by Andy Coltart
‘Where is she?’ said Casey.
‘Over there – look,’ said Riley. They turned to see her walking alone down the road.
‘How did she get past us?’ said Alex.
‘She must have left school by one of the side doors,’ said Casey. ‘Come on, let’s see where she goes.’
The three of them walked a good few paces behind Christine. They walked for over half an hour.
‘She must do this long walk every day,’ said Riley. Eventually they arrived at Christine’s home. It was a small house which looked very run down. The neighbourhood wasn’t a pretty sight, with burnt out cars and trash everywhere.
‘This is not what I expected her world to be like,’ said Casey.
Riley, Casey and Alex followed her into her house.
‘This feels weird,’ said Riley, ‘like we are invading her privacy.’
‘Yeah, you have to remember though, we are investigating her to discover why she’s so nasty at school.’
‘Okay,’ said Riley, ‘it doesn’t mean I have to like it though.’
Christine made herself a drink and went upstairs. Riley followed while the other two stayed downstairs to look around. Riley gave Christine some privacy when she realised Christine was getting changed out of her school clothes and into some shorts and a vest top. Looks like she’s ready for bed, thought Riley. Downstairs the front door opened and a man walked in.
‘You home, kid?’ he shouted. Christine didn’t answer. Riley could hear footsteps coming up the stairs. She turned to look at Christine who was sat on the bed with her knees drawn up to her chin and her arms wrapped round her legs. Riley thought Christine looked scared but she couldn’t understand why.
The bedroom door burst open and in walked the man. He was tall and had a scruffy look about him as if he’d been on a building site all day.
‘There you are,’ he said. ‘I’ve been waiting all day for this.’
‘No, please, no!’ said Christine, as the man grabbed her ankles and pulled her down the bed on her back.
‘No, Dad, no!’ she said. Hearing the commotion, Alex and Casey had come running up the stairs.
‘Oh, thank goodness, help me stop him!’ Riley said to Alex and Casey. They didn’t need asking twice. The three of them grabbed Christine’s dad and pulled him off the bed. They pushed him out of her room, shut the door and leant against it.
Christine sat up on her bed, still shaking and confused. She could hear her dad banging on the door and shouting ‘let me in.’ Christine stared at the door, why wasn’t it opening, after all there was no lock on it?
‘I have an idea,’ said Riley, ‘can you two hold this door?’
‘Of course we can,’ said Alex.
‘Great,’ said Riley as she stepped away from the door and went over to the computer on the desk.
‘I’m going to try and communicate with Christine,’ she said.
Riley switched the computer on. The beep made Christine look at her desk. ‘What’s going on?’ she said, getting up from the bed and walking over to the desk. The computer turned on and a file opened with a blank page. Riley was preparing to write something for Christine to read. Then the following words appeared on the screen: ‘Christine, don’t be afraid. You are not alone.’
Christine read the words and then with a tremble in her voice said, ‘Who are you?’
‘A friend,’ came the words on the screen.
‘Were you in school today and did you stop me hurting Lucy?’ asked Christine.
Riley carried on typing, ‘Yes we did, and now we’ve protected you.’
‘Thank you,’ said Christine.
Riley paused for a minute, then wrote. ‘Just because your dad hurts you because you’re weaker than him doesn’t make it okay for you to do the same to kids at school.’ Christine read the words and started to cry.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I know it doesn’t and I will try and stop.’
Riley wrote again. ‘Set an example for your friends and we will continue to look out for you. But you must tell someone about your dad as this can’t go on, it’s not fair on you.’
‘You’re right,’ said Christine, ‘I’ll talk to my mum, she’ll be home soon.
‘We will stay until she’s here,’ wrote Riley. She then turned the computer off. Riley got up and went back to the door.
‘That was brilliant thinking,’ said Casey.
‘Yeah, well done,’ said Alex.
‘Thanks guys,’ replied Riley. The noise had stopped outside the room but they held the door shut until about an hour later when there was a knock on it.
‘Are you in there, Christine?’ said a woman’s voice.
