What We Saw Read Online Free PDF Page B

nearly there, Donald?’ Adam asked, looking back over his shoulder.
    ‘Nearly there, boys, don’t you worry,’ he said.
    ‘Not scared are you, cuz?’ I asked.
    Adam looked up at me, then back down to the ground. ‘No, why would I be?’
    I smiled. ‘Just y’know, with all the scary things people say and—’
    ‘Yeah, yeah, I know,’ he interrupted. ‘Let’s just get there before you poo your pants.’
    When we reached the caves, it was almost dark. Donald pulled out his flashlight and shone it upwards against his face before laughing like a ghoul. Adam walked towards a cave.
    ‘Woah, wait a second,’ Donald said, edging in front of Adam. ‘You don’t know what’s down there, especially with all the stories.’
    ‘What stories?’ asked Adam.
    The stories were our favourite part—the reason we came to the caves. Donald perched the flashlight in between two stones, so it shone upwards into the sky, like Batman’s light.
    Donald told us tales about how dogs had run down into the cave and never returned. How children had stuck their arms in, only to have something bite them off. Whole families had gone missing. The entrance to the caves themselves were small, probably big enough for someone of Donald’s size to squeeze in, but as the insects partied round the light in front of us, dancing to the sounds of our voices, he insisted that we’d never go down there. Especially not at night.
    We talked and laughed for a while. Donald gave us marshmallows and cups of hot chocolate. It was good to have somebody like Donald around, who showed a real interest in us. It reminded me of Dad. It was good for Adam, too, for someone like this to be around. Donald treated us like adults, but wasn’t afraid to joke around with us and get involved in our mysteries. I looked at Donald and I looked at Adam and I remembered what it was like for him to have a dad who was there for him.
    ‘You did tell your grandparents you were out here, right lads?’ he said.
    Adam and I looked at each other.
    Donald’s head slumped. ‘Jesus, kids, you’ve got to start telling them. We can’t go getting into any trouble with nobody knowing where we are. Besides, your granddad and me get on anyway. He wouldn’t mind.’
    ‘Is that why you hugged the other day?’ I asked.
    Donald’s eyes flickered in the glow of the torchlight. He took a moment before responding. ‘I—hugged me?’ he asked.
    I nodded my head, quickly. ‘Yeah, I swear he hugged you yesterday, when we were in the wasteground and you caught us throwing rocks.’
    Donald worried the grass beneath him, plucking little strands up in his tweezer-like fingers. ‘Oh, he was probably just thanking me for keeping an eye on you. What a funny thing to remember, kiddo.’ His smile twitched.
    Adam sighed and rolled his eyes at me: another dead-end.
    I think Gran and Granddad knew he took us on walks and things, but we didn’t tell them about him helping to plan our mysteries or coming out hunting for ghosts with us. It was a good way of getting away from everything else in the caravan and the stuff back home.
    Adam and I headed back through the woods, the starry eyes of the night staring down on us. The sea crashed against the shore somewhere in the distance. The walk back was always the best part. Donald stayed behind us, shining the light ahead, and Adam and I marched on. Occasionally, Donald would switch the flashlight off and stop in his tracks. We panicked for a few moments, the excitement working its way up our chests, before Donald crept up in front of us and shone the light in our eyes.
    ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again,’ he laughed.
    Adam giggled. ‘You always say that!’
    *
    When we got back, Gran and Granddad were in their usual spot. Gran lay stretched across the sofa, and Granddad read the sports section of the Telegraph. Carla greeted us with her usual modesty and brought us a gift, this time an old sock. Or at least we thought it