Desperate Measures Page 12

  Daniel didn’t judge me when I told him where Dad was but Matt would have run a mile. Manky Matt. What on earth did I ever see in him?

  But I wasn’t just trying to protect Jamie and Re and stop others finding out. They weren’t the only reasons I’d lied. It went deeper than that. Dad had left me on my own to look after Jamie and Rhianna. To be their mum and their dad. I was still angry with him for that.

  I tried to push all thoughts of him out of my mind. It was his own fault after all. He’d got himself into the mess he was in. And I didn’t ask him to come after us. He didn’t have to. He’d been in what they call an open prison, where the security wasn’t high and the inmates sometimes went out to do supervised work. But absconding must be really serious. He’d be in deep trouble when they finally caught up with him. So why had he risked everything to find us?

  Then the simple truth hit me. He’d come after us because he still loved us and he still cared what happened to us. I felt a lump like a ball of mud stick in my throat. So what did I care about? With a huge feeling of relief, I realised that what Rosie, Charlene Slackton and Manky Matt thought about me didn’t matter one little bit. What I cared about was Re, Jamie and yes, even though I was still angry with him, Dad too. And the only thing that mattered right then was finding Jamie safe and sound.

  I went back into the cave. ‘Re, come on. Let’s go.’

  She insisted on bringing the dead rabbit. She put it gently back in the tin next to her little penguin and covered them both with Jamie’s T- shirt so they wouldn’t be cold. We crept out of the cave, searched the woods for a bit and then followed the stream down to the lake. We were about to give up when I looked out on to the island and saw someone half hidden behind a tree. Re saw him too.

  ‘It’s Jamie! Look, Vicky! He’s on the island!’

  Jamie must have heard us as he looked over. Rhianna waved but he didn’t wave back. He quickly turned away and disappeared behind a bush.

  I ran down to the old up-turned dinghy wondering what to do next. In the distance we heard the sound of dirt bikes. I scanned the woods but couldn’t see them yet. But they were coming. Coming for us. Coming for revenge.

  There was no way we could get back to the cave in time, besides which we couldn’t leave Jamie on his own. I looked down at the boat. There was only one thing we could do.

  ‘Quickly, Re. Help me!’

  Together we turned the dinghy over and started to drag it down to the water’s edge.

  Chapter 39

  ‘Re climb in, hurry!’

  I jumped in and sat on the wooden bench. I put the tin with Peter next to me. The roaring sound was getting louder. Vicky pushed the boat out and leapt in after me. Vicky took the oars and started to row across. She wasn’t very good at it and we went all zigzaggy. I looked down and saw there was water sloshing in the bottom of the boat.

  ‘Use this Re.’ She untied a small yellow bucket from the inside of the boat and gave it to me. ‘Scoop out the water and throw it over the side. As quick as you can.’

  I did what she said but more came in. So I scooped it out faster and faster but it was no good. The water came up over my trainers, wetting my socks and the bottoms of my jeans.

  They came out of the woods. They skidded to a halt when they saw us and started shouting and yelling. The girl was waving something. I stood up to get a better look.

  ‘Sit down Rhianna!’

  ‘Leave my Baby Emma alone!’ I shouted.

  ‘Yee ha!’ yelled the girl and she pulled off Baby Emma’s legs and arms and head. She threw them all into the water.

  They bobbed up and down for a bit then they sank.

  ‘Re please, sit down – we’ll tip up!’ Vicky pulled me back down on the bench.

  ‘Don’t think you’ll be hiding in your lovely little cave any more!’ shouted the girl nastily. She threw Baby Emma’s body into the water.

  The boy looked at the girl and they grinned at each other.

  ‘Yeah. Somebody seems to have trashed it!’

  They both laughed.

  ‘It’s OK Re . . . It’s going to be OK,’ said Vicky. ‘Don’t cry.’

  I couldn’t help it. I’d had Baby Emma right from when I was little. Mum bought her for me. She was my special doll.

  Vicky looked over to the island and tried to row faster. Suddenly, with a horrible screechy noise one of the oars popped out of its holder. Vicky caught it just in time but she scraped her hand. It started bleeding. She just let the blood run down her arm and drip into the mucky water.

