The Girl Who Wasn't There Read online

  Rebecca sits still, clutching the branch, her heart racing. Doris moves under the shirt.

  “It’s okay,” she whispers. “We’re okay. Go back to sleep.”

  Rebecca listens for noises from inside the house. The bumps from her wild ride might have been enough to wake up the creature.

  Then get a move on!

  Rebecca climbs onto the tree. It’s more difficult than she imagined, the branches aren’t very thick and are also slippery, but she manages to make her way to the trunk of the tree.

  She stands still for a moment and looks down. She can see the window to the creature’s bedroom. It’s dark in there, but the window is open, letting the night air in.

  Rebecca looks out over the branch that reaches across the fence. From here, it looks a lot thinner and less supportive than it did from the ground. And there are several feet down. She feels so close to freedom, but she still needs to cross one final, dangerous stage.

  And suddenly, unexpectedly, Rebecca is gripped by the most overwhelming fear she has ever felt in her life. For a moment, she wants to drop everything. To climb back up onto the roof and slip back inside her room. Lower Doris back down onto the lawn and go to bed.

  Would it really be so bad living here? Is it really worth risking her life to get away? If she just does as the creature asks of her, she has really nothing to fear. She could live here for many years to come.

  But she knows she can’t do that. She knows there’s only one way for her, and that’s out over that fence, no matter how scared she is.

  She breathes deeply, forces her hands to let go of the trunk and begins walking. Rebecca is pretty good at balancing. The first half of the way, she has other branches to hold onto for support. But then they run out, and she needs to walk on her own. The branch isn’t much wider than her feet, and it bobs gently under her weight. The burn wounds at the soles of her feet begin stinging badly, but she ignores the pain, steps slowly, one foot at a time.

  She’s almost above the fence now.

  Two more steps. She is very close.

  Two more. One.

  And then she’s over.

  Rebecca kneels down and grabs the branch with both hands. Out here, it’s not much thicker than a broomstick. She shivers all over. Now she just needs to make the jump. There’s almost ten feet to the ground. She’s never made a jump this high before. She could swing herself down and hang from her arms, that way making the jump shorter, but she’s afraid the shirt might open and Doris could fall out if she stretches out like that. So she needs to just jump.

  Come on, you can do it. It’s the last thing you need to do, and then you’re free!

  Rebecca closes her eyes. Then she jumps.

  She wooshes through the air, faster and faster. The fall seems to go on forever.

  Then she hits the wheat and the soft ground below and rolls to her back to soften the blow on the feet. Her ankles hurt a bit, but it soon wears off. She didn’t break anything. Doris wakes up and moves around.

  Rebecca gets to her feet and looks around. The wheat is knee-high, but she can see very far.

  I … I did it … I’m free! I—

  A movement above her. Rebecca looks up and sees something white swoop through the air. A large, snowy owl lands in the beech and looks down at her with big, round and yellow eyes.

  Rebecca stares back at it, dumbfounded.

  The owl blinks at her. Then turns its head to look at the house.

  Rebecca follows its gaze. And freezes when she sees the creature.

  It’s standing right on the other side of the fence, glaring at her.

  “Alice.”

  The word comes creeping through the night air. The voice is low. Ominous. Furious.

  Rebecca shakes her head and begins backing away through the wheat. She can’t take her eyes off the creature. She’s certain it will take off and scale the fence in one giant leap at any moment. But it just keeps standing there.

  “Alice,” it says again, a little louder.

  “No!” Rebecca says, and the sound of her voice is like a spell-breaker. Suddenly, she can turn around and run.

  She looks back and sees the creature move along the fence. It’s headed for the courtyard and the gate. Which means it’s can’t scale the fence after all. That should give Rebecca courage, but something about the way the creature moves scares her more than anything. It doesn’t run, it just walks with long, casual strides.

  Like it knows it doesn’t need to hurry.

  Like it’s got all night.

  Like Rebecca’s flight is doomed to fail.

