Free The Taken by Sarah Pinborough Page A

mean that her father’s cast-off Nokia was finally dying. Phones did odd things as they reached the end of their lives.
    Everyone knew that. Screens came on and off and went funny colors. Maybe hers was just doing that. She pressed the open button.
    Do you want to come out to play?
    Smiling, a thought came to her. It must be Jimmy or Jenny. Their home phone must not be working either, so they must have tried their mobiles instead. Having tried to call after breakfast and getting no dial tone, Laura had been just about to grab her coat and head down to their house now that she’d done all her boring chores. Glancing at the top of the text, she saw there was no number or name to identify it. That was odd too. Her fingers moved deftly over the keys.
    Is that u jen?
    The phone buzzed again with a new message almost immediately after she’d pressed Send.
    73
    I’m lonely.
    Staring at the message, Laura felt confused, but not afraid. It didn’t sound like anything Jen would say, not even if she was mucking around. Maybe it was Jimmy? After all, who really knew what went on in boys’ heads? And now that they were eleven the differences between the girls and boys were getting bigger. It wouldn’t be long before Jimmy would stop hanging around with them and be up at Tucker’s farm helping his dad with the lambing and bringing crops in.
    Jimmy?
    Sitting back on her ankles, she waited for the phone to buzz again. She didn’t know why Jimmy would send something like that, either. When the vibrations ran through her fingers she almost dropped the phone.
    New Message. Open.
    If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise.
    This was not Jimmy. Jimmy would never write anything so odd, and even if he did, he wouldn’t write it like that, with all the words in full. He’d write it in text. The words were familiar, and she found herself singing them in her head.
    The teddy bears picnic—definitely not something Jimmy would write about. The words looked creepy staring up at her, dark against the green screen.
    Who r u?
    Laura had heard of text-bullying at school, but never had any of it herself. Was this what it was like? She shrugged. She didn’t feel particularly intimidated, just confused and a bit curious.
    Melanie. Come and play with me. I’ve got lots of friends for you to meet.
    74
    Laura only looked at the message for a second before shutting it down, bored.
    Mind games didn’t interest her. Whoever this Melanie was—and she must be one of the townies on holiday down at the caravan park or something—she was too weird for Laura. One minute she was lonely, the next she’s got lots of friends. She punched in her own reply.
    Dont think so.
    Pulling herself to her feet, she grabbed her parka from the wardrobe and put it on, stuffing her small purse into one pocket. The phone buzzed once more, and sighing, she opened the message. This game was getting dull.
    But I want to play with you Laura. I’ve got things to show you.
    For the first time, she felt a small shiver of fear trickle almost unnoticed down her spine. How had this girl got her name? Angry with herself for letting the stranger get to her, she left the message unanswered and shoved the phone in her pocket. Jimmy was right—townies were just plain weird next to country people.
    75

Chapter Ten
    Although the air temperature outside probably wasn’t that cold, the force contained in the rising rage of the wind and the sheer volume of falling water choked any warmth from the summer’s day, and Alex was chilled to the bone as she stumbled back into the familiar surroundings of Mary’s kitchen. Maybe it was just the shock and the cancer; who the hell knew? Not her, that was for sure. At least she hadn’t seen any imaginary children on her way home, so maybe she should just be thankful for small mercies. Letting Simon shut the door behind them, she headed to the stove to warm her hands on its surface.
    “Is the phone back on yet?” Noticing