The Nightmare Game (11 page)

Read The Nightmare Game Online

Authors: Gillian Cross

BOOK: The Nightmare Game
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Robert vaguely remembered seeing some kid in a hoodie coming the other way. “What's he got to do with anything?”
“There's something black inside his head. I don't know what it is, but I can still
see
it, like a filthy cloud. And I can feel it, too.” He pressed a hand to his side, just under the ribs.
Something slid into place in Robert's mind. “That girl,” he said slowly. “When we were fetching the bikes back. Were you seeing weird things then as well?”
Tom pulled a face. “When I first heard her voice, I could hardly breathe. That was the first time it gave me a bruise.” His voice was completely matter-of-fact, as though he was talking about something ordinary, like measles.
“You ought to go and see a doctor,” Robert said uneasily.
“A
doctor
?” Tom looked at him as if he'd gone mad. “What use would that be? I'm not ill.”
“So what's all this stuff about getting bruises and seeing things that aren't there? Are you trying to tell me that's normal?”
“Why not?” Tom said irritably. “Have I got to be ill just because I don't see the same way as you do? The things I see are
real
.” He stopped for a second, as though he was making a decision. Then, very deliberately, he added, “And Magee says it's going to get worse.”
“Magee?” Robert said warily.
Tom watched him, waiting for him to understand.
Robert was all set to argue, when suddenly he
did
understand. The realization knocked the breath out of him, so that he could hardly speak. “It's
him
, isn't it? The man from the plane?”
Tom nodded.
Robert frowned. “So—have you seen him again? Is that how you know his name?”
“That's who I was talking to yesterday,” Tom said. “Outside the park.” Helga whined, pushing her nose into his hand, and he patted her head without looking down.
“You should have
told
me,” Robert said angrily. “We need to get hold of him and ask him some questions. He's the only person who might be able to explain what's going on. He might even help us save Lorn and the others. Before it gets too cold.”
They'd reached Tom's house now. He opened the front gate and let Helga into the garden. Then he paused, blocking the way.
“Magee's not—like you think,” he said. “You can't just ask him questions and get answers. He'll only say what he wants to say.”
Robert scowled. “So what did he say to
you
? Or aren't you going to tell me that either?”
Tom ignored the jibe. He was very pale now, quite unlike his normal, cheerful self. “I couldn't tell you before. It was too—too—” He stopped and spread his hands, hunting for the right word. “When he stared at me, it was like—like having him inside my mind. And when we met outside the park, he said,
You can see like me, can't you? And you want to do something.
He knew exactly how I was feeling.”
“Didn't you
ask
him anything?” Robert said impatiently.
“Of course I did.” Tom grinned ruefully. “I said,
I don't like seeing into people's heads. How can I make it stop?
And he just laughed and said,
It'll get worse before you find that out. You need to know how to help them
.”
“He's got you pegged, hasn't he?” Robert said. Tom was a sucker for trying to help people. “But it's all nonsense, Tosh. What could you possibly do to help that girl where we hid the bikes?”
“I asked that, too,” Tom muttered. “But he wouldn't tell me. He laughed and said,
When you're ready, you'll know.
And then he went.”
“And you let him go? Without any way of finding him again?”
“Oh, I know where to find him,” Tom said mildly. “He gave me this.” He put a hand in his pocket and pulled out a little white card.
MAGEE, it said. 17A STEPNEY SQUARE.
 
ROBERT WANTED TO GO THERE STRAIGHTAWAY, BUT TOM PERSUADED him that they ought to wait until after school.
“If we keep skipping school, people are going to start asking awkward questions,” he said. “A few hours won't make any difference, and if we go this afternoon, Emma might come, too. It'll be better with three of us.”
Grudgingly, Robert agreed. “Let's tell her at break. She might have some good ideas about what we need to ask.”
That was what they both expected. But they were completely wrong. When they told Emma, she didn't waste time thinking up ideas. She hit the roof.
“Are you
insane
? You don't know a thing about this Magee man. I can't believe you're planning to go off to this address he's given you. It's as stupid as going to see someone you've met on the Internet.”
“There'll be two of us,” Tom said. “Three, with you. And Robert's taller than he is. Come with us, Em.”
“No,” Emma said. “No, no,
no
! Things are crazy enough without that. I'm not getting mixed up with anything else. I told you. I just want a bit of
normal life.
If you're determined to go, you can go on your own.”
“There's nothing to be frightened of.” Robert couldn't think why she was being so awkward. “What could possibly happen?”
“Suppose he
attacks
you?” Emma said.
It was all Robert could do not to laugh in her face. “He's only a man—shorter than me. Why should I be afraid of
him
, when I survived being grabbed in the nightbird's claws?”
“That was different,” Emma said. “I mean, I'm sure it was terrifying, but if Magee does something it'll be—” She stopped.
“Real?” Robert said spikily.
Emma went red. “That's not what I meant ”
“Yes it is.” Robert's voice was cold. “You think Lorn and the others are less important because they're small. You think they can't feel things the way we do.” He turned away quickly, picturing his friend Nate in the mouth of the hedge-tiger. That death was more horribly
real
than anything Emma had ever seen.
And I did it. I persuaded him to come on the journey.
The breath in his throat almost choked him.
“It's OK,” Tom said quietly, from behind him. “Don't worry about what Emma says. We can go without her.”
Robert had an uncomfortable sense that Tom knew exactly how he was feeling. He pushed the thought away and squared his shoulders.
“Of course we can,” he said. “And we must. We have to go.”
He was absolutely convinced that Magee understood what was going on. And no one else did—except possibly Zak, who seemed to have all kinds of mysterious knowledge. But there was no hope at all of talking to Zak. Not ever again. They had to find Magee.
Secretly, Robert was still hoping that Emma would give in and go with them. But when they met her at the school gates, at the end of the afternoon, she clearly hadn't changed her mind. She scooted up on her bike looking cross and prickly.
“Well?” she said. “Have you given up your stupid plans?”
“What do you think?” Robert said stiffly.
Emma shrugged. “All I can say is, don't go inside the apartment if you know what's good for you.”
Tom was watching her face. “Won't you change your mind?” he murmured.
“I told you. I'm going to have a
normal
weekend.” Emma tossed her head. “Shelley's having a party, and I'm going to stop over at her house.”
“
Shelley?
” Robert couldn't believe what he was hearing. “I thought she was an airhead.”
Emma shrugged. “So? At least I can spend a few hours without thinking and worrying and having the world turned upside down. I just need a
rest
from it all.”
Robert was too annoyed to answer. He watched in silence as Emma cycled away out of the gates.
“I'm going home to change,” she called back over her shoulder. “See you tomorrow night.”
It was already beginning to get dark. Robert wondered, for an instant, how Emma would cope if Mr. Armstrong came lurking around the house again. Then he hardened his heart. What did that matter, compared with the risks that Lorn was running every day? Emma might be scared, but she'd survive.
He looked away, nodding at Tom. “Let's go and see Magee,” he said.
 
