The Stuff of Nightmares (15 page)

‘What?’ Luke moved a step closer and bent forward over the river to take a closer look.

I took one last quick look around.

Then I shoved him.

Luke did a somersault before landing in the water, his arms flailing. He went under immediately. Seconds passed before his head surfaced a little further down the river. He gasped and retched, spitting out the filthy river water. I walked along the bank, careful not to get too close to the water’s edge, careful to keep him in sight.

‘Ellie …’ he gasped. His head went under again.

I looked around. This was the most dangerous part. If anyone should come past now …

Luke’s head re-surfaced. He retched violently, his arms slapping against the surface of the water over and over. He tried to haul his way back to the bank but the water slipped through his fingers and the mud beneath him shifted constantly. I could almost feel the reeds like razor-sharp, icy fingers pulling at his legs and the shifting mud beneath his feet, trying to swallow him whole like a snake.

‘Ellie … help …’ he cried. ‘I can’t … I can’t swim …’

‘Yes, I know,’ I whispered.

‘For God’s sake …’ he screamed.

I took another look around. There was no one in sight.

‘
Elena …
’

Luke went under again – only this time he didn’t reappear.

I watched for a while to make sure he wouldn’t come up again. I could hardly risk that. That had been my mistake when I pushed Katey into the river. I’d left too soon and someone else had come along and seen her floating in the water. Luckily for me, Katey died without regaining consciousness – otherwise I might have been in trouble.

Nope, it looked like Luke had definitely gone down for good. I walked back to the cinema. I made a big show of checking my watch every couple of minutes while the queue of people behind me moved slowly into the foyer. Marching in, I asked every member of staff I saw if my boyfriend Luke had phoned or left some kind of message for me. But no, he hadn’t. I stormed back to Pizza Perfection.

‘Is Luke in here?’ I asked, furious.

‘No. I thought you two were going to see a film?’ Perry replied.

‘So did I. I’ve been stood up. The film’s started now,’ I fumed.

I stayed in the restaurant with the rest of them until the evening. They didn’t find Luke’s body until four days later. It was spotted floating face down in the river, all swollen and bloated. When they told me he’d been found, I cried and cried. For days I was inconsolable. It was as if a part of me had died too. I mean it. Luke was … Luke was my love. He’d always
have
a place in my heart. I know that because I feel things so deeply.

‘Hi, Katey, how are you?’ I smiled.

‘I’m fine, Elena. And yourself?’

‘Not bad.’ I shrugged. ‘Not bad. Well, Luke, aren’t you going to say hello.’

Luke turned his head away from me. His face was ashen, his eyes huge and staring like he still couldn’t quite believe what had happened to him. He’s looked better! I thought with distaste.

‘I’m glad you’re here, Luke,’ I said. ‘It’s good to see you.’

He looked at me, then turned away.

‘I know you’re upset, but you’ll get over it.’

Honestly! What was I supposed to do? Luke had tried to leave me, desert me – just like Katey when she’d first started getting serious about him. So I had to do something …

Besides, Katey wanted a friend and Luke was the ideal candidate – now that he didn’t want me any more.

He’ll forgive me. He has to.

After all, apart from whingeing Katey and some other boring old farts in this cemetery, who else has he got to talk to?

12

I SCRAMBLED AWAY
from Elena and sat down, facing her. I still couldn’t believe it. Elena couldn’t have done that. No one could be that … ice-cold. But I couldn’t deny what I’d just seen. Elena and Katey. Elena and
Luke
. Had she really done that to him? Had she deliberately pushed him into the river? I had to be cracking up, losing my marbles and then some. What other explanation was there?

Steve in the army?

Joe in a mental hospital?

Roberta fleeing from acid rain and worse?

Miss Wells married to … Well, that was just too ludicrous. And could Elena really be the stone-cold killer I’d just seen? I mean, she’d have to be some kind of serious psycho to take out anyone who got in her way like that. But I couldn’t deny that I’d been inside her head. It was almost like I became her – her every action and thought singing crystal-clear through me. One dream later and I knew her inside and out. The terrifying thing was she had a
emptiness
inside her where her conscience should be.

