Chris trembled behind the front desk of the lobby. The Lost Soul had been inches away from tearing him apart, when it left the hotel for no apparent reason. Chris listened carefully for any kind of noise. Silence. He vaguely wondered if the other guys were all right. He sincerely hoped they were.
Cautious, Chris climbed up the stairs to his second floor room. If he remembered correctly, there was a cell phone buried somewhere beneath his clothes. He threw a sweater aside. Yes! His cell phone lay on top of a pair of jeans.
Thrilled and somewhat hopeful, he dialed Johnny�s number.
After a few rings, Johnny answered.
"Hello?"
"Johnny, its me Chris!"
Johnny didn�t bother in hiding his worry or annoyance.
"Where in the heck are you? You never arrived at the hotel, and you missed a meet-n-greet! The fans were less than happy."
"Hey, we�ve got way bigger problems. We got lost, and our bus broke down in a town called Whispers."
"Whispers?"
"Yeah, and�"
Suddenly, the line became filled with static. Chris could barely hear Johnny�s voice. Another voice emerged.
"Get off the phone Chris."
Chris�s palms started to sweat.
"Who is this?"
Click. The line went dead.
Meanwhile, the entity smiled gleefully. He summoned one of the creatures.
"The cell phone has been terminated. Chris is hiding at Talbot Shore Inn. I trust you will capture him?"
"Of�course�master."
CHAPTER SEVEN
JC stumbled blindly down Kate Lane. The fog was thickening. He was out of breath, and a stitch had formed in his side. He flopped down onto an iron bench, exhausted.
Why is this happening to us?
Although JC couldn�t be sure, he was almost positive these attacks tied into the warnings and those Fear Lists.
Maybe Lance was right when he said those lists were wacked out.
Footsteps sounded behind him. A cane tapped against the sidewalk. JC whirled around.
The same old lady from the previous night stood behind him. Wispy white hair fell across her face.
"May I sit down?"
"Yeah."
She took a seat and folded her hands in her lap. For the first time, JC noticed her fingers were webbed.
"Listen lady, what�s with the Lost Souls, the Fear Lists, and all the other spooky stuff going on around here?"
The old woman sighed. "Please, my name is Sparrow. JC, long ago, the people of this town were cursed by a horrible evil."
"Evil?"
Sparrow nodded. "Yes. I cannot say much more, but we are not who you think we are. In fact, perhaps it�s best that you not sit near me."
JC frowned. "Why not?"
Sparrow clutched his wrist.
"Get out of here before it�s too late!"
JC tried to move off the bench.
Sparrow�s hand remained clamped around his wrist. She snarled, closed her eyes, breathed deeply, and spoke in a raspy voice.
"Need blood�life�hunt�master�s orders�"
When she opened her eyes, they had a red glow. Her features transformed before JC�s eyes, as she became an identical to one of the Lost Souls.
JC screamed.