display for her dolls…” Glancing around to make sure no one was eavesdropping, I whispered the rest, “but the dolls kept disappearing.”
    “Okay?”
    “So they put a camera in the room. And what they found out was that the dolls were disintegrating, right there on the windowsill.”
    Logan raised a curious brow. “Disintegrating?”
    “Yeah, well, disappearing.”
    He narrowed his eyes. “Where were they going?”
    “They never found out. But after careful review of the camera footage, they saw that the dolls would disappear at exactly 7:00 a.m., 2:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.” I cupped my hands over my mouth, almost giddy at what I’d experienced.
    Pressing both palms against the table, he leaned forward, staring at me as if having figured out for himself what I’d done. “You didn’t.”
    I nodded. “Yup. I sat on that windowsill at 7:00 a.m., Logan.”
    “And?”
    “And it took me to this strange world...”
    “Strange world? What does that mean?” He sat back, crossing his arms over his chest. “You need to do better than that. This is huge. I want details.”
    Again paranoid, I scanned around the diner before continuing, “On the mountain, Logan, Spirit Mountain, I met Ty.” I exhaled, waiting to see his reaction this time. If he believed me, it would be a miracle because even saying that made me sound like a nut.
    “You met the spirit that’s been haunting you?”
    Hearing him say those words reminded me how scary it all sounded. But I knew Ty wasn’t a threat. “Yes, but I think you were right. I don’t think he was haunting those girls. I think he was trying to warn them—just like he’s trying to warn me.”
    “Hmm, are you sure?”
    “Yes. And get this, there was something else on that mountain—in that world with him—something he was afraid of as well.”
    “What was it?”
    I shook my head. “I don’t know. I got scared because by the time he was done explaining a bunch of weird stuff to me, my window of opportunity to return to my room was mere seconds away. So, he ushered me forward and I made a run for it, jumping back on the heap of dolls and landing on my bed back in my room.”
    He leaned back in his seat. Running both hands through his hair, he said, “Wow. This is crazy, Beth. No one’s going to believe us.”
    “Well, we’re not telling anyone, Logan. I mean, we need more information before we tell anyone about this. Plus, I want you to go back with me tonight.”
    “Okay, but what if we get trapped?”
    “We’ll be there until 7:00 in the morning. We should know what we want to ask him and prepare ourselves to be there for the entire night. Can you get away?”
    He shrugged. “Yeah, since Ashlyn died, my parents hardly notice whether I’m home or not. They don’t seem to care.” He sighed. “I honestly can’t say I blame them.”
    I reached out and wrapped my