Free Ghost Walk by Brian Keene Page A

Unblinking, Levi stared him in the eye, made a slight motion with his finger and asked if the night shift would be willing to watch it for him. It was very important. Sighing, the manager agreed. Levi thanked him and left the store.
    On his way back to the buggy, Levi rummaged through his pockets and pulled out his cell phone. He dialed his closest neighbor, Sterling Myers. The older man answered on the third ring. He sounded drunk. Southern rock music played in the background.
    “Hello?”
    “Hello, Sterling. This is Levi Stoltzfus. I hope I’m not disturbing you?”
    “Hey, Levi. What’s up? I was just sitting here watching some stupid reality show. People singing. Don’t know why the wife likes this stuff.”
    Levi silently agreed. When he’d finally gotten his first opportunity to watch television, he’d been underwhelmed. It wasn’t a tool of the devil. It was a tool of stupidity.
    “Kids out trick-or-treating,” Sterling continued. “Don’t know why the township doesn’t wait and have that on Halloween night, but what the hell. At least the house is quiet. Anyway, enough about that. How’s it going?”
    “Well,” Levi said. “Not too good, Sterling. I need a big favor.”
    “Sure. What’s that?”
    “I’m going to be late getting home tonight. Something’s come up. I was wondering if you could feed my dog, Crowley? He’s tied out back.”
    “Yeah, I can do that. You know, those are weird names for your animals. Crowley and Dee. What’s the deal with that?”
    “Old friends of the family. A long time ago.”
    “I had a dog named Shithead, once.”
    “Sterling, I have to get going.”
    “No problem, Levi. I’ll take care of the dog. You got a key to the house hidden somewhere?”
    Levi’s heart hammered in his chest. Sterling couldn’t enter the house without Levi being there. That would invite disaster.
    “No,” he said, speaking carefully. “His food is in the garage. It’s unlocked. There’s no need to go inside the house at all. And Crowley has the dog house to go into if it rains, so he’ll be fine.”
    “Okay. No problem.”
    There was a burst of static and then Sterling came back again.
    “You on your cell phone?” he asked.
    “Yes,” Levi said. “I’m sorry about that. The network coverage is spotty in this area.”
    “Let me ask you something, Levi.”
    Levi rolled his eyes, anticipating what was coming next. He didn’t have time for this. Not tonight.
    “What’s that, Sterling?”
    “If you’re Amish, then how come you can use a cell phone?”
    Levi sighed. “I’ve told you before, Sterling. I’m not Amish anymore. I use a cell phone for the same reason everybody else uses a cell phone: because it’s a lot more practical than a carrier pigeon.”
    “Yeah,” Sterling cackled. “You got that right! Still, I hate the things. Wife has one, but I don’t. I think they’re just evil.”
    “Perhaps,” Levi agreed. “But they are a necessary evil. Sometimes a little evil is necessary to achieve a greater good.”
    Levi cut Sterling off in midreply and thanked him again, then hung up. He slipped the cell phone back into his pocket.
    He did not smile.
    There was nothing funny about what he had to do next. But it was necessary.
    Thick clouds glided over the moon, engulfing it. The night grew darker.

CHAPTER SIX
    Maria drove from York City to the site of the Ghost Walk. Urban row homes, ethnic restaurants, liquor stores, and pawnshops gave way to deserted industrial parks and factories, followed by the excesses of suburban sprawl, and then wide-open expanses of countryside. Along the way, she got lost on the back roads and had to turn around twice. Before leaving, she’d gone online and printed out directions; unfortunately, those directions landed her in the middle of nowhere. She’d never had to travel to the rural parts ofYork County before. It was a little scary after dark—just trees and shadows and darkened houses. Several of the porches held garishly