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Back The Enemy Save as PDF
Chapters (69)
  1. Table of Contents
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
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Ollie walked over to the door, pushing past Maxie and Blue, and went out.

“It looks like you two are alone, then,” said David.

“The others won’t go for this,” said Maxie.

“Who’s going to help you? Achilleus? I think not. He’s with me now. He knows a good thing when he sees it.”

Rose and the nurse left, looking rather sheepish. Not catching anyone’s eye.

Maxie and Blue were alone in the room with the silent bandaged girl.

“You can stay up here as long as you like,” said David. “When you see sense, you can join the others. In the meantime, I’m taking charge of all your kids. Good night.”

59

Sam didn’t think he could walk another step. He was leaning against the Kid, not sure exactly which of them was holding the other up. They hadn’t spoken for ages; they were too tired and hungry and scared. The steady thin drizzle was making them cold, sapping their spirits. They’d been wandering aimlessly, trying to find food and avoid the marauding gangs of grown-ups who seemed to be very thick on the ground. The Kid’s lighter had eventually run out of fuel, and in the dark they were even more confused. They’d passed among the towers of the City and got lost in the tangle of streets that clustered at their feet, backtracking, running, hiding, going in circles. They’d tried to shelter in several different buildings, but nowhere was safe, and there was nothing to eat and the darkness grew ever deeper.

The river had to be close, and once they hit it they’d know where they were and could get away, but they were losing hope of ever finding it. They knew that if they didn’t stumble across it soon they’d have to find somewhere to spend the night, but the thought of that frightened them. This was an alien place. There were no houses, only offices and bars and shops. They wanted to get away from these gigantic glass-faced blocks that hid nameless secrets.

They were trying a new direction. Into a very run-down area that had looked too scary before. They trudged toward a railway bridge.

As Sam grew more and more delirious—exhausted, soaked, hungry, and thirsty, sucking rainwater from his shirtsleeves, his head throbbing—he began to see things. Flitting shapes in the corners of his eyes, dancing spots of light, moving shadows. Whenever he turned his head to look, though, there was nothing there. He had a powerful urge to lie down in the street, curl up into a ball, and fall asleep. Hardly caring if he woke up again. How nice to just go to sleep forever.