“You really need to
-” she started.
The bossy one - Cassidy? - swore.
“I know, alright?
Come on, Jacob. No time for finer feeling.”
His face twisted up with
disgust, Jacob helped the two women lift the stinking bundle
up.
“I can go ahead. Make
sure they aren't...” Nelya didn't know the words, so she settled
for hand gestures.
“Circling round on
us?” said Cassidy.
“Like a pack of
ashdogs.”
Cassidy nodded. “We'll
be right behind. Take the alley to the left.”
Nelya was already
moving back towards the door.
“Wait. Before you go.
Why did you come back?”
“We don't have time.
Later.”
Later. If there was a
later. Nelya slipped out of the door, as silent as she could. To the
left, no-one. The wolves weren't quite at their throats yet.
She opened the door and
beckoned. A tense moment later, the three tunnies staggered out,
panting and groaning under the awkward burden. Didn't they know how
to be quiet? It was a wonder they'd lived this long.
She led the way through
a narrow, mud-splatter maze of alleys, stopping now and again to take
silent direction from Cassidy. She winced at every groan, cringed at
every huff of breath. Every single noise these people made was a
shout.
She began to wish
Cassidy hadn't been kind. That the first breath of kindness in twenty
nine days hadn't come from people involved in something so
stinking-rotten and risky.
It didn't matter. After
this mess, she'd leave. She had a pack hidden just outside town, and
with the kindness repaid, she'd slip out to it. Forget the meats, the
other things she needed. There were other places. Safer places where
no-one threw rocks at her and madmen didn't drop dead for no reason.
Just leave this confusion and wrongness and go.
How could anyone live
so closed in? In this one alley there were so many places an enemy
could wait, could hide, and no way to keep them all in sight. No way
to keep yourself safe.
It was making her panic.
No fresh air, no clear
sight, and constant unnatural noises. These dangerous men could land right
on top of them, and she'd never know. Not even have enough time to
react. To save herself. Her hand hovered over her knife.
“We're nearly there.” said Cassidy from behind her. Nelya jumped like someone had put a
weapon to her skin.
“Be quiet.” she
hissed back, forcing the panic back down. Tried to slow the racing
heartbeat. It was good they were nearly there. Good. Nearly there.
Nearly done. Then away. Running.
As they left the alley,
a large ditch came into view. The stink of this place got worse if that
was possible. That particular wet, overripe stench that came
with stagnant water and rotting waste. She'd smelled it in a dozen tiny
still ponds, and always known never to drink that water.
“The run off.”
Cassidy sounded out of breath. “Dump him in there, and it'd take an
unholy luck for anyone to find him ever again.”
With an utter lack of
ceremony they dropped the body into the run off, the only noise a
thick splash. For an awful second it seemed as if he was just going
to float on the half metre of scummy water, until Cassidy pushed him
down with her foot. The mud underneath parted and swallowed the thing
that had been a preacher. Nelya breathed out, low and shaky.
“This doesn't feel
right” said Jacob. Nelya rolled her eyes.
“It wouldn't be
right, us taking the fall for someone else's crime, either. Just
going along with some plot? No.” Cassidy brushed strands of hair
off her damp forehead. “Hey, Darklands girl. Can you at least give
us a name to thank you with?”
Nelya stared at her for
a second. What did it matter? She'd be out of their lives soon
enough. Besides, was this really the time or place? But she got the
feeling Cassidy wouldn't let it go.
“If you have to call
me something, call me Nelya.” she said. “Not that it -”
Wait. The panic that
had been haunting her this whole way flared again into clammy
hand, bristling spine warning. They were being watched. She'd swear
to it on her own blood. They were being watched and this stupid place had
stopped her noticing.
“You should start
moving. Now.” she said.
Which was the moment
that all those places she'd noted as hiding spots were full of people. Big people. Armed people. And there was nowhere to
run.
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