by Lynne Thomas
“Look, I can explain –
Distant footsteps echo down the hallway. They get louder and louder, closer and closer.
Agatha stares at me, appalled. “Oh my God,” she whispers, wringing her hands. “It sounds like a teacher. What do we do?”
Think. There’s no way I can get caught in school now and I can’t risk Rhiannon blabbing about her early morning run-in with the resident weirdo.
The footsteps grow louder.
We need to go. Right now. All of us.
Ignoring my aching ribs, I grab Rhiannon’s left arm and twist it behind her back. I cover her mouth, careful to press hard against her lips so that she can’t bight me (because she will, given the slightest chance).
“Jelly!”
“Move,” I hiss at Agatha, half pushing, half dragging Rhiannon towards the exit.
Certain that the owner of the ominous footsteps will round the corner at any moment and discover us, I hurry through the door. Agatha follows and closes it gently behind her.
I can feel Mr. Pickle at the corner of the hallway. He’s puzzled. He heard us.
No time to waste.
I tug a struggling Rhiannon across the shady path, over the banking, and into the shadows of the tree-lined riverbanks. Luckily, with everybody in assembly, we make the dash unnoticed.
Dragging Rhiannon down next to me in the tall grass, I wait for Agatha and the inevitable accusations.
It doesn’t take long.
“What are we doing?”
Oh dear. Now she’s verging on hysterical. This isn’t my day, is it?
“What’s going on?” Agatha hisses. “You tell me right now.”
If the truth be known, I haven’t got a clue what’s going on. I was winging it to start with and now things have gone so far off course that I’d need a magic compass to get back on track. But I have to try.
“Listen, Agatha. Let me explain.”
“Explain what?” she squeaks. “Your weird behaviour this morning, your intimate knowledge of Rhiannon’s personal life, or maybe you would like to explain KIDNAP to me.” Abandoning any attempt to whisper, Agatha’s voice is shrill. “Did I wake up this morning in the twilight zone? Yes, that would explain it. We are in a parallel universe where holding someone against their will is normal.”
“Look,” I hiss. “I didn’t have a choice, OK. He’s getting closer.”
Agatha pulls a face. “It was only a teacher.”
“HA! You seemed to think that it was pretty important back there in the hall. Anyway,” I sigh, “I wasn’t talking about Pickle.”
“It was Mr. Pickle? Oh God, oh God, oh God!”
I give her a meaningful look. She stops.
“The Hunter is real, Agatha. Real, and coming for me – just like in the dream.”
“Don’t be stupid.”
“Agatha, I’m going to say it again and you better have a different response because I don’t like being called stupid. The Hunter is real and coming for me, just like in the dream.”
Agatha whispers, “I’m sorry, Jay, but he can’t be!”
“He is.”
“He can’t be real.”
“He is real, Agatha.”
“I know we talked about it, but it was just a dream.”
“What do you want me to say?”
“This isn’t just weird, this is impossible.”
I like the way Humphrey took it better.
“Agatha! Listen to me. I’m an alien: fact. He’s real: fact. He’s here: fact. He’s not my number one fan.” I sigh. “Fact.”
“This is sooo not good.”
That Agatha, she’s quick off the mark.
She starts to pace up and down. “Not good at all. What do we do?” Her eyes fall on Rhiannon and shoot back to me, panic stricken. “What do we do with her?”
“Maybe I can erase her memory, like in Superman, you know?”
Agatha smiles weakly.
I have a sudden thought and, barely keeping my grip on the squirming tomcat, nod my head and grab Agatha’s attention.
“Give us a minute?”
Uncertain, Agatha’s eyes flick from me to the cheerleader and back again.
“Please.”
“I still can’t believe that this is happening.”
“I know. Please, though, for me?”
Agatha walks off without another word and I tighten my grip on Rhiannon, ignoring her muffled cries. I whisper in her ear.
