Doctor Who_ The Nightmare of Black Island - Mike Tucker [21]
A gust of wind sent a ripple through the trees at the edge of the estate, dead leaves swirling across the road. Rose struggled with the zip of her parka again. Daylight had had no friendly, softening effect on the wood, which still clung to the hillside, dark and ominous. Rose peered into the darkness. Surely the kids weren’t stupid enough to be playing in there?
She turned away, intending to head back down to the village, when she caught the sound of laughter through the trees. The kids were playing in the woods!
Suddenly the prospect of exploring the lighthouse with the Doctor seemed the better option to Rose. Wishing that she had a couple of his everlasting matches with her, Rose stepped into the wood, straining to hear where the laughter was coming from. She crept forward, wincing at each rustle of leaves or crack of dead branches. The laughter had been replaced by whispered conversation and loud ssshhs now, and Rose could smell wood smoke.
A loud crack made her jump and, in an explosion of wet leaves and thrashing undergrowth, a figure in baggy jeans and a sweatshirt burst from the trees in front of her, tearing through the wood and vanishing into the safety of the estate. From where the figure had emerged, Rose could see a jumble of corrugatediron sheets, badly camouflaged with dead branches. A wisp of smoke curled into the air from behind it before being whipped away by the wind.
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Rose peered over the corrugated iron and five frightened faces looked up at her. She gave a deep sigh of relief.
‘I told you it wasn’t a monster!’ One of the girls punched a boy on the shoulder, the boy Rose had seen Ali with earlier. ‘I told you! They only come out at night, don’t they?’
The boy glowered at Rose before saying, ‘Nearly gave us a heart attack.’
Rose laughed nervously. ‘You and me both! Who was doing the world speed record?’
‘That was Dai Barraclough.’ Ali was smiling. ‘I think he wet himself.’
The kids dissolved into giggles. Rose slipped round the corrugatediron sheeting and crouched down next to Ali. The kids had made a crude shelter in the lea of a tall oak tree. A small pile of wet twigs smoked fitfully and the floor was strewn with sweet wrappers and drinks cans.
‘This is where you all hang out?’ asked Rose.
Ali nodded. ‘It’s our hideout. We’re a gang. You’ve got to do the dare to join.’
‘Well, it looks like I’m a member, then.’
Ali’s eyes widened. ‘You went into the house?’
Rose nodded. ‘Uh-huh, Saw Mr Morton and his creepy nurses.’
‘Really?’ Ali was obviously impressed.
‘Yeah, really. And if I’m a member of your gang, then I hope you don’t need to keep secrets from me.’
Ali regarded her for a moment, then stood up. ‘We’ll need to take a vote.’
She motioned to her friends to follow her and the five children went into a huddle on the other side of the clearing. There was a lot of loud whispering, then Ali turned and came back to where Rose was sitting.
‘We’ve decided you can join. I told them that you’re OK, that we can trust you.’
‘Thank you.’ Rose smiled.
‘But not your friend. He’s too old.’
Rose giggled. ‘You’re more right than you know!’
The other children joined them.
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Ali pointed at each in turn. ‘That’s Baz Morgan. He lives in one of the new houses. We play football at his house sometimes. The girls are Sian and Jane Evans. Their mum runs the baker’s. Dai is the boy who ran off. You talked to him this morning.’
Rose nodded. The blond kid with the attitude. She wasn’t sad to see the back of him.
‘Yeah, didn’t think he liked me.’
‘And this is Billy Palmer.’ Ali pushed her friend forward. ‘He saw stuff at the rectory.’
Rose held