Read Online Temper by Beck Nicholas - Free Book Online

simply that there’s a cliff face on one side and a drop on the other, but I swear the rock curves away under the path so narrow I can see pieces of it crumbling before my eyes.
    “We’re not going on that.”
    He heads back to the bike. “We are.”
    “Why? There’s a perfectly good road to the city. We travelled it a few weeks ago.”
    “The common, well-known road?”
    “Yes.”
    “The one the Company is probably monitoring if they have even half a brain.”
    Of course they have to be. I should have thought of that. “There must be a better option than a track we’re unlikely to survive.”
    “We will if you sit back there and keep your hands to yourself. I know it’s difficult because of your constant need to touch me but when falling to your death is the alternative, I kind of hoped you’d at least try.”
    Need to touch him? My jaw tightens, and I take a few deep breaths, determined not to respond. No matter how satisfying it might be, throttling him won’t solve anything. I force myself to focus on the practicalities.
    My eye runs over the old bike. We’ve travelled as light as possible. A Q each, and I’ve a knife in my right boot. My pack has a change of clothes and an old tablet loaded with all the maps we could find. Between us we have food bars from the ship with enough nutrients to keep us going for a day.
    I don’t know what Davyd’s carrying in his pack under the small bike seat. But it can’t be much.
    “We don’t have enough gas to take detours,” I say.
    “I’ve thought of that. There’s the remains of a small town on the way down the other side of the mountains and a tiny station has some gas in a concealed tank out the back. It’s too out of the way for the scavengers to bother.”
    I stare. Like me, he’s spent most of his life on a spaceship buried under ground. “How can you possibly know?”
    “Unlike some, I haven’t spent my time here wallowing in how wounded and empty I feel. As well as learning to drive the bike, I’ve been making friends. Talking to people. Getting details.”
    “Using them, you mean.”
    He doesn’t deny it. “Preparation is key to this being successful.”
    “Why do you care so much about the rage thing? It affects Lifers more than Fishies. You said so yourself.”
    He shields his eyes and looks out over the valley. “We’d better get moving if we’re going to make it to the place I want to camp by sundown.”
    If I didn’t know better, I’d think he had a heart and my question affected it, but it’s more likely he has some plan of his own for when we reach the Company. He showed back on the ship he’d do whatever it took to achieve his own goal. There’s time, I’ll work out why this matters to him, and then I’ll make sure he can’t screw up the mission. The rage inside me means I have no choice.
    Movement behind me makes me spin and drop to my knees, heart hammering.
    “Scared of dogs?” Davyd asks.
    A moment later, a brown mutt slinks out from between some boulders. The same one from last night, I’m sure of it. I hold out my hand. “You following me Brown Dog?”
    He doesn’t wag his tail, but when his head lifts there’s a warm light in his dark eyes. We’re miles from camp, he must have run hard to keep up. His chest heaves, showing the harsh gaps between his ribs. Before I can think, I reach into my jacket pocket and pull out a ration bar.
    “Don’t feed the thing,” Davyd says. “You’ll only encourage it.”
    I ignore him and break off a piece. The dog comes closer, his belly low on the gravel, his nose twitching as he sniffs the food. When he halts, I toss it to land at his feet. Despite the fact he’s starving, his head tilts in question.
    “It tastes like crap, but it will fill you up. Eat it.”
    One gulp and the food’s gone. A moment later, the dog runs past me and rounds the corner. I take three steps after it before I catch myself. Davyd’s right, I shouldn’t be wasting food on some wild dog. And I