‘It’s my mum,’ said Christine, in a relieved voice. The door opened before she or her mum could touch it, thanks to Alex. She ran into her mum’s arms.
‘Hey kiddo, what’s all this about?’ She brought her mum in the room and sat down on the bed with her. Just as she’d promised she opened up and told her mum everything. They cried together and her mum promised she’d report it and that she’d keep Christine safe.
Riley, Casey and Alex decided it was the right time to leave. They knew Christine would be okay now her mum knew the situation. So they made their way back to Alex’s house to get some rest after a long day.
Chapter 13
Changing Back
‘It’ll be interesting to see if Christine really does change in school,’ said Casey as she sat down on Alex’s sofa. ‘Give her a chance, eh,’ said Riley.
‘You’ve changed your tune a bit,’ said Casey.
‘Well I’ve seen what she’s been through,’ said Riley. ‘I think we can all be too quick to judge people sometimes.’ Riley sat down next to Casey on the sofa.
‘Where’s Alex?’ she asked.
‘Oh, he’s getting some food sorted in the kitchen,’ replied Casey.
‘Great, I’m starving,’ said Riley.
Alex walked in with a tray. On it was three bowls of chicken curry and some nan breads.
‘Wow, that smells great,’ said Riley.
‘Well thank you,’ said Alex, ‘it’s my speciality! Well, if I’m honest, it’s about all I can cook,’ he added.
The three of them sat eating their curry and watching the television. The news came on with another missing person’s report about the three of them. There was an interview with an agent from the FBI.
‘Yes, I’ve interviewed one of the parents today,’ he said. ‘We are following up on the leads we have,’ he added.
‘They’re still looking for us then,’ said Casey.
‘It’s only been a few days,’ said Alex. ‘They’ll be looking for a while yet.’
Riley got up. ‘Have you finished you curry?’ she asked.
‘Yes,’ they both replied.
‘Well pass me your bowls then,’ said Riley. The others handed her the empty bowls and she walked out of the lounge. Moments later there was an almighty crash in the kitchen.
‘What the blazes was that?’ said Casey, jumping to her feet. Alex jumped up as well and they both ran through to the kitchen.
They were shocked by the sight that greeted them, Riley was on the floor shaking.
‘Is she having a seizure?’ asked Casey.
‘I think so,’ said Alex. He got down on the floor and held Riley’s head loosely so she didn’t bang it on anything. Eventually the shaking stopped.
‘We’d best not move her,’ he said.
‘Okay,’ said Casey, ‘give me a second.’ She left the room and reappeared moments later with a cushion from the sofa.
‘Here,’ she said, ‘put that under her head.’ Alex put the cushion on the floor and rested Riley’s head on it. Casey picked up the bowls Riley had dropped, then sat on the floor with Alex.
‘What do we do now?’ she said.
‘We wait,’ said Alex. ‘I’ve read somewhere that you should never try and wake someone from an epileptic seizure as they can go into a coma.’
‘Wow, okay, yeah let’s wait with her,’ said Casey.
They’d only been sat on the kitchen floor for a short amount of time when Casey noticed something.
‘Look at her hands,’ she said.
‘What is it?’ said Alex.
‘They’re not shimmering anymore,’ said Casey.
‘No, you’re right, they’re not,’ said Alex.
‘I wonder if she’s visible to others,’ said Casey. Just as she finished speaking Riley started to stir.
‘Easy,’ said Alex to Riley as he helped her sit up on the floor.
‘How are you feeling?’ asked Casey.
‘Like I did a few days ago when I got that burning sensation in my head,’ said Riley.
‘Can you still see us?’ said Alex.
‘Yes of course,’ said Riley, ‘why do you ask?’
‘Because we think you’re visible again,’ he added. ‘Your hands aren’t shimmering anymore,’ added Casey. Riley looked at her hands; they were right, they’d stopped the shimmering that had been there since they disappeared. Riley stood back up and the others did the same.
‘We need to test this,’ she said.
