Read Online The Low Road by Chris Womersley - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Chris Womersley
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to stop? Why did you even come this way? This is an old road, not even the highway. This is nothing, not even scenic . A piece-of-shit road. Look what youâre making me do. Look at me! We told you to go away.
The boy spoke up. We were going home.
What?
We were going home. Thatâs all.
Home?
To see our parents.
Leeâs breath fish-hooked in his throat. Youâre what, brother and sister?
The boy nodded. A tremble passed from the girl through the gun, along Leeâs arm, through the root of his shoulder and deep into his body. He looked into her moist and shining eyes. It was an inevitable intimacy. At that moment a person is unlike at any other time in their life; their noises, the flash of their eyes, the darknesses they must be prepared to betray. He believed her when she said she would do anything to save herself.
Lee thought quickly and tilted his chin to address the boy. Come here. Give me your driverâs licence. The boy did as he was told. Lee inspected it. What you need to do, he said at last in what he hoped was a calm voice, is to get back into the car and drive back the way you came. You need to do this quickly. Straight away. You have to get as far away from here as possible, OK? This is no place for you. But I find out you told anyone and . . . Iâll come after you. He thought of the worst threat he could make. Iâll find your parents and kill them, do you understand me? This is no place. No place for you.
The boy nodded eagerly and Lee removed the gun from the girlâs blonde head. She stayed crouching where she was for several seconds before scrambling to her feet and running to her brother. She was sobbing loudly now and they both vanished behind the glare of headlights. The car rumbled to life, skidded on the gravel skirt and sped away. Lee listened to the car recede until they were enveloped in silence once more.
Lee could feel Wild looking at him but ignored him. He turned to one side and spat before picking up the bag heâd taken from the car and staggering across the road with it banging against his calf. He flung the bag into the back seat of Wildâs car and lowered himself into the passenger seat. Automatically, he reached down to check the suitcