‘Yes, go right.’
When they were a little further along, she asked, ‘Who’s the man with them? The one with the crow mask.’ But Ryan shook his head.
They reached another crossroads. Left led up a gentle slope and right would take them deeper into the trees. Her inner compass told her the resort was to the right, but she had no memory of walking through such thick woods on their way here.
Who was the crow? Thinking about him made her feel nauseous and cold. The way his masked face had turned towards them. The aggressive way he had stooped to pick up a couple of rocks. Maybe she was being stupid, but she was certain she could feel loathing emanating from behind the mask.
‘It could be their dad,’ Ryan said. ‘And this is their idea of a great family day out.’
Despite everything, she laughed. But the laugh got caught in her throat. Because she could hear them, not far behind. Two young voices.
‘This way,’ said Buddy.
‘You sure?’ asked Darlene.
Then a man’s voice. ‘Go right.’
‘But—’ Buddy began.
The man spoke over him. ‘We have to get that phone. I’ll go left. You two go right. If you spot them, shout. Okay?’
‘Okay,’ said Buddy.
‘Hurry,’ Frankie urged.
But Ryan didn’t move. ‘It’s just Buddy and Darlene coming our way. Maybe we should stop. Reason with them.’
‘Reason?’
They’re going to bury us alive. No one will ever find our graves. She was starting to panic again, her legs turning to rubber, the breath sticking in her throat.
Ryan was still trying to be rational. ‘Come on, you were the one who wanted to talk to them. This is our chance.’
She could hardly believe she was hearing this. ‘That was before we realised what psychos they are.’
But he still didn’t move. ‘I’ll just apologise, get it out of the way. Say sorry for badmouthing Penance.’
‘No! That won’t work. They’re not normal. They’re evil.’
‘I don’t think—’
‘Ryan! Please. We can’t reason with them.’
She could hear the other two coming down the path towards them.
‘Oh God,’ she said. ‘Ryan, please.’
‘No. I want to straighten this out. I want us to be able to enjoy the last few days of our vacation without having to look over our shoulders the whole time.’
She realised then what he was doing. He was trying to make up for last night. His dad had probably given him a lecture about being a man, and here he was trying to be macho and show her he wasn’t the kind of guy who let weirdos in masks scare him.
She tried to take his hand, to pull him away, absolutely sure this was another mistake, but then it was too late. Both Buddy and Darlene appeared on the path, about twenty metres behind. They were still wearing their masks. Frankie eyed the bulging, lumpy pockets of Buddy’s tracksuit top warily, knowing they were full of rocks.
‘Hey, guys,’ called Ryan. ‘Let’s talk.’
He took a step towards them. They didn’t move. Frankie thought she might throw up.
‘I don’t care what kind of weird games you’re playing,’ Ryan said, projecting his voice. ‘I want to make peace. Okay? Buddy? Darlene?’
They turned their masked faces towards one another, like they were surprised that Frankie and Ryan knew who they were. She had a feeling Ryan had just made things even worse. She was convinced they were going to start shouting to the man, letting him know they’d caught up with their quarry. At least then she would know who he was, assuming they called him ‘Dad’ or his name. But they stayed silent.
‘Oh, come on,’ said Ryan. ‘Are you just gonna stand there like a pair of creeps?’
He couldn’t help himself, thought Frankie, as Buddy and Darlene stepped forward and shortened the distance between them.
She tugged at Ryan’s arm. ‘Please. We need to go.’
What if they had knives? Or the gun that they had, she was now certain, used to frighten the horses? All she could hear was what those children had said about them burying a cat alive. Anyone who was capable of doing something like that had to be a psychopath. She needed Ryan to shut up.
But now he was set on doing the opposite. So much for apologising. ‘What, you guys celebrate Halloween early around here? Planning on going trick-or-treating later? Come on, take off the masks and let’s talk.’ He held up his phone. ‘You really don’t want anyone seeing these photos, do you?’