Darren looked put out, though I wasn’t sure whether that was because his story hadn’t had the same spellbinding effect as Dougie’s, or because of the sudden end to the night. He was holding mulishly to the remains of the whisky. No doubt he wanted to stay up till dawn, drinking. This probably wasn’t his idea of a party. Still, Dougie’s actual birthday wasn’t for another two days.
I made my way wearily to our tent, chilled now that I was away from the flames. Teeth chattering, I pulled off my clothes and yanked on my warmest pyjamas before I turned on the torch, aware that my outline would be silhouetted against the faded red of the tent. Shoving my feet back into my trainers, I tripped back outside, toothbrush in hand. The boys were dumping spadefuls of sand onto the fire, trying to douse the final flames. At least, Dougie and Martin were. Darren stood to the side, his arms around Emma, lips locked against hers.
They were still like that, glued together, when I returned from the bushes where I’d created a makeshift bathroom. I forgot, momentarily, about evil figures in the dark. I looked at them, half amused, half uneasy. I’d made it quite clear to Emma that the tents were single-sex. I hoped she hadn’t thought I was saying it just for the benefit of our parents. If she wanted to shack up with Darren, she’d have to sleep in his car.
‘Night,’ I called to Dougie and Martin as I slithered for the final time into the tent.
As I’d hoped, my farewell acted as a spur to Emma. She disengaged herself from Darren’s octopus grip and, after planting one final kiss on his cheek, ambled in my direction. She didn’t bother getting changed or brushing her teeth, but buried straight down into her sleeping bag, watching as I shoved clothes and toiletries back into my rucksack, tidying up the space.
‘That story was really spooky,’ she commented as I unzipped my own bag and crawled inside. ‘You looked totally freaked out.’
‘It was creepy,’ I replied honestly. ‘Dougie really knows how to tell a scary story.’
‘Mmm,’ Emma agreed. ‘Think it was really all true?’
‘Most of it,’ I replied. At least, I hoped it was only most of it. The idea of druid spirits haunting the land freaked me out too much to contemplate.
‘You reckon? How does Dougie know all that, then?’
‘Well, he’s really interested in that stuff.’
‘What, ritual sacrifice?’ Emma stared at me, her expression wide-eyed with put-on horror.
‘No,’ I scowled. ‘History and archaeology and things. He’s got loads of books on it. It’s what he wants to do at university.’
‘Oh, that’s right,’ Emma purred. My ears pricked up at the change and I turned to look at her. She was grinning slyly. ‘You’ve both applied, haven’t you?’
‘Yeah.’ I knew where she was going with this and I didn’t want to talk about it. I held my hand over the torch, ready to douse the light. ‘You all sorted?’
Emma nodded and I hit the switch, plunging us into darkness.
Everything was immediately different. Blind, my ears automatically tuned in to every noise, inside the tent and out. I could hear Emma’s quiet breathing, the rustling of her covers as she shifted, trying to get comfortable on the air mattress. Further away, I caught the quiet murmur of the boys, huddling down. Comforting noises, reminding me that I wasn’t alone. Below that, though, there were more eerie sounds: the rhythmic whoosh of the water, hissing like a whisper; the higher pitch of the wind through the reeds high up on the sand dunes like a scream. The distant bark of a dog, snapping and jarring at my nerves.
Stop it, I told myself. You’re surrounded by people.
Still, the haunting tones of Dougie’s voice murmuring his tale of druids and bloody sacrifice seemed to have followed me into the tent. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. That there was something out there in the dark, something other than Emma lying beside
I made my way wearily to our tent, chilled now that I was away from the flames. Teeth chattering, I pulled off my clothes and yanked on my warmest pyjamas before I turned on the torch, aware that my outline would be silhouetted against the faded red of the tent. Shoving my feet back into my trainers, I tripped back outside, toothbrush in hand. The boys were dumping spadefuls of sand onto the fire, trying to douse the final flames. At least, Dougie and Martin were. Darren stood to the side, his arms around Emma, lips locked against hers.
They were still like that, glued together, when I returned from the bushes where I’d created a makeshift bathroom. I forgot, momentarily, about evil figures in the dark. I looked at them, half amused, half uneasy. I’d made it quite clear to Emma that the tents were single-sex. I hoped she hadn’t thought I was saying it just for the benefit of our parents. If she wanted to shack up with Darren, she’d have to sleep in his car.
‘Night,’ I called to Dougie and Martin as I slithered for the final time into the tent.
As I’d hoped, my farewell acted as a spur to Emma. She disengaged herself from Darren’s octopus grip and, after planting one final kiss on his cheek, ambled in my direction. She didn’t bother getting changed or brushing her teeth, but buried straight down into her sleeping bag, watching as I shoved clothes and toiletries back into my rucksack, tidying up the space.
‘That story was really spooky,’ she commented as I unzipped my own bag and crawled inside. ‘You looked totally freaked out.’
‘It was creepy,’ I replied honestly. ‘Dougie really knows how to tell a scary story.’
‘Mmm,’ Emma agreed. ‘Think it was really all true?’
‘Most of it,’ I replied. At least, I hoped it was only most of it. The idea of druid spirits haunting the land freaked me out too much to contemplate.
‘You reckon? How does Dougie know all that, then?’
‘Well, he’s really interested in that stuff.’
‘What, ritual sacrifice?’ Emma stared at me, her expression wide-eyed with put-on horror.
‘No,’ I scowled. ‘History and archaeology and things. He’s got loads of books on it. It’s what he wants to do at university.’
‘Oh, that’s right,’ Emma purred. My ears pricked up at the change and I turned to look at her. She was grinning slyly. ‘You’ve both applied, haven’t you?’
‘Yeah.’ I knew where she was going with this and I didn’t want to talk about it. I held my hand over the torch, ready to douse the light. ‘You all sorted?’
Emma nodded and I hit the switch, plunging us into darkness.
Everything was immediately different. Blind, my ears automatically tuned in to every noise, inside the tent and out. I could hear Emma’s quiet breathing, the rustling of her covers as she shifted, trying to get comfortable on the air mattress. Further away, I caught the quiet murmur of the boys, huddling down. Comforting noises, reminding me that I wasn’t alone. Below that, though, there were more eerie sounds: the rhythmic whoosh of the water, hissing like a whisper; the higher pitch of the wind through the reeds high up on the sand dunes like a scream. The distant bark of a dog, snapping and jarring at my nerves.
Stop it, I told myself. You’re surrounded by people.
Still, the haunting tones of Dougie’s voice murmuring his tale of druids and bloody sacrifice seemed to have followed me into the tent. I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was being watched. That there was something out there in the dark, something other than Emma lying beside
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