‘Okay.’
Miles’s heart thumps as he leads her by the hand towards the exit, shining the torch in front of him. It’s a strange fear that’s gripped him. Like the intense, irrational terror of a child convinced something lurks under their bed. He stares into the forest. In the hazy ring of light cast by the torch are shaking leaves and swaying branches, but beyond, the only colour is black. Is someone out there? Who the hell are they? And what do they want?This is not over.
Miles pauses in the doorway and pans the beam across the trees. There’s no one in sight. Maybe Jessie imagined it? That’s the most likely explanation, but right now that thought brings no comfort. He leads Jessie through the doorway, down the steps and on to the damp path.
‘Watch your step,’ Miles says. ‘It’s slippery.’
They walk the path as briskly as they can without losing purchase on the ground.
More lightning electrifies the air, and Jessie squeezes his hand. ‘What if he’s following us?’
Miles stops, and shines the torch behind them, then all around. ‘There’s no one following us.’ He walks on. ‘Are you absolutely sure you saw someone?’
‘Yes!’ There’s a contained urgency to her voice. ‘You don’t believe me?’
‘I believe you.’
The clearing is close; Miles can see the dying bonfire’s red glow through a slash in the trees. Miles does another three-sixty with the torchlight. Maybe it’s the harsh LED lighting, but Jessie’s face is ashen and full of fear.
‘Did you see his face?’ Miles asks.
‘No. He had a hood up. His face was in shadow.’
They reach the clearing, and Miles puts an arm around Jessie’s shoulders as they hurry across the car park towards the campfire.
Faith must’ve seen the worried look on Jessie’s face because she gets up and runs over. ‘What’s wrong?’
As she comforts Jessie, Miles tries to process what’s happened. Instinctively, this feels bad. They’ve only been here a few hours, and already another nightmare seems to be unfolding. He takes deep breaths.Okay, calm down and stop jumping to conclusions. There will be a rational explanation for this – and it won’t be anywhere near as dire as his imagination is telling him.
Miles’s mind is feverishly alert and processing thoughts much more rapidly than normal. Perhaps one of their group went for a walk in front of the hide. Maybe what Jessie saw was nothing more than a trick of the light. Or even more likely, a trick of the mind. It would be understandable; they’ve entered a strange, remote place,and, with the weather, the whole atmosphere is unsettling. Maybe any dark shadow could take on the appearance of a figure, for a second or two, at least.
On the other hand, she seems utterly convinced about what she saw. The fear in her eyes appeared genuine. With Jessie firmly in the arms of Faith, Miles surveys the scene. Out here in the forest, they’re seemingly isolated; the only people for miles around are those with whom he’s travelling. And if someone really did try to sneak up on them just then, it was almost certainly someone from their own group. Miles checks exactly who is still sat around the fire – and, more importantly, who is not: Reubyn and Elis.
Miles walks over to where George and Polly are side by side, confused looks on their faces. ‘Did either of you go over to the bird hide, just then?’
They look at him blankly and shake their heads. He immediately feels guilty about making the observation – it’s his oldest friend and hissister, for heaven’s sake.
Miles walks off towards the bus, and Jessie gives him a small smile as he passes. She knows he’ll get to the bottom of this.
Miles opens the door and finds Elis and Reubyn standing in the kitchen, each holding a beer.
‘Hey, man,’ Elis says.
Miles raises a hand in acknowledgement, then goes to the fridge and grabs a bottle. ‘This might sound weird.’ He picks up the bottle opener and his beer hisses as he levers off the cap. ‘Did either of you go over to the bird hide tonight? After dinner.’
‘Nope,’ Reubyn says.
Elis shakes his head. ‘Me neither.’
Miles takes a sip and looks at Elis. ‘When you left the campfire earlier, where did you go?’
Elis narrows his eyes at him. ‘I came in here.’ He shakes his head. ‘Is that all right? What’s this about?’
‘It doesn’t matter.’
Miles slumps down in the living area. He stares out of the window, at the fire, and he can hear faint whispers from the kitchen. Miles takes a long slug, trying to figure it out.
Could an outsider have come here? Could Alex Burnfield have followed, without them noticing? It seems impossible – there’s no way someone could’ve tracked them along those rural roads without being seen. Or could they?
