Free Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town by Scott Neumyer Page A

or if he'd pop open a brand new bottle, sip it
long and deep, and settle back in for some more mindless
entertainment. I wondered if he'd call the cops or the neighbors,
or if he'd start panicking and tossing everything around our house
until he found what he was looking for (like he does when he can't
find the remote control).
    But, mostly, I wondered what he'd do when he
realized that I was, in fact, gone. I wondered if he'd heave a sigh
of relief that it was just him now or if he'd do everything he
could to find me. I wondered if he was the kind of father I
remember him to be when Mom was still around and we were expecting
my almost-sister. I wondered if he'd man up, throw out his own
empties (and not make anymore), throw on his boots, and head into
the woods to search for me. I secretly hoped he would, but I
couldn't be sure of anything. Not anymore. Not with Dad.
     

Chapter Nineteen
     
     
    "No!" I said. "Really?"
    "Really," said Gasp and
laughed a little when he saw the bundled up blast of energy ready
to escape from my body. "I tried to tell you before, Jimmy. Things
are different here than where you come from. Things are very different."
    I want to reply and tell Gasp that I
understand - that I get it now - but the only thing I can think
about is putting my hand on that shiny brass doorknob, twisting it
just enough, and swinging open that door number 7 to find David and
Trex.
    I lunge forward and grab the doorknob before
Gasp has a chance to stop me and the last thing I hear him say
before I'm twisting it is "be careful."
    Careful of what? I think as I swing open the door and jump through
it. And, before I know what's happening, I'm sliding
down.
    And down.
    And down.
    And down.
    I'm on some type of slide and there's no
stopping me as I'm blasting down the tube towards
God-knows-what.
    I try to spin around to
hold onto anything I can find. I try to twist my body, but it's
useless. I'm moving way too fast to even attempt it again. The only
thing I am able
to do is spin my head around to see Gasp flying right behind me.
Sure, he's not sliding helplessly like me, but at least he's along
for the ride.
    "I told you to be careful," he says as he
lets out the biggest laugh I've heard from him yet.
    "What the hell, Gasp?!"
    "Oh," he says as we continue to slide
through the tube, "don't worry. We're almost there."
    "Almost where?"
    "To Room 7, Jimmy."
    "And is this how we get
to every room in
Ghost Town, Gasp?"
    "No," he says and laughs again. "Just this
one."
    When we finally stop
sliding and I land flat on my butt in front of yet another red slab
of a door with the number 7 in brass across it, I'm not only
confused, but I'm also a little bit pissed off that we just went
for that entire ride and I'm still not seeing David and Trex yet!
    "Is this some kind of sick joke?"
    "Just open the door, Jimmy." Gasp smiled and
waved his hand toward the door again, motioning for me to turn the
knob and push it open. "No need to be as careful this time." Then
the bastard has the gall to throw a wink at me, as if the last
stunt was some hilarious joke the Gods of Ghost Town had paid
me.
    "If you say so," I tell
Gasp and reach for the shiny knob, grab it tightly, and twist until
Room 7 pops open and I'm staring into a nearly empty room. The only
thing keeping it from being completely empty is the sight of
David and Trex in the corner.
    "Jimmy!" David yells as he jumps up and
looks towards the door. Trex barks loudly and bolts toward me. His
snout nose-dives into the side of my leg as he begs me for a
petting. "I wasn't sure we'd ever see you again!"
    The fact that David is so
excited to see me, and the fact that he's actually emoting is pretty rare.
In fact, it's something I've seen very little of since I've known
David. He's also been the quiet and contemplative one, sitting in
the corner and waiting for his turn to strike. But, this time, he's
absolutely thrilled to see me and he's not afraid to show it. It's pretty
nice.
    "You're