  ‘Let Re row as well!’ shouted Jamie from the island. Vicky looked at me then nodded. I stood up again. The boat started rocking. It felt really wobbly and I didn’t like it.

  ‘Ha! Fall in! Go on!’ shouted the girl. The boy tried to throw Jamie’s torch at us but we were too far away. It made a splashing noise and sank under the water.

  ‘Hurry up Re!’

  Vicky held out her good hand and I grabbed it.

  The boat wobbled again and I nearly fell backwards but I got on to the bench next to her and she gave me one of the oars. It was better with two of us. It was like a race but with people swearing and yelling at us instead of cheering us on. Vicky’s face was all white and she was breathing really fast. We were nearly there but the back of the boat was sinking lower and lower in the water and it was getting harder and harder to move.

  At last the bottom of the boat scratched on the ground. We jumped out. The water came up to our knees. It was cold and muddy. Jamie rushed up to us and helped pull the boat up on to the grass. We paddled out of the water.

  ‘We know who you are,’ yelled the boy. ‘Saw your ugly mugs on the telly.’

  ‘Three stupid little runaways,’ shouted the girl.

  ‘What are we going to do Vicky?’ I asked. ‘I’m scared.’

  ‘They can’t get us out here.’

  ‘Just let them try,’ said Jamie.

  I wanted to go round the other side of the island so the bullies couldn’t see us but Jamie said we’d better keep an eye on them. So we sat down and waited. And waited. Vicky thought they might just go away if we waited long enough. They’d stopped shouting now and sat on their bikes staring at us.

  I looked down at Peter. I was glad I hadn’t left him in the cave. They might have hurt him too. He still hadn’t moved. Then I had a horrible thought. Maybe Vicky was right. Maybe he was already dead.

  I asked Jamie. He was watching the bullies in case they tried to swim over to us. He looked at Peter and nodded.

  ‘Sorry Re.’

  I thought hard for a moment.

  ‘Mum’s dead . . . but she’s coming back one day isn’t she?’

  Jamie looked at Vicky then back at the bullies.

  ‘She can’t Re,’ said Vicky really quietly.

  ‘Never? Not even for a day or something?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Not even for . . . five minutes?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘One minute?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘What about just to say hello then go again?’

  ‘Re she’s not coming back, all right. Never. Not at all!’ said Jamie in his shut up or I’ll whack you voice.

  ‘But that’s not fair!’ I felt cross now. Nobody had told me that before. ‘So where’s she gone?’

  Vicky and Jamie were staring at the bullies. They wouldn’t even look at me. Vicky’s mouth was all twisted up.

  ‘Where is she?’ I asked.

  ‘Dunno. Heaven or something . . .’ said Jamie.

  ‘So where’s that then?’

  ‘Don’t know . . .’

  ‘Vicky?’

  She shrugged. ‘Up in the sky somewhere . . .’

  ‘How can you live up in the sky?’ I said.

  Jamie and Vicky went quiet. They didn’t even know. I looked over at the bullies sitting on their bikes.

  ‘I wish she was still here, not up in the sky, jumping around on clouds.’ I had another thought. ‘So why hasn’t Pete
r floated up to the sky then?’

  Vicky gave a big sigh. ‘Look Re. Bodies die. They don’t work any more.’

  ‘But you said —’

  Jamie was getting cross. ‘Shut up Re.’

  ‘I’m only asking.’

  ‘Well don’t ask. Not now. Just shut up.’

  ‘But I want to know. Mrs Edwards says we should ask a question if we don’t understand.’

  Vicky looked at Jamie then said quietly, ‘OK, so maybe it’s just their spirit that stays alive.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘It’s what’s inside them. It’s invisible but it makes them who they are – it makes them different from anybody else.’

  I thought hard for a bit, then I stroked Peter for one last time. I put him back in the tin and tucked Jamie’s T-shirt over him. I took out my little penguin and zipped him safely in my pocket. I fixed the lid on the tin really gently then I put the tin down between two tree roots and covered it with moss and leaves. Vicky was watching me.