“When I let you go in ten seconds, you are not going to scream, or run, or punch me in the face or anything like that, OK? Nod if you understand.”
Her head bobs.
“Good. I’m sorry about earlier, and right now come to think of it, but I have had a couple of really bad days. You don’t want to even get me started on the nights. I’m going to let you go, but please don’t do anything stupid because I’m not really in control right now and I’m not entirely sure what might happen. OK?”
Rhiannon nods and I let her go. She turns into a ball of spitting fire in around a hundredth of a second. It’s impressive, really.
“You…you…”
Hey, there’s an up-side to this nightmare. Rhiannon is too cross to talk.
“Yeah, yeah, I know,” I wave away her righteous spluttering. “In trouble, a freak show, weird beyond belief. Save your breath and listen for a minute.”
“This had better be good.” The fireball finds its voice.
“OK,” I draw a deep breath and launch into it. “I’m an alien from a planet about half way across the…let’s just say it isn’t anywhere near here.” What’s the point in going into detail? She’s not going to believe me first time round anyway. “I can do all sorts of freaky Carrie stuff, like reading minds, and I can run like Chetara out of Thundercats. Oh, and I’m being hunted down by a cold-blooded killer from my home planet.”
Wide saucer eyes stare back at me.
“Now, I need to start practicing my…ah, gifts…and I need some help. Enter Agatha and Humphrey. No one else knows about this and I don’t want to risk you going back to school, so…erm…you’re going to have to come with us.”
Rhiannon opens her mouth.
“I’m not done yet. If you do this for me, and I know how much you don’t want to, I won’t tell anybody about your family problems and neither will Agatha. I also promise to never read your mind again, ever. What do you think?”
Rhiannon is still for about two and a half seconds this time, then she explodes.
“You don’t seriously expect me to believe any of that when you’re obviously out of your mind, do you? I always knew that you were strange, but please! An alien. Get real.”
See, I told you she wouldn’t go for it first time round.
Focussing, I delve into Rhiannon’s thoughts for what I hope is the third and final time.
“Your dad wants to take Ricky with him to Canada. Your little brother cries every time your parents bring up the subject. Your parents always end up fighting and Ricky comes to you, only you’re about to lose it yourself. Last night, Ricky told you that he didn’t want to go and because you knew that there was nothing you could do to stop it, it broke your heart.”
A gust of wind blows along the river.
This stuff is floating around in her head all day long. I’m pretty sure that I can’t tap in on people’s memories – not yet at least – so it has to be there, on her mind, all day.
I thought I had problems.
Before she can collapse into a blind rage or sobbing hysterics, I jump in. “I can do that for hours, but I won’t. If you give me today.”
Considering the fact that this is Rhiannon Miles, mouth almighty, she’s quiet for an awfully long time.
“Fine,” she croaks.
“Fine?”
She nods. “Whatever.”
“OK,” I frown. That was too easy. “Agatha, come on, we’re off.”
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“Rhiannon’s tagging along for the day, aren�
�t you?” I smile at the cheerleader.
Agatha’s misgivings are clear. “Tagging along where?” she asks, uneasy.
With all that’s gone on, it takes me a minute to remember. “The…um…the bus stop. We’re meeting Humphrey at the bus stop.”
Agatha draws a deep breath and, smiling at me with what she thinks is encouragement, says “OK, let’s go.”
I feel really bad at dragging her into my mess, but the selfish part of me (which is, let’s face it, huge) is really, really glad that she’s hear with me and I don’t have to face the future alone.
The gang’s all here, plus one, and sandal man’s warning is but a distant memory. They’re my friends. They can handle it.
Besides, I kind of need them.
*** *** ***
“Humphrey, don’t start on me.”
Anyone would think that Rhiannon has 666 tattooed on her forehead, the way that Humphrey is staring at her. She glares back at him, equally unimpressed.
“What is she doing here?”
I go on the defensive. “I had no choice.”
“There’s always a choice, Jay.”
