Wildwood (YA Paranormal Mystery) by Helen Scott Taylor

Author:Helen Scott Taylor [Taylor, Helen Scott]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Juvenile Fiction
Published: 2012-07-18T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Twelve

Grandpa was too busy in the store to stop for lunch so Todd ate alone in the small conservatory among the plants. He picked the ham out of his sandwich and fed tiny pieces to a Venus flytrap while a rabble of herring gulls squabbled over the crusts he'd thrown outside. He didn't have much of an appetite because he was still spooked over the weird feeling he'd had after reading the prayer to the Wild Lord. And the thought Shaun would soon be gone depressed him.

After lunch, he wandered out into the street dragging his feet. He couldn't put it off any longer; he needed to talk to the two guys he'd seen the day he arrived. There was a chance they'd been in the woodland the morning he found Andrew's body, and they might have seen something. He squinted up the hill towards the oak tree. Relief and apprehension warred inside him when he saw two figures on the bench.

Outside the art gallery, he paused to fondle Picasso's ears, putting off the confrontation. After ten minutes, he sucked in a breath and continued up the hill.

As he approached, the air felt thick and cold in his lungs and seemed to cling to his skin. He tried to pick up the mood of the boys on his radar, but strangely he couldn't sense them at all. It was almost as if they weren't there, but he could see them. They both wore leather boots with dirty jeans and although the sun was blazing down with only a whisper of breeze, they had on old waterproof jackets. Shaun and Grandpa had suggested the guys might be staying at a campsite, but they didn't look like tourists. They looked as though they'd spent a hard day working on the land.

The one that looked to be older moved behind the bench, staring warily at Todd. The other one jammed his hands in his coat pockets and backed about twenty feet up the hill. Todd had thought they were threatening when he'd first seen them from the taxi. Today they almost seemed to be scared of him. "Hey," Todd said as he drew closer.

They both continued to stare at him silently, a haunted look in their eyes.

"You staying at the campsite?"

Still neither of them spoke. Disquiet shivered through Todd. He smelled smoke and glanced around for the source but saw nothing. The boy standing in the road turned and walked away.

"Hey, wait up. I want to ask you some questions." Todd moved to follow. The boy who'd been standing behind the bench was suddenly in Todd's face, blocking his way. Todd stepped back, coughing, eyes watering, the tang of smoke stinging his lungs.

He pressed a hand over his nose and mouth, but he couldn't see any smoke or a fire. He blinked back tears, wiping his eyes. When he could see again, the boy who'd walked away had disappeared. He must have sprinted up the hill to get away so quickly.

He backed up a few paces to distance himself from the other boy.

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