Read Online Death is a Welcome Guest: Plague Times Trilogy 2 by Louise Welsh - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Louise Welsh
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windows. He wondered if he should try to get the keys from Jeb after all, go back, release as many as he could and damn the consequences, but he ran on, following his cellmate through the courtyard’s shadows.
Jeb stopped at the corner of a wall, beneath a queerly angled CCTV camera, surveying the last section of open ground they would have to cross before they reached the admissions building. If he wanted to, Jeb could leave him there, Magnus realised. On the outside-inside, surrounded by high walls and locked doors, exposed to the elements, the stares of the windows and the fading men inside.
‘We can split up as soon as we get out of here,’ Magnus whispered, ‘but we stand a better chance of making it out if we stick together.’
Jeb glanced at him. ‘You’re a liability, mate.’
‘We wouldn’t have got out of the cell in the first place if it wasn’t for me.’
‘You think so?’ Jeb’s smile mocked him. ‘It was me that smashed that screw in the face.’
‘And it was me that persuaded him to unlock the door.’
‘Then you turned into Jesus fucking Christ and started releasing random villains.’ The smile was gone. ‘Didn’t you think there might be a reason I stick to my own fucking cell?’ Every word was a bullet. ‘Get yourself fucking killed if you like, but leave me out of it.’
‘I apologised, okay?’ There was no point in being polite, Magnus realised. Jeb was like a belligerent venue manager who needed convincing before he would agree to book a new act. Appeasement would get him nowhere. ‘I told you, I won’t get in the way and I might be some help.’
Jeb cast him a sceptical glance, but something in Magnus’s words must have persuaded him because he whispered, ‘Don’t talk and don’t try any Good Samaritan acts. First sign of trouble you’re on your own. Understand?’ Magnus nodded. Jeb cast a quick look around the courtyard. ‘We need to get through the admissions hall’ – he gestured up ahead with the hand that was holding the Taser – ‘and then out through the front gate. I reckon these keys will let us into admissions, but I don’t know about the gate. If you see anyone, keep your head down. Don’t speak until spoken to and take your lead from me.’
Jeb did not bother to wait for Magnus to agree. He loped towards the door of the admissions block, keeping his body low. Magnus thought he heard voices shouting behind them, but all his strength was focused on keeping up with Jeb and he did not look back.
The key turned first time and they entered a small vestibule at the bottom of a steep metal staircase. Jeb clattered upward, the Taser clutched in his right hand. Magnus followed in silence, matching his pace to the other man’s. The effects of his beatings were still upon him and his legs protested, but he forced them on, to an upper landing and another locked door.
‘I feel like I’m in a fucking computer game.’ Jeb shifted the Taser to his left hand and took the keys from his pocket. He slid them awkwardly into the lock. Magnus wanted to say that he would relieve him of one or the other, but knew the offer would be rejected. Jeb looked cautiously round the door. Something about the practised stealth of the move made Magnus wonder if the other man had been in the armed forces. ‘Okay.’ Jeb nodded to him. ‘Keep up, and remember what I told you, take your lead from me.’
They entered a long corridor. Magnus supposed he must have passed through it on the night he was admitted, bloodied and bruised, still not quite sober, but he could remember little of that journey except a prison officer’s hand steadying him when he stumbled. It had been a small kindness in a night lacking in compassion and Magnus found himself wondering if the man had caught the virus.
The thought made him think of his mother again. He had called her a week after her birthday, alerted by a caustic text from his sister Rhona, but had he spoken to her since? He didn’t think
Jeb stopped at the corner of a wall, beneath a queerly angled CCTV camera, surveying the last section of open ground they would have to cross before they reached the admissions building. If he wanted to, Jeb could leave him there, Magnus realised. On the outside-inside, surrounded by high walls and locked doors, exposed to the elements, the stares of the windows and the fading men inside.
‘We can split up as soon as we get out of here,’ Magnus whispered, ‘but we stand a better chance of making it out if we stick together.’
Jeb glanced at him. ‘You’re a liability, mate.’
‘We wouldn’t have got out of the cell in the first place if it wasn’t for me.’
‘You think so?’ Jeb’s smile mocked him. ‘It was me that smashed that screw in the face.’
‘And it was me that persuaded him to unlock the door.’
‘Then you turned into Jesus fucking Christ and started releasing random villains.’ The smile was gone. ‘Didn’t you think there might be a reason I stick to my own fucking cell?’ Every word was a bullet. ‘Get yourself fucking killed if you like, but leave me out of it.’
‘I apologised, okay?’ There was no point in being polite, Magnus realised. Jeb was like a belligerent venue manager who needed convincing before he would agree to book a new act. Appeasement would get him nowhere. ‘I told you, I won’t get in the way and I might be some help.’
Jeb cast him a sceptical glance, but something in Magnus’s words must have persuaded him because he whispered, ‘Don’t talk and don’t try any Good Samaritan acts. First sign of trouble you’re on your own. Understand?’ Magnus nodded. Jeb cast a quick look around the courtyard. ‘We need to get through the admissions hall’ – he gestured up ahead with the hand that was holding the Taser – ‘and then out through the front gate. I reckon these keys will let us into admissions, but I don’t know about the gate. If you see anyone, keep your head down. Don’t speak until spoken to and take your lead from me.’
Jeb did not bother to wait for Magnus to agree. He loped towards the door of the admissions block, keeping his body low. Magnus thought he heard voices shouting behind them, but all his strength was focused on keeping up with Jeb and he did not look back.
The key turned first time and they entered a small vestibule at the bottom of a steep metal staircase. Jeb clattered upward, the Taser clutched in his right hand. Magnus followed in silence, matching his pace to the other man’s. The effects of his beatings were still upon him and his legs protested, but he forced them on, to an upper landing and another locked door.
‘I feel like I’m in a fucking computer game.’ Jeb shifted the Taser to his left hand and took the keys from his pocket. He slid them awkwardly into the lock. Magnus wanted to say that he would relieve him of one or the other, but knew the offer would be rejected. Jeb looked cautiously round the door. Something about the practised stealth of the move made Magnus wonder if the other man had been in the armed forces. ‘Okay.’ Jeb nodded to him. ‘Keep up, and remember what I told you, take your lead from me.’
They entered a long corridor. Magnus supposed he must have passed through it on the night he was admitted, bloodied and bruised, still not quite sober, but he could remember little of that journey except a prison officer’s hand steadying him when he stumbled. It had been a small kindness in a night lacking in compassion and Magnus found himself wondering if the man had caught the virus.
The thought made him think of his mother again. He had called her a week after her birthday, alerted by a caustic text from his sister Rhona, but had he spoken to her since? He didn’t think
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