Read Online South by South East by Anthony Horowitz - Free Book Online
Authors: Anthony Horowitz
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“Tim…”
“Charlotte…”
“The train’s slowing down!” She broke free – and it was true. The train had slowed down while we were talking and now it had stopped completely. But we weren’t in a station. We were in the middle of a field.
“I wonder…” she began. She got out of her seat and went over to the section between our carriage and the next. This was the only part of the train where there was a window you could open. I watched as she opened it and stuck her head out.
At the same time, the train started up again and quickly picked up speed.
When Charlotte came back, she looked worried. “It was a police block,” she said. “Five of them just got on the train.”
Sure enough, as the train continued, we passed a police car parked next to the track. We were sitting right in the middle of the train. The policemen had got on at the front. I guessed it would take them less than a minute to reach us.
“How did they know you were on the train?” Charlotte asked.
“I don’t know,” Tim replied.
But I did. He had asked a policeman for directions at Victoria Station. The policeman must have followed us and seen us get onto the train.
“You’re going to have to jump!” Charlotte said.
“Jump…?” I looked out of the window. We were already doing twenty miles per hour and moving faster by the second.
“Quickly!”
“Can we pull the communications cord first?” Tim asked.
“No.” Charlotte shook her head. She’d already got it all worked out. A typical writer. “If you pull the cord, it will tell the police you were here.”
“And there’s a fifty pound fine,” I added.
“Move!”
Still chained together, Tim and I got out of our seats and moved to the nearest door. Charlotte followed. Fortunately there were only a couple of other passengers near us and they were so buried in their papers that they didn’t see us go.
We reached the nearest exit door. Tim pulled it open and stood there with the wind buffeting his face. The train was moving very fast now and I could see he had changed his mind about the plan. To be honest, I wasn’t too wild about it either.
“Good luck,” Charlotte said.
“Actually…” Tim began.
“Goodbye!” Charlotte said.
Tim fell out of the train and in that split second I realized two things: one – that Charlotte had given him a helpful push; and two – that I was still chained to him. With a yell I launched myself after him.
I felt the wind grab me. For a moment everything was a blur. Then long grass rushed up at me from all sides. I heard Tim yell, the sound blending in with the roar of the train. I could feel his weight at the end of the chain, still pulling me forward. There was a sickening thud as my shoulder came into contact with the earth. And then everything was blue, green, blue, green as I rolled down a hill between the grass and the sky. I couldn’t see Tim any more and wondered if he’d managed to pull off my arm.
Then I must have blacked out for a moment. The next thing I knew, I was lying on my back, winded and only half-conscious. A pair of eyes that I thought I knew well loomed over me.
“Tim?” I muttered.
“Moo,” came the reply. It was a cow. And it seemed as astonished as I was that I was still alive.
I raised my hand and was grateful to see it was still there. It seemed that I hadn’t broken any bones in the fall – but I had broken the handcuffs. A length of chain trailed away from my wrist.
There was a loud groan a short distance away and Tim popped up behind a small bush. It had been a big bush until he had rolled through it. Tim had been less fortunate than me. As soon as we were separated, he had rolled through six nettles, a clump of thistles, a cowpat and the bush.
“Next time, we take a bus!” he muttered as I tried to tidy him up. The cow ambled over and tried to eat his sleeve. “Shoo!” Tim cried out. The cow put its head down to the ground and took a bite out of one of his shoes.
We
“Charlotte…”
“The train’s slowing down!” She broke free – and it was true. The train had slowed down while we were talking and now it had stopped completely. But we weren’t in a station. We were in the middle of a field.
“I wonder…” she began. She got out of her seat and went over to the section between our carriage and the next. This was the only part of the train where there was a window you could open. I watched as she opened it and stuck her head out.
At the same time, the train started up again and quickly picked up speed.
When Charlotte came back, she looked worried. “It was a police block,” she said. “Five of them just got on the train.”
Sure enough, as the train continued, we passed a police car parked next to the track. We were sitting right in the middle of the train. The policemen had got on at the front. I guessed it would take them less than a minute to reach us.
“How did they know you were on the train?” Charlotte asked.
“I don’t know,” Tim replied.
But I did. He had asked a policeman for directions at Victoria Station. The policeman must have followed us and seen us get onto the train.
“You’re going to have to jump!” Charlotte said.
“Jump…?” I looked out of the window. We were already doing twenty miles per hour and moving faster by the second.
“Quickly!”
“Can we pull the communications cord first?” Tim asked.
“No.” Charlotte shook her head. She’d already got it all worked out. A typical writer. “If you pull the cord, it will tell the police you were here.”
“And there’s a fifty pound fine,” I added.
“Move!”
Still chained together, Tim and I got out of our seats and moved to the nearest door. Charlotte followed. Fortunately there were only a couple of other passengers near us and they were so buried in their papers that they didn’t see us go.
We reached the nearest exit door. Tim pulled it open and stood there with the wind buffeting his face. The train was moving very fast now and I could see he had changed his mind about the plan. To be honest, I wasn’t too wild about it either.
“Good luck,” Charlotte said.
“Actually…” Tim began.
“Goodbye!” Charlotte said.
Tim fell out of the train and in that split second I realized two things: one – that Charlotte had given him a helpful push; and two – that I was still chained to him. With a yell I launched myself after him.
I felt the wind grab me. For a moment everything was a blur. Then long grass rushed up at me from all sides. I heard Tim yell, the sound blending in with the roar of the train. I could feel his weight at the end of the chain, still pulling me forward. There was a sickening thud as my shoulder came into contact with the earth. And then everything was blue, green, blue, green as I rolled down a hill between the grass and the sky. I couldn’t see Tim any more and wondered if he’d managed to pull off my arm.
Then I must have blacked out for a moment. The next thing I knew, I was lying on my back, winded and only half-conscious. A pair of eyes that I thought I knew well loomed over me.
“Tim?” I muttered.
“Moo,” came the reply. It was a cow. And it seemed as astonished as I was that I was still alive.
I raised my hand and was grateful to see it was still there. It seemed that I hadn’t broken any bones in the fall – but I had broken the handcuffs. A length of chain trailed away from my wrist.
There was a loud groan a short distance away and Tim popped up behind a small bush. It had been a big bush until he had rolled through it. Tim had been less fortunate than me. As soon as we were separated, he had rolled through six nettles, a clump of thistles, a cowpat and the bush.
“Next time, we take a bus!” he muttered as I tried to tidy him up. The cow ambled over and tried to eat his sleeve. “Shoo!” Tim cried out. The cow put its head down to the ground and took a bite out of one of his shoes.
We
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