Torn by Cat Clarke Page B

odd. Thinking about it made me feel cold and strange in a way I can’t quite explain.

14
     
    Midnight. A suitably sinister time to be putting The Plan into action. As discussed, we’d all come back to the cabin early and changed into plain black clothes. The black seemed a bit unnecessary to me, but Cass insisted. Rae had to lend me a pair of black jeans (I couldn’t do up the top button). Cass had gone over everything again and again, making sure each of us knew what we had to do. Essentially, Rae and I were going to be there as an extra couple of pairs of hands. Our instructions were clear: we were to stay silent the whole time. I was fine with that.
    We were all huddled up in our own beds by the time Tara came back. She switched on the overhead light so we all had to try extra-hard to look like we were asleep. Switching on the light was such a typically inconsiderate Tara thing to do. I was beginning to think this plan might not be such a bad idea afterall. That didn’t stop me feeling nervous as hell though.
    I didn’t think I’d be able to fall asleep, but I suppose I must have done. Next thing I knew, Cass was shaking me awake and handing me a balaclava (definitely overdramatic – Tara would know it was us for sure). Reluctantly I pulled it over my head. It smelled of stale smoke and made me gag a little. I grabbed the torch from my bedside drawer and crept over to the door where Rae was waiting with a rope Cass had stashed under her bed earlier. Cass had a rope too. She’d been raiding the storerooms over the past couple of days; God knows how she’d managed it without getting caught.
    Rae and I headed out into the darkness while Cass and Polly stood over Tara’s bed whispering. Sleeping, Tara looked impossibly beautiful. It was hard to believe she could ever be mean or spiteful.
    The night was colder than I’d expected, and we weren’t really dressed for it. Cass had said our jackets would be a dead giveaway if anyone spotted us. I cursed her for thinking of everything as my teeth started to chatter.
    The stars were out in full force and the moon seemed to be making a concerted effort to illuminate us. Almost like it wanted the world to know we wereup to no good. Rae led the way along the path away from camp and I hurried after her, tripping over the occasional tree root. She was the first to recognize the tree that Cass had pointed out on the way back from the nature trail. I didn’t think it was particularly distinctive, but Rae seemed sure it was the right one. Cass had said we needed to be far enough away from camp that no one would hear Tara if she screamed, but not so far that we risked getting lost in the dark ourselves. I really hoped there wasn’t going to be any screaming.
    Rae leaned against the tree to wait. I jumped up and down on the spot, trying in vain to get some warmth back into my body.
    ‘You look like some kind of insane ninja keep-fit guru.’ Rae did a little kung-fu move to demonstrate. I laughed, which made me feel a bit more normal in the midst of the craziness.
    A few minutes later I heard them coming along the trail. Polly and Cass were on either side of Tara, their hands gripping her arms. At least I
assumed
it was Tara – kind of hard to tell with a pillowcase over her head. Tara was barefoot and wearing the skimpiest vest and a tiny pair of shorts.
She must be freezing.
I hadn’t really thought about the fact that she wouldn’t be dressed. I wondered if it was somethingCass had overlooked or if she’d planned it this way. The latter option seemed most likely – she’d thought of everything else.
    Tara’s shoulders were hunched against the cold. Her hands were tied behind her back. Cass and Polly weren’t exactly being gentle with her as she stumbled her way towards us.
I can’t believe I agreed to this.
I wanted to turn and run back to camp.
    They led Tara to the tree and forced her into a sitting position with her back to the trunk. Polly grabbed the rope from