Dead Flesh (23 page)

On his command,
the class began to slowly exit the room in single file and I
followed.

“Move it! Move it! Move it!”
He wailed, his voice
shrill and annoying.

We quickened
our step, our heads down and fearing the worst. On reaching the
courtyard, we stood in line and waited for McCain.

“I promise if
any of you grass on me, I’ll rip your fucking heads off!” Pryor
threatened the rest of us.

“But…” one of
the Addison twins began.

“Shut the fuck up!”
Pryor spat as he stepped out of
line. He jabbed Addison in the face with his fist to illustrate
what would happen if we so much as breathed a word. Addison placed
his hand over his lip, which had already begun to swell and I could
see a trickle of blood ooze through his fingers. My stomach
somersaulted and I clenched my fists. Sam must have seen me do
this, as he placed his hand on my arm as a warning that this was
not the right time to get into a fight with Pryor.

The door to the
courtyard was thrown open and McCain came striding out across it,
Taser – sizzle stick – in hand. His emaciated face shone an angry
crimson. I half expected it to explode right there and then on top
of his neck, sparing us the beating we were all expecting. He paced
furiously back and forth before us like a caged beast.

“Which one of
you idiots is responsible for throwing water over Sister Margaret?”
He seethed, trying to keep his obvious anger under control.

We all remained
silent.

“Who was it?”
his voice barely a whisper, as if his anger was fighting its way up
his throat, causing him to lose his voice.

Again we
remained silent.

“Answer me, goddamnit!”
he screamed.

Dorsey visibly
flinched beside me on hearing his screeching voice. We continued to
remain silent, stupidly refusing to give up Pryor’s secret.

“Right, seeing
as not one of you has the moral decency to own up, I take it then
that it was a team effort?” he asked, his anger reined in
momentarily, but still bubbling under the surface.

Silence.

“If that’s the
way you want to play this unfortunate game, then so be it. Each and
every one of you will be sent to the Rat-House.”

On hearing
McCain’s threat, I immediately felt sick with fear. Not for myself,
but for Dorsey.I couldn’t stand back and watch him being punished
for something Pryor had done. Dorsey had put up with enough from
Pryor and his friends. I could see that he was frail and at a
breaking point.

So I stepped
forward out of line and said, “It was me. I did it.”

McCain looked
at me, “Well, well, well!” he said as if swallowing a mouthful of
bile. “Hunt, come here.” He pointed to a spot on the floor within a
couple of feet of him. I moved towards it.

“Do you have
any idea of the consequences of your actions?” McCain roared at me,
his anger now completely unleashed and uncontrollable. “Do you even
care?”

I said nothing
and stared at him.

“Answer me!”
He screeched.

His eyes glowed
yellow and spun in their sunken sockets. I knew it didn’t matter
what I said – what excuses I gave – the outcome was inevitable, he
was still going to send me to the Rat-House. As I stared back at
him, all I could think of was what Potter might say if face to face
with McCain. Then, by accident and without thinking, I said, “Let’s
get this over with shall we, McCain?”

On hearing my
remark, some of the other kids began to snigger and McCain’s head
turned a darker shade of crimson. I was convinced I saw his head
actually swell in size, and I wondered if it might just go
bang!
right in front of me. A deep
greeny-blue vein appeared in the centre of his forehead and began
to pulsate like a deformed heart.

“Goddamnyou!”
he cried one last time as he gripped me
by the arm and shoved me across the courtyard and back into the
school. As he led me away, I turned and looked at Sam. He looked
scared for me. I then caught sight of Pryor who smirked.

I mouthed the
word
coward
at him, then looked away.

McCain dug his
fingers deeply into my flesh.But instead of taking me to the
Rat-House like he had threatened, McCain forced me through the
winding corridors and up the stairs to my room. Pushing me against
the door, he shoved me inside. He closed the door behind him, and
stood looking at me.

“There is
something different about you,” he whispered, taking a step closer
towards me.

“I’m not sure
what you mean?” I said, pulling my blazer tight about me. I wasn’t
scared of him hurting me, I was scared that he might realise that I
was different – different from the others at the school.

He came closer
still, so he was brushing up against me. Then, leaning over me, he
rested his cheek against mine. I flinched away at his touch. McCain
pressed the tip of his nose into my cheek. It felt wet, like a
dog’s. I thought of how he had sniffed at the bloodstains on Emily
Clarke’s bedroom wall and I felt sick.

“Who are you?”
he whispered in my ear, his breath hot against my cheek.
“
What
are you?”

“I’m Kayla
Hunt,” I said. “I’m human.”

“You don’t
smell like any human I’ve smelt before,” he sighed,

as if he was
actually getting a thrill out of sniffing me. The urge to kick his
arse was unbearable.

“I thought I
was going to the Rat-House?” I asked him, as he ran his nose
through my hair.

“No, no, no,”
he breathed. “There is something about you.”

“What?” I
asked, closing my eyes, not knowing for how much longer I could
bear his touch.

“I don’t know,”
he said, his voice now sounding soft – dreamlike – as if he was
being intoxicated by my smell. “You have courage. You’re fearless
and have an anger that I admire. I’ve never tried to match someone
like you before.” McCain pulled back from me, his yellow eyes
glazed-looking. He stared at me. Then, taking his nasal spray from
his trouser pocket, he shoved it into each nostril and breathed
deeply.

“You’ll stay
where I can keep an eye on you, Kayla Hunt,” he said. “You interest
me. I’m not sure, but I might have the perfect match for you.”

“And who is
that?” I asked him.

McCain went to
my bedroom door, opened it and looked back at me. “She’s very
special. I shall be telling the Wolf Man all about you.”

Then, without
another word, he slipped from my room and closed the door. With a
huge sigh, I collapsed onto my bed. I needed to get that camera to
Isidor and quick. Hopefully the camera held all the evidence that
we would need to nail McCain and I could get out of Ravenwood
before he got this
special
wolf to match
with me.

Kayla

Lying alone in
my room, I knew that I wouldn’t get a better opportunity to try and
sneak from the school grounds and leave the camera on the other
side of the wall for Isidor to find later. The rest of the kids
were in lessons along with most of the teachers. All I had to do
was get across the main grassy area in front of the school, to the
cover of the trees that grew against the wall circling the school
grounds.

I took the
camera from my bag which was hidden beneath my wardrobe and tucked
it inside the pocket of my blazer. The camera was small, and the
front of my blazer didn’t stick out too much. I placed my iPod in
my trouser pocket, planning on taking a picture of the place where
I finally hid the camera, which I could then send to Kiera to help
Isidor locate it.

The corridor
was quiet and empty, so closing my bedroom door behind me, I snuck
from my room. I made it with no problem down the winding staircase.
I listened intently for any noise that might suggest that a Grey
was nearby or that I was being followed. Like I had hoped, the
corridors and passageways were empty and only twice did I have to
hide in the shadows of a nearby stairwell or doorway as a Grey
shuffled past me. Before long, I began to feel disorientated and
wished that I had Sam to show me the way. But I wouldn’t have been
able to take him with me as he would’ve wondered why I was placing
the camera outside of the school grounds. I couldn’t tell him about
the others – just in case.

In case of what?
I wondered. Sam seemed like a good
guy and I hoped that I could trust him. After all, he had risked
everything last night leading me to Emily Clarke’s room. But I had
trusted a man before and I’d ended up dead. So just for now, I
would go on alone.

I reached a
side door that led out into the grounds of the school. Crouching in
the shadows, I looked left and right to make sure no one was
around. When I was sure that I wasn’t being watched, I made my way
as quickly as possible across the grassy area to the trees. I’d
only got about halfway, when I heard someone call my name.

“Hey,
Kayla!”

Hearing my name
being shouted, I froze just like the statue I had seen in the
forbidden wing back at Hallowed Manor. I turned around to see Sam
trotting across the lawn towards me.

“Where are you
going?” he asked.

“Nowhere,” I
lied, feeling flustered. “I’m just going for a walk.”

“I thought
you’d be in the Rat-House by now,” he said with a look of concern
on his face.

“And I thought
you’d be back in class by now,” I said back, annoyed that he had
seen me.

“McCain gave us
the rest of the morning off,” he explained. “Hasn’t got a
replacement Grey.”

“Oh,” I
said.

“Do you want
some company?” he asked me.

“I’d rather be
alone,” I smiled, hoping I didn’t hurt his feelings. Sam had been a
good friend to me since arriving at Ravenwood.

“Don’t be like
that,” he half-smiled. “I’ve got nothing to do. Let me hang with
you. Stuff always happens when I’m with you.”

“What sort of
stuff?” I frowned.

“Crazy stuff,”
he smiled. Then, he was heading away towards the trees.

I followed him
until we were hidden by the crop of trees that stretched away from
the school building.

“So how come
McCain didn’t chuck you into the Rat-house?” he asked me, thrusting
his hands into his trouser pockets. It was cold amongst the
trees.

“He said he
thought there was something different about me,” I explained.

“See, didn’t I
say you weren’t like any other girl that I’d ever met?” he smiled,
eyes twinkling.

“He said that
he wants to match me with some wolf,” I told him. “Apparently this
wolf is kinda special. You wouldn’t know what he is talking about,
would you?”

“How should I
know?” Sam shrugged. “The guy’s a freak. Who knows what he’s
talking about.”

We walked
amongst the trees in silence; the only sound was the leaves
rustling in the wind overhead. Before the silence became
uncomfortable, Sam glanced sideways at me and said, “Why did you
stick up for Dorsey?”

“I had to,” I
shrugged.

“But why?” Sam
asked again.

“If I had stood
back and watched Dorsey take another beating from that jerk, I
don’t think I would’ve been able to ever look at him again without
feeling ashamed,” I told him.

“Ashamed of
what?”

“Myself,” I
said back.

Sam looked
thoughtfully at me. “Sometimes, Kayla, I just don’t get you!”

“I was bullied
for years,” I blurted out.

“Why would
anyone want to bully you?” Sam asked, sounding confused.

“They said I
was ugly,” I mumbled, unable to look at him.

“Who said you
were ugly?”

“Just a bunch
of girls at this boarding school I used to go to before my parents
died,” I said.

Sam stopped
walking and looked at me. “Kayla, you are not ugly. I don’t know
how anyone could ever say that.”

Still unable to
look at him, I pictured those black bony lumps that had once jutted
from my back, but I couldn’t tell him about those. “Thank you,” I
said softly.

There was a
moment’s silence in which I could hear Sam’s heart start to race
again, as if he was nervous about something. Then, taking a deep
breath, he said, “I don’t know how to say this, Kayla, but I think
you are...” He paused and I looked at him.

“Are what?”

“It doesn’t
matter,” he said, his cheeks flushed red with embarrassment. Then,
changing the subject, he said, “C’mon, I’ve got an idea that will
cheer you up!” That twinkle was back in his eyes again and glowing
fiercely.

“What is it?” I
asked.

“We’re gonna
get outta this place and have some fun!”

“What do you
mean we’re going to get out of here?” I asked, going after him as
he dashed off through the trees.

“I’ve found a
way out of here,” he said over his shoulder.

“But the Greys
will notice that we’ve gone,” I said.

“We’ll be back
in time for lunch,” he smiled back at me.

“But...” I
started. Although my plan had been to leave the school grounds, Sam
tagging along hadn’t been part of it.

“No buts,” he
said. “I know what your problem is; you need to get outta this
place. God knows I do, I’ve been here for months.”

I looked at
Sam, and he had that wicked glow in his eyes again, as if his brain
was burning inside his skull and the flames were licking at his
eyeballs.

Trying to put
him off the idea so I could go on alone, I said, “How we gonna get
out of this place? Just look at it.” I then pointed at the high
stone walls and search towers, which were just visible through the
trees.

Grinning, Sam
said, “Come with me.”

I followed him
into a nearby clump of undergrowth. Branches and brambles reached
out for us. I brushed them away. Sam crawled out of the bushes and
edged his way along the wall that surround the school grounds. With
shoulders rounded, I made my way after him. Sam came to a sudden
halt next to a huge chestnut tree, and looked at me.