Read Online The Nightmare Game by Gillian Cross - Free Book Online Page A

Tom—?”
    â€œTom’s nothing like you were,” Emma said firmly. “When you came back from that washroom, you were polite and laid back and— empty. Tom’s not like that at all. Look at him.” She pointed down the road. Tom was striding away energetically. “We need to stop worrying about him and concentrate on catching him. Come on.”
    She broke into a run and Robert jogged to keep up with her. But he was still worrying. Was Tom really all right? Or was the Tom they could see now just an empty zombie? Was the real Tom somewhere in the wood with Lorn and the others, down on the dangerous dark ground?

6
    THEY’D LEFT THE BIKES RIGHT OVER ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE city, in the development where the Armstrongs lived. It took them over an hour to walk there, ducking into the shadows from time to time to avoid anyone who might cause them trouble.
    All the time they were walking, Robert was trying to work out a way of asking Tom about the man from the plane. But every question he invented sounded sillier than the one before. Hey, Tosh, are you just a zombie? Is the real Thomas Hastings down in the cavern with Lorn? They were all pointless. If the Tom they could see really was a zombie, he wouldn’t know anything about it.
    Robert did once get as far as saying, “You know that man—?” But Tom changed the subject immediately, with a sharpness that discouraged any more questions. There was something he didn’t want to talk about. Robert could tell that. But there was no real chance to discover any more. What they were doing was hard enough on its own.
    And Emma kept hassling them. The nearer they came to the development, the more she worried about how they were going to find the right place.
    â€œI just don’t remember ,” she muttered. “We were going so fast, and there were so many gardens. We could spend all night looking.”
    â€œIt’s OK,” Tom said. “I’m pretty sure I know where we need to be.”
    Emma didn’t look convinced but, when they finally reached the estate, Tom turned confidently off the main road. He began to work his way through the network of little streets as though he knew exactly where he was going.
    â€œWe go right here,” he murmured, “and then right again—and the road curves around to the left. The house we want is about halfway along. With a red door.”
    Robert didn’t remember, but he recognized it as soon as he saw it. An immaculate semi-detached house with identical net curtains at every window and a neat, paved path leading up to the front door. There was no light showing at any of the windows, and no one around in the road. With luck, they could sneak in and out of the side gate without being noticed at all.
    Even so, it was hard to take the first steps. They hovered on the pavement for a moment, looking nervously at one another.
    Last time, it had been simple. Once they’d rescued Hope, they’d been so desperate to escape that they were ready to do anything. It had been easy to open any gates that blocked their way, easy to slip into strange gardens and clamber over rickety fences. But it was different now. As they looked at the house, all the dangers they’d ignored before jumped into their minds. What if someone calls the police? What if there’s a dog in the garden—or an angry man with a gun?
    Emma bit her lip. “We should have come in the daytime. Just knocked on the door and explained what we wanted.”
    â€œWe’ve discussed all that,” Robert said patiently. He didn’t want to go through the arguments again. “It’s too late now, anyway. We’re here. And we’d better get on with it before anyone spots us. Come on.”
    Stepping onto the grass, he walked quickly to the side gate and tried the latch. It lifted easily. He opened the gate without a sound, beckoning to the other two as he crept through.
    Beyond