Neither Dead Nor Alive Page 4

  ****

  Here I am at Dalmally. As soon as the train started slowing down I got up to go to the toilet. Nipped off when we stopped. I suppose I got a bit lucky cos Mum was sitting on the other side of the train, so she didn’t see me.

  But now there’s another hitch. As soon’s the train’s away I ask this man: “When’s the next train back to Connel?”

  “Fourteen fifty-eight,” he says.

  “Eh?” “Three o’clock; you’ve a long wait.”

  I look at my watch. It’s just a quarter past one. Can’t hang around here for two hours. Sooner or later Mum’s gonna miss me and then she’ll raise the alarm.

  I wander out of the station and down to the main road. There’s a sign. It says ‘Oban’ one way and ‘Crianlarich’ the other. I go the Oban way. Connel’s just before Oban, but it’s too far to walk.

  There might be a bus, but I’ve no money and it’s starting to rain. Besides I’ve got to get out of here before the police start looking for me. I wonder about hitching a lift. I’ve not done that before, but I know you wave your thumb and cars and stuff stop and give you a ride.

  I decide to give it a try but there’s not much traffic on the road and nobody wants to stop. I keep going for about an hour and I’m just about ready to pack it in and settle for the long walk when this GTi screams past.

  Suddenly there’s a screech of brakes and it stops ahead of me. The driver’s window’s right down and some group’s belting out on the stereo. I’m running now – just in case he revs away. But he doesn’t. It’s a well smart car; personalised number plates, alloy wheels, back spoiler; the lot.

  The passenger door opens and a woman gets out. She’s got a YSL T-shirt, Armani jeans – I can see the label – and Nike trainers.

  “Where do you want to go?”

  “Benderloch.”

  “Darren,” she turns to the driver. “Benderloch. Ever heard of it?”

  Darren’s on his mobile. He switches it off and puts his head out the window. He’s got an earring and he’s wearing shades even though it’s raining.

  “Take him as far as Connel, Vicki. And that’s it.”

  “OK,” says Vicki. “Climb in the back.”

  “And don’t touch anything,” growls Darren.

  “You’ll have to squeeze in beside the gear,” says Vicki. “Darren’s a DJ. We’re doing a gig in Oban tonight.”

  I’m stuck in the back of this hatchback. The seats are folded down and it’s crammed with these decks and amps. And Darren’s driving like he’s in a rally.

  “What’s your game, wee man?” he asks.

  Am I gonna tell him I’ve gotta get back to the Bronze Age? He answers for me,

  “Frigged off with the old dears?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Been there.” He sounds a bit friendlier now. “Bought the T- shirt. So you think you’re gonna hit the road?”

  Vicki interrupts, “What’s your name?”

  “Steve.”

  “Do you know anybody in Benderloch, Steve?” “My mum’s there.” It’s safe enough to say that cos she won’t be at home.

  “Thought you wanted away from her,” says Darren.

  “It’s my dad.”

  “What’s it with him?” asks Vicki.

  “Don’t want to go to stay with him.”

  “Why not?”

  Then I blurt it all out; well, some of it. About being put on the train to Glasgow to meet my dad and not wanting to go back to Paisley. I don’t tell them my mum was on the train with me and they’re getting back together. I make it like Mum’s still at Benderloch and I’m trying to get back to her.

  “Your mum put you on the Glasgow train on your own?” asks Vicki.

  “She asked the guard to look after me.”

  “What do you think, Darren?” she asks.

  “Dump him at Connel. Let him find his own way back to Mummy.”

  “We can’t just do that.” She’s thinking hard. “If we’re going to take him to his mum, we’ll take him all the way and make sure he gets there. Can’t be all that far off our route. Tell you what – we’ll phone her with the mobile.”

  “She’s not in,” I interrupt.

  “How d’you know?” Darren sounds suspicious.

  “Cos she works in Oban all day.”

  “Do you know her works number?” asks Vicki.

  “No.”

  “Could you take us to where she works, then?”

  “Never been there.”

  “Darren, we’ll have to take him to the police.”