But, thinking back, I still remembered how distraught she had been when Luke died. Was that really just an act? A way to gain sympathy from the rest of us and remain the centre of attention for weeks, even months? The whole thing sounded too Machiavellian to be anywhere near the truth.

And yet …

That’s what I kept coming back to.

And yet
.

I needed to think, to pull myself together. Elena’s story was something in the past, something that had already happened. Luke used to be one of my mates. I remembered going to his funeral. I didn’t know Katey but I was there when the head told everyone about her accident. So suppose what I’d seen was true? This last encounter had unsettled me more than I could’ve imagined. Seeing the world through Elena’s eyes had tilted my perspective. Before Elena there was still a part of me that could believe that none of this was quite real. There was no
proof
. But now … I guess it boiled down to the fact that I believed what I’d seen about Elena. For some inexplicable reason I
believed
it. And I couldn’t just sit back and do nothing. I couldn’t let her get away with it …

Hang on. I was getting way ahead of myself. My first priority was to get off this train. If and when that happened, then I could set about finding some way of proving or disproving what I’d seen. I wouldn’t be able to trust myself or anyone else until I did. The trouble
was
, if Elena’s story was true, then anything could be true. And if anything could be true, suppose
everything
I’d seen on this train was true? What then? What else was I going to learn about my friends? What secrets did they keep locked inside in their dreams or nightmares that just a look or a touch from me could unlock?

But I didn’t want to learn any more about them. This was definitely a case of too much information. I looked along the carriage. Lily was sitting down now, staring into space. What would her nightmare be? Was she living through it now? What was playing in her mind – something from her past or something coming in the future?

‘Well, that was different!’ said Rachel from behind me. ‘Your friend Ellie’s a piece of work. You didn’t suspect any of that, did you?’

‘Of course not. I thought she was … I mean …’

Rachel regarded me speculatively. ‘You’re not a very good judge of character, are you?’

‘Elena had … has everyone fooled,’ I said with more than a little resentment.

‘Not Steve,’ Rachel pointed out.

Which was true. Steve had never really liked her, though he could never explain why.

‘How often do you get people wrong like that?’ she asked.

I didn’t answer. Rachel smiled at me, a strange knowing light in her eyes.

‘Oh, and Kyle, you can’t keep jumping in and out of
your
friends’ heads like that.’ She frowned. ‘It isn’t safe for either of us when you do that.’

But I hardly heard her. Something else was going on.

A shimmer was beginning to appear, entering our carriage from the third carriage.

‘He’s here,’ Rachel said, horrified. ‘I thought we had more time. We have to go.’

‘
Kyle, wait for me …
’ The voice was as close as it’d ever been.

Rachel tried to pull at my arm but I couldn’t move. My blood had frozen inside me. My lungs had seized up completely. She pulled me backwards. I stumbled and almost fell against her.

‘Kyle, move,’ she hissed at me.

The shimmering light at the far end of the carriage was growing bigger as I watched.

‘Kyle, don’t look at it. You mustn’t look at it. That’s how he gets his strength,’ said Rachel, but I hardly heard her.

‘
Kyle!
’ she screamed at me.

At last I managed to drag my gaze away.

‘Who’s he?’ Rachel said urgently, pointing at one of my friends.

‘Perry,’ I whispered. ‘That’s Perry.’

‘He’ll do,’ said Rachel. ‘Take us away from here.
Now!
’

With all my heart I wanted to be away from here.

One blink was all it took to get my wish.

13

Perry’s Nightmare

I DON’T KNOW
what it was that made me take a second look at the girl in the mask. Maybe it was the mask itself; shaped like a diving swallow with wide almond-shaped slits cut in the swallow’s black wings for the eyes. The swallow’s tail and wings were edged with what looked like tiny, sparkling green emeralds, which caught the light and dazzled. Maybe it was the girl’s dress, of Grecian style and the same emerald green as the mask edging.

Or maybe it was what was behind the mask, in her warm eyes, which were the same colour as the emeralds. Green eyes laughing … at me?
With
me? I wasn’t sure.

To be honest, I’d been about to leave. The fancy dress party had failed to ignite and although a few people were dancing, most were standing around in small groups trying to make themselves heard over the relentlessly loud music.

Except for her.

