Read The Fearful for Free Online Page B

on.’ Roddy jumped in front of him to block the path. ‘Don’t you want to see . . .?’ He was unfolding the paper.
    Jenny stepped in his way. ‘We’re not interested. We’d rather chew silver foil than do you a favour. Goodbye.’
    Tim shouldered her to one side, glaring at her. Then, to Roddy: ‘Read my lips: Piss off.’
    â€˜Make me.’
    It was a well-practised antagonism. Tim held Roddy’s stare for one, two, three seconds. Only then did he try to follow Sarah again.
    But Roddy wasn’t going to give up. He was back grinningagain. ‘This is your duty. You can’t turn your back on your
duty
.’
    â€˜Did you hear a mouse squeak?’ Jenny asked her brother.
    Which only helped wind him up more. He could fight his own battles.
    Roddy said, ‘What would your dad say if he knew you weren’t doing your
duty
?’
    It bit Tim deeper than he’d expected. He turned on Roddy. He saw, and ignored, the look on his sister’s face. ‘Come on then, what is it? What’s made you come crawling to me begging for my help?’
    Roddy ignored the dig. ‘I’ve got my list of names for tomorrow’s Feed.’
    It was perhaps the last thing Tim would have expected. ‘And?’
    â€˜I can’t make it myself tomorrow. It’s a pity, I know. But, busy busy busy, and all that. You could give it to your dad for me, though, right?’
    Tim looked at the white sheet in Roddy’s grubby fingers.
    One of the most important aspects of the Feed was when the Mourner read aloud the list of names he’d been given by the gathered Fearful. Back in the olden days it was usually the names of the fishermen who earned their living out on the lake and had been given by their anxious wives or mothers. Reading it aloud was the Mourner’s way of asking the creature to spare these people, in exchange for the sack of feed itself. These days, now that the town no longer relied on its fish market to survive, it had become a list of loved ones who their families believed were in needof special remembrance, or could do with saving from more general ills. Tim knew his father would never refuse a list of names – no matter who had written it.
    Jenny got in between the two of them, but Tim elbowed her out of the way before she could say anything. He met Roddy’s eyes and they sparkled sharply. There were alarm bells in his head but he took the list anyway.
    â€˜Cheers, Monster Boy. Thanks.’ Roddy beamed.
    Tim turned to go.
    â€˜Read it. Don’t you need to check it?’
    Tim realized that this was Roddy’s punchline; he needed Tim to see the list for his spiteful joke to work. So the last thing he was going to do right now was read the names on that sheet of paper.
    â€˜Read it. Go on.’
    â€˜I’ll give it to my dad to read.’ He made a show of folding it again, to shove in his back pocket. But Roddy suddenly made to grab it. Tim tried to hold it out of his reach, but Roddy was taller – and stronger.
    He swiped it away; flourished it. ‘Vic Stones!’ He waved it in front of Tim’s face. ‘I want Vic Stones saving!’
    The name stung Tim – he saw Jenny flinch slightly too – but he didn’t get the joke just yet.
    Roddy said, ‘He’ll put you out of business. He’s building a hotel of his own. No one’s gonna want to stay in your
Monster House.’
He was eager to see the looks on Tim’s and Jenny’s faces, and was evidently disappointed.
    â€˜Old news,’ Tim said, relieved that the punchline had fallen flat. Very relieved he’d already heard the worst. ‘Ithought you were going to tell us something exciting.’ He was smarting just the same, but managed to hide it behind a careless smile far faker than Roddy’s. ‘We probably knew before you did,’ he lied.
    Roddy was clearly annoyed he hadn’t managed to cause the