Fearless Travelers' Guide to Wicked Places

Fearless Travelers' Guide to Wicked Places — page 7
Chapter 1 I n the week since the bruise-colored cloud had appeared over the tiny coastal town of Mist Falls three mothers had disappeared The first while riding her bicycle down a leaf-swept street the second while sitting in a parked car drinking a cup of coffee and the last from her bedroom while her new baby napped beside her Not a single person had witnessed the cloud take the women but Nell Perkins knew it was true Even now as she piloted her bike along the damp streets she felt the grim cloud watching everyone from above One had only to glance up to see that this cloud was different It didn’t float along aimlessly like other clouds but moved with slow scheming purpose and while it had first appeared over the trees wispy thin it had grown fatter with each passing day like a bloated tick filling with blood Nell rode carefully keeping a watchful eye on the leafy shadows on the cracked sidewalk making sure to stay within their protection She tried to tell herself that it was silly It’s just a cloud But another voice inside her whispered for her to stay hidden from its dark wisps which reminded her of a ball of cotton candy lying burnt and alone in an abandoned fairground The truth was this wasn’t the first time people had disappeared from their small town Over the years almost a dozen people had simply vanished Most were young women though one was a boy Nell’s age named Max They had just started to become friends when he vanished four weeks ago He was funny and daring and liked to play the trumpet They had the kind of friendship built on nothing more than a love of weird jokes and an obsession with chocolate He didn’t vanish in the same way though it felt the same to Nell One night he went to sleep and he didn’t wake up He had fallen into a coma They took him to the hospital where he was still asleep As Nell pulled her bike into the schoolyard she had the strangest thought Maybe the