  “You off your trolley? With all that gear in the back?” She bites her lip.

  “All right, then. We’ll take him to his mum’s house in Benderloch.”

  “That’ll be shining bright.”

  “It’s the least we can do.

  “Were you born thick? Sooner or later that train guard’s gonna report the kid missing. The Fuzz’ll be all over the place from Dalmally to Benderloch and maybe even Oban. Look, we’re nearly at Connel. We ditch him there and take the back road over the hill to Oban.”

  Her face sort of wrinkles. I can see she’s not sure.

  “I suppose... ”

  “Suppose nothing. We gotta get outa this before things start to go pear-shaped.”

  We’re into houses now and there’s a sign marked `Connel`. Darren slews the car round the steep corner that leads to the road to Benderloch. Then he turns into a side road and stops.

  “Out,” he snaps.

  Vicki lets me out.

  “That’s your road, sunshine.” He jerks his thumb backwards.

  “Hold on, Darren.” Vicki’s rolled down her window and she’s fumbling with her purse. “You got any money, Steve? I’ll just give him his bus fare to Benderloch.”

  “Give him nothing.”

  He crunches into gear and screeches away. His back wheels throw up a lot of wee stones into my face.

  Chapter 8

  ON THE RUN

  I’m at Ledaig farm. I’m soaked. Had to walk from Connel. There’s been a few cars but I didn’t try to hitch. Couldn’t take the chance the police might be looking for me – not after what Darren said.

  I reckon I’m all right now. There’s rocks and bushes on one side of the road, so I can dive in and hide if I have to. And just round the corner is Benderloch village and that’s where Fiona’s house is.

  I’m just beginning to feel safe, but I’m still listening for the ‘EEE-AAWW, EEE-AAWW, EEE-AAWW” of a police siren and I’m looking for blue flashing lights. Searching for me has got to be a big police emergency; so I don’t notice this Vauxhall Astra purring along slowly, even though it’s got police markings – not until it’s too late.

  I dive into a ditch. Maybe they haven’t seen me. The car’s cruising past. No; it’s reversing right up to where I am. The front passenger door opens and a policewoman gets out.

  “Steve,” she calls.

  I get my head down and don’t breathe.

  “Steve, you’re not going to get into trouble.”

  Another door slams.

  A man’s voice asks, “Any sign of him?”

  “I’m sure I saw him,” she says. “must be somewhere over there.” “Let’s go see.”

  I can’t help looking up and this policeman’s coming towards me, balancing from tussock to tussock among the muddy pools.

  I leg it and he dives after me.

  For a split second I think he’s like a big black swan landing on a loch – all feet and arms flailing and splashing. He didn’t see the soft mud and he’s in over his knees.

  That gives me the break I need. I’m into brambles and bracken and boulders and I’m half running, half crawling. I can hear them somewhere behind me and I think my heart’s going to explode through my ribs.

  There’s a kind of tunnel in the bracken here and I double back along it. Can’t keep this up much longer. Here’s a hole under a big rock. It goes right underneath it, out of sight. I crawl under the rock.

>   I’m panting. Wish I didn’t have to breathe so hard in case they hear me. But they’re not close. In fact they’re going the wrong way. I can hear them stomping and shouting and it’s getting fainter.

  Then the noise stops altogether. They must have given up.

  But there’s this other voice. “Stevey.”

  It’s Mum.

  “Stevey, please come out. We won’t go back to Paisley if you don’t want to. Please.”

  I wish I could tell her about Fiona and Aidan and all, but she wouldn’t listen. I’d be grounded for weeks – and I’ve only got till tomorrow. So I curl up under my rock. Then I notice there’s another way in. There’s a tunnel under the rock and it leads out the other side into a jumble of boulders on the hillside away from the road. Don’t know where it leads to but I’m going to find out. If I stay here they’ll get me sooner or later.

  I’m wriggling along now on my hands and knees. At first I can still hear Mum’s voice.

  “Stevey,” she calls. “Stevey.”