I wish he wouldn’t interrupt like that with his pearls of wisdom. “Someone was coming and, and…she was in a state and I…I couldn’t draw attention to myself.” I stop, aware that I’m babbling, which I hate. “She had to come.”
Humphrey’s eyes widen. “Against her will?”
“Oh,” I look away. “Oh, erm, no…that’s all sorted now.”
He isn’t listening.
“Do you have any idea of the mess we’re in now? Do you?”
“Yes, but –
“How could you put Agatha in that kind of position? She’s supposed to be your friend. Do you realise how much trouble you have gotten her into? What were you thinking?”
That’s it. I’ve had a gut full of this. Time for shock tactics.
“Humphrey, you took the whole alien thing like a true champ, so I’m hoping that you’ll get this just as quick. There is an inter-galactic, psychotic killing machine looking for me. He is here, in Seabrook, and isn’t going to waste much more time figuring out who I am. I have a very slight chance of getting away from this guy and the truth of it is that I might be dead come this Friday. I need help and I need it now; preferably from you. You’re here to be a friend, or you’re not here at all.”
The hurt on Humphreys face is gut-wrenching. It makes me want to break things. I notice that Agatha is trying not to cry.
“Agatha,” I sigh. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Agatha sweeps a tear from her cheek. “I’m coming with you,” she says gruffly, “but don’t speak like that again. I don’t want to hear you talk about dying. OK?”
I nod and give her shoulder a quick squeeze. I turn my attention to Humphrey. He stares into the distance.
“Humphrey?”
“I’m thinking,” he chews his bottom lip. I tap my foot, impatient to be off. I can’t help it. Something inside is screaming that I don’t have much time.
“Well?”
He looks at me. “I’m not coming.”
I couldn’t be more surprised if someone walked up to me on the street and offered me a million pounds.
“What do you mean, you’re not coming? Why not? What are you going to do – go back to school?”
“I guess.”
“Humphrey!”
He rams his hands deep into his pockets and looks at the ground.
“Things have gone too far, Jay. This morning you were my best friend. The one that hated school and cheerleaders and being at a school that had cheerleaders –
“Hey!” Rhiannon exclaims.
- and her. And now, everything’s changed.”
“Humphrey, nothing’s changed! I’m still that person.”
Humphrey shakes his head. “No, Jay, you’re not. You’ve never been the same as everyone else; I’ve always known it. You seemed to be kind of happy, in your own way, so I left it alone, but I’ve been waiting for something like this to happen.”
“Humphrey, I didn’t know that this was coming.”
“Then you’ve been lying to yourself for a long time. Jay, I saw flames in your eyes weeks ago. You’ve been silently freaking out for months and you haven’t said a word to us, so don’t talk to me about friendship and what it means.”
I feel like I’ve had my insides ripped out, but Humphrey’s not done tearing my world apart.
“Now it’s too late. That thing is here, coming to kill you. If you’d faced up to things, you could have had a chance! You said earlier that you haven’t changed and you were right. In one way, you’re still the girl that got out of bed this morning and that’s the problem. I don’t see how that person can beat something that’s spent its entire life training to kill. You haven’t changed enough to beat him and I don’t know how to help you. I can’t be around to watch you die, Jay.” He looks me full in the face. “I won’t.”
Humphrey turns on his heel and walks off. Without looking back.
He just walks away.
*** *** ***
What do I do now? I’ve never had to face anything without Humphrey at my side. I’m not sure I even know how to start.
I must look a fool, standing in the middle of the street, hands on hips, jaw on the floor. Nothing I can do about it. For the first time in my life, I’m properly dumbstruck.
I close my mouth to find that, to my disgust, my chin is wobbling like a jelly. Jelly chinned Jelly Cooper. Now I know I’m going to cry.
What Humphrey said was true, every word of it, and no amount of denial is going to work its magic anymore. I’ve really screwed things up.
