Authors: Kara Karnatzki
Chapter Forty Three
The padlock was
n’
t shut. It was looped through the holes, but it was
n’
t locked. I called Byro
n’
s name, but he did
n’
t react. He stopped pounding the door though. Slowly, I eased the lock free. The door swung open. I shut my eyes. Opened them.
‘
Gemma!
?
’
Instead of Byron, I found Gemma curled up inside the locker. There was no room for her to move and the water was up to her shoulders. She had gaffer tape around her mouth and around her wrists and ankles. Sh
e’
d cut her head where sh
e’
d been butting the door. Her skin was pale, like she was desperately cold, and her eyes were wide and frightened. When she realised it was me, the tears leaked down her cheeks.
‘
Gem!
I’
m so glad to see you!
I’
m so glad yo
u’
re all right! Well, yo
u’
re obviously not all right, but...we thought yo
u’
d gone! We had no idea you were still in the school. Wha
t’
s happened? Wh
o’
s done this to you
?
’
With the gaffer tape she could
n’
t speak. She thrust her whole body forward. I caught her in my arms, hugged her. She pushed forward and I could tell all she wanted to do was run from the place.
‘
Wait
,’
I said
.‘
We need to get the tape off you
.
’
I crouched, plunged my hands into the water and released her binds. As soon as her legs were free, she collapsed. She flopped into my arms. She was too weak and traumatised to hold her own body up. I led her to the steps and sat her down, then pulled the gaffer tape off her mouth. The action left a sore red strip around her lips, but the way she gasped for air, I knew it was a relief for her.
‘
Does anything hurt
?’
I said.
She shook her head, tried to speak.
‘
Was it him? Was it Byron who did this to you
?
’
I looked for her response. She whispered something, but I could
n’
t hear. I leant closer, then felt her stiffen, saw her eyes widen. They startled and stared behind me, beyond me, up the steps to the library. I turned and saw the light of a torch bouncing through the dark. For a second I thought of the rescue team, but my instincts knew not to believe it. Gemma started to shake and scream.
‘
Stay away from us
!’
she cried.
‘
Stay away
!
’
Chapter Forty Four
None of our threats had an impact. We were rabbits in the headlights. We could
n’
t run, so we sat and hugged, dug our nails into each othe
r’
s arms and trembled. As the torch got closer, I could see the shadowy figure of a person behind it.
‘
We know i
t’
s you
!
’ I called, as assertively as I could.
‘
W
e’
re on to you, Byron! Do
n’
t come near
!
’
My words were ignored. He continued advancing, shone the light in our eyes. The brightness was disorientating, momentarily blinding. We held each other tighter, waited for the worst. Then a horribly familiar voice broke the silence.
‘
Finally
,’
it said.
‘
You know, babe, you would
n’
t
believe
what
I’
ve been through to get here
-
’
He came up close, eyes glistening, mouth leering. He waved the torch around my face, then held out his arms and invited me to embrace him. I recoiled.
‘
Wha
t’
s the matter, Katy
?’
he said
.‘
Aren't you pleased to see me?'
‘
Marshall
?
’ I said, my mouth barely able to form the word.
‘
What are you doing here
?
’
'Is
n’
t it obvious?
I’
ve come to help you, babe. I heard you were in trouble. It was all over the news.
I’
ve come to save you
-
’
I could feel Gemma trembling in my arms, trembling at the sight of him. Sh
e’
d never been scared of him before. She'd never liked him, but she'd never been scared.
‘I’
m here for you, Kate
,’
he replied.
‘
Did
n’
t you get my texts? I sent loads. For some reason, you did
n’
t reply
.
’
‘
Yes. I - I - got them. Thanks. I jus
t…
I did
n’
t have enough battery. Sorry
.
’
The way he was looking at me, I felt like his prey. He said h
e’
d come to help, but I knew better.
‘
How did you get here
?’
I said.
‘
Good question. It was
n’
t easy. But I did it for you, Kate. Just for you. You know, the whole tow
n’
s screwed. Everythin
g’
s under water. I had t
o‘
borro
w
’ a motorboat from someon
e’
s driveway, but it only got me as far as Bell Road. Idiot owner forgot to put petrol in - '
‘
Oh
.
