Free Creeping Terror by Justin Richards Page B

faintest glimmer of sunlight shining through the blanket of greenery. With renewed enthusiasm and hope they forced their way towards the light.
    And suddenly they were out of the hedge. They pitched forward on to the roadway on the other side, gasping for breath, laughing with relief. Then they staggered to their feet and stumbled down the road, desperate to get as far away as possible. Tendrils of ivy twitched in the hedges at either side of the road, as if watching the two boys as they ran past.
    *
    Maria was sitting on the remains of a stone wall close to the phone box opposite the pub.
    ‘You took your time,’ she told Ben and Rupam as they ran up, breathless. ‘Still,’ she went on, pushing herself off the wall, ‘at least it’s stopped raining. You got our message, then?’
    ‘Obviously,’ Ben said.
    Maria ignored him. She’d seen that Rupam washolding the sword and took it from him. ‘What have you been doing? It’s filthy.’
    She wiped the blade on the damp grass verge.
    ‘We had a bit of trouble,’ Rupam said.
    ‘With a hedge,’ Ben added.
    Maria nodded. ‘You look like you got dragged through it backwards.’ She turned and marched off towards the church. ‘Come on. Everyone’s been waiting.’
    ‘Do you know the story of why the tower’s separate from the church?’ Rupam asked as they walked through the overgrown graveyard.
    The sun was low in the sky now, shining across the wet grass and ragged-looking gravestones.
    ‘It’s because the tower is older. Some sort of fortification,’ Maria said. ‘Growl researched it before we came here.’
    ‘I said did you know the story , not the truth,’ Rupam said, but Maria was already striding ahead impatiently.
    The vestry was too small for all six of them to crowd into. Growl was working at a desk already covered with open books and handwritten notes, while Gemma and Knight were helping.
    ‘I suggest we adjourn,’ Growl said, ‘to somewhere better suited to our investigations.’
    ‘The pub?’ Knight suggested.
    ‘I was thinking of the school actually.’ His eyes twinkled in the fading light and for a moment he was less serious and irascible. ‘A good place to learn the truth, don’t you think?’
    As Growl and Knight gathered up the notes and papers, Rupam and Ben told them how they had received Knight’s message, and all about the trouble they’d had getting into the village. Ben was not surprised that Knight in particular seemed to take the notion of being attacked by plants and shrubs and hedges in his stride.
    ‘Things are becoming more urgent,’ he said. ‘I wonder how long we have before the vegetation closes right in and smothers the village entirely.’
    ‘Pleasant thought,’ Maria muttered. She gripped her sword purposefully. ‘Do we fight our way out?’
    ‘No, no, no,’ Growl snapped. ‘Absolutely not. The answers we need are here in this village. Abandon it and we lose control – we sacrifice the chance to learn the truth and put a stop to this.’
    Rupam and Ben were the last to leave, following the others out through the ruined church. Gemma waited for them at the main door.
    ‘I’m glad you’re here,’ she told the boys.
    ‘At least someone is,’ Ben said. He was feelingignored and unappreciated, and guessed Rupam felt the same. ‘We come all this way, we get half killed and no one’s even said thank you.’
    ‘You’d better get used to it,’ Rupam said, forcing a smile.
    Gemma gave Ben a quick hug, then embraced Rupam. ‘We’re all glad you’re here. It’s just that some of us don’t show it. Growl is … well, Growl, and Mr Knight never tells anyone they’ve done well.’
    ‘And Maria?’ Ben said.
    Gemma raised her eyebrows, as if to ask whether that was a serious question.
    *
    The sun had dipped below the horizon by the time they arrived at the school. It was a single-storey Victorian building with a steep roof – most of which was still in place. Tiles had slipped off, though, and there