Mumbles.
‘Him.’
Chapter Seven
THE BEST FORM OF DEFENCE
T his time, he didn’t even give me a chance to start panicking. Without a sound, he dropped down through the hole, arms outstretched, reaching for me. I half leapt, half stumbled aside, until my back was pressed up against the rear wall. The night surrounded me like a thick, black curtain, swallowing everything up, making it impossible to see. Where was he?
Where was he?
Off to my left, Ameena cried out in shock. Instinctively, I turned in the direction of the sound, but it was no use. My visual range didn’t even reach the end of my nose, let alone the other end of the garage.
She screamed in panic, but it was soft and muffled and indistinct, as if she was shouting from inside a cloud. With astart, I realised her mouth was covered. Mr Mumbles was smothering the life right out of her!
I flew at the sound, wildly flailing my arms around like windmills and screaming for him to leave her alone. After just a few steps, my fists found their target. I heard him spin to face me, and I quickly let fly with another few punches. Most of them missed, and the ones which didn’t probably hurt me more than they hurt him. I kept swinging anyway.
I was still windmilling when he hit me in the chest. The blow struck like a sledgehammer. I didn’t feel any pain at first, just the sensation of no longer being on my feet. Most of the air in my lungs exited in one sharp, sudden breath. What little was left was quickly knocked out when my back thudded against the garage wall.
My knees buckled, and I dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. The smell of petrol swirled up my nostrils and caught in my throat. Tiny pinpricks of light sparkled like fireflies wherever I looked. Somewhere – I couldn’t even guess where – my imaginary friend let out a low, throaty laugh.
‘Kyle!’ Ameena yelped. ‘Are you OK?’
I gave my head a shake, trying to clear the cobwebs away. A knot of pain throbbed between my eyes. Oxygen was gradually flowing back into my lungs, but my chest had begun to ache where Mr Mumbles had hit me.
‘Define “OK”.’
With a rustle of clothing, Mr Mumbles lunged at me. Still on my knees, I rolled sideways, and felt the wind move as he passed just above my head. Close.
Too close.
The darkness made it impossible to know where to run. There could have been another door, or even something to fight him with, but we’d never know. We’d never find out. If only there was some sort of—
A foot splashed into a puddle at my side, and I rolled again, hoping there were no walls waiting in the direction I dived. Near the spot I’d just been, I heard a mumble of frustration. At a guess I reckoned Ameena must be somewhere to my right, keeping quiet so as not to give her whereabouts away.
Maybe we could both rush him. He was strong, but thetwo of us might be able to overpower him if we worked together. Of course, to do that we’d have to be able to see him, and for that we would need—
A squeal burst from my lips as a hand caught me by the back of the neck and forced me to the ground. There was a brief flash of pain across my jaw, before the lower half of my face went cold and numb.
Icy, dirty rainwater swirled up my nose. Frantically, I blew down both nostrils, trying to keep the puddle out of my airways, until there was no air left to blow with. Automatically, my body breathed back in, and I immediately tasted filth and grime at the back of my throat.
Coughing, spluttering, I pushed back against the hand which held me, but he was too heavy, too powerful. I thrashed wildly, more terrified of the water beneath me than of the monster above.
The puddle could only have been a few centimetres deep, but that didn’t matter. The water still made my pulse race and my head spin and a bubble of fear form far back in my throat.
It couldn’t end like this. Not drowning, please!
Please.
Anything but drowning!
Somewhere, miles off in the distance, I could hear
‘Him.’
Chapter Seven
THE BEST FORM OF DEFENCE
T his time, he didn’t even give me a chance to start panicking. Without a sound, he dropped down through the hole, arms outstretched, reaching for me. I half leapt, half stumbled aside, until my back was pressed up against the rear wall. The night surrounded me like a thick, black curtain, swallowing everything up, making it impossible to see. Where was he?
Where was he?
Off to my left, Ameena cried out in shock. Instinctively, I turned in the direction of the sound, but it was no use. My visual range didn’t even reach the end of my nose, let alone the other end of the garage.
She screamed in panic, but it was soft and muffled and indistinct, as if she was shouting from inside a cloud. With astart, I realised her mouth was covered. Mr Mumbles was smothering the life right out of her!
I flew at the sound, wildly flailing my arms around like windmills and screaming for him to leave her alone. After just a few steps, my fists found their target. I heard him spin to face me, and I quickly let fly with another few punches. Most of them missed, and the ones which didn’t probably hurt me more than they hurt him. I kept swinging anyway.
I was still windmilling when he hit me in the chest. The blow struck like a sledgehammer. I didn’t feel any pain at first, just the sensation of no longer being on my feet. Most of the air in my lungs exited in one sharp, sudden breath. What little was left was quickly knocked out when my back thudded against the garage wall.
My knees buckled, and I dropped to the floor, gasping for breath. The smell of petrol swirled up my nostrils and caught in my throat. Tiny pinpricks of light sparkled like fireflies wherever I looked. Somewhere – I couldn’t even guess where – my imaginary friend let out a low, throaty laugh.
‘Kyle!’ Ameena yelped. ‘Are you OK?’
I gave my head a shake, trying to clear the cobwebs away. A knot of pain throbbed between my eyes. Oxygen was gradually flowing back into my lungs, but my chest had begun to ache where Mr Mumbles had hit me.
‘Define “OK”.’
With a rustle of clothing, Mr Mumbles lunged at me. Still on my knees, I rolled sideways, and felt the wind move as he passed just above my head. Close.
Too close.
The darkness made it impossible to know where to run. There could have been another door, or even something to fight him with, but we’d never know. We’d never find out. If only there was some sort of—
A foot splashed into a puddle at my side, and I rolled again, hoping there were no walls waiting in the direction I dived. Near the spot I’d just been, I heard a mumble of frustration. At a guess I reckoned Ameena must be somewhere to my right, keeping quiet so as not to give her whereabouts away.
Maybe we could both rush him. He was strong, but thetwo of us might be able to overpower him if we worked together. Of course, to do that we’d have to be able to see him, and for that we would need—
A squeal burst from my lips as a hand caught me by the back of the neck and forced me to the ground. There was a brief flash of pain across my jaw, before the lower half of my face went cold and numb.
Icy, dirty rainwater swirled up my nose. Frantically, I blew down both nostrils, trying to keep the puddle out of my airways, until there was no air left to blow with. Automatically, my body breathed back in, and I immediately tasted filth and grime at the back of my throat.
Coughing, spluttering, I pushed back against the hand which held me, but he was too heavy, too powerful. I thrashed wildly, more terrified of the water beneath me than of the monster above.
The puddle could only have been a few centimetres deep, but that didn’t matter. The water still made my pulse race and my head spin and a bubble of fear form far back in my throat.
It couldn’t end like this. Not drowning, please!
Please.
Anything but drowning!
Somewhere, miles off in the distance, I could hear
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