Beginner's Luck by Alyssa Brugman

torch in Lindsey's face. It was
bright red and wet with sweat. 'Are you OK?'
    Lindsey shook her head. 'I've done something in
here,' she said, carefully touching her right side. 'Take
me wherever you're going, but do it fast. I've got these
bright spots behind my eyes, there's a ringing in my
ears and I feel sort of light all over. I think I might
faint soon.'
    Shelby nodded. Lindsey wasn't even crying. 'You
are so brave,' she said. 'You're the toughest person I
know.'
    Lindsey spluttered and then took a deep breath.
Her eyes started to do the rolling thing again. 'Don't
make me laugh. It really hurts.'
    The first step Blue took, Lindsey yelped again.
    Shelby stopped. 'No good? You want to get off?'
    'No,' Lindsey replied. 'Let's do it.'
    'OK,' said Shelby, but she wasn't sure this was
such a great idea. 'You call out if you want me to
stop.'
    She led Blue along the path. He walked very carefully,
as though he knew he was carrying delicate
cargo. Shelby rested her hand on his neck behind his
ear. 'You're a good boy.'
    After about ten metres Lindsey made a muttering,
sighing sound, and Shelby turned around and held her
arms out just fast enough to stop Lindsey from sliding
off.
    'Lindsey!' she called out. 'Wake up.'
    Lindsey moaned, and then nodded. 'Yep, I'm fine.
I can do this. No probs.' She grabbed a handful of
Blue's mane. 'What are you waiting for?'
    Shelby led Blue on again. This time Lindsey
managed to stay conscious. Every now and then
Shelby would turn and flash the torch towards her
face. It wasn't red any more – now it was a pale grey
colour, and she kept her lips tightly scrunched together
and sat very upright and stiff. She had her eyes closed
and there was a deep furrow across her forehead.
'Nearly there,' Shelby promised.
    She swung the torch back to the path again. This
time she saw something odd – another light. It was
flickering and orange – not a torch but flames. She
stopped in the middle of the track. There was a fire in
the blackened pit at the back of the doll's house. She
moved the torch to and fro, and then she trained it on
the fire. Next to it were the two cushions from the
lounge, with the sleeping bag, now neatly rolled, on
top of them.
    Shelby stroked Blue along the neck.
    'It looks like someone's expecting us.'

19 Blue's Best Friend
    Shelby helped her friend slide down from Blue's back.
Once she had her settled on the lounge cushions, she
set Blue loose. She had planned to get Lindsey comfortable,
and then head back along the path, but she
didn't want to leave her now – not with the stranger,
and not while Lindsey couldn't even run away.
    'Hello?' she called out. 'Is anyone there?' She
listened hard for a response but there was none.
    She squatted down next to Lindsey. 'Do you want
some water? Is there anything I can get you?'
    Lindsey had her eyes closed. She moaned. Shelby
took that for a no.
    Shelby stood by the stump near the fire, shining
the torch under the buildings and into the clearing.
She was concentrating so much on the dark places,
and searching for a large figure, that she swung the
torch across several times before she noticed that the
tomahawk was back in its spot in the chopping block.
The torchlight trembled in her shaking hand.
    'Lindsey?' she whispered. Her friend didn't answer.
'Somebody is here. I didn't make this fire. He . . .
whoever it is must be here somewhere, and there's a
. . .' She kept the light trained on the tomahawk. It
might not be a good idea to frighten Lindsey. She had
enough to worry about.
    Lindsey frowned, but she didn't open her eyes. 'I
just need to lie still for a minute.' Her voice sounded
strained, as though she was holding her breath.
    The darkness had sucked all the colour away.
Shelby swivelled the torch in one direction and then
back again, like a lighthouse beam, but it didn't throw
very far, and beyond that she couldn't see anything
except a grey gloom of indistinct shapes.
    'Hello?'
    Shelby didn't know what to do. She could go