Page 49 of Hunt Me
How long have I been asleep?
Too damn long you bloody idiot. I bet the girls are starting to get worried now. If it has been two whole nights out, they are likely to send someone out looking for me, but they will be looking in the entirely wrong place — a place that might well be crawling with those weirdos we had come across in the sewers.
Fear creeps up my spine.
‘Look I don’t think you’re a pure shite person, you know I don’t and never would. But what's going on here, Ruaridh?’
Ruaridh sighs as he stroke a finger across my cheek.
‘We…’ he pauses as if weighing up the right words,‘came across each other up at one of the storage units, the one that hadn’t been checked since before winter. The floor caved in, and we went with it, straight into the sewers.’
‘That’s pure boufin.’Vish’s voice has a grimace to it.
Ruaridh grunts in agreement, then continues.‘Aye, we stunk, but whilst down there, we came across some of the cannibals, so we got turned around whilst we were down there and ended up in the East End somewhere. Took a while for me to figure out exactly how far away from here we were but got here in the end.’
‘How long have yous been oot together?’Vish asks.
‘It was midday yesterday when we went through the storage unit.’
I sigh with relief, thank fuck it's not been that long that I have been asleep. I can still get back and find—
‘Is it that much of a relief?’Ruaridh’s teasing tone interrupts my thoughts, and this time, I definitely freeze.‘Should I be worried, little deer?’
I freeze to the point where I wonder if my blood has listened to my plea not to move a muscle and has simply halted its rushing around my body too.
Ruaridh’s torso leans into my back and I’d be a liar if it didn’t feel warm and comforting. But then the way his hand gently pulls my head to the side so that he can have a complete look at my not-so-sleeping face has a rush of fear running through me.
‘Do you think we’re going to tell you off for eavesdropping, Fauna?’Thankfully the lightness in his voice still there.
‘Mm,’I mumble.
Ruaridh and Vish both laugh.
I’m manoeuvred in the monstrous Skull's arms so that I am sitting up, looking at Vish but still lying on Ruaridh’s lap. My arms are fully wedged to my sides thanks to the cocoon blanket I am inside and with the new position my right thigh and ass cheek start to tingle.
Pins and needles begin searing down my right side. I groan with pain as it feels like thousands of little needles are stabbing through my skin. I try to shake it out but the stupid cocoon of a blanket does not let me move more than an inch.
‘You alright there?’Vish asks, amusement plastered across his glowing features.
I shake my head, grimacing.
‘Yer girl is aff er nut, Ru,’he smiles at the man behind me. His eyes are kind and playful.‘Looks like she’s experiencing some weird exorcism moment which is weird because neither of us are religious never mind a fucking priest.’
‘The fuck you on about,’Ruaridh barks as he practically flips me like a sausage, rolling me so that I’m now facing him.
Great, now I have pins and needles,andI feel dizzy. He’s one movement away from a large portion of sausage and beans being thrown up on his face if he’s not careful. Like, really, what is wrong with this man throwing me around like I’m one of his Barbie dolls?
‘What’s wrong?’Ruaridh demands, wild eyes searching my face for any clues.
The only clue this brute of a man can get out of me is that I’m well and truly pissed off. It’s obvious by the startled look that battles with his worried expression.
I take a sick sort of satisfaction in knowing that I can cause such a reaction with a little death glare from me. My parents used to say that the term‘if looks could kill’could be defined by my pissed off face and I bet they are proud of me wherever they are watching from.
As long as they have only just started watching right now, that is.
I send out a spiritual apology to wherever they are — something I’ve found myself doing over the years. This one probably won’t be the last time either, but what are kids for? A sprinkle of disappointment on top of a heap of pride is what being a parent is all about, right?
‘Wha— what did I do?’Ruaridh asks, a pleading look in his eyes as one of his hands weirdly pats the back of my head.