She turned and headed towards the front door. The others just followed as Riley was not stopping for discussion on this. She opened the front door and stepped out onto the driveway. Walking to the gate she looked down the road. There was a kid on a bike cycling along. She waited until he got close and then just said ‘Hi,’ as he went past. The kid turned his head, looked at her and went ‘Hi,’ back as he cycled on. Riley turned to the others,
‘I’m visible again,’ she said. As she spoke those words the thought of this sank in and the smile soon went from her face.
‘Let’s get back inside,’ said Alex. ‘We need to talk about this.’ The others nodded and followed him back into the house.
Once back in the lounge they all sat down, Casey and Riley on the sofa and Alex in the armchair.
‘This doesn’t make sense,’ said Casey. ‘How can you be visible yet still be able to see and hear us?’
‘I’m not sure,’ said Riley, ‘perhaps it’s because we’ve been through the same thing.’
‘I have a couple of questions I’m not sure how to answer,’ said Alex.
‘Like what?’ asked Riley.
‘Well firstly, are we going to be visible again like you and secondly, can you become invisible again and if so, how?’
‘Good questions,’ said Riley, ‘but I’ve no idea how to answer either of them.’
Casey sat up on the sofa and asked, ‘Riley, did you have an epileptic seizure before or was it like the brain burn we had in the hospital?’
‘It was more like the brain burn but it did feel a little like both if I’m honest,’ replied Riley.
‘So this could happen to us,’ Casey added.
‘Quite possibly,’ said Riley.
‘We also have to think what we are going to do now Riley is visible,’ said Alex.
‘That’s true,’ said Casey.
‘I need a drink,’ said Riley. She got up, having offered to get drinks for the others and went to the kitchen.
On her return, she found Alex and Casey lying on the floor clutching their heads. After a minute or so they stopped and sat up.
‘What happened?’ said Casey. ‘Why are we sat on the floor?’
‘I think you just had a brain burn,’ said Riley. Alex and Casey looked at their hands.
‘The shimmering has gone,’ said Alex.
‘We must be visible again,’ added Casey.
‘Right, so now it’s not just me but all of us who have changed back,’ said Riley.
‘So what should we do now? It’s been several days since we went missing. People will ask questions,’ said Casey. ‘We need to agree on what to say and stick to it,’ added Alex.
‘I have an idea,’ said Riley.
‘Go on,’ said the others.
‘We need to all be found in our own homes around the same time. I’m thinking we head home tomorrow before the end of the school day. That way our mums will find us when they get in. Your dad is due back tomorrow so he will find you the same day.’
‘Okay,’ said Casey, ‘but what do we tell them?’
‘I’m getting to that bit,’ said Riley. ‘I don’t think telling them about being invisible is a good idea,’ said Riley.
‘Agreed,’ said Alex, ‘it’ll lead to too many questions.’
‘So what then?’ said Casey, impatiently.
‘I think we should simply claim we don’t know. That we remember being in hospital and then being at home and nothing in between,’ said Riley.
‘I’m not sure they’ll buy that,’ said Casey.
‘No but they’ll run more tests and won’t be able to prove otherwise,’ said Alex.
‘Unless they give us a lie detector test,’ said Casey.
‘Casey, we are three teenagers that went missing for a couple of days and are all safe and well. I doubt they’ll be using a lie detector on us. This isn’t the movies!’ said Riley.
After some further discussion they all agreed with Riley’s plan. They wanted to know if this was it for their invisibility but only time would answer that.
‘I’m feeling quite tired,’ said Riley. ‘I’m going up to bed.’
‘Me too,’ said Casey.
‘Okay,’ said Alex, ‘sleep well and I’ll see you in the morning.’
As Riley climbed the stairs she thought to herself, everyone will be able to see us in the morning!
Riley went into the bathroom and cleaned her teeth. She then went to her room and got undressed. Having put on her pyjamas she climbed into bed and pulled the covers on tight. She lay there thinking of Christine, hoping she was safe in her own bed too.