  The owl takes flight and glides noiselessly over her head before disappearing into the darkness.

  Rebecca runs for her life.

  * * *

  Andy gives it full throttle as he races along the dark highway.

  To begin with, he rode carefully, but now he’s got the hang of it, and he feels comfortable about going at full speed. The road is mostly straight, and the light from the scooter helps him see the dew-wet asphalt ahead. He’s been riding for close to half an hour now.

  Now and then he stops to check his phone and make sure he’s on the right track.

  Until he got out of town, he was afraid of getting stopped by a police car. He only met a few late drivers, though, and none of them paid any attention to him. He’s wearing Cindy’s helmet, so hopefully no one can tell he’s only thirteen.

  Out here in the country, the chance of getting stopped is obviously a lot smaller, and he hasn’t met a single car yet. Only the stars above keep him company.

  Something dark appears ahead.

  It’s a forest, Andy realizes as he gets closer. It fits with what the map told him: the house he’s looking for will be on the other side of the forest. Which means he’s close now.

  The road cuts right through the trees. The darkness grows thicker around him as he enters the forest, and there are leaves on the asphalt, making it slippery, so he lets off the gas a little. Crashing with the scooter would be almost as bad as getting caught by the police. Just the thought of having to call home, admit the whole thing and ask them to come get him … Andy shivers. That mustn’t happen. But as long as he’s careful—

  Suddenly, he sees it.

  It appears out of nowhere, like a jack-in-box, completely unexpected.

  He stops the scooter and puts his feet to the ground. He pulls off the helmet and stares open-mouthed at the yellow van parked at the roadside.

  Although it’s been almost four months since he saw it, there’s no doubt in his mind he’s looking at the exact same van.

  He squints, adjusts his glasses and tries to look through the windshield. As far as he can tell, no one is behind the wheel. He looks around in the darkness, peering in between the trees.

  No figures in sight. He feels alone, but … how can he be sure?

  Andy shuts off the scooter’s engine and puts it on the kickstand. Then he quickly takes off the bag, opens it and reaches in for the boxcutter.

  He steps a little closer to the van, holding his breath as he listens.

  The night is absolutely quiet.

  Not a breeze stirs.

  Not a leaf rustles.

  Only Andy’s heart is buzzing in his ears.

  He walks closer to the van, clutching the boxcutter, ready to push out the blade, in case he’s walking into a trap.

  He walks around the van. All the doors are closed. Andy tries to open the back door. It’s locked.

  “Rebecca?” he whispers. “You in there?”

  No reply.

  Andy’s intuition tells him the car is empty. He goes around to the front and places his hand on the hood; it’s a trick he learned from a detective’s novel. It’s still warm. The van can only have been left here a few minutes ago.

  Andy suddenly gets a strong feeling that someone is looking at him, and he spins around.

  No one to see. Except—

  He looks up and sees the owl eyeing him from the nearest tree.


  That does it. The owl must be a sign. There’s still almost one mile to the house, but now Andy knows Rebecca is nearby.

  “Where is she?” he asks the owl. “Tell me!”

  The owl blinks. Then it takes flight and swoops over his head without a noise, headed into the forest and quickly disappears in the darkness.

  Andy stares after it and sees the trail snaking between the trees. It’s too narrow for a car, so whoever came in the van has probably parked it here and continued into the forest on foot.

  Andy swallows dryly. He’s suddenly very much aware that he’s standing in the middle of nowhere all alone in the dead of night. No one even knows he’s here, and now he’s about to go pursue a dangerous monster with only a boxcutter to defend himself.

  If I’m afraid, how must Rebecca feel?

  The thought makes him breath hard through his nose.

  “I’m coming, Becca,” he tells the night.

  * * *

  Rebecca isn’t really aware that she’s headed for the forest until it’s right in front of her. She just runs across the field as quickly as she can. It’s hard, because the wheat keeps trying to trip her, and her pants are completely soaked through from dew.

