Blood Water Read Free Page A

into the garden through the window over
the sink, then through the one by the dining table, but
it wasn't long before she turned to Sean, shaking her
head.
    'He's not out there, sweetheart – you must have
imagined it. Now get back to bed.'
    'But I saw him, clear as day. It must have been him.'
    'Well . . .' Mum went to the back door and opened
it – 'Bloody hell!' – and closed it again. 'This rain is
ridiculous . . .' She turned back to look at him. 'Do you
want me to call him, just to be sure?' She went into the
hall and picked up the phone. 'I'm sure he's at work,' she
said as she dialled. 'It wouldn't make sense . . . Ah, Rob,
are you at work? . . . Oh, it's nothing – it's just that Sean
thought he saw you in the garden . . . Yes, I know, I told
him that . . . Yes, I know . . . All right, don't worry about
it, I'll see you later.' She hung up and replaced the phone
in its dock. 'You see, I told you he was at work.'
    'But—'
    'Get back to bed, now! Come on.' Sean's mum ushered
him back up the stairs, ignoring his protests. 'You
get some sleep and stop worrying. You're just having
hallucinations. You need time to recover properly.'
    'I don't want to go back to sleep, I've slept enough.'
    'Well, read your book then, or watch television.'
She guided him up to his room and then stood in the
doorway. 'And don't worry about school – you can stay
at home all week if necessary. I'm not having you going
back until you're ready.'
    'OK.' Sean climbed into bed and just lay there, feeling
miserable.
    'Oh, cheer up, it could be a lot worse. Now what do
you want for lunch? How about some soup?'
    He just nodded.
    It was nice not to have to go to school, but on the
other hand Sean had the feeling that he was going to
get very bored confined to his room all week. He was
in his last year of school, and was having the best time
he'd ever had. Lessons were more casual, the teachers
were less strict with them – probably because they knew
they'd be out of their hair soon. He hated to think he
was missing out on something.
    Outside, the rain had eased temporarily. He picked
up the remote for the TV and turned it on. He found a
weather report and saw a map with several red symbols
indicating severe weather warnings. He wondered how
bad the rain really was, and if they would have another
flood like the one a few years back. The report ended,
and as there were no other programmes on that he
was prepared to watch, he shifted down to the end of
the bed and switched on his games console. He was in
the middle of a game called Undead Platoon , in which
the player took on the role of a zombie soldier. His
mission was to help his unit fight their way through a
post-apocalyptic landscape and stop a madman from
unleashing a deadly virus that would kill off all life on
the planet, including the oppressed zombies. The unit
was led by a rather unpleasant character called Sergeant
Maul, who yelled orders and insults at the player if they
were doing particularly badly. Sean loaded up his saved
game and continued playing – until he was killed by a
shell from an unseen enemy tank.
    'Damn!' He dropped his controller on the bed
beside him and watched as the ghastly decaying face of
Sergeant Maul filled the blood-soaked screen.
    'I did not give you permission to lie down, you maggot!
Damn! Dying once is bad enough . . .' the soldier said,
his voice fading. 'Dying twice is inexcusable.' And then
the familiar words game over appeared on the screen,
sealing Sean's failure.
    He sighed and put down the controller. He was bored
already. Maybe he should go back to sleep until Mum
brought his soup up. Maybe when he woke the rain
would have stopped and she would let him go outside
for some fresh air. He wriggled under the covers and
closed his eyes.
    The next thing he was aware of was the sound of
bombs, machine-gun fire and the screams of dying men.
He opened his eyes to find that he was lying on the