Page 44 of A Flash of Neon
Behind them, two first-year girls dressed as superheroes are frozen with fear: one bursts into tears, and the other grabs her friend’s hand and pulls her down the corridor. Other people have noticed the Blanks too, but they seem more confused or impressed than scared – it hasn’t occurred to them that what they’re seeing could be anything other than a costume.
Beside me, Russell drops his cup of lemonade. “Whoa! Who is that? They’re creepy as hell!”
One of the Blanks takes a step forward and begins to move towards the centre of the hall where Neon is dancing with Tilly and Elsie. The others follow, a slow-moving army heading for their target. The fog is already rolling into my mind in thick waves. If they come much closer, I won’t be able to think properly at all.
I rush through the crowd and grab Neon’s hand. He turns to me with a big smile on his face, but it disappears when he sees the faceless figures heading towards us.
“They’re here!” I shout. “We have to go. Now!”
Neon doesn’t move. His eyes are fixed on the Blanks slowly edging across the dance hall, a mixture of fear and defiance in his expression. Elsie and Jamie look from us to the Blanks, obviously confused, but unable to find the words to ask what’s going on.
Tilly straightens her short blond wig and swallows. “I’ll try to slow them down,” she says. “You guys get out of here.”
I don’t want Tilly to stay, but there’s no time to argue with her. I drag Neon across the gym, through the fire escape and out into the street. We run past the bakery, along the park and towards my house. Neon pulls his hand away and shouts at me to stop, but I ignore him and keep running – I need to get him away from those things as quickly as possible.
When we turn a corner on to the high street, I skid to a halt. This part of town would usually be deserted at this time of night, but now it’s filled with figures. They linger by the bus stop, drift past the post office, stand in clusters in shop doorways. My heart skips a beat, then thunders even faster than before. Standing between us and safety are dozens, maybe even hundreds, of Blanks.
As the Blanks sense Neon’s presence, a wave of movement washes over the street. One by one, they spin towards us, an entire crowd of empty faces turned in our direction. Breathing fast, I try to imagine a way out of this. Nothing comes. I close my eyes and squeeze the top of my nose, but the fog in my head won’t clear. After a moment, I feel a hand on my shoulder.
“Laurie, my time’s up,” Neon says softly. “If I go back to the Realm now, they won’t have the chance to erase me.”
“No!” I shake my head. “No, there has to be a way.”
“But look how many of them there are! If I stay, they’re going to suck the imagination out of everyone in this town.”
I think about it: Mutti not being able to write; me unable to come up with my stories; Tilly without her love of all things fantastical; Carrie taking down the unicorn ornaments on her mantelpiece, hiding them away in the attic; no one in our town making music or drawing or creating beautiful things. The idea is too sad for words.
But so is the thought of letting Neon go. I’m still not ready to give up yet.
I scan the street. The lights are on in Every Book & Cranny. Deep in the mist of my mind, there’s a tiny spark of hope. I reach for Neon’s sleeve and pull him towards the shop. Some of the Blanks stumble in our direction as we run down the street. The fog in my head thickens, but they’re too slow to catch us.
Inside the shop, Mum and Mutti sit together by the computer, mugs in their hands, their foreheads creased with frowns. Joel is cross-legged on the floor, rearranging the cookbooks. When I hammer on the door, they all jump; Mutti’s tea sloshes over the rim of her cup and on to her cream cardigan.
Joel leaps to his feet and hurries to the entrance. My heart flutters as he undoes the double locks and opens the door. “What’s wrong? Has something happened?” He reaches for me as I pull Neon inside, his eyes widening when he finally notices the Blanks swarming the high street. “What arethose?”
I slam the door shut and bolt it closed again. Mum and Mutti rush over from the counter. Mum’s face is pale, and Mutti barely seems to have noticed the beige splodge on her favourite cardigan. They both look so worried, and for a moment all I feel is regret. I should have told them what was going on much sooner. We’re in over our heads, and now I don’t know even know where to start.
“Don’t worry.” Neon holds up his hands with a wobbly smile. “Everything’s OK. It’s just…”
“Everything is not OK! Thosethingsare after Neon. He needs to get out of here now.” I run to the storeroom and grab Mum’s car keys from the hook behind the door. “He’s been staying at Carrie’s friend’s house – you know, Tamara Mackenzie, the director? They live in that big house in the woods. Can you drive us there? Please?”
Mutti and Mum look at each other. There are times when my parents appear to have an entire conversation in one glance, but right now they both look completely flummoxed.
Mutti turns back to us and shakes her head in confusion. “Wait – start again, Laurie. Those people are after Neon?” She peers at the Blanks through the window, more confused than worried. “Who are they?”
“And what do you mean, Neon’s been staying at Tamara Mackenzie’s house?” Mum says, a hint of anger creeping into her words. “Does Carrie know that?”
“Yes, it was her idea, but – look, there’s no time to explain!” I shake the keys in frustration. The Blanks are drawing in, and the fog in my head is expanding. “I promise I’ll tell you everything later. Please can you trust me on this?”
Joel rubs his forehead. He seems to be having trouble thinking too, but he takes the keys from me. “I can drive you over there.”
“No, we’re coming,” Mum says, snatching them back from him. “It sounds like we’ve got things to talk to Carrie about.”
While Joel locks up the shop, the rest of us hurry out through the back door and down the side street where my parents’ car is parked. Mum slides into the driver’s seat and Mutti gets in beside her, rubbing her temples like she’s getting a headache.
Joel appears a moment later and squeezes into the back beside Neon and me. “Is this something to do with Aurora?” he asks, pulling the door shut behind him. “Is she OK?”
“Who’s Aurora?” Mum glances at me as she slowly manoeuvres out of her parking space. When none of us replies, she sighs. “Fine. Maybe Carrie will give us some answers.”