She stood alone, watching me, watching all of us
with
that strange, slight smile on her lips. Taking a deep breath, I arrowed across the room towards her. I wanted to reach her before another guy saw her. I admit it, I was intrigued. I noticed with satisfaction that the mystery girl watched as I crossed the crowded room. She smiled. With encouragement? With amusement? I couldn’t tell.

She’s probably laughing at this ridiculous costume
, I thought sourly.

Why had I let myself be persuaded into wearing a pirate’s outfit? I felt ridiculous.

But who dares and all that, I told myself, battling on. I could never remember the end of sayings, just the beginning. My friends Kyle and Joe were good at remembering quotes. Joe’s memory was a little too good. It meant he bore grudges. Why was I thinking of Joe when I had a beautiful girl in my sights. At last I stood before her. And all the things I’d anticipated saying to her flew from my head and out the nearest exit.

‘Hello, Perry,’ the girl said.

I groaned. How I loathed my name! Perry as an abbreviation just about made it to passable. But my name as written on my birth certificate … Bloody awful!

‘I see you know my name,’ I said, rueing a romantic mother who loved classical stories.

‘I asked about you.’ She smiled.

Yes! I’m in! I couldn’t help grinning. ‘Why?’ I asked, though I reckoned I already knew the answer.

The girl shrugged. ‘I thought you looked …
interesting
. More interesting than most of the boys here.’

‘I’m glad you think so.’

‘And I
love
your name.’

‘It’s kind of you to say so.’

The girl shook her head. ‘I’m never kind.’

A shiver of anticipation trickled down my spine. She was flirting with me! ‘What’s your name?’ I asked.

She seemed to consider my question carefully. ‘My name? My name is—No! You guess it!’

‘Like Rumpelstiltskin?’ I laughed. I hoped she was suitably impressed with my literary prowess. It wasn’t everyone who knew Rumpelstiltskin!

‘I’ll make it easy for you,’ the mystery girl told me. ‘My name begins with M.’

‘Will you dance with me while I try to guess it?’ I asked, hoping against hope that I wasn’t about to get shot down in flames.

‘Of course. I’m not going to let you out of my sight until you guess it correctly,’ said the girl.

Even though her lips were turned upwards in the semblance of a smile, there was something in her voice, some indefinable note, which made me pause for the first time.

‘Who
are
you?’

‘That’s for you to find out.’ She smiled again, taking my hand. ‘I thought you wanted to dance with me.’

‘Let me see your face,’ I said.

‘Not yet,’ the girl replied. ‘Later – when you’re ready. But not yet.’

‘I don’t understand. I’m ready to see your face now,’ I argued.

‘Not until you guess my name,’ she replied firmly. ‘Guess my name and I’ll give you a night you’ll never forget.’

Was that a threat or a promise? But then she smiled joyously and led me out for a dance. A new song began. The girl started to dance, her movements liquid and sensual. Somehow, thank God, I managed to keep up with her. It was as if her carefree spirit had wrapped itself around me as well. I knew we looked good. I knew I’d never danced better. Steve, eat your heart out! And this girl was deliberately dancing as close to me as she could get. She smelled lovely, a hint of flowery perfume which was subtle rather than overpowering. Warmth radiated from her. I could feel her breasts through her dress as she pressed against me. I could feel her hips against mine. I tried to shift away slightly, before I embarrassed myself. The mystery girl looked up at me, smiling mischievously.

‘Am I making you uncomfortable?’ she asked.

I shook my head, trying to think of the most boring things I could to take my mind off what was happening to my body: geography and jelly, party political speeches and Jessica in my class, who had no conversation whatsoever. It was working! I risked a glance around. All eyes were on us as we moved together.

But a strange thing was happening. As I danced, the music grew louder and wilder, until my head was spinning. And the mystery girl swayed in my arms,
smiling
at me … laughing at me as she danced away, then back towards me, then spun me round and round. Suddenly it stopped being fun. My eyes were like a camera lens, zooming in and out too quickly. I was beginning to feel dizzy, nauseous. I wanted to stop dancing but the girl held my hands tightly and whirled me round and I couldn’t break free. I tried to speak, to stop her, but the words spun out of my mouth and away from me without making any sense. And still the music continued.