  ‘What are you doing?’ she asked.

  ‘I don’t think Mum’s spirit is floating around in the sky. I think that’s just really stupid. I think it’s here because this is her best place that she liked more than anywhere else. She told me. I’m leaving Peter here so they can be together.’

  Chapter 40

  ‘It’ll be all right, Vicky. Don’t worry.’

  A huge lump rose up in my throat. It was the first time in our whole lives that Re had ever comforted me. I thought about Mum. What would she do if her spirit had been here with us? What would she say? I concentrated hard but felt nothing.

  Rhianna’s wrong, I thought flatly. You aren’t here Mum, are you? We’re on our own, tiny little specks alone in a great big universe.

  I looked across the lake. There was a wind up now and small waves formed, making the water choppy and dark. Thick grey clouds were rolling over, covering the blue sky like a dull heavy blanket.

  The beady-eyed girl was busy talking into her mobile phone. When she’d finished, the shaven-headed boy ran down to the water’s edge and shouted over to us.

  ‘Hey, saddos! Guess what? The police were really interested to know where you are. Looks like you’ll all be going home!’

  ‘Let’s get out of here,’ said Jamie, looking at the boat.

  ‘But the bullies’ll get us!’ wailed Re.

  ‘We can’t, Jamie,’ I said. ‘There’s a leak. We’ll never make it . . . and I can’t swim.’

  ‘I’m not waiting for the police to turn up.’

  He searched for the hole in the bottom of the boat.

  ‘It’s not that big,’ he said, ripping a bit of his T- shirt then using the cloth to plug the hole. ‘We’ll be all right. It’s our only chance.’

  I looked at the old battered dinghy. I wasn’t happy but Jamie was already pulling it back to the water’s edge and calling to us to jump in. The beady-eyed girl started yelling.

  ‘Oi! Where d’you think you’re going?’

  ‘Yeah – you can run, but you can’t hide!’ called the boy nastily. They both laughed.

  ‘Nee-nah! Nee-nah! They’re coming to get you . . .’

  I took a deep breath. We had no other choice. Re and I climbed in the boat and sat at the back. I held on tight, praying that it would be all right as Jamie pushed us out as far as he could before scrambling on to the bench in the middle.

  ‘It’s not far, Vicky,’ he said, noticing my petrified expression. Taking up the oars he started to row steadily.

  There was still some water coming in and Re and I took it in turns to bale out. But as fast as we baled, more water flooded in.

  He rowed harder, aware of the water but not wanting to acknowledge it.

  It was gushing in faster now. The cloth plug had come loose and was floating around the bottom of the boat. I grabbed it and tried to put it back but I couldn’t find the hole.

  ‘Jamie . . .’

  ‘We’re nearly there.’

  He was trying to keep calm but I could hear the note of panic rising in his voice.

  On the shore I saw Daniel run out from the woods and up to the lake edge. Ignoring the jeers and catcalls from the two bullies, he started waving and calling to us. I waved back and shouted to him frantically although I knew there was nothing he could do to help.

  ‘Daniel!’ I yelled. ‘We’re sinking!’

  The back of the boat was submerging faster now. With a sudden whoosh, water came flooding in over the rim and the boat dipped below the surface. For a split second, we were sitting in water up to our waists.

  The boat wobbled.

  ‘Quick, jump out!’ shouted Jamie. ‘We’ll have to swim for it!’

  Jamie and Re leapt out of the boat but I sat there frozen, unable to move as it wallowed and sank.

  I screamed as I felt nothing but the dark inky water beneath me. It was deep down there. Very deep. Panicking, I thrashed my arms and tried to kick my legs as my head went under and I got a mouth full of dirty water. I coughed and spluttered, fighting my way up to the surface to gasp a breathful of air. I called for help but I could feel myself being pulled under again.

  Kicking wildly, I fought my way back up to the surface but barely had time to cough out the water before I was going under a third time. As I went down, I was aware of muffled shouts and splashing but once underneath the surface, it was quiet and the water was dark and grimy. There was nothing I could do. I was being sucked down into the lake’s depths, into its calm silence. An icy numbness spread through my body and it was then that I realised I was going to die.

