Emergency Echo (9 page)

Em laughed. Sam groaned. Dawson rolled his eyes.

‘Righty-oh,' said Dad with a chuckle. ‘Enough animal alliteration. Time we all turned in. The sun will have us up bright and early tomorrow morning.'

Sam stared into the gloom. The moon cast eerie shadows across the canvas. Quietly, she climbed out of her sleeping bag and tiptoed past Em, who slept soundly, clutching her fluffy pink bunny. She carefully unzipped the tent, hoping the sound wouldn't wake Dawson, who shared the tent's other room with Dad.

There was no danger of disturbing Dad, who could sleep through an earthquake, but Dawson was another matter. He was a light sleeper and if he discovered her, he might follow and lecture her about how she shouldn't be sneaking out of the tent at night. Or he might even tell Dad. Dawson could be a bit of a spoilsport sometimes.

Sam often thought that Dawson didn't behave like a ten-year-old should. He was always trying to be so grown-up. Of course, his answer to that would be to remind her that he wasn't a ten-year-old – he was an
almost
-eleven-year-old. Sam nearly laughed out loud.

Slipping on her shoes, she crept out and zipped the tent up again. She paused for a moment to listen. All quiet in the tent. She smiled to herself and moved off.

The night was chilly and she wrapped her arms around herself as she walked in her shorts and t-shirt along the road to Farina.

She did this in every place they camped. Waiting until the others were asleep, she would sneak out for a private midnight
wander. It was her chance for a bit of alone-time and an opportunity to explore. And the lure of a dead-of-night visit to a ghost town was too enticing to pass up.

Reaching the edge of the town, she stopped to gaze at the moon-bathed buildings and streets. In the darkness, Sam could imagine the buildings were not falling apart, that they might have people sleeping in them. And in the surrounding night might be … anything. People. More buildings. A city. What had seemed lonely and desolate and abandoned by day was mysterious and full of potential by night.

Sam breathed in deeply the evening air, smiled and took off down the main street at a sprint.

Yes, she was tired. Yes, she would be
woken early by the rising sun (or maybe even earlier by her sister). But for a few minutes at least, before she headed back to bed, this town was all hers.

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