Blood Water Read Online Free Page A

swollen and muddy, the water rushing by. Then
he saw something that made him slow down and stop.
There was movement between the trees on the slope
leading down to the water. It looked like someone on
his hands and knees, crawling slowly up the muddy
bank away from the swollen stream. He seemed to be in
a bad way. He was drenched, hair and clothes dripping
as he struggled up the slope.
    Sean continued to stare, slack-jawed, at the figure
several metres below him. Finally he shook himself and
started to stumble down the sodden slope towards the
figure at the bottom. He didn't quite know what he was
going to do when he reached him. It would be hard to
help anyone up the wet, slippery bank, but if he left him
and went to get help he might fall back into the stream.
Sean held onto branches and tree trunks as he made his
way down, terrified of losing his footing. When he was
a couple of metres away he stopped. The figure was no
longer moving.
    The man was now lying face down on the muddy
ground. Sean swallowed and started to shake. Was he
dead? God no, don't let him be dead! But maybe Sean
could still save him . . . Just as he was trying to work out
what to do, he heard a low, drawn-out moan; it grew
louder and the man started to raise his head.
    As he caught sight of the face, Sean's concern turned
to shock, then repulsion and fear. The man's skin looked
yellow, sagging and corpse-like. His eyes were bloodshot,
and had what looked like blue specks in them, though
it was hard to be sure from this distance. His eyes held
Sean's for several seconds; then he coughed and vomited
into the long grass. Sean backed away instinctively, his
own stomach heaving at the sight of the man emptying
his. Before turning away he noticed that the vomit was
red, like blood. This man was in a bad way, and it was
nothing to do with the flood. He was trying to stand
up, but seemed to have lost all sense of balance: he
swayed on his feet and toppled over again. Sean wanted
to go down and help him, but all that stuff the man
had brought up had put him off. He could smell it now
too – strong, pungent, with a distinct metallic tang that
could have been the blood.
    The man was dying – Sean knew this instinctively. He
attempted to get up again but just slumped back to his
knees. He was clearly in great pain and struggled to speak.
The words Sean could make out seemed meaningless.
Then the man vomited again, this time violently and
for a long time. Sean couldn't understand how anyone
could hold so much in their guts.
    Convulsions rocked the poor man's body. He glanced
pleadingly up at Sean, shook his head, then his eyes
rolled around and his mouth gaped open to give a
low moan and a sound like a distant hissing. Sean
could only watch in horror as something black and
slimy wriggled out of his mouth; it slid out, then fell
with a splash into the foul mess the man had just
disgorged.
    He rose to his feet, staring at Sean, and said: 'The . . .
the centre . . . ' before falling backwards into the raging
water with a huge splash.
    Sean was all set to rush to the water's edge to try
and help the man out – but then he noticed the black
slug-like thing move. In two minds, he glanced at the
ferocious torrent and realized that he couldn't have saved
the man anyway – even if there had been any life left in
him. He looked down again – and screamed as the black
thing started sliding, snake-like, towards him . . .

CHAPTER 5
    Sean panicked and turned, scrambling up the bank to
get away from the creature and back home as fast as
possible. Then he could tell Mum and Dad what had
happened and let them decide what to do. But would
they believe him after the way he'd been behaving since
the run? They'd think he'd imagined it all – and he
wouldn't blame them. But that was something to worry
about later; right now his main concern was getting
home – it seemed the waters were rising by the minute.
He