Page 68 of The Memory Wood

Then the darkness extinguishes her.

Elijah

Day 6

I

Night, and I’m sprinting through the Memory Wood, soaked to the skin. Above me, rain pours from a Bible-black sky. The trees rattle like shaken bones. I’m so cold.

As I run, I try to recall everything that’s happened since I last saw Gretel, but my mind’s so scrambled I can hardly focus. I think of the letter she dictated, the promise of a chess set all of my own. I knew that would bring trouble, so back in my room I vowed to destroy it. Last night, the letter stayed hidden in my Collection of Keepsakes and Weird Finds. This morning I brought it out here with some matches.

But I couldn’t burn it.

Down in that cellar, Gretel lifted the curtains on a world I never knew existed. I so desperately wanted a part of it that I convinced myself it was possible. Returning home, I searched through Papa’s things until I found an envelope and a stamp. Then I set off for the Memory Wood’s western boundary. I remember my scramble through the barbed-wire fence that borders the lane. How long did I walk before I found the postbox? Two miles? Three?

The letter itself doesn’t matter. It’s what happened after that’s the problem. Up until I posted it, I had a reason to be beyond the perimeter, something to distract me from my fears. But once my task was complete, I fell apart.

I remember getting lost. Seeing things that made no sense. The voices of people asking my name. Next thing I knew, I was in a police car, riding to the station. There was the room with no windows, the Coca-Cola the officers brought me. They didn’t wear uniforms, like they do on TV.

We wear play clothes.

I thought they were teasing. I’m not good at being teased.

When Papa whisked me out of there I could have cried with relief. Back home, earlier this afternoon, I waited until he went into the garden for a smoke. Then I crept downstairs and escaped to the Memory Wood. Outside the Gingerbread House I found a patch of disturbed mulch – evidence that a vehicle had come and gone. I never saw it, but I knew, immediately, that it had taken my friend away. Down in the cellar, I found a single print that matched my own shoe, in size if not in shape.

I recall the clatter of deadbolts as I unlocked the door, the stench of bleach so powerful that it burned my nose; the empty cell, the iron ring, the knowledge that something awful had happened.

That’s when I fled. This evening, up in my room, Mama urged me to read Ephesians:Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.But the devil has sunk his claws deep, and in my selfishness I’ve assisted him.

Once Mama had left, I found the coins on my pillow. Standing at my window, flinging them into the night, I saw a 4x4 bouncing along the track beside Fallow Field. Meunier,perhaps? Someone from Wheel Town? There was no reason for anyone to be out here so late.

That’s when I remembered what had happened in the empty cellar, my horror at Gretel’s loss causing the torch to slip from my fingers. Instead of retrieving it, I turned and fled, leaving it for anyone to find. Not only that, I left the cell door unlocked.

If my prying is to go unnoticed, Ihaveto erase the evidence.

Through the trees, I see the rain-soaked cottage, silhouetted. There’s no vehicle parked outside, no sign of anyone else. The rain beats against my scalp. Shoulders hunched, I break from cover.

II

Twice, as I blindly feel my way down the cellar steps, I nearly fall. My trainers, clogged with wet mud, offer no grip. I’m leaving prints, but there’s nothing I can do about that.

At the bottom of the steps I shuffle forwards, hands raised before me. When I fled Elissa’s cell earlier this afternoon, I didn’t pause to slam the door. Now, I’m wary of striking my head against its edge.

My arm swabs left and right, feeling for obstacles. The stench of bleach isn’t as potent as before, but it’s still enough to make my eyes water. Finally, my hand touches the door.

It’s closed.

When I move my fingers across it I discover that the deadbolts have been drawn. The padlock I’d removed is back in place.

It takes me a moment to process the full implications. Around me, the darkness seems tobreathe.

III

They know.

That’s the most obvious thing.

All this time, I’ve been so careful to cover my tracks. From the very start, I’ve understood what’s at stake for those who break the rules. My parents can’t protect me against what’s coming. No one can.

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