She moves towards me, takes my hand in her own. Her skin is cold and the realness of her flesh almost makes me shout out. My instinct is to pull my hand away from this stranger but I don’t, because I need this connection to her, need to feel the softness of her, the pulse of her life in my hands. She squeezes my hand. My skin warms where we touch.

“Please, Cara, let me know what it’s like to be free.”

As the light comes back around again, I see tears have been rolling down her face and I see the sweet girl she once was, but I see so much more in her as well. She’s books and books of unwritten diaries, she’s undiscovered even to herself.

Suddenly, I hear raised voices. They sound like they’re coming from up on the cliff. Grace has heard them too; she’s turned towards the cliff, her eyes hard as she focuses on the sounds. She drops my hand like our touch is burning her. I can’t make out the words, but the voices are just loud enough for me to recognize him. Jon. His is the loudest voice; he sounds panicked. I don’t recognize the others but I’m sure it’s the twins. I reach out for Grace but she’s moved away from me.

“Just let me go, Cara, please,” she says, moving deeper into the shadows as though she too wants to be taken by the place that took her brother. I realize she’s giving me one more chance, one more chance to do what I never could—to help her, to really help her. And then I hear the unmistakable sound of rocks falling.

24

Jon

There’s laughter as I start to run. Robbie wants me to know we’ve switched positions, that he’s just behind me now, on higher ground. The light from the lighthouse passes over me again and again and again. It seems to know exactly where I’m going, following me. I don’t care about making noise or drawing attention anymore. Now the darkness is safer than the light. I start to run down the hill. Robbie’s laughter turns into a whoop, he’s just steps behind me. Tony is close by too, although I don’t know where exactly. The light swings round, I feel like an animal perfectly positioned in a rifle’s sights. I don’t have a plan, all I can do is run towards the sea. The brambles lash against my legs as though trying to claw me to the ground. The whooping gets louder as I run faster, faster downhill. There’s a rush as one of them comes close behind me, so close I hear his legs pumping through the undergrowth, his breath rhythmic, so much calmer than my own. It’s Robbie, and he makes a high-pitched chattering sound. He’s laughing at me, teasing me like an animal trapped and running desperate circles in a cage. My heart is a drum in my chest but my legs are elastic, they stretch onwards towards the sea. My right foot catches on a snare of bramble, twisting my ankle. I shout out as it sends me forward, but manage to catch myself in midair. I don’t fall, but it sets off a fresh round of laughter from Robbie. I keep running. In every wave of light from the lighthouse I see the edge of the cliff getting closer. Tony runs alongside his brother now. I wish he’d do something to stop Robbie, but his loyalty is with him, not with me. I have the feeling they aren’t even trying, they don’t need to, they know there’s nowhere I can go. I limp on, like a mouse half mauled to death by a cat. I know it’s pointless, but the instinct to keep moving is too strong. One on the left, one on the right, I can only keep going forward, flying down the hill until suddenly my feet feel lighter because, without warning, the brambles have disappeared, there’s nothing biting at my ankles with tiny razor teeth. I’m on the grass. The light glides round. I’m standing on the grassy clearing I passed just a few minutes earlier. I’m closer to the edge than I thought. My adrenaline and fear want me to keep running but I know if I do I’ll run off the edge. There will be rocks below, hard and cold, waiting for every soft part of my body. Those rocks will kill me for sure. I force my legs to stop. I’m so close to the edge the beach is directly below. In the next lick of light I see the twins come towards me. They’re panting, Robbie enjoying the end of his game, Tony a few paces behind. Black again. They disappear.