Free Jelly Cooper: Alien by Lynne Thomas Page B

arm and twist it behind her back.  I cover her mouth, careful to press hard against her lips so that she can’t bight me (because she will, given the slightest chance).
    “Jelly!”
    “Move,” I hiss at Agatha, half pushing, half dragging Rhiannon towards the exit.
    Certain that the owner of the ominous footsteps will round the corner at any moment and discover us, I hurry through the door.   Agatha follows and closes it gently behind her.
    I can feel Mr. Pickle at the corner of the hallway.  He’s puzzled.  He heard us. 
    No time to waste.
    I tug a struggling Rhiannon across the shady path, over the banking, and into the shadows of the tree-lined riverbanks.  Luckily, with everybody in assembly, we make the dash unnoticed.
    Dragging Rhiannon down next to me in the tall grass, I wait for Agatha and the inevitable accusations.
    It doesn’t take long.
    “What are we doing?”
    Oh dear.  Now she’s verging on hysterical.  This isn’t my day, is it?
    “ What’s going on?”  Agatha hisses.  “You tell me right now.”
    If the truth be known, I haven’t got a clue what’s going on.  I was winging it to start with and now things have gone so far off course that I’d need a magic compass to get back on track.  But I have to try.
    “Listen, Agatha.  Let me explain .”
    “Explain what ?” she squeaks.  “Your weird behaviour this morning, your intimate knowledge of Rhiannon’s personal life, or maybe you would like to explain KIDNAP to me.”  Abandoning any attempt to whisper, Agatha’s voice is shrill.  “Did I wake up this morning in the twilight zone?  Yes, that would explain it.  We are in a parallel universe where holding someone against their will is normal.”
    “Look ,” I hiss.  “I didn’t have a choice, OK.  He’s getting closer.”
    Agatha pulls a face.  “It was only a teacher.”
    “HA!  You seemed to think that it was pretty important back there in the hall.  Anyway ,” I sigh, “I wasn’t talking about Pickle.”
    “It was Mr. Pickle?  Oh God, oh God, oh God!”
    I give her a meaningful look.  She stops.
    “The Hunter is real, Agatha.  Real, and coming for me – just like in the dream.”
    “ Don’t be stupid.”
    “ Agatha, I’m going to say it again and you better have a different response because I don’t like being called stupid.  The Hunter is real and coming for me, just like in the dream.” 
    Agatha whispers, “I’m sorry, Jay, b ut he can’t be!”
    “He is.”
    “He can’t be real.”
    “He is real, Agatha.”
    “I know we talked about it, but it was just a dream .”
    “ What do you want me to say?”
    “This isn’t just weird, this is impossible.”
    I like the way Humphrey took it better.
    “Agatha!   Listen to me.  I’m an alien: fact.  He’s real: fact.  He’s here: fact.  He’s not my number one fan.” I sigh. “Fact.”
    “This is sooo not good.” 
    That Agatha, she’s quick off the mark.
    She starts to pace up and down.  “Not good at all .  What do we do?”  Her eyes fall on Rhiannon and shoot back to me, panic stricken.  “What do we do with her ?”
    “Maybe I can erase her memory, like in Superman, you know?”
    Agatha smiles weakly .
    I have a sudden thought and, barely keeping my grip on the squirming tomcat, nod my head and grab Agatha’s attention.
    “Give us a minute?”
    Uncertain, Agatha’s eyes flick from me to the cheerleader and back again.
    “Please.”
    “I still can’t believe that this is happening.”
    “I know.  Please, though, for me?”
    Agatha walks off without another word and I tighten my grip on Rhiannon, ignoring her muffled cries.  I whisper in her ear.
    “When I let you go in ten seconds, you are not going to scream, or run, or punch me in the face or anything like that, OK?  Nod if you understand.”
    Her head bobs.
    “Good.  I’m sorry about earlier, and right now come to think of it, but I have had a couple of really bad days.  You don’t want to even