Noughts and Crosses, Malorie Blackman [types of ebook readers .txt] 📗

‘Where’s Pete?’

‘Dead,’ said Jude. ‘They had undercover police everywhere. They must’ve been monitoring every phone box in town. Either that or they knew exactly where we’d be. Morgan and I changed our locations at the last moment otherwise they might’ve captured us too. We were lucky to escape in one piece.’ Jude looked at Sephy, his face sombre. ‘I thought we could take the girl and move out of this town to somewhere safer, but now . . .’

He turned to me, the rest of his sentence clearly spoken but unsaid.

What have I done? Sephy, forgive me. I’ve killed us both.

‘I’ll pack up all our equipment . . .’ I said.

‘I don’t think so,’ Jude replied. ‘Morgan, go and pack up everything essential. Leave the rest. We’ve got to get out of here.’

Morgan left without a word.

‘Why is she crying?’ Jude indicated Sephy.

My face began to burn. I kept my mouth shut.

‘And her jumper is inside out.’

Jude and I glared at each other. What was I meant to say to that? Nothing. Jude had already made up his mind what had happened in his absence.

‘You stupid, stupid berk. You’ve put a noose around all our necks.’ Jude grabbed me by my T-shirt. ‘We could’ve got what we wanted and let her go, in spite of what Andrew Dorn said. They’d never have found us.’ He punctuated each half-sentence by backhanding me around the face. ‘But not now. You raped her and now it’s her or us. You stupid, stupid . . .’

I clenched my fists and the next thing I knew Jude was flat on his back with blood trickling down from his nose.

‘Don’t you ever hit me again as long as you live,’ I hissed at him.

He sprang up and swung at me. I blocked his arm easily and hit him again. And then we were at it. A vicious, scrappy brawl, with each of us determined to hurt the other more than we were hurting. Something rushed by me but I barely noticed.

‘Stop her! Stop!’ Jude pushed me away. ‘She’s escaping. Get her.’

We both sprung to our feet. I looked around, confused. Where was Sephy? I looked towards the open door and realized. Jude and I both took off after her. We raced out of the front door.

‘Morgan! Round here!’ Jude yelled. ‘She’s escaped.’

I looked around but I couldn’t see her. It was nighttime now, almost midnight, but we had a full moon on our side and there were no clouds, so that was something.

‘There she is!’ Morgan pointed over to the left towards the trees.

I turned, just in time to see Sephy disappear into the darkness of the wood. All three of us chased after her. I had to find her before the others. I needed to find her.

God help me if I didn’t.

one hundred and three.

Sephy

Run, Sephy. Just keep running.

The shadows were long and ominously silent all around me. I ran round tree-trunk after tree-trunk, the moonlight dappling through the branches and leaves above me.

And still I ran. Whatever happened I couldn’t let them catch me. Something sharp dug into my right foot. I cried out, biting my lip a moment later – but too late.

‘Over there!’ A voice cried out from behind me. Too close behind me.

I darted to the right. Where was I? I couldn’t tell. I couldn’t see where I was going. It was just – away.

I could hear leaves and bracken crunching behind me. Getting closer.

Hide, Sephy!

I made out the outline of some undergrowth between a clump of trees. For a second, I considered hiding in it but I didn’t want to have to lie down. If I did that and I was discovered, I’d never get away in time. Footsteps approaching. I made for the nearest, darkest tree and hid behind its trunk. I leaned back against it, trying to merge with it, desperate to disappear.

Please, God . . .

The footsteps slowed then stopped. And they were so close. I stopped breathing. I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t dare. Please, God . . .

‘Persephone, I know you can hear me . . .’ Jude’s voice. ‘We’re kilometres from anywhere here. You’ll wander around this forest for days without seeing another soul. With no food. No water. Come out now and we won’t harm you – I promise.’

Silence. Moments later, a muffled curse fractured the silence. I drew a hasty breath before my lungs could burst and held it. The night wind rustled through the leaves all around, making them sound like they were whispering, commenting on what was happening on the ground below them. I opened my mouth and exhaled softly, feeling the warm air dance across my lips, terrified that what I could feel the others would hear. I closed my eyes.

Please, please God . . .

‘Sephy, come out now and nothing will happen to you.’ Jude’s voice seemed further away.

Or was that just wishful thinking.

‘But if you don’t show yourself and we find you . . .’ The threat hung in the air like the very darkness around me.

Footsteps sounded, getting further away. I opened my eyes, my feet already moving to head in the opposite direction only to stop abruptly. I gasped. Callum stood right in front of me, less than a metre away. And the fear I felt then was like a moment spent dying.

‘Callum . . .’ I breathed.

‘What was that?’ A voice I hadn’t heard before asked.

Callum put his finger to his lips.

‘It’s only me,’ he called out. ‘I tripped.’

‘We’ve got to find her.’ The other man’s voice was getting closer.

‘I SEE HER!’ Callum yelled suddenly.

I shook my head, my eyes pleading with him, my heart about to crack.

‘She’s trying to double back on us. She must be heading back for the cabin,’ Callum shouted out.

‘Blast!’

The immediate sound of running. Away from me. Away from us. Callum stepped towards me. He took my unresisting hands in his. He looked up.

‘D’you see Orion’s Belt?’ he said softly.

I looked up and