Hunted Read Online Free PDF Page B

it all. What happened here?”
    Callum swallowed. Anything he said now would make a mortal enemy of Ed.
    â€œI think it was an accident …,” Callum began. Then, disgusted at his own cowardice, he straightened his shoulders. Ed was less frightening than the thing in the woods; Ed was something Callum knew how to fight, if he had to.
    â€œNo, I’m sorry, it wasn’t,” Callum said boldly. “Melissa was talking about vampires this morning, and Ed thought he’d tease her by dripping ketchup on her head. But I saw—”
    Callum pulled himself up short. He couldn’t tell Mr. Gower what he’d seen; he didn’t even properly understand how he had seen it. And if he said anything about his vision of Melissa lying dead, they’d all think he was deranged.
    â€œI saw that there was sauce on the stairs and Melissa was about to slip,” he continued. “So I pulled her away from it, but we lost our balance and fell over.”
    Mr. Gower nodded. He glared at Ed.
    â€œI’ve just about had it up to my eyeballs with your pranks, Bolton. Detention slips again, is it? But first, you’ve got a mess to clean up. Come to the caretaker’s office and help yourself to a mop.” He pointed down the hall. “Get on with it, Bolton.”
    Ed threw Callum a look of pure hatred and marched off with the deputy head, leaving Callum and Melissa alone in the hall.
    â€œAre you all right?” Callum asked awkwardly.
    Melissa wiped her face with her spangled scarf.
    â€œI’m okay. Thanks. Thanks for helping.”
    â€œDo you need to get cleaned up?”
    Melissa shook her head. “This scarf only cost ninety pence at Shaman’s—I’ll just bin it. I’m going to lunch. If I go up to the girls’ toilets I’ll have to pass Ed cleaning the floor on my way back down.”
    Callum could see why Melissa might not want to risk that.
    â€œAll right.”
    Callum followed Melissa into the cafeteria and they picked up their lunch trays without speaking. He was still shocked by what had happened. He had seen the future. He had changed the future.
    There were two empty seats at the end of a table, so they sat down together.
    â€œCheer up,” Melissa said. “At least you didn’t get sauced.”
    Callum couldn’t help smiling.
    â€œEd’s a bully,” he said. “Don’t take it personally. He’s always looking for an excuse to make people look stupid.”
    â€œOh, I know. He’s picked on me before. But not … not physically, you know?”
    Callum realized suddenly that having their clothes ruined and being made to look stupid in front of half the school would have reduced a lot of other girls to tears. But Melissa just seemed resigned to it.
    â€œYeah, he picks on me too,” Callum told her sympathetically, poking at his mushy peas with his fork. “Anyone who’s not popular.”
    â€œYou!” said Melissa. “What do you mean? Everybody likes you.”
    Callum glanced up at her in surprise.
    â€œWell, they do,” she said. “You’re good at sports. You don’t talk much, but people like you. You’re not a swot, you don’t try to get in with the teachers, but you don’t mess about either. Like today—you knew Ed was responsible and you weren’t afraid to say so.”
    Callum was astonished. Of course, you had to filter this news through Channel Melissa, but it had never occurred to him that popular kids like Hugh and Andrew spoke to him in the hall and helped him keep his eyes open in class because they liked him.
    Melissa frowned a little, stabbing at her own plate. “I hope he doesn’t try and get back at you. How did you know it was him, anyway?”
    â€œWhat d’you mean?”
    â€œWhen you told Gower it was Ed dripping the ketchup, how did you know it was him?”
    Callum bit his tongue.
    â€œI just saw him,