Beyond the Shroud by V M Jones Read Free Book Online Page A

out of bed, padding in my bare feet over the cold floor. The passage had a wooden floor that creaked. Would Matron hear me? And if she did … Did I dare risk it?
    I thought of the next two weeks, at Highgate with Matron. I thought of Weevil’s face, with its smug, satisfied smile. Of Hannah.
    I sat up. Looked over to the left, down the long line of beds. Weevil was a shapeless lump under the blankets, motionless. I couldn’t see whether he was facing towardsme or away … whether he was awake or asleep. But the night had that deep, velvety stillness that meant it was late — really late. He must be asleep.
    I could pretend I was going to the toilet. But once I passed the toilet door … then there’d be no going back.
    I slid out of bed and crept to the door. There was just enough moonlight to see my way. I reached out and took hold of the doorknob … squeezed my eyes shut and turned it, millimetre by millimetre. There was the tiniest metallic click, loud as a gunshot in the sleeping room. I froze. Someone mumbled something and turned over with a creak of bedsprings. Then silence.
    One last check behind me, and I slipped through the door like a shadow. Tiptoed down the passage, keeping close to the wall where the boards were firmer. To the toilet door … past it. Down the dark passageway to the rec room door. Matron’s bedroom was the next one down, at the end of the passage. The crack under her door was dark. Good.
    Hardly daring to breathe, I eased open the door and slipped inside. The dusty old curtains were drawn, and it was pitch dark. I shuffled cautiously across the room towards the computer table, feeling my way forward step by step. The computer, shrouded in its sheet, looked like a ghost in the darkness. At last I reached it, slid the sheet off, felt for the on switch. This was it — the moment of truth. I pressed the switch. Obediently, the computer hummed to life, buzzing and chattering. I watched the door, my heart hammering. Nothing.
    The computer screen gave the room an eerie blue glow. If anyone woke up and came into the passage, they’d notice it for sure. Taking a deep breath, I slid onto the computer chair and tapped in my password, every keystroke loud enough to wake the dead: ***********
    I logged into my e-mail. The connection hummed andbuzzed. It had only been two days since I’d last been on the computer, though it felt like a lifetime; but there were five messages, all from Q, each more urgent-sounding than the last. I didn’t have time to read them all; couldn’t risk it. I clicked on the last one.
    adam please confirm all is well are you getting my emails is this all open and above board h. says youd never cancel and were worried sorry to harp just wanted you to confirm one last time but don’t feel bad youve got your own life to live and youre only young once but please do respond to this even if its just one word to say youre ok love q
    Love, Q.
    It was the only time in my life anyone had ever used that word to me. Even though I knew it was just a polite way of ending a letter, my heart swelled. Q never said anything unless he meant it. Staring at my screen, I imagined him in front of his own computer … he could easily still be awake, working on the next instalment of his Karazan computer game series. The connection between the two computers hummed. I glanced down at my keyboard, memories flooding back. There were the keys: Alt. Control. Q. The magic formula Q had developed on the same computer mine was linked to now … the keystroke combination with the power to transport you into another world. Karazan. It wouldn’t work on this computer, of course — only on a computer like Q’s, with a VRE Interface. I knew that. But still, if only … If only there was a keyboard command that would whisk me out of Highgate and into the library at Quested Court, in front of the fire …
    Was I crazy? I had no time for