  The full moon lights up the land, allowing her to see a little ahead despite her blurry vision. A few times she stumbles, but quickly gets back up.

  She keeps looking back, expecting to see the creature come running for her, but so far that hasn’t happened, and by now the house and beech tree have turned into nothing but a tiny, dark blotch.

  Yet she knows it’s coming.

  She knows it won’t just let her leave.

  She sees the forest and stops to catch her heaving breath. Doris moves under the shirt, whimpering.

  “I know,” Rebecca pants. “But you can’t get out yet, Doris.”

  She considers for a moment if it’s wise to go into the forest. On the one hand she’ll be less easy to see once she’s no longer out in the open. On the other, she has a feeling the forest is where the creature moves most naturally. After all, it was in the park forest it was waiting for her when it took her. Perhaps it’s better for her to run around the forest. Maybe she ought to—

  The wind whispers at her. It’s only the slightest breeze.

  “Alice.”

  The name is just barely audible.

  Rebecca spins around and looks in every direction. She’s still alone in the field. But suddenly, she doesn’t feel alone.

  She runs into the forest, clutching the puppy against her stomach as she zigzags between the trees. It’s extra hard to see in here, because most of the moonlight is drowned out by the treetops, their leaves and branches creating flickering shadows all around. The forest floor is uneven and overgrown in ferns, causing her to almost stumble.

  She reaches a clearing and stops, looks around, panting, straining her eyes.

  The shadows from the trees play with her imagination, making it seem like one of them could step forward at any minute, revealing itself as the creature.

  No, it can’t be here already, Rebecca tries to tell herself. I had a good head start and I ran as fast as I could all the way over. Unless, of course … unless it drove here …

  The thought sends icy chills down her sweaty back. What if the creature knew she was headed for the forest? What if it just casually walked to the van and drove over here? Perhaps it’s already here. Perhaps it’s even waiting for her …

  The feeling of being watched creeps up on her from every side. She wants to run, she feels exposed in the middle of the clearing, but she doesn’t know which direction to take.

  “Hello?” she whispers, spinning slowly. “Is anybody here?”

  No answer comes. At least not from a human voice. But the breeze stirs again, floats through the clearing, causing the ferns to rattle, and carries the creature’s squeaking little-girl-voice to her.

  “Alice …”

  The breath is pulled from Rebecca’s mouth. She wants to scream, but can’t. Her entire body is trembling, her knees threaten to buckle. She turns and turns, desperately trying to get eyes on the creature.

  “Where are you?” she croaks.

  “Alice,” the wind whispers.

  “Where are you!?” Rebecca screams.

  The sound throws an echo and a flock of sleeping crows take flight from the treetops. Their shrill shrieks fill the air, and their flickering shadows flow across the clearing, before the birds are gone and silence once again descends over the forest.

  Rebecca holds her breath and listens. The breeze is gone now. Everything is quiet. Rebecca feels a faint hope. She can’t hear the voice anymore. Maybe the creature got distracted by the crows. Maybe it’s—

  “Alice.”

  This time, the voice comes from right behind her.

  Rebecca spins around with a scream, just as the creature steps out from the shadows. As the moonlight hits it, Rebecca sees to her utter horror that it’s fully naked. The pale, greyish skin covers the thin limbs and gives it a sickly look. It moves in a strange, almost dreamlike fashion on the long, spiderlike legs, and the black eyes lock Rebecca in place.

  She wants to turn, to run, to get away, but she can’t move a muscle, can only stand there like a statue and stare at the creature sweeping towards her, and she knows that this is it, knows without a shadow of a doubt that the creature will kill her now.

  Rebecca notices very faintly a distant sound growing louder. At first, she takes it for her own pulse buzzing behind her eardrums. But once the sound grows louder, it reminds her more of an angry wasp coming this way. And then the sound rises even further, turning into an angry roar.

  The creature hears it too, because it snaps its boney neck and looks to the side, just as a sharp, white flash lights up everything for a brief second.

