Hide and Seek by P.S. Brown Read Free Book Online Page A

crossing, all ordinary sounds which now seemed suddenly noticeable and extremely loud. He took a look up at the buildings opposite the house, his mind playing with the thought that Celo could be behind one of those windows right now watching him. He shuddered as he turned and walked up to the junction. He stood at the corner watching the traffic go by, waiting for a break to cross the road. He felt like he was in the middle of a time lapse movie and everything was speeded up and rushing past him.
    The air was cold, sudden erratic bursts of the whistling wind ruffled his clothes and bit at his exposed skin. The stark white light of the afternoon was fading and quickly being replaced by grey skies dotted with dark clouds. He didn’t know if it had actually got colder or whether he was trembling through fear. He zipped up his jacket as he felt a light spray of rain brush across his face. He crossed the junction and started walking briskly up the street, almost jogging. The path ahead was a long road on a steep incline that cut straight up through the west side of the town. At the top of the road he knew there was a busy three way junction. If he turned right he’d be at the entrance to the high street which snaked diagonally down through the centre of town. He had to continue straight on at the junction towards the northwest of the town, which lay at the foot of the hills. He would head towards the primary school and continue past it to the flats at the end of a cul-de-sac.
    As h e passed people on the street, they seemed to stare at him. And the further he walked, the more his paranoia grew. He felt as if everyone was watching him. A thought crossed his mind that any one of these people could be Celo. He felt he couldn’t trust anyone and yet he had the overwhelming urge to stop someone and ask for help. He envied the fact that each of them was going about their normal lives, whilst he carried the burden that there was a mad man somewhere in town threatening to kill his friends. He checked the time on the mobile phone and immediately picked up the pace.
    Peter was practically running now as he continued up the road, thoughts racing round in his mind, firing up his synapses like lightning in an electrical storm. The name Celo, why was he using a Latin word? Was there any other significance to it, beyond its basic meaning? A sign that Celo was educated? Or a lame attempt to appear intelligent? Peter figured you could easily find out the Latin word for anything through a quick search via Google. It did suggest that he must be someone Peter knew, or else why the need for an alias and a disguised voice? He’d immediately assumed from the depth of the voice that it was a man, but on further reflection he had no idea how good these devices were so it could just as easily be a woman. He shook his head in frustration; his questions were just throwing up more questions than answers.
    As he reached the busy junction at the top of the road, he could see the dilapidated flats looming in the distance. They did seem to be reaching up and touching the sky, as Celo ’s clue suggested. He stopped at the junction and waited for a gap in the traffic, bending over at the waist to catch his breath. Despite the intense burning in his stomach and face from running he still felt bitterly cold, and his hands were trembling violently. He negotiated his way through the traffic and crossed over the junction onto Plumer Drive, then continued towards the flats.
    His first goal had been to simply get to the flats, but as the towering structure grew closer he began to feel more worried. What was he going to do when he actually got there? How was he going to find Colin in that sprawling maze of over a hundred apartments? Celo’s clue had indicated something to do with the stairways but Peter doubted that he would be there - surely one of the residents would have discovered him? Colin had to be inside one of the apartments, but which one? He couldn’t