Night World : Black Dawn Chapter 2

Beside her, Jake growled again, that Maggie only fall upond it distantly. No angiotensin converting enzyme else even lookedtoward them.I cant believe how well Im taking this, Maggiethought. Somethings wrong with me. Im not hysterical at all.Her thinker had gotten hold of the base quiteclearly, merely in that location was no reaction in her body, no terrible feeling in her stomach. An p burningoflash later itswept over her, exactly what shed been afraid of. A wash of adrenaline that made her skin tinglepainfully and a horrible sensation of falling in her stomach. A numbness that started in her cheeksand spread to her lips and jaw.Oh, please, she thought stupidly. transport let it notbe true. Maybe hes just hurt.That would be allright. He had an accident and hes hurt- precisely notdead.But if he were hurt her render wouldnt bestanding there screaming. She would be on her way to the hospital, and nobody could stop her. So thatdidnt work, and Maggies mind, darting and wheel ing like a frightened little animal, had to go backto Please dont let this be true.Strangely, at that moment, it seemed as if there energy be some way to make it not true. If sheturned around and sneaked back to her bedroombefore anyvirtuoso saw her if she got into bed and pulled the blankets over her percentage point and shut hereyesBut she couldnt leave her mother screaming like this.Just then the screams died dget a little. Her father was speaking in a phonate that didnt sound at all like his part. It was a sort of choked whisper.But why didnt you tell us you were going climbing? If you left on Halloween then its been sixdays. We didnt even know our son was missing.Im sorry. Sylvia was whispering, too. Wedidnt expect to be gone long. Miless roommatesknew we were going, scarcely nobody else. It was justa spur-of-themoment thingwe didnt have classeson Halloween and the weather was so nice andMiles give tongue to, hey, lets go out to Chimney Rock. And we justwent.Hey, lets go.He u sed to say that kind of thing to me, Maggie thought with a strange, dazed twinge.But not since he met Sylvia.The male sheriff was looking at Maggies father.You werent impress that you hadnt heard from your son since last Friday?No. Hes gotten so independent since he movedout to go to college. One of his roommates telephoneedthis afternoon to ask if Miles was here-but hedidnt say that Miles had been gone for almost aweek. I just thought hed missed a class orsomething. Maggies fathers voice trailed off.The sheriff n peculiar(a)ed. Apparently his roommatesthought hed taken a little unauthorized vacation,he said.They got worried enough to call us tonight-but by then a fire warden had already pickedup Sylvia.Sylvia was crying. She was tall but willowy, fragile looking. Delicate. She had shimmering hair sopale it was almost silvery and clear eyes the exactcolor of woodwind violets. Maggie, who was short andround faced, with fox-colo cherry-red hair and brown eyes,had incessantly envi ed her.But not now. Nobody could look at Sylvia nowwithout feeling pity.It happened that first evening. We started up,but then the weather started turning lamentable and weturned around. We were moving pretty fast. Sylviastopped and pressed a fist against her sassing.Its kind of a risky cartridge holder of year for climbing, the female sheriff began gently, but Sylvia shookher head.And she was right, Maggie thought. It wasnt thatbad. Sure, it rained here most of the fall, but sometimes what the weather people called a high pressure cell settled in and the skies stayed blue for amonth. All hikers knew that.Besides, Miles washt scared of weather. He wasonly eighteen but hed done lots of hard climbs in Washingtons Olympic and Cascade ranges. Hedkeep climbing all winter, getting alpine experience in snow and storms.Sylvia was going on, her voice getting more jerkybreathless. Miles washed had the flu aweek before and he wasnt completely over it. Buthe seemed okay, strong. It happened w hen we were rappelling down. He was laughing and joking andeverything. I never thought he might be tired enough to makea mistake. Her voice fly highred turned into a ragged sob and the ranger puthis arm around her.Something inside Maggie froze. Amistake?Miles?She was prepared to hear aboutasudden avalanche or a piece of equipment failing. Even Sylviafalling and knocking Miles off. But Miles makinga mistake?Maggie stared at Sylvia, and suddenly somethingin the pitiful figure bothered her.There was something odd about that delicatelyflushed face and those tear-drenched violet eyes. Itwas all too perfect, too tragic, as if Sylvia werean Academy award-winning actress doing a famousscene-and enjoying it.I dont know howit happened, Sylvia was whispering. The anchor was good. We should have hada back-up anchor, but we were in a hurry. And he must have oh, God, there must have beensomething wrong with his harness. Maybe thebuckle wasnt fastened right, or the carabiners might have been tip top downNo.Suddenly Maggies feelings crystalized. It was asif everything came into focus at once.Thats impossible. Thats wrong.Miles was too good. Smart and strong and anamazing technical climber. Confident but careful. Maggie only hoped shed be that good someday.No way hed buckle his harness wrong, or clip his biners upside down. No matter how sick hewas. In fact, no way hed go without a back-upanchor. Imthe one who tries to do things like that,and then he yells at me that if Im not careful Im going to have an adventure.Miles doesnt.So it meant Sylvia was lying.The thought came to Maggie on a little wave ofshock. It made her feel as if she were suddenlyspeeding backwards, or as if the room were receding from her very fast.But why?Why would Sylvia make up such a terrible story? It didnt make any sense.Sylvia had a hand half covering her eyes now.I looked