  I was sinking further and further down, lightly, delicately, weightlessly. Within the still quietness I heard a small, familiar voice in my head. It was Mum’s. She was telling me I would be OK. But how do you know, I thought, how do you know? You’re not with me – you’re gone.

  Then I saw her. Floating in front of me, vivid and real. She looked beautiful, exactly like she did before she got sick. A bright light glowed behind her. Her thick golden-brown hair shone as it fluttered silently above her smooth forehead and her cornflower-blue eyes with those long dark lashes looked piercingly at me. I could see the freckles over her nose and even the tiny pink scar on her jaw. She smiled at me and creases formed at the corners of her eyes. Her lips parted showing her teeth, straight and white and even. I felt completely and absolutely happy. Nothing mattered any more as long as I could stay down there with her, for ever.

  I reached out my hand to touch her but suddenly from behind me, someone grabbed hold of my T-shirt and started pulling me firmly and roughly up and out from under the murky blackness, away from Mum and the light. I watched, powerless, as, still smiling but becoming fainter and more distant, Mum slowly raised her hand and waved goodbye to me.

  We burst through the surface of the water spluttering and gasping for air.

  ‘It’s all right, Vicky . . . I’ve got you,’ I heard a voice say. It took me a few moments to realise it was Re. I tried to speak but the effort was too much. I clung limply on to her as she dragged me awkwardly through the water towards the shore.

  Daniel swam up alongside us with Jamie. Their faces were drained of colour and both looked terrified. I wanted to tell them I was OK but just turning my eyes towards them was all I could manage.

  Somehow or other we made it to the shore. Daniel and Re half carried, half dragged me on to the grass and turned me on my side. In one huge choking splutter I brought up litres of lake water and then gasped in a huge breath of air.

  I looked at Re anxiously standing above me dripping with water. Mum had told me everything would be all right.

  I forced out a whisper. ‘Thanks, Sis.’

  Re bent down and hugged me tight. I closed my eyes, exhausted with the effort. Daniel marched over to the bullies and demanded to borrow their phone. Surprised and unnerved, the beady-eyed girl handed it over and watched as he called 999 for an ambulance. When he finished he gave it back and told them to clear off. She looked like she
was going to give him a mouthful but there was something in his voice, a different, new note. Something which said don’t argue. She hesitated then, with a brief glance at the shaven-headed boy, the pair got back on their bikes and revved off into the woods.

  I couldn’t stop shivering. Daniel picked up his nearby jumper and put it over me. He sat down next to me as I lay helpless on the grass and waited. Slowly, minute by minute, I began to feel better. My breath came more easily and evenly. Gradually I stopped shaking. Jamie and Re were watching the opposite shore for any sign of the ambulance.

  I looked up at Daniel and gave him a small sad smile.

  ‘I’m going to really miss you,’ he said quietly.

  ‘Not as much as I’ll miss you,’ I replied, impulsively reaching for his hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. Daniel looked straight at me with those big soft brown eyes, then suddenly leant over and kissed me long and tenderly on the lips. He sat back and looked at me again but for once I knew I wasn’t blushing.

  ‘Sorry,’ he mumbled.

  ‘Don’t be,’ I heard myself saying. ‘I’ve been wanting you to do that for ages.’

  We could hear them coming from the other side of the lake with their sirens wailing and their blue lights flashing. The police car arrived seconds before the ambulance. But there was no dramatic capture. No big scene. We were all taken wet and bedraggled and wrapped in blankets to get checked out at the local hospital. Re was crying softly as we drove away, but I knew deep inside it wasn’t over.

  Chapter 41

  Daniel’s mum came to get him from the hospital but we had to stay there all night. They put Vicky in a room on her own but Jamie and I were in the big ward with lots of other children. It was really noisy and busy and hot and I couldn’t get to sleep even though I put my little penguin on my pillow next to me. The nurses kept going into Vicky’s room but when I asked if she was all right they just said she was doing fine.