Duskwood - For all the Ghosts that are never gone

Chapter 14: Phone call

The weather over the last three days was rainy. Even thunderstorms were raging over the small town of Duskwood sometimes. A circumstance which left him unable to spend the night in the forest. It wasn't as if he didn't prefer a regular bed.

Nevertheless, every overnight stay in a motel involved a certain security risk. He therefore endeavoured to check in as late as possible and check out as soon as possible. Another of his tactics was not to spend more than one night in the same motel.

His pursuers couldn't find him!

Especially not until he had honoured his promise and met her. He hoped that his measures were sufficient and that his pursuers would not be able to pick up his trail again.

He was currently unable to check how close they were to him. Even if it would give him certain advantages, the risk was too great. After all, his pursuers would then be able to pick up another trace of him.

And he would not manage to go into hiding again, especially without having seen her at least once.

However, the bad weather had had one advantage. With his hood pulled far over his face, he was less out of the picture. This allowed him to walk through Duskwood unnoticed and pick up snatches of conversation from people passing by.

Yesterday the time had come. A man said that the girl who had helped find Hannah was in Duskwood. He was glad that this man was his father. Otherwise, in his euphoria, he would probably have tried to get more information. So he let his guard down.

But his father...

Meeting him like this on the street was odd enough. He also couldn't say how he felt about this man. Admittedly, finding out was not his priority. However, the fact that the information he craved so much came from his father was somehow amusing.

He took a deep breath.

All he had to do was think of a way to find her. After all, she wouldn't turn up here in the forest. She had no reason to do so. And even if she did go for a little walk in the woods for whatever reason, it was relatively unlikely that she would suddenly appear in front of him. The woods were just too vast to do so.

***

I yawned.

The lack of sleep wasn't the main thing bothering me. I also regretted my excessive alcohol consumption. My head hurt. Cleo had given me an aspirin, but it hadn't kicked in yet.

Jessy, who was sitting next to me on the picnic blanket, was making a necklace out of daisies. Lilly, who was sitting on the other side, was busy picking material for Jessy's necklace. She didn't miss the opportunity to tickle my nose with one of the daisies. I made a muffled sound.

" "Drinking is a skill," Dan teased me about my hangover from yesterday's alcoholic excess.

" Can you switch him off somehow?" I wailed.

"I'm afraid it isn't. At least I've never found an off switch," said Hannah, handing me a can of Coke. I sat up and took it. "Thanks."

"We could just leave him here," I joked.

"Hey!" Dan protested.

"Oh come on. You've got two healthy wheels, you'll be fine," I said dryly.

"How about we leave you here?" Dan replied, offended.

"That's not possible," Jessy interjected. "Because then I'd have to stay here too."

"And me too," added Lilly immediately.

"Ditto!" shouted Cleo, who was looking for something in the boot of her car.

"Aww! Thanks guys!" I said, touched.