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Back Violet Save as PDF
Chapters (50)
  1. Cover
  2. VIOLET
  3. VIOLET
  4. Dedication
  5. Epigraph
  6. Contents
  7. Prologue
  8. 1
  9. 2
  10. 3
  11. 4
  12. 5
  13. 6
  14. 7
  15. 8
  16. 9
  17. 10
  18. 11
  19. 12
  20. 13
  21. 14
  22. 15
  23. 16
  24. 17
  25. 18
  26. 19
  27. 20
  28. 21
  29. 22
  30. 23
  31. 24
  32. 25
  33. 26
  34. 27
  35. 28
  36. 29
  37. 30
  38. 31
  39. 32
  40. 33
  41. 34
  42. 35
  43. 36
  44. 37
  45. 38
  46. 39
  47. Epilogue
  48. Acknowledgements
  49. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  50. Copyright

I put my own pipe into my mouth, and the boy grins at me as he leans in to light it. He says something to Altan, and the two of them laugh.

‘We’ll leave you to it,’ Altan says. Their figures blur as they walk away.

The smells and the sounds in the tent swirl together inside my head, and I feel a deep pulsing in my temples, a thump thump thump like a drumbeat. I feel Carrie’s hand in mine, soft and warm. And then we both sink further and further until we disappear.

To: [email protected] [DRAFT]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Festival

OH, OH NO. My head is spinning, I feel sick, the battery is nearly dead but I have to write this down before I forget. The shaman said bad things, Laura. He says there’s a dark cloud hanging over us. There’s bad energy. I don’t know if he meant me or Violet because then he said he wasn’t doing our reading anymore and then we smoked more of that crystal shit and I don’t even know what it is, it might be crack. Have I smoked crack? My head … my head … and I did something else. Not tonight. I did do something else tonight but it wasn’t a bad thing, just a mad thing, a crazy thing, but I DID DO A BAD THING but I can’t. I can’t. No. NO. NO I can’t tell you. I just need to sleep now then it will be OK. Won’t it?

Help me, Laura, I’m scared.

16

The voices are coming from far away, mumbled and jumbled and incoherent, as if they are underwater, or else I’m in a dream. My body is being shaken, and I feel everything rattle inside me. There’s a sharp chemical taste in the back of my throat, and what starts with a cough soon turns into near choking as my eyes fly open and I try to sit up.

‘Jesus Christ! Earth to Violet! Thought you were never going to wake up.’

The face swims into my vision, and I squint. I open my mouth, ‘Martin?’ My voice is a hoarse croak. I cough again.

‘Wow, your breath stinks. What the hell have you been drinking?’

I lick my lips, and they are dry and cracked. I try to sit up, but my head protests. Everything goes black and red and spins around and around, until I close my eyes and lie back down again. ‘Carrie?’ I manage.

‘Carrie has managed to throw up whatever it is that you two space cadets took last night. She’s outside, waiting. We’re all waiting. We need to get back to UB.’