Free Hunted by Sophie McKenzie Page B

reach the weapon we’d come here for. I thrust my hand inside the box. Reached for the long, serrated knife.
    Force field , Ed yelled inside my mind. Protect your—
    As the explosion erupted in front of me, Harry’s face flashed into my head.
    Then darkness.

 
10: Mistake
    I was lying on something hard. My right side ached. Male voices were yelling in the distance. I opened my eyes. I could see carpet and the bottom of a door just a metre away.
    Someone shook my shoulder. ‘Dylan!’ It was Ketty.
    ‘ What ?’ I forced my eyes open, completely disoriented.
    Ketty’s face, unnaturally pale, loomed over mine.
    ‘Dylan? Are you okay?’
    In a rush I remembered being in Henson’s bedroom and the metal box exploding.
    ‘What happened?’ I said. ‘Where am I?’
    ‘Nico teleported you downstairs after the explosion. You’re in the hall of Henson’s house. He and Ed are holding off Henson while I get you to the car. Can you walk?’
    I struggled onto my elbows, identifying the distant yells – Nico and a man whose voice I didn’t recognise. That must be Roger Henson.
    ‘I should go and help,’ I said.
    ‘No,’ Ketty insisted. ‘Nico and Ed can manage.’
    ‘Have you seen that, or are you just guessing?’ I gasped.
    ‘Nico can handle it,’ Ketty said stubbornly.
    I sat up, rubbing my head.
    A loud crash came from the landing upstairs.
    ‘Come here!’ Henson was yelling.
    I suddenly remembered why I’d been trying to reach inside the box.
    ‘Did Nico get the knife?’ I asked.
    ‘ You got it,’ Ketty said. ‘It was in your hand when Nico teleported you out of the room. Ed’s got it now.’ She shook my shoulder again. ‘We have to get out of here.’
    I nodded, rolling up onto my knees. I winced. ‘My side hurts.’
    ‘That’s where you landed. The force of the explosion threw you onto the floor. Why didn’t you keep your force field around you?’
    I tried to think back. ‘It was around me until my phone beeped. I guess I was just refocusing on it when the explosion happened, so it only partly protected me.’
    Ketty bent down beside me. She pressed her fingers gently across my scalp. ‘Is your head sore?’
    ‘No.’
    ‘Good. It didn’t look like you hit your head. I think you just fainted.’ She stood up, pulling me to my feet. ‘Come on.’
    As I steadied myself, Ketty’s eyes glazed over for a second. Then she focused on me again.
    ‘Ed says Nico is barricading Henson in his room. We should make a run for it. The boys’ll be right behind us.’
    More loud thuds from upstairs.
    I tested my legs. I was fine. Just bruised along my side. My head was clearing, too.
    ‘How come Henson wasn’t knocked out by the blast?’ I said. ‘He was inside the room as well.’
    ‘He must have ducked behind the bed,’ Ketty explained, taking my arm. ‘The rest of us were outside on the landing.’
    I took a few careful steps. As we reached the front door, there was another thud from Henson’s bedroom. We both turned towards the sound. Nico and Ed appeared with their backs towards us at the top of the stairs.
    Nico had both arms stretched in front of him, as if he were trying to push something away.
    Beside him stood Ed, the huge, serrated-edged knife I’d seen in the weapons box in his hand.
    ‘Run!’ Ketty cried.
    I opened the front door and hurtled outside. Ketty raced ahead of me, glancing over her shoulder to make sure I was okay. I stumbled on the wet grass. She stopped.
    ‘Go,’ I said. ‘I’m fine.’
    We raced onto the road and along, to where our car was parked. I could just make out the back of Jez and Alex’s heads in the front seats. As they saw us, the car revved up, reversing onto the road. Behind, in the distance, a door slammed. I looked round. Nico and Ed were pelting out of the house, just fifty metres or so behind.
    The car stopped. Ketty flung herself at the back door. She opened it and I hurled myself in. I crawled across the seat, making room for her. As Ketty