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‘No, of course I’m not saying that!’
‘Really? Because I think you just gave yourself away there, Rori.’
‘Lance, please let go of my arm. You’re hurting me.’
‘You’re all the same, really, aren’t you? You women? Pathetic and predictable,’ he fumed, dragging me to my feet. ‘There’s no point trying to be a nice guy. Because it’s the scumbags of the earth that always get the girl.’
The thunder of the water was growing louder in my ears as he pulled me closer to the edge. ‘But that’s not true, Lance,’ I gasped, trying desperately to resist him and stand my ground.
‘Yeah, well, you can find your own way home now, Rori, because it turns out you’re just like all the rest.’ Without warning, he let go of my arm and I fell to the ground. My heart was thundering almost as loudly as the water, as I watched him storm away, the darkness swallowing him up in a second.
Immediately, I reached for my phone. My fingers felt like clumsy sausages, they were trembling so much, but at last I located Blossom’s mobile number.
I heard it ringing.
Answer, Blossom. Please. Quick, quick!
My heart sank as her recorded message clicked in – and at the same time, I recalled her saying she was going to visit friends in London for a few days.
No!
I left a mumbled message saying I’d gone to Tumbling Dell Waterfall with Lance but he was behaving oddly. Then I quickly ended the call, knowing she couldn’t get to me anyway, being miles away in London.
Who next?
Kurt!
Fumbling with my sausage fingers, I found King Kong in my contacts. Kurt would help me. He was a nippy driver. He could be here in less than twenty minutes...
As it rang, I heard a rustling nearby . . . footsteps . . .Lance was coming back!
Answer, Kurt!
Please answer! Please, please, please!
But Lance was back, panting, standing over me, and when he saw the phone pressed to my ear, he grabbed it and ran to the top of the waterfall.
‘Lance, no!’ I called, stumbling over to reach him.
But it was too late.
I watched in horror as my only means of contact was hurled over the edge, into the void below.
Now what?
Quick as a flash, I picked up a loose stone at my feet and threw it hard at a nearby tree, wanting to distract him. It barely made a sound above the noise of the water as it made contact with the trunk, but it bounced off the tree and hit Lance on the back, and he spun round, shocked.
Taking my chance, I ran blindly through the semi-darkness, to where I could see the shape of what looked like bushes.
A place to hide!
Somehow, I managed to ease myself through the thorny shrubbery until I found myself near a tree, at which point I crouched down, sliding to the ground, my back against the trunk. Then I waited, trying to control my breathing because I was panting hard, and praying I could remain hidden. Because I knew that if Lance tracked me down here, he’d be even angrier than he was before...
I could hear him calling my name from time to time – he was obviously hunting for me – but after a while, he stopped shouting, and I began to think that maybe he’d given up and gone back down to the car park. I strained my ears, hoping to hear the sound of a car starting up and driving away. I wasn’t sure what I’d do next, with no phone and no money (I’d left my bag in the car) but I’d figure something out.
At least now I could breathe easily.
And then I heard it. A shiver of branches. Someone was in the bushes, moving closer.