Chapter 14
Home Again
The morning came all too quickly. Riley woke to feel the sun on her face, just as it tended to do in her room at home first thing in the morning. Pulling back the covers she swung her legs out of the bed. Her bare feet sank into the thick carpet on the floor of her room. She gave a stretch and stood up. Making her way to the bathroom she could hear singing. As she got to the bathroom door she stopped.
‘Are you in there, Casey?’ asked Riley.
‘Yeah I’m finished though, you can come in,’ came the reply. Riley opened the door to see Casey stepping from the shower.
‘Throw me that towel will you,’ she said. Riley quickly did so, looking the other way.
‘How are you feeling today?’ asked Casey.
‘I’m fine, you?’ Riley replied.
‘Yeah I’m good, no ill effects from the brain burn yesterday,’ said Casey. ‘Well, the bathroom is all yours,’ she added as she left Riley to get sorted.
Some time later Riley appeared downstairs dressed and ready for the day. Casey and Alex were sat at the table eating breakfast when she came in.
‘Morning,’ said Alex with a mouth full of cereal. ‘Morning,’ said Riley. She put the kettle on to make a coffee and stood watching the others for a moment.
‘What is it, Riley?’ said Casey.
‘Oh nothing,’ replied Riley.
‘Now come on,’ said Casey, ‘you can tell us.’
‘It’s just I’m going to miss being with you guys all the time,’ she said.
‘Yeah I know what you’re saying,’ said Alex. ‘This time we’ve shared has been special.’
‘Well then,’ said Casey sounding very official, ‘we better agree not to forget each other and promise to stay friends and meet up regularly and...’
‘Okay, okay, we get the idea,’ said Riley, ‘and yes I agree we should definitely stay friends.’
Mrs Bennett was up early as usual to get the twins sorted for school. As usual one of them had misplaced part of their school uniform and there was a mad panic to find it and get breakfast done on time. Mrs Bennett paused for a moment in her rushing around as she passed by Riley’s bedroom door. She stopped, opened it and looked in wishi
ng her eldest child was back in there and she was shouting at her to get up for school. But the bed lay cold and empty and Mrs Bennett’s heart sank as she wondered what could have happened to her daughter.
After clearing away from breakfast Alex joined the girls on the sofa. They’d decided to spend a quiet day at the house until it was time for the girls to head home. They put on the television to see if there were any news updates on their whereabouts, but nothing new was mentioned. The three had a quiet day. Riley did some sketches in the pad she’d brought with her. She drew portraits of Alex and Casey.
‘You’ve got some real talent there,’ said Alex.
‘Thanks,’ replied Riley.
Later that day Riley was in her room packing again. She was looking forward to seeing her mum, but not the inevitable questions that would come as well. She also still wondered if her invisibility would return.
‘It’s time to go,’ shouted Casey from the hall downstairs.
‘Okay,’ said Riley, ‘I’m coming.’ She ran down the stairs carrying her bag of stuff.
‘Right let’s get going,’ said Casey.
‘Hold on a minute,’ said Alex. ‘Before you go I just wanted to say thanks for looking after me these last few days. It’s not been easy with my limited vision.’ The girls put their bags down and gave Alex a hug.
‘Hey, we’ll see you soon, okay,’ said Riley squeezing Alex tightly in her arms. They finished their hug and let go of each other.
‘You two take care getting back home, won’t you, and call me later,’ said Alex.
‘We will, it’s fairly quiet now so we shouldn’t have trouble travelling. Not too many people to notice us as the missing kids!’ said Casey.
Alex opened the door and let them out. He watched as they walked down the path together and disappeared out of the gate. Closing the door, he went back inside to wait for his father to arrive home. The girls went to the train station and took the first train that came. It was only a couple of stops down the line to where they lived and the train was practically deserted mid afternoon. They sat down on the train as it rolled at a steady speed down the track. Opposite them sat an old woman. She kept staring at them as if she was trying to work out who they were, but couldn’t quite place them. Riley and Casey looked at each other without speaking. They could see the other was thinking the same thing – What if she recognises us? but nothing seemed to come of it. The old lady said nothing and the two were able to leave the train without incident.