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"Phantom Reach 2" by Marie_Quinn
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PREVIOUSLY
I followed them and watched as they put Pem on the couch at my house, I lay on the other one, my eyes clouded and wet hair stuck to my face, watching me as I walked in, I stumbled back in surbrise, right through a wall.
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CHAPTER 3 why?!
Why?! what was I doing laying on the couch, and standing right here, halfway in the wall, why did no one look up when I kicked the door? why didn't anyone come when I'd screamed? was I invisible? no, that was science fiction...no.
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the simplest fact, the only conclusion I could understand was that I'd knocked myself out and was having an out of body experiance, that made sense, this was a dream, I'd wake up and Pem would laugh at me for snoring and we'd go on like always, I could do
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this, no problem...right?
Lin didn't look at his sister, her skin cracked and her eyes puffy, he sat watching me "where did you find Robbie?" he whispered hoarsly, he sounded so sad and lost, a chill ran down my spine, did I want this answer? my Aunt
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looked over slowly "downstream" her voice was just as hoarse "she must have hit her head and fallen in the river while playing" I shook my head and tried to clear my ears, Aunty wasn't seriouse, I'm a great swimmer! even if I bumped my head i would know
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to keep my head up, the river isn't deep or fast, how could I drown?!
I slammed my fist into the window and it shattered, but it didn't cut my hand, everyone looked up, and Alex walked right through me, I wasn't even there to her, or any of them.
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CHAPTER 4 It set my mind reeling....
It set my Mind reeling to think that I was really dead and lying in the next room, it set me reeling to think I couldn't play with my friends, or grow up, or do anything, they'd never smile at me again, never laugh at
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my jokes, I may as well have been floating in a void, I felt numb and empty, and heavy, even when i was floating, I fet so heavy I might have fallen through the earth, I could hear everyone crying and I wanted to fll through the earth, it wasn't fair and
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it made me want to scream, I couldn't make sense of it at all, why were Aunty and my friends crying, why did Pem fall, why did I drown? did we do somethiing wrong?
my thoughts were stopped my the lilting of a flute, high and
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sweet, surrounding me, this felt peaceful. when I turned, I saw the floutist, I large, yellow-gold ball, with eyes as big as my torso closed tight, Pem was sitting by it, listening, swaying slightly, it beckoned me over with a thin, stubby hand and began
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a new tune, light and happy, it drew me in and before I knew it I was dancing, a voice cheered me on from the back of my mind "don't let it bother you anymore,dance and be light" it whispered as the tune picked up, Pem and I were Outside now,
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high above the houses, the tune was getting faster and lighter, I kept dancing, faster and faster, leaping and spinning, hands linked with my friend, rising higher over the town I grew up in, high over the trees and the wooden shed, far away from the fear
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and sadness, faster and faster, and then I stopped, the flute become a shrill whistle that stung my ears, Pem kept dancing, but the theng, the piper, faced me, and as I watched, it's eyes opened a little, just enough for me to see the bloody iris "when
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the eyes open wide" the voice whispered and I was falling, the river greeted me, and left me back on the shore near the now red rock.
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CHAPTER 5 Just one thing...
Just One thing I needed to have an answer to, and it was the one thing my rational mind told me there was no answer to, I wanted to know why I died, surely it was no accident, I know I'm not clumsy
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enough to drown and Pen couldn't have fallen, there was no steep drop for her to fall from near this rock.
I dragged myself, slowly, trembling, up the hill and looked around, there were signs everywhere, a broken twig, my ribbon in the dust, a snapped
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sandle.....so that was it? I fell in because of a broken shoe? that wasn't fair! I kicked the sandle and it slid across the dust, resting near some footprints, too big to be Pem's too far away for mine, and the adults hadnt come up the trail, there was of
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shuffling around it, and one of Pem's clips, it went a fair way down the hill, it looked like a fight. I followed it, it ended at the rock....Pem didn't fall.