Read Splinter (Whisper Walker Series) for Free Online Page B

lot,” I replied, trying to grin through the pain. I wasn’t sure if it did any good since she couldn’t see it in the dark.
    I put my hands on her waist and started gently pushing. “You could get off me now, you know.”
    “Oh, yeah. I figured your lap was softer than the floor.”
    I scowled. “Was that a compliment? I’m so glad to know that my lap is more comfortable than a floor covered in bones.”
    “Bones?”
    “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that we’re back in the pit. When running, we inadvertently found the opening above it. Which was obviously far off from our predicted course.” I sighed. “We figured out that the opening is on their side. That’s good to know.”
    Now she was off my lap, and from the direction of her voice and the faint whiff of her shampoo, I assumed she was kneeling next to me. “So, why haven’t you turned on a light?”
    I felt myself flush. “Well, I…uh,” I stuttered. I didn’t know why I’d forgotten about them. It was kinda embarrassing. “I got so sidetracked with you on top of me that I forgot I had them. They’re in the top pocket of my bag. Unzip it and get them out, would you? I don’t feel like unstrapping it.”
    “You’re such a dummy,” she said, but with a smile in her voice.
    I heard her scoot closer to my back. Then I felt a warm hand down the neck of my shirt. I let her dig around for a second, kind of enjoying it, and wanting to see how long it would take her to figure it out. After a few seconds, I was about to burst into laughter because it tickled like hell. “Umm, Kelsie?”
    “Yeah?”
    “You’re inside my shirt, not the bag.” I couldn’t repress it any longer and let out an unmanly giggle. I just couldn’t help it. I’m extraordinarily ticklish.
    “Oh. Ha, I knew that,” she said. Then she dragged her nails up my back on the way out. Not hard enough to draw blood, but enough to make me stop giggling.
    “Hey! That was totally uncalled for,” I snarled, playfully.
    All I got was a “yup” while I felt her digging around in the pack. I saw a flicker of light behind me and heard her curse under her breath.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “One light is a little banged up from you falling on it.”
    “That’s not real bad, then.”
    She tossed something into my lap. “Yeah, well, it is when the other one is smashed. You need to go on a diet or something.”
    I grabbed the object she’d thrown at me and figured out it was the broken light. I shoved it into my pocket to try and repair later, then shuffled around to maneuver my complaining body to a standing position.
    Kelsie shined the light around the pit, proving that it was, in fact, the same one we’d been in earlier.
    “Shh!” Kelsie whispered, stepping over to me and clamping her hand over my mouth tightly.
    I hadn’t intended on saying anything, so it didn’t really go against my plans to start with. I went with it. Then I heard what she was talking about.
    Footsteps. Clomping on the earth above the pit. It caused dirt to sprinkle down on us in an alarming way. Dust filled the air. Since I was confined to breathing through my nose with Kelsie’s small hand pressed against my mouth, I kept having mini-sneezes. We heard hushed voices trickling through the hole. They knew we had disappeared around here, but weren’t sure where. That came as a comfort. I’d been afraid that maybe they’d known about the hole. On the other hand, it also meant that the whole Briln Water guard wasn’t in on the invisible skeletons, which only intrigued me more.
    The footsteps faded away. Kelsie finally released my face, allowing me to heave in full breaths of air. I’d started to grow fuzzy from the dust and lack of air by the time she let go.
    “Why are you panting?” she asked.
    “Why do you think? You’ve been blocking my air supply! Duh!”
    “Oh, yeah,” she said, snickering. “Guess I was.”

    “What was that?” Kelsie asked, sounding alarmed, halting in the middle of a small