Hunted by Sophie McKenzie Page B

paper, torn between relief that he was giving me his number and a slightly sick feeling that he was about to go.
    ‘Thanks.’ I smiled.
    Harry’s face lit up – a great, beaming smile that made his eyes crinkle. Here, in the station’s bright artifical light, I could see that the irises were very pale, ringed with a darker blue . . . almost indigo. He glanced at the train announcement board.
    ‘Your platform’s up,’ he said.
    ‘You’d better piss off, then,’ I said.
    Harry’s grin deepened. ‘See you later, Red. And watch out for Milton and McKenna.’
    I walked across the concourse to my train. All the way I wanted to look back to see if he was watching me. But I forced myself not to.
    As I sank into my seat on the train, I felt my body relax. Jeez , how come I’d been so tense? Thank goodness that was over. Now I could concentrate on working out where this code was.
    I thought about it for most of the journey home . . . trying to make sense of what I’d heard. According to Harry, Milton and McKenna had murdered my dad and were now after me. They already, clearly, had my phone number. It was obviously them sending the texts, though I wasn’t sure whether they were trying to put me off investigating my dad’s death or trying to stop me from finding the Medusa code. It surely wouldn’t be too long before they tracked me down. Maybe the only reason they hadn’t attacked the cottage already was because Jez and Alex and Geri were all there.
    My heart beat faster at the thought. I knew I should tell Geri what I’d found out, but if Geri knew I somehow had the code, then she would want it, too. And I didn’t trust her with it. I mean, I didn’t think she was about to sell it as a weapon or anything, but she would definitely pass it on to the government agents she reported to. And then who knew how it would be used?
    No, I had to rely on myself – and maybe the rest of the Medusa team. Yes, the more I thought about it, the more it made sense to include them. I knew now that their families hadn’t had anything to do with my parents’ deaths. And their skills could all be useful. When the other scientists came for me, I wanted to be as ready as possible.
    Ready to take my revenge.
    I fell asleep about halfway home, and woke with a start as we reached my station. The sun was fully up now. As I scrambled off the train and into a taxi, I wondered if Harry had snuck back into his boarding school yet.
    I started picturing his face . . . those piercing eyes with the indigo rings.
    With a jolt, I realised the taxi had actually passed the closest point in the woods to the cottage. I stopped the taxi driver, paid and raced through the trees.
    It was nearly 9 a.m. now and as I approached the cottage, I could see Geri pacing about outside. Ketty stood beside her, in her usual uniform of grungy sweats and trainers.
    ‘Where is she?’ Geri demanded.
    ‘I told you,’ Ketty said, her mouth set in a determined line. ‘She’s gone for a walk.’
    Jeez , were they talking about me?
    I crept closer, smoothing out my hair. I dumped my bag behind a tree. I could come back for it later and my ‘walk’ would look more convincing if I didn’t have anything with me.
    ‘I asked you to tell me when Dylan was out of the shower,’ Geri snapped.
    ‘I told you, I didn’t see her come out of the shower,’ Ketty said. ‘She’d already left when I went upstairs.’
    ‘Ketty was with me.’ Nico appeared at the cottage front door. ‘What’s the problem, anyway, Geri? Dylan can’t get lost and the worst she’ll meet on a walk are a few squirrels.’
    ‘That’s if she is on a walk.’ Geri peered into the trees. ‘She’s the last person I’d expect to be communing with nature – especially this early in the day.’
    ‘Actually, I’m totally into going for walks in the morning,’ I said, sauntering out from behind my tree.
    Geri’s jaw dropped. Beside her, Ketty looked relieved, while Nico glared at me, clearly