had no phone, and Ella was helping her dad run his summer camp on a remote island that had no mobile phone coverage. Ruby was too busy swimming to have time to text me. I was cut off from the outside world, and in some ways, it was almost like my old life didn’t exist. And then one day, everything changed.
Chapter Fifteen
K ate called early that morning, as usual. (Since that first day, I hadn’t dared to go near her house again.)
‘I’m going out,’ I called, but Mum raced after me.
‘You’re not going anywhere until you tidy your room,’ she said. ‘It’s like a pig-sty.’
‘How do you know?’ I asked. ‘Have you been in a pig-sty recently?’
I thought that was quite funny, but it didn’t help me much. It just made Mum crosser.
I made a face at Kate who was standing watching the scene. That made me feel guilty – she probably wished she had a mum tohave rows with.
‘You go ahead,’ I said. ‘I might be a while.’
Kate grinned. ‘OK. See you in the Island of Dreams when you’re finished.’
Ten minutes later, I’d finished tidying my room. (Well, I’d finished stuffing everything under my bed.) I called good-bye to Mum and Dad and Joey, and set off for the field.
As I strolled along, I could hear a robin and a sparrow singing in the hedge. (Clearly I was spending too much time with Kate, if I actually knew what robins and sparrows sounded like.)
I walked around a bend to find Kate racing towards me. Her tracksuit was torn, her knee was bleeding, and she was crying so much I couldn’t hear what she was trying to say. Eventually she caught her breath and got some real words out.
‘There’s a … man …… a big man … with a …… with a … he’s got a … chain … saw and he …’
Now it was my turn to panic. This was likesomething from a horror movie. I grabbed Kate’s arm and tried to pull her down the hill.
‘So why are we hanging around?’ I gasped. ‘Let’s get out of here … quickly! Let’s get back to my place. Come on! Run! Someone needs to call the police.’
Kate shook her head.
‘You don’t understand. The man isn’t trying to hurt me.’
‘But what happened to your leg? And why are you crying?’
Kate looked at her leg, like she’d just noticed that it was bleeding.
‘That’s nothing. I fell when I was running down the hill. And I’m crying because …’ at that she started to cry again. ‘I’m crying because … because … the man … is trying to cut … he’s trying to cut down …… Jeremy.’
I was glad to know that our lives weren’t in immediate danger, but this was still terrible news.
‘He can’t do that,’ I said.
‘But he is.’
Now I turned around and tried to pull her back up the hill.
‘We’ve got to stop him,’ I said.
Kate shook her head.
‘How? He’s got a chainsaw, and he says he’s got orders from the man who owns the tree. There’s nothing we can do.’
I made a face.
‘There’s
always
something you can do. Now are you coming with me or not?’
Kate didn’t answer, but she followed me back up the hill to the field.
There was a jeep parked in the laneway, and there were three men in the field. They’d put long spike things into the ground all around Jeremy, and they’d looped yellow tape from one spike to the other, making a low fence. The tape was official-looking, and said stuff like
Danger
and
Tree-felling
and
Keep Out
. One of the menwas busy pouring petrol into the tank of a huge chainsaw.
‘What are you doing?’ I shouted.
The man stopped what he was doing and stared at me.
‘Guess,’ he said.
Great. An adult who thought he was smart.
‘I’m a bit too big for guessing games,’ I said.
The man shrugged. ‘I’ll tell you, then. We’re cutting down this tree – not that it’s any of your business.’
‘But you can’t do that,’ I said.
‘Actually we can,’ said the man. ‘And I told your friend that already.’ As he spoke, he pulled a cord and the chainsaw engine
Chapter Fifteen
K ate called early that morning, as usual. (Since that first day, I hadn’t dared to go near her house again.)
‘I’m going out,’ I called, but Mum raced after me.
‘You’re not going anywhere until you tidy your room,’ she said. ‘It’s like a pig-sty.’
‘How do you know?’ I asked. ‘Have you been in a pig-sty recently?’
I thought that was quite funny, but it didn’t help me much. It just made Mum crosser.
I made a face at Kate who was standing watching the scene. That made me feel guilty – she probably wished she had a mum tohave rows with.
‘You go ahead,’ I said. ‘I might be a while.’
Kate grinned. ‘OK. See you in the Island of Dreams when you’re finished.’
Ten minutes later, I’d finished tidying my room. (Well, I’d finished stuffing everything under my bed.) I called good-bye to Mum and Dad and Joey, and set off for the field.
As I strolled along, I could hear a robin and a sparrow singing in the hedge. (Clearly I was spending too much time with Kate, if I actually knew what robins and sparrows sounded like.)
I walked around a bend to find Kate racing towards me. Her tracksuit was torn, her knee was bleeding, and she was crying so much I couldn’t hear what she was trying to say. Eventually she caught her breath and got some real words out.
‘There’s a … man …… a big man … with a …… with a … he’s got a … chain … saw and he …’
Now it was my turn to panic. This was likesomething from a horror movie. I grabbed Kate’s arm and tried to pull her down the hill.
‘So why are we hanging around?’ I gasped. ‘Let’s get out of here … quickly! Let’s get back to my place. Come on! Run! Someone needs to call the police.’
Kate shook her head.
‘You don’t understand. The man isn’t trying to hurt me.’
‘But what happened to your leg? And why are you crying?’
Kate looked at her leg, like she’d just noticed that it was bleeding.
‘That’s nothing. I fell when I was running down the hill. And I’m crying because …’ at that she started to cry again. ‘I’m crying because … because … the man … is trying to cut … he’s trying to cut down …… Jeremy.’
I was glad to know that our lives weren’t in immediate danger, but this was still terrible news.
‘He can’t do that,’ I said.
‘But he is.’
Now I turned around and tried to pull her back up the hill.
‘We’ve got to stop him,’ I said.
Kate shook her head.
‘How? He’s got a chainsaw, and he says he’s got orders from the man who owns the tree. There’s nothing we can do.’
I made a face.
‘There’s
always
something you can do. Now are you coming with me or not?’
Kate didn’t answer, but she followed me back up the hill to the field.
There was a jeep parked in the laneway, and there were three men in the field. They’d put long spike things into the ground all around Jeremy, and they’d looped yellow tape from one spike to the other, making a low fence. The tape was official-looking, and said stuff like
Danger
and
Tree-felling
and
Keep Out
. One of the menwas busy pouring petrol into the tank of a huge chainsaw.
‘What are you doing?’ I shouted.
The man stopped what he was doing and stared at me.
‘Guess,’ he said.
Great. An adult who thought he was smart.
‘I’m a bit too big for guessing games,’ I said.
The man shrugged. ‘I’ll tell you, then. We’re cutting down this tree – not that it’s any of your business.’
‘But you can’t do that,’ I said.
‘Actually we can,’ said the man. ‘And I told your friend that already.’ As he spoke, he pulled a cord and the chainsaw engine
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