Creeping Shadow (The Rise of Isaac, Book One) Read Free Page B

cannot be reported as officially missing until they've been gone for more than twenty four hours. If she hasn't turned up by tomorrow-"
    "No! You're not listening. Her room was destroyed, what if she's been attacked? That guy must have something do with it. He must have been pretending to be a policeman!" Oliver said wildly.
    Welling eyed him suspiciously. "Have you taken any illegal substances tonight?"
    " What ?" Oliver asked in disbelief.
    "Alcohol? Drugs?" Welling pressed.
    The insinuation set his blood boiling and he went to retort but May touched his arm. She filled her gaze with warning then turned back to the officer. "He's not had anything. He's just upset."
    Oliver shrugged his arm out of her grip but bit his tongue before he said anything more.
    Welling frowned. "I want you to call a friend or neighbour to take care of you tonight. If your mother hasn't turned up by tomorrow you can file a missing person's report down at the station and we'll start an investigation into her whereabouts."
    "Fine," Oliver said through gritted teeth, anxious for the woman to leave so he could get out looking for his mum.
    "I'll be waiting here until this is all organised, you understand?" Welling said, watching him closely.
    "We don't need a guardian, we're sixteen," Oliver said, trying to keep his tone level.
    "By law, you are only allowed to be left alone overnight if you are at no risk of harming yourselves. As I'm quite aware that you are both going to charge out the front door the second I leave, I'm deeming it more appropriate that you're under adult supervision tonight."
    Oliver nodded, trying to keep his anger contained as he walked off down the corridor to retrieve the phonebook.
    He couldn't understand how Hawking had done it but knew, if it was worth covering up, his mum must be in serious trouble.
     

2
    The Family Tree
     
    O liver sat next to his sister in the back of a BMW that smelt of leather and lemons, suggesting it had recently been valeted. The car wound through narrow lanes surrounded by trees that arched over the road, the tips of their leaves tickling each other in the wind.
    Their social worker, Mr Greene, leant around to talk to them from the passenger seat. May continued to stare out of the window, her eyes glassy and her jaw set.
    "I know this is going to be difficult but your grandfather is very excited for you to come and live with him," Mr Greene said.
    "We've never even met him," Oliver replied, folding his arms.
    "No, but that doesn't change the fact that he's family and he'll take very good care of you both."
    "I just want to go home," May muttered.
    "We shouldn't be moving so far away. I want to help the police look for her," Oliver snapped.
    "She's only been missing a week and we're already being relocated," May agreed.
    Mr Greene gave them a sympathetic look. "The police know what they're doing. It's best if you leave them to it. I can let you know if there's any news on your mother's whereabouts."
    "We should be helping. No one knows her as well as we do," Oliver said stubbornly, resenting the man's pity.
    "You'll feel better when you get there. Wait 'til you see the place. You guys are gonna love it," Mr Greene said, turning back to face the front and closing the subject.
    "I don't care how nice it is. It isn't our home," Oliver said, catching a look of frustration from May.
    He sighed and leant against the window, balling his fists. He had to bite his tongue more than he normally would of late, knowing that his actions could affect the both of them. His quick temper had already caused him problems with the police during the investigation.
    May had warned him not to mention Hawking again and even they had barely spoken of it since. He couldn't understand how the man had managed it and fear raked at his heart when he considered the notion that Hawking had something to do with his mum's absence. Since that night, he was left in a state of anxiety and found himself plagued by vivid dreams that