Free Angel's Fury by Bryony Pearce Page A

shook my head and pushed my own door. Nothing happened.
    ‘Here.’ Seth handed me a smooth white card. ‘This is your key.It acts like a credit card too, for meals and other stuff. There are some things you can do to get credit added to it, if you want.’
    Sure enough there was a slot in the frame. With fingers that trembled only a little I used the card to enter the room that would be my home from now on.
    Weak rain-light poured in through the barred windows and striped the white bedding. My gaze followed the lines of shadow to the shafts embedded in the sill and I pulled at my collar, which suddenly felt much too tight. ‘It looks like a prison cell.’
    Mum stroked my ponytail, a gesture she hadn’t made in a long time. ‘It’ll be alright. Look there’s a DVD player; we’ll post you some films.’
    Seth dumped my bag on the bed. ‘You can borrow some of mine while you wait, if you like.’
    I was sceptical. ‘What have you got?’
    ‘You think I wake up in the night and watch
Alien vs. Predator
? It’s all light entertainment.’ He gave me an unreadable look. ‘You can come and take a look later.’
    Mum huffed and Seth backed towards the door, talking rapidly. ‘I’d better tell you the rules: we’re allowed to mix in each other’s rooms during the day but, from nine p.m., boys and girlsremain in their own wings. The treatment area is off limits unless you have an appointment. You’ll find your schedule in the folder on your desk.’
    He stopped with his back to the door. ‘There’re two buttons in the unit beside your bed. The red one is a panic button – if you wake up in the night and need help you can press it. The night nurse will come in, turn on the light for you, whatever.’ He was feigning nonchalance but his eyes had darkened.
    ‘What about the other button?’
    His lips thinned. ‘The white one connects to a recorder. When you wake in the night you have to press that button and record everything you can remember from your dreams.’
    ‘Are you serious?’ My own breath trembled in my ears as Seth exhaled.
    ‘I know . . . it’s horrible. You want to think about something else, not relive the storyline. But it’s an important part of the treatment.’ He tensed. ‘If the Doctor finds a tape empty in the morning, she wants to know why.’
    I wanted to ask more. I didn’t know when I’d next be able to speak to him, and I wanted to make the most of my chance, but Mum slammed my suitcase open meaningfully.
    ‘I’ll give you the full tour another time.’ Seth backed into the corridor and the closing door shut him off. I glanced at the barred window again. I was inside the Doctor’s treatment centre, but I was not alone.
    For the first time since I’d spoken to the police about Zillah’s grave my spirits started to rise.

C HAPTER E IGHT
TREATMENT
    A n hour later Mum had hung all my clothes in the small wardrobe, laid my toiletries out in the tiny en-suite bathroom and run out of reasons to stay. Dad had spent the time on the single armchair, the treatment schedule open on his lap.
    Finally, as if her batteries had run down, Mum stopped.
    My heart clenched. ‘I’ll be okay, you know.’
    Mum nodded and Dad crossed the floor to her. ‘Come on, Marie, she’s here to get better and that’s what’ll happen.’ He flicked his fingers towards the folder and spoke to me. ‘Some of these treatments are going to be hard on you, love, but if you were going to get better quickly and easily, you’d have done it years ago. We’d have made sure of it.’ He lowered his voice. ‘You’re strong enough to have coped with the nightmares all this time so we know you can face this.’ He gave Mum a shake and she responded with a tiny nod. ‘We topped up your mobile but it doesn’t look like you’ll get any reception here, so you’ll need to call from the payphone downstairs. You can phone us any time, day or night,and we can be here in a few hours, if you really need us.’
    His tone