  Rebecca turns her head in a slow, dreamy movement. She catches a glimpse of the scooter as it comes crashing into the clearing, bumping wildly over the forest floor. She also sees the creature caught in the headlight like a surprised animal. It raises its arms and lets out a hoarse scream, but the sound is cut short as the scooter collides with it and sends it sprawling backwards. The scooter does a somersault and the driver flies off before it lands and both the headlight and the engine die.

  Rebecca blinks and stares at the driver, who has landed right in front of her. With a moan of pain, the person comes to their feet and pulls the helmet off.

  Andy looks at her.

  He’s taller, thinner, and his hair is longer. But it is Andy. He smiles, and the smile is exactly the same.

  “Hi, Becca,” he says, a little out of breath.

  Then his smile goes away as he turns to look at the creature. Rebecca follows his gaze and sees the thin figure on the ground starting to stir.

  “Come on,” Andy says, grabbing her by the arm. “We’ve got to go.”

  The feeling of his hand on her arm wakes Rebecca from her trance. She follows him to the scooter, which he lifts up with a groan. He turns the key, and the engine sneers and comes to life.

  “Hop on!” Andy says, getting on the scooter himself.

  Rebecca jumps up behind him. She puts her arms around his waist and squeezes him so tightly that Doris is almost flattened between them.

  Andy revs up the engine and turns the scooter around. In the movement, the glare from the headlight sweeps across the clearing, and Rebecca gets another glimpse of the creature, who’s already halfway back to its feet. It clutches its side as it stares at them in a wordless sneer.

  Then, it’s gone, and the scooter is bumping through the forest, and Rebecca tries her best not to fall off.

  * * *

  It feels like forever before they finally reach the road.

  Andy is pumped up on the adrenaline still coursing through him. He barely felt any pain when he collided with the creature, even though he went flying head over heels. He’ll probably find a host of bruises all over his body later, though, but for now he only feels exultant.

 
; Rebecca is squeezing him tightly, and he still can’t believe it’s really her—that he really found her!

  She doesn’t really look like herself, though. She has lost some weight, and there are dark patches under her eyes. Also, her hair has been dyed blond for some strange reason.

  But nonetheless, it is her.

  The forest floor is very uneven, yet Andy gives it almost full throttle, biting down hard to prevent his teeth from chattering. Without the helmet it’s actually easier for him to see.

  Suddenly, the ground changes into asphalt, and Andy hits the brake, stopping the scooter in the middle of the road. They’ve come out at the exact same place he went in: a few yards from the yellow van.

  “That’s how I found you,” Andy says over his shoulder. “When I saw the van, I knew you were in the forest somewhere.”

  “We have to get away from here, Andy,” Rebecca says in his ear. “It’s going to follow us.”

  “I know,” Andy says, getting off the scooter and putting it on the stand. “But we need a head start.”

  He goes to the van, kneels down and studies the tire. He finds the valve and tries twisting it. With a little effort, he manages to loosen it, and the valve gives off a hissing as it lets out the air.

  Andy makes sure the tire is completely flat before he runs back to the scooter. He notices Rebecca eyeing him with something close to awe, and he feels a wild sense of pride. He jumps up and revs the engine.

  “Right, hold on.”

  They speed along the road headed for town. Andy can feel how Rebecca keeps turning to look back.

  “I think it might have gotten hurt when I hit it,” Andy says. “Maybe it doesn’t have the strength to take up pursuit.”

  “I wouldn’t count on it,” Rebecca says grimly, adding: “It’s not human.”

  “I know,” Andy says.

  Rebecca is silent for a few seconds, then she asks: “How do you know?”

  “From a book,” Andy says. “It’s a long story, but I think it’s a wendigo.”

  “A what-now?”

  “A wendigo. It’s a monster from old stories, like vampires and stuff like that. It’s—” Andy feels something move against his back. “What’s that?” he asks, looking back.