Free Bright Young Things by Scarlett Thomas Page A

Paul.
    ‘I’m not that scared,’ says Bryn. ‘This is better than the hotel I stayed in last night.’
    ‘Well, you’re scared, aren’t you?’ Emily asks Jamie.
    Everyone looks at him.
    ‘Not really,’ he says. ‘I’m finding it quite relaxing in a weird sort of way.’
    ‘That’ll be the drugs, mate,’ laughs Bryn.
    ‘Are
you
actually scared?’ Anne asks Emily.
    ‘If I was on my own I’d be shitting myself,’ she says.
    ‘But . . . ?’ prompts Anne.
    ‘But, well, with you lot here it’s not very scary, if you know what I mean.’
    ‘Am I the only one who’s scared then?’ asks Thea.
    ‘I’m sure we will feel scared,’ says Jamie. ‘You know, when they come.’
    ‘Maybe no one will come,’ suggests Anne.
    ‘Will you shut up,’ says Thea. ‘For God’s sake. This isn’t a joke.’
    ‘I wasn’t joking,’ says Anne.
    Jamie’s trying to work out what it is about this place. It shouldn’t be relaxing, but it is. Accepting the fact that they are all trapped here, and that there are no shops or other people or any of that normality, then it sort of seems like a retreat or a health farm or something. And even the trapped feeling isn’t that intense, because they’re not properly imprisoned, and they have the run of this big house and the island. Jamie rubs his legs and tries to stand up. He feels wobbly from the drugs. Once on his feet, his legs feel too heavy to sit back down, so he walks over to the window.
    Bryn’s smoking another cigarette, holding his head as if it hurts.
    ‘Can one of you come with me to the toilet?’ Emily asks Anne and Thea.
    Paul laughs. ‘You need someone to go to the toilet with you?’
    ‘I’m not going upstairs on my own,’ she says.
    Thea goes with her.
    Outside it looks bright, and it’s probably still hot, although it’s hard to tell with it being so cool inside. There is a small orchard just beyond the window. The apples seem ripe. In fact, Jamie can see that some of them are too ripe and are rotting on the trees. He turns away from the window, crosses the kitchen and walks out into the hall.
    ‘Where’s he going?’ Bryn asks.
    ‘Dunno,’ says Paul.
    Jamie had noticed a door before, under the stairs, and now he wonders if it’s a cellar door. Maybe there’s something down there, some clue as to what they’re all doing here. The door actually looked like it could be for a cupboard, but Jamie’s house in Cambridge has the same kind of door, and although visitors think it’s a cupboard, it’s a cellar. The door is on a small catch, which Jamie pushes up with his finger. Sure enough, the door opens and there are stairs leading down. It’s dark, and smells damp. Suddenly he’s scared. Maybe the others should come too. He walks back down the hall.
    Paul, Anne and Bryn are still in the kitchen. There’s no sign of Emily and Thea.
    Jamie clears his throat. ‘There’s a cellar under the stairs,’ he says.
    ‘A basement?’ says Bryn.
    ‘Yeah,’ says Jamie. ‘Shall we have a look?’
    ‘You know what they say about not going into the basement,’ jokes Bryn.
    No one laughs. Maybe they think the
Scream
stuff is outdated. Or maybe they’re just more scared than they’re admitting.
    It’s impossible to see what’s down there. There’s a light switch at the bottom of the basement stairs, which Anne flicks up and down several times. The clicking sound echoes in the cold room. The light doesn’t come on.
    ‘It’s busted,’ says Bryn.
    ‘Must need a new bulb,’ says Jamie.
    ‘I don’t think it’s going to come on,’ Paul says to Anne, who’s still flicking the switch.
    ‘There must be some candles somewhere,’ says Anne.
    ‘Shall I go and have a look?’ offers Jamie.
    ‘Good idea,’ says Paul.
    Jamie doesn’t know where to find candles. He tries the kitchen first, assuming practical things would be kept in there. Then he goes through all the upstairs rooms. Emily and Thea are in one of the bathrooms. Jamie can hear them