  I swear she’s crying. Then the voice fades out and I’m alone in the tunnel.

  It’s not exactly a tunnel now. There’s a track that winds through boulders that must have fallen down from a cliff somewhere up the hill. At times I’ve got to crawl under the rocks. In other places I can stand up.

  It takes a long time and I’ve got to stop for a rest. I don’t even know if I’ll be able to get out the other end.

  Then suddenly I am out of it. In front of me there’s one of these boggy fields with bracken and broom, and beyond that there are back gardens and houses. I can see now that I’ve come out just beyond Benderloch village and I’ll have to backtrack to get to Fiona’s.

  I’m crossing the field, running from bush to bush. Now I’ll have to cut across the road to get to her house. I look both ways and listen. That police car with Mum could be anywhere. On the other hand they’re maybe still back where I left them, still searching. Anyway, the road’s clear; so I go up over the fence, sprint down the road and in Fiona’s gate. Then I stop. Crouch down behind her hedge. What if her dad’s in? It must be about teatime. I glance at my wrist, but my watch isn’t there. I must have lost it somewhere with all that scrambling and mud and stuff.

  What to do?

  I decide to chance it. Got no choice really. I run to the door and ring the bell. I’m sopping wet, but my mouth is dry like dust. What if she’s not in?

  But she is.

  Don’t think she recognises me at first – no wonder.

  “Hello,” I croak. “It’s me.”

  “Steve?”

  “Same guy.”

  “Come in – no, go in the bathroom. Don’t mess the place up.”

  What’s she like? After all I’ve been through.

  “Look,” she says, “just stay there. I’ll get you some dry clothes.”

  “I’ve done a runner,” I announce dramatically.

  “I know.” She’s pure casual.

  “How d’you know?”

  “The police checked to see if you were here. Your mum’s dead worried.”

  Then she’s off and back again with a bundle of stuff.

  “Here’s some dry things.”

  “Girl’s clothes?” I wonder, but she’s brought a T-shirt, jeans and trainers.

  She insists I get washed and changed before she’ll listen to my story. Her trainers are too small, so I have to put my own sopping ones back on. But she has to clean all the mud off them first.

  I try to explain it’s an emergency. I’m on the run, in urgent danger, but she’s not for hurrying.

  “Listen,” she says, “the police have been here already. They won’t be back. Dad’s library shuts at eight, so he won’t be in for a while yet. Just calm down.”

  When she sees I’m clean and dry (well, almost) she lets me go and sit in the lounge.

  Then she’s ready to listen, but it turns out she knows most of it already – except the bit about the lift from Darren and Vicki.

  It seems that Mum’s been phoning around just about everybody trying to find out where I am, and Radio Oban FM has just done a newsflash that a boy with red hair has been reported missing in the Dalmally area.

  “Right,” Fiona says, twirling her ponytail. “I’ll have to hide you tonight. Aidan can’t be killed till tomorrow. We know exactly where it happens, so we can go into the Land of the Old first thing tomorrow morning and save him. As soon as we come back to today you’ll have to go and see your mum. She’s back here, you know. She’s going to stay here till you’re found.”

  “Let’s go to the Land of the Old now and make sure.”

  “Oh, no.” She shakes her head. “Far too risky. We wouldn’t have long enough before sunset. Imagine if we met Gawawl in the dark. “Besides,” she adds, “I don’t want to worry my dad. He’ll wonder what’s the matter if I’m not here when he gets in. And I’ve got to make his tea.”

  Big deal. Aidan’s life’s on the line and she’s worried about her old man’s tea! Still, I get it about meeting Gawawl in the dark.

  “Now,” she says firmly, “you’ve got to have something to eat and then I’ll hide you for the night.”

  She makes me veggie burger and chips (grilled, not fried) and decaff diet coke. And I’m not allowed tomato sauce because it’s not good for you.

  When I’m finished I half expect her to tell me to go and brush my teeth, but what she says is, “Downey’s barn; that’s where you’ll sleep.”

  “Where’s that?”