’
‘
Lucky for you though, I found an abandoned car - key still in the ignition, engine running. I managed to shunt it across the playing field, but it went out of control just as I got near to the school
–
and that was the end of the car
.
’
He flicked his hair, gave a quick, empty smile.
‘
Some clapped-out yellow Mini
,’
he continued
,‘
ploughed straight into the trees. Probably a right off. Still, it served its purpose
.
’
Miss Nevi
s’
s Mini! The car lights Leon had seen in the trees! I thought h
e’
d hallucinated them, but they must have been real. So what had happened to Miss Nevis? I did
n’
t dare think about it.
‘
That was my art teache
r’
s car
,’
I said.
‘
You swear you did
n’
t see anyone? No one nearby
?
’
Marshall shrugged.
‘
To be fair, I did
n’
t really look. Maybe she swam away
?
’
‘
And how did you get into the building
?’
I quizzed.
‘
I mean, if you found away in, there must be a way out
-
’
‘
Shh
!
’
Marshall silenced me.
‘
I know a way out
,’
he whispered.
‘
Leave it to me. But first of all, Kate,
first
of all, you and I need to have a little chat
-
’
The way he said this, I knew it was
n’
t a nice chat. I swallowed. He offered his hand, gestured for me to join him. Gemma pulled me away.
‘
Do
n’
t touch her
!’
she cried.
‘
Who asked you
?’
said Marshall.
‘
Stay out of this! Yo
u’
ve already caused us enough trouble with all your scratching and whining! Have
n’
t you learned your lesson yet
?
’
The penny dropped. It was
him
. He was the one wh
o’
dtied Gemma up and shut her in the locker. And the other stuff, too? The spiked drink? The blown out candles? The smashed up phones? We blamed Byron, but h
e’
d been adamant it was
n’
t him. I shoul
d’
ve known. Cruel pranks like those, they had Marshall Finch all over them.
‘
Marshall, what are you up to
?
’ I said, unable to contain myself.
‘
You say yo
u’
ve come to rescue me, but tha
t’
s not the whole story, is it? Yo
u’
ve been playing games. Yo
u’
ve been messing us around, trying to frighten us, trying to freak us out
-
’
Marshall looked from side to side and smiled, like he could
n’
t care less about the trials w
e’
d been through, or the danger. Anger curled inside me. When he tried to take my hand, I snatched it away, but he was quick. He grabbed again and got me. His grip was so tight it hurt. The pain made me wince.
‘
Do
n’
t
mess me about Kate
!’
he rasped, his mouth against my ear.
Up close, I could smell drink and tobacco on his breath.
‘I’
m not happy with you
,’
he whispered.
‘
I came all this way. I went out of
my way
to come and help you. And what did I find when I got to you? Betrayal. What kind of thanks is that
?
’
Betrayal? But I had
n’
t done anything.
‘
You kissed. You kissed another boy,right in front of me. How could you
?
’
So that was it. H
e’
d seen Leon and I kissing. H
e’
d been spying. Was I ever going to be free from Marshall and his insane jealousy? Was I ever going to be allowed to be happy, to have a life of my own?
‘
Yo
u’
re crazy
!’
I screamed, exploding with anger
I thrashed and twisted, tried to break out of his grip. I did
n’
t care about the consequences.
‘
I
t’
s over
!’
I yelled.
‘
You and
I–
w
e’
re done! W
e’
ve been
done
for months! Do
n’
t you get it? W
e’
re finished. I can do what I like. I can see
who I like. I can
kiss
who I like. I do
n’
t owe you anything. I have
n’
t betrayed you.
I’
m not your girlfriend anymore
!
’
‘
Oh. Yes. You.
Are
.
’
He twisted my arm behind my back. His eyes were full of hatred and disgust. Gemma tried to stop him but he pushed her away. He took a roll of gaffer tape from his pocket, shoved us together, and began to wind it round our middles, pinning our arms to our waists.
‘
Yo
u’
ll be sorry
,’
said Marshall, his voice cold. 'No girlfriend of mine is going to get away with cheating on me. Yo
u’
ll regret it, Kate. You will.
I’
ll make sure
.
’