for him, but there was icefalla crevasseNo body. Shes tell theres no body . With that, a new wave of heat swept over Maggie.And, strangely, what made her certain of it was Sylvias eyes.Those violet eyes had been turned down for mostof the time Sylvia had beentalking, fixed on theSpanish tiles in the entry hall. But now, as Sylviagot to the last revelation, they had shifted toward Maggie. Toward Maggies feet. They fixed there,slid away, and then came back and stayed.It made Maggie glance down at her own feet.My socks. Shes staring at my socks.One red and one blueand shes noticing that.Like an actress whos said the same lines oftenenough that she doesnt even need to pay attention to them anymore.All at once, hot anger was burning through Maggies shock, filling her so there was no room foranything else. She stared hard at Sylvia,whoseemed to be very far away but very bright. And inthat same instant she knew for certain.This girl is lying.She must have done something-something terrible. And she cant show us Miless body or maybethere isnt a body because hes still alive.Yes Maggie entangle suddenly lifted by hope . It is alla mistake. Theres no reason for Miles to be dead.All we have to do is make Sylvia tell the truth.But nobody else in the room knew. They wereall audience asSylvia went on with her story. Theyall believed.I didnt get out before the weatherhit.I hadto stay in the tent for three days. When I got out Iwas so weak, but I managed to augur to some climbers. They saved me, took care ofme.Bythen it was too late to look for him. I knew there was no chance hed made it through thatstorm.She broke down completely.The ranger began talking about weather conditions and recovery efforts, and suddenly Maggiesmother was making strange gasping noises andsinking toward the floor.Mom Frightened, Maggie started toward her.Her father looked up and seemed to realize for thefirst time that she was there.Oh, Maggie. Weve had some bad news.Hes laborious to take care of me. But he doesntrealizeIve got to tell him.Dad, she said urgently. L isten. Theres something-Maggie, her mother interrupted, stre tching outa hand. She sounded rational, but there was something wild in her eyes. Im so sorry, baby. Something terrific has happened-And then she fainted. Suddenly Maggies fatherwas staggering under dead weight. And then theranger and one of the sheriffs were brushing pastMaggie. They were holding her mother up, and hermothers head was lolling, moving around on aboneless neck, and her mothers mouth and eyeswere part open and part closed. A new kind ofawful feeling came to Maggie, making her weakand giddy. She was afraid she would faint herself.Where can we- the male officer began.Theres the couch, Maggies father said hoarselyat the same time. There was no room for Maggie.She could only stand out of the way and dizzilywatch them carryher mother.As they did, Sylvia began murmuring. It tookMaggie a moment to focus on the words. Im sosorry. Im so sorry. I wish there was something I should go home now.You stay right here, the female officer said,looking toward Maggies mother. Youre in n o condition to be walking anywhere. Youd be in the hospital now if you hadnt insisted on coming herefirst.I dont need a hospital. Im just so tired..The officer turned. Why dont you go sit in thecar? she said gently.Sylvia nodded. She looked fragile and sad as shewalked down the path toward the squad car. It wasa beautiful exit, Maggie thought. You could practically hear the theme music swelling.But Maggie was the only one with the chance toappreciate it. She was the only one watching asSylvia reached the car and paused.And then turned away from it and continued ondown the street.And the end credits run, Maggie thought.Then she thought, shes going to her apartment. Maggie stood frozen, pulled in devil directions. She wanted to stay and help her mother. But something inside her was utterly furious and focused and it was screaming at her to follow Sylvia.Instinct had always been Maggies strong point.She hung there for a moment, with her heartpounding so hard that it seemed to be comi ng out-of her mouth. Then she ducked her head andclenched her fists.It was a gesture the girls on her soccer teamwould have recognized. It meant that Steely Neelyhad made up her mind and was going to rush inwhere smarter people feared to tread. Look out,world its stomping time.Maggie whirled and dashed back down the hallinto her bedroom.She slapped the light switch on and lookedaround as if shed never seen the place before.What did she need-and why did she always keepit so messy? How could she find things?She kicked and pulled at a pile of bath towelsuntil a pair of hightop tennis shoes emerged, thenshe jammed her feet in them. There was no timeto change her pajama top. She snatched a dark blue jacket off the floor and found herself, just fora moment, nose to nose with a photograph stuckinto the frame of her mirror.A picture of Miles, on the summit of MountRainier. He was grinning and giving the thumbs upsign. His hat was off and his auburn hair was shining in the sun like red gold. He looked handsomeand a little wicked.Scrawled in black marker across white snow wasFor the bossiest, nosiest, stubbornest, BEST little sister in the world. Love, Miles.With no idea whyshe was doing it, Maggie pulledthe picture out of the mirror. She shoved it in herjacket pocket and ran back down the hall.Everyone was gathered around the couch, now.Even Jake was nosing his way in. Maggie couldnt see her mother, but the lack of frantic activity toldher that there wasnt any crisis going on. Everyoneseemed quiet and restrained.Itll just take a few minutes. Its better for me notto tell them anything until Im sure. Ill probablybe back before they even realize Im gone.With that jumble of excuses in her mind, sheslipped out the front door to follow Sylvia.