‘Did you hear that?’ I cry, racing inside, and grabbing my coat, a surge of strength I can’t quite explain rising inside me.
‘Hear what?’ Thomas says.
‘The scream – outside – someone’s in danger.’
‘Yeah, and that’s one good reason to stay inside, sis. Close the door and lock it. Don’t leave. Please.’
But I ignore him, and pull on my boots and coat, then race into the kitchen. I grab a knife from the rack and shove it into my pocket.
Back in the lounge, Thomas is fretting. ‘Please don’t go out there on your own, Amelia. Wait.’
‘For what? Nobody’s coming to help us, Thomas,’ I yell as I fly past him and out of the door, determined to find out who screamed. Knowing I have to do everything I can to stop whoever killed Ruth and Maddie from killing again.
Chapter 37
Present Day
Amelia
I zip up my jacket, and hurry across the snow, brandishing my phone torch as I head for the trees, surging adrenalin keeping me warm.
A recent track of footprints leads from the area near the top of Vine Hill towards Bluebell Cottage, droplets of blood telling me they are Dad’s heavy boot prints from when he carried Maddie. I use his imprints to help me walk faster.
I reach the trees, and glance back over my shoulder at the sheets of snow stretching behind me, deadening sound. The silence rings in my ears. The cottages are all in darkness, except the one I’ve just come from, and I feel desperate, sad, confused, my blood pumping too fast. This is such a beautiful yet tragic place.
I beat back tears, turn, and take a deep breath. ‘Rosamund?’ I call, disappearing into the wood, trees covering me, making visibility difficult. Panic surges through me, as I spiral deeper and deeper into the wood. ‘Elise?’ Memories of the ghost walk that Finn, in his top hat and cloak, had taken us on a year ago touch my thoughts. But I’m not afraid of ghosts – I’m afraid of real life.
Finally I emerge beside Kyla’s bench, and walk up behind it, gripping it to steady myself, to catch my breath. It takes a moment before I see a phone lying on the snow-covered wooden slats. I’ve seen it before. It belongs to Elise. The pink case with a glittery “E” is distinctive. I pick it up, and look at the screen. The phone is on, and I look at the screen, before looking about me. ‘Elise!’ I call. ‘Elise?’
My eyes back on the phone, I find myself searching the address book. She hasn’t many friends, but I recognise her dad, and Rosamund.
There’s no password, and I search her text messages. Two sent recently – to Rosamund:
Why bring your stepdaughter to Drummondale House? You know what happened to Lark.
I told you you shouldn’t have brought Elise to Drummondale House, but you didn’t listen.
The freezing air suddenly buzzes with the presence of another person.
The snapping of branches startles me.
I drop the phone with a clatter.
Before I can turn, someone presses up against my back. So close I hear their raspy breathing. I try to turn, but my coat rips. Something sharp touches my spine.
I want to cry out, but the blade silences me for a moment, before words bubble up. ‘What do you want?’ My voice shakes, a sob so close. ‘What have I done? What have any of us done?’
A gloved hand grabs my arm, and with a jolt I’m thrown against a tree.
My head bounces painfully against the bark.
My head swims.
My vision blurs.
A masked figure looks down at me, silently, a knife glinting in their hand.
A crunch of footsteps in the snow close by gives me sudden hope.
‘Help me,’ I whimper, heart thudding against my ribcage. And as I shake with fear and cold, my vision dips out. Everything goes black.
*
When I come round my surroundings are a blur. Someone is crouching down in front of me, features distorted. My survival instincts kick in, and I fumble the knife from my pocket. If I want to live I have to do the impossible. With a deep breath I pull my arm back, and with a jerk I plunge the blade into their stomach. I heave, sick, bile rising in my throat.
He cries in agony. A male. Yes, I’m sure it’s a man.
But the forest spins as if I’m drunk, and within seconds everything goes black once more.
Chapter 38
Present Day
Amelia
My eyes are gritty and sore. My head and ears throb. My bones and teeth ache.
I’m propped against a tree in the solid darkness, unable to see in front of me. Afraid to move in case the killer is still here.
Did I really push the knife into his flesh? Or did I dream that?
I listen. The wood is silent. No screams. No footsteps. No masked killer.
The moon creeps out from behind a cloud, and I see my phone lying abandoned nearby. I reach for it, and close my gloved fingers around it. I flick on the torch.
The moon and my torch give out enough light for me to see in front of me. There’s blood on the ground, but no sign of whoever attacked me – the person I stabbed.
I look up Vine Hill; memories of Finn pushing me down it on the sled invading my head, as my eyes skitter across to the farmhouse. The downstairs windows glow orange, and I imagine Julia and Finn inside, unaware of Maddie’s death. But they know of the dangers. They know there’s a killer on the grounds of Drummondale House estate. They know to keep the doors locked.
The moon disappears once more, and I move my torchlight towards Kyla’s bench, but before I can take it in, my phone dies. Now, apart from the faraway glow of the farmhouse, everything is black. I can’t see a thing.
I pull myself up, and lean against the tree, squinting into the darkness. I have to move soon or I’ll die