Something brushes past my shoulder. I close my eyes, feeling sick. This is the part where Agatha runs after Humphrey and begs him not to go. I can’t bear to watch.
I turn my back on the horrid scene, only Agatha is there, in front of me, looking more surprised than I feel. Humphrey walking away may have struck me dumb, but that’s nothing compared to the effect it’s had on poor Agatha; she looks like her best friend in the whole wide world just up and walked out on her in a time of dire need. Funny that.
I have a very unpleasant thought. If that’s not Agatha laying into Humphrey, then…
Feeling that my day can’t possibly get any worse, I turn.
Rhiannon.
I don’t know what she’s saying to Humphrey, but he has no colour in his face. In typical Queen Bitch style, she pushes her nose to within an inch of his while she shouts him down. One thing’s for sure: the pompom head is not best pleased about something.
I’m not even going to try and guess what’s happening here. My brain stopped working minutes ago.
Humphrey shrugs his shoulders and she jabs a manicured finger into his chest. And again…and again. With one last jab, and a toss of the head that sends her hair slashing across Humphrey’s face, she spins away from him and walks back towards us.
“Come on. We’re going.”
I look at Agatha.
“Going where?”
Rhiannon snorts. “Anywhere, you tell me. Look, you’re obviously pathetic at getting boys to do what you want, so I’m handling it for you, now walk!”
With a quick glance to check on Humphrey’s whereabouts – right where she left him – I grab Agatha’s arm and scurry after Rhiannon.
“Trust me,” she says over her shoulder with a snort, “he’ll be back. Now, where are we going?”
I peer across at Agatha. She mouths “what’s going on?”
Your guess is as good as mine, Ag.
Agatha stops dead.
“Oh my God. Ohmygod! I just heard you, Jelly! Inside my head! I heard what you were thinking!”
Rhiannon pauses, mid stride. Sigh. A promise is a promise, even one made to a pompom head, so I’d better be honest with her.
“Agatha probably did hear what I was thinking, I still haven’t got the hang of things, but I have to try to read someone’s mind. I’m no
t trying to read yours, OK. My promise is good. Anyhow, why are you suddenly helping me?”
“I’m not. Helping you, that is. I’m helping myself. Do you really think that I want to stand around, in broad daylight, with you losers? I don’t. I just want to speed things up a bit so that we can get wherever it is that we’re going and get out of sight. It’s the getting out of sight bit that I’m most looking forward to.”
“What about Humphrey?” Agatha asks, looking back over her shoulder.
Rhiannon smirks. “Don’t worry about fat boy, speccy. He’ll come back when he’s had a chance to think on it.”
I shelve the urge to smack her about the head.
“He doesn’t know where we’re going.”
“That makes two of us. Wherever it is, can we hurry up and get there? This is becoming embarrassing.”
I will not be rushed by anyone, least of all her.
“How will Humphrey know where to find us? I should go and tell him that we’re going to the Bay’s Head.”
Rhiannon starts walking again. Towards Bay’s Head.
Damn it.
“He knows you, doesn’t he? He’ll know where to find you,” she throws over her shoulder.
As much as I hate to admit it, the pompom-head has a point.
Chapter Nine
The Bay’s Head is an island off the coast of Seabrook. It’s unreachable on foot except for when the tide gets really low and a narrow path emerges, joining it to the beach. On these days, you can walk along the puddle-filled stretch from one to the other.
Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? There’s a catch, as always.
The path is only there for a couple of hours when the tide is at its lowest. Seabrook Bay has one of the highest tides in the world and when the tide turns, the sea comes rushing back at frightening speed to reclaim the land. Anyone careless enough to forget the time is in real trouble. The only thing on the island is sand, rocks, a scattering of trees and more sand. No phone boxes and no signal.
Anyone careless enough to forget the time and try to swim back to the mainland is dead.
I don’t get wiggy about this like most people. I never have. Freak of nature that I am, I kind of like it. I find the solitude of the island soothing and I’m in dire need of some soothing.