  “Downey’s is just down the road. He stores hay in it over the winter, but it’ll be empty just now. And it’s not locked. You’ll be all right there.”

  “What if Downey comes and finds me?”

  “No chance. His farm house is on the other side of Ledaig Bay. He never comes here in the summer.”

  She brings me a rucksack. She stuffs in something like a rolled-up quilt.

  “That’s a sleeping bag,” she tells me. “The barn’s got a stone floor. It won’t be very comfortable, but you’ll be warm enough at this time of year.”

  We go out her back door to a lane, take a quick look around and make a dash for it to the side road that leads down to Ledaig Bay.

  “The barn’s about five minutes’ walk from here,” she says.

  ****

  The heavy wooden door closes tightly, but there’s no lock. It’s empty inside – whitewashed walls and a stone floor.

  Fiona lays out the sleeping bag.

  “What time is it?”

  I tell her I’ve lost my watch.

  “Well, it won’t be dark for a while yet. So you musn’t leave the barn, just in case the police are about. Once it’s dark you’ll be OK.

  “Oh,” she adds, “you might hear scuttling noises. These’ll be mice, or maybe rats. They won’t hurt you. Their whiskers might tickle you when you’re sleeping; make you sneeze.” She laughs. “Never been camping?”

  I’m not exactly over the moon about the rats, but before I’ve time to worry about them there’s something else.

  She goes into a side pocket in the rucksack and pulls out the dirk.

  “You’d better have this.”

  “For the rats?”

  “Don’t be stupid.”

  “What, then?”

  “You remember Gawawl?”

  “Do you think I’m gonna forget him?”

  “All right. You know that Aidan and Finn and Fergus are only alive in the Land of the Old? They can’t be in our today time.”

  I nod.

  “Gawawl and The Morrigan aren’t like that. They’re immortal.”

  “How d’you mean?”

  “They’re alive all the time. They never die.”

  “So?”

  “They’re in the present as well as the past. They could be with us now.”

  I freak out. It’s like icy spiders are crawling along my spine.

  “Don’t worry,” she goes on. “Remember how your watch strap stopped Gawawl? How do you think he co
uld face a Highland dirk?”

  “Will he come after me?”

  “Probably not. Whatever he does in the Land of the Old, in today’s time he mostly sleeps in the tomb behind your house. So long as nobody disturbs him, that is.”

  “Then why do I need the dirk?”

  “This year’s been different because you went into the Land of the Old. I don’t know if Gawawl can follow you back into today, and even if he can I don’t think he would know where to find you. But take the dirk, just in case.”

  “Not me. I’m getting out of here.”

  “Where are you going?” she asks. “Gawawl might just come looking for you but he hasn’t a clue that you’re in here. Leave this place and it’s a toss-up between him and the police.”

  “I could stay at your place.”

  Dad would phone the police. He’ll be home any minute.”

  “So it’s got to be here?”

  “Definitely.”

  “But if Gawawl doesn’t know I’m in here I won’t need the dirk.”

  “Take it just in case. I read somewhere that Gawawl’s got an acute sense of smell.”

  Chapter 9

  THE VANISHING CARAVAN SITE

  I’m wakened by a heavy, creaking noise. At first I can’t think where I am, but the door opens slowly and a streak of light cuts into the barn.

  I remember now, and I think it’s Gawawl. I reach for the dirk. But it’s only Fiona.

  She’s brought me tomato sandwiches (wholemeal bread, she says) and a Thermos flask of hot chocolate. Her dad’s gone off to his work, so the house is empty, but

  Fiona reckons it’s too dangerous for me to be seen around Benderloch in today time.

  Seems I was on TV last night. Reporting Scotland had a bit about me with a photo, and the whole village is out looking for me.

  “Everybody’s got their eyes skinned.” She giggles, “And you’re not hard to spot with that red hair.”

  Mark phoned her up, but she didn’t tell him anything. We’re not sure about Mark. He might turn me in if he thought it would make him a local hero.

  So we decide – well, Fiona’s decided already – that we get into the Land of the Old right here in the barn and go to the dead dinosaur in long ago time.