LORN WAS STILL TELLING THE STORY—HER WAY—AND SHE WAS TRYING EVERYTHING she knew to hold the others' attention. But she could see their eyes wandering. The power wasn't there and, any minute now, someone was going to interrupt.
It was Annet who cracked first. She stood up suddenly, brushing the dust off her hands. “I'm bored with this. The robbers are just wandering around, moaning about losing the girl. Why don't they find out why she shrank? And why don't they do something to get her back?”
How can I tell you that when I don't know the answers myself?
Lorn thought. But she couldn't say that out loud.
The others all looked as though they agreed with Annet. “It's time something happened,” said Dess. “When are we going to get to the real stuff?”
Lorn didn't know how to reply. “What's
the real stuff
?”
Dess stared at her. “When the robbers and the old man fight, of course. Isn't that what the whole thing's about? I want to know who gets the girl in the end.”
“Why does she have to belong to someone?” Cam said belligerently. “She ought to be free, like the robber girl. That would be a better ending.”
“She's certainly not free at the moment,” said Tina. “She's squashed into that hole in the ground. The first thing she has to do is get out of there.”
“Her dad's going to pull her out, isn't he?” Shang said.
Now everyone was talking at once.
“—but she'll still be small—”
“—maybe he can force the robbers to make her big again—”
“—but in Lorn's story the robbers are the heroes—”
They crowded together, making suggestions and arguing, and Lorn found herself squeezed out onto the edge of the group. Only Zak was still looking at her now.
She looked helplessly at him. “What's going on?”
Zak grinned. “You've let them take over the story. They're squeezing it like a berry, and the juice is trickling off in all directions.”
“So have I got to leave them to work out an ending?”
“They'll never do that.” Zak's grin broadened. “When they're tired of guessing, they'll come back to us and ask,
What happened?”
“How can we know what happens?” Lorn said wildly. “It's not over yet.”
“We're not writing history,” said Zak. “Stories don't have to be true—they just need to be
right
.”
Lorn frowned. “So how do I make this story right?”
“There has to be a battle,” Zak said gently. “The robbers have to meet the old man.”
“But they can't!” Lorn felt herself begin to panic. “You don't know what he's like. They couldn't possibly—”
He was suddenly there in her mind, not a
poor old man
, but real and terrifying. Frantically she tried to shut the memory away. If she let herself think about him, he would swamp her.
Zak was watching her face. “It's no good,” he said quietly. “You'll never be able to end the story unless you let him into it.”
It was easy to say that, but how
could
she talk about him? How could she ever make the others understand? He was like—like—
All her words failed. He was
there
, huge and dark, beyond description. His eyes saw her, his huge hands could reach out and grab her wherever she was. When she tried to picture him in her head, she was swamped by a wave of fear that obliterated everything else.
“I can't—” she said. And then her clenched fist started hitting the side of her face, punishing her into silence.
Zak caught hold of her fist in both hands, pulling it away from her cheek. “That's why your story doesn't work,” he said quietly. “You want the robbers to be heroes, but how can they be heroic unless they defeat the monster?”
Lorn couldn't speak. She stared at Zak, willing him to stop.
But he didn't. “What's the monster's name?” he murmured. “Tell me, Lorn. What's he called?”
She couldn't say the word. If she tried to talk about him, he would destroy her.
The others were turning around now, tired of arguing. Some of them were already sitting down again. As they settled back into the circle, Bando came across to Lorn and tugged at her arm.
“What really happens, Lorn?” His voice was plaintive. “Tell us the end of the story.”
I warned you,
said Zak's eyes. But Lorn still couldn't speak.
Zak gave a faint nod and stepped into the center of the circle, pulling her with him. “There are two stories,” he said in his light, clear voice. “I'll tell you the end of mine today. But you'll have to wait until tomorrow for Lorn to finish hers.”
There was an instant buzz of excited voices and Lorn could see that everyone liked the idea. “But I
can't
,” she muttered to Zak. “You know I can't.”
Zak loosened his fingers, one by one, setting hers free. “Not in words. But I think you can finish your story a different way. With your hands.”
The other had all stopped talking now. They were watching Zak and Lorn, trying to understand what was going on.
Lorn didn't understand it herself—but Zak's words teased at her mind. Spreading her hands in the air, she flexed her fingers, feeling their power. Imagining a dark, solid mass between them, gradually taking shape.

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