Monstrous by Jessica Lewis EPUB & PDF – eBook Details Online
- Status: Available for Free Download
- Author: Jessica Lewis
- Language: English
- Genre: Teen & Young Adult Monster Fiction
- Format: PDF / EPUB
- Size: 2 MB
- Price: Free
Pastor Thomas drones on about Clementine May, the third closed-casket
funeral in Sanctum, Alabama since I came down six weeks ago.
“She was a good woman,” he says. Pastor Thomas is an old white man,
with bulbous green eyes and a bad case of male-pattern baldness. His voice
is cool and calm, and so quiet. He’s nothing like Pastor Pride at my old
church, with his booming voice and permanent sheen of sweat on his brow.
Not that I ever went that much. “Clementine will be missed. Her
unshakable character and selflessness are an inspiration. Congregation, take
note of what kind of woman she was.”
What the hell is he talking about? The little I know about Clementine is
that she frequently fell asleep in front of the only grocery store in town and
gave that old-lady candy to kids. Sweet, but I wouldn’t call that
“unshakable character.” Everyone else must know what he means, though;
they’re nodding slowly, some murmuring prayers. No one’s crying. They’re
staring at Pastor Thomas with ashen faces and grim precision. I squirm in
the uncomfortable pew, trying not to scratch at the lace at the end of my
dress. Maybe something happened with Clementine before I arrived.
Jade nudges my arm. She points to a handwritten note on the obituary.
Poor Clementine. She was so nice.
She offers me the pencil, and I write a note back. Yeah but it’s not
exactly unusual for here.
A flash of something crosses Jade’s face—fear?—but it’s quickly
replaced by innocent confusion. The corners of Jade’s mouth pinch
downward as she scribbles on the paper.
What do you mean?
She can’t be serious. It’s the third funeral in six weeks! There’s a
whopping four hundred people in Sanctum, so three people dying is a
significant population loss. I start to write again, but Allison nudges me.
“Avie, Jade,” Allison whispers in my ear. “They’re watching y’all.”
Sure enough, I look up and straight into Auntie’s death glare from the
choir stand. Jade immediately crumples up the obituary and stares straight
ahead. I do too, but slower. I know I’m lucky to be here, but Auntie is way
too strict. We weren’t even talking. But fine, while I’m here, I’ll be good.
Only two more weeks, and then I’m free.
Pastor Thomas talks about Clementine’s life and the family in Chicago
she left behind (strangely absent from the funeral). Finally, he motions for
us to stand. I scramble to my feet, fighting the sleep tugging at my eyelids.
Pastor Thomas meets the eyes of everyone in the front row.
“Remember, no one goes into Red Wood.”
“Yes, Pastor,” the people chant. Unease crawls up my arms like goose
bumps. God, this place is so weird.
“It’s time for the final prayer,” Pastor Thomas says.
“May the Lord bless their sacrifice,” a few hundred people say in
unison, “and may the Lord protect us from the Serpent’s fangs and lying
tongue.”
Pastor Thomas eyes the congregation, his face pale and serious.
“Amen.”
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