***
POP.
POP.
POP.
He skidded through the corridors, his feet hammering and his ears POP – ing every couple of seconds. He realised that the faster he moved, the faster the POPs came.
All around him he could hear footsteps, yells and shouting echoing off the walls accompanied by his own unique orchestra which was giving him a headache. He prayed that he would get to the safety of his room before anyone saw him.
Desperately he ran, then, just as he turned into his corridor he heard a shout.
‘Hollett!’ The voice cut through the noise like a crack of lightning.
Morris turned. Not 100 feet away he saw a figure momentarily highlighted by the room light from an open door then partly disappear in shadow. The figure was tall and slim, very slim…bony in fact.
In the fraction of a second that his brain had processed what he had seen, Morris realised that this was what Peter had warned him of. He turned and sprinted as fast as his tired legs could carry him.
POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP – POP –
He saw his door but the man’s footsteps seemed so close…
With a last surge of energy Morris grasped his door handle and dived into his room slamming the door shut and turning in one swift movement to wedge it with his foot.
The man had almost got him. But just when he thought he had Morris in his grasp, the boy had slipped into his room and the Bony Man was grabbing nothing but air and flew past the door and landed with a sliding halt three doors further down the passage.
‘There he is!’ Cries came from the hall and the man growled reluctantly before stepping out of sight, and disappearing. The panting mob clattered on before they realised they were chasing nothing but air.