Her stomach rumbled and it made her move faster. They had to come soon. If they didn’t, she might not have the strength left to do what she needed to do. Or worse, she might just wither away in the yard she now called home.
Si gritted her teeth. No. They’ll come. And I’ll be ready.
Si had just lifted the bonnet of the old Renault when she heard something that set her teeth on edge. She froze. For all the pep talks she’d given herself, she hadn’t been prepared for the fear that struck her now. She could only imagine what they’d do to her if they caught her.
But there was no time to think like that. There it was. That unmistakable growl of a V12 engine—something she hadn’t heard since… It had to be them. Who else could it be?
She tried to remember that horrible evening in more detail to understand how much time she had. How loud had it been as they left? How long had it taken for the roar to fade into nothingness?
Get ready, she thought. Move. She swallowed. Was it normal to be scared? She’d never done anything like this before—she’d never even thought about doing something like this.
She hurried back towards the garage. She had to be ready when they came. Everything depended on that.
Her palms were slick now, and it wasn’t from running. Her mind raced as she moved. She wasn’t a violent person. Angry, maybe. Anti-social, definitely. But violent? Capable of killing someone—multiple someones?
Don’t think about it.
It wouldn’t stop. Round and round those thoughts went, swirling through her head. Could she do it? Did she want to? There wouldn’t be time to undo what she’d done. She’d try and make them think there was a way out, but there wasn’t. How could there be? The place was old and full of fuel. It would go up like a firework. She had kept the petrol to the walls to give them more time, but there wouldn’t be much. Only enough for them to tell her where Max was. And then…
She shivered violently.
Don’t think about it. They started it.
Max needed her help. He deserved it after everything he’d done for her. Now wasn’t the time for her to get squeamish. Not not. There’d be time for that later when she’d found him.
They deserve it.
She slowed down now she’d almost reached the garage. She crept up to the fence and realised she was looking out from the same place she’d hidden the day they’d taken Max. She couldn’t stay there. She needed to move anyway. She had to be in position when they arrived and they were getting closer. The roar of the engine was getting louder.
They were coming for the garage and the parts. Or they’d found out about her.
She felt sick to her stomach as she told herself it didn’t matter. They’d find more than they bargained for, regardless of why they were coming.
She ran for the back door. She checked it quickly before climbing up the drainpipe to the roof. She’d never been good at gymnastics, but this was different. This wasn’t like messing around on the monkey bars in the park. Her life—and Max’s—depended on her pushing herself to the limit.
She walked tentatively along the corrugated iron roof. She wasn’t sure how stable it was and the last thing she needed was to fall through it and send sheets of metal crashing down onto the petrol-soaked concrete below and causing a spark.
She was fully reliant on her ears now. The roof of the main workshop was pitched, but the part that covered the office at the back was flat, so she was standing on a small natural terrace that gave her a good view over the scrapyard and the side of the building. But in order to be able to see down, she’d have to risk making herself visible. She wasn’t prepared to do that.
She looked around. Everything was ready to go and she was confident she couldn’t be seen from the ground.
She slid the grimy window open, second-guessing herself again. Was it better to leave it closed and kick it through when they were inside? No, this way was better.
I’ve tested all of this. Calm down.
But she couldn’t. Her heart was racing, making it difficult for her to hear anything.
Then she froze. She thought she’d heard something crunch a few seconds earlier, but had told herself it was just leaves blowing in the wind.
There it was again. It sounded like voices. But it couldn’t be. She could still hear the car engine.
Unless…
Unless there were two cars and the first had been quieter. She hadn’t thought of that.
Si tried to get control of her breathing. It couldn’t be. She must have imagined it. There couldn’t be a second car. It would ruin everything.
“Come on,” someone hissed below her.
Her forehead prickled with sweat despite the chill in the air.
This was it. Her plan was up in the air, but she didn’t even consider abandoning it. Max needed her and she wasn’t going to let him down.
That’s it, she thought, poised to strike. Come on. Let’s get started, fuckers.
The door handle creaked.
It was time.
31. Clive
Clive looked around at the others. They’d been stopped for at least half an hour as they all tucked into cheese and juice as if they were at a party. It was as if they had forgotten reality. He sighed. There was limited light and they could probably still see the warehouse they’d slept in if they craned their necks.
“It’ll be dark in six hours. Let’s go.”
The others stood. Olivia stayed where she was.
“Are you ready, darling?”
He was worried about her. She’d seemed fine the previous evening, but he put that down to exhaustion. He was beginning to think of the future now. What if he couldn’t find more pills? Even if they achieved the impossible and got to York in four days, she wasn’t going to be cured by stepping foot on that farm. Perhaps it was already too late—wouldn’t pharmacies be one of the first places people hit? He’d seen it in London before they left. As things got worse, people would look for any way to escape reality. Booze and pills were going to be heavily in demand.
He had to find some.
Olivia nodded, her eyes vacant thanks to the pill he’d given her. It was a balancing act between calming her anxiety and leaving her sharp enough to react if she needed to. He had to find a pharmacy soon. But where?
They threw their bags on their backs and took off down the road. They quickly lost momentum. Clive felt heavy, and he could tell from Terry and Annie’s faces they were in a similar position to him.
“We should probably have stopped after the first pack of cheese,” Annie muttered.
They were riding four abreast. Cars were fewer now, so they only had to fall in behind each other every so often. He didn’t want to think how much more difficult it would have been if everything had stopped working at rush hour. “Yes, well,” he said with a sigh. “Who knows when we’ll next be able to have cheese.”
“Not that long, I hope. We have cattle and sheep. We’ll sort something out.”
“Danish blue?” he replied with a wistful smile. “And port?”
“How about homemade cheddar. And apple cider.” She groaned and rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know about the rest of you but I feel like I’m coming down with…”
Her words were drowned out by a supersonic roar overhead.
Terry gasped and slammed on the brakes to look up at the sky. “Jets!”
A tight formation of three tiny black aeroplanes flashed past far above them. Relief flooded through him. Maybe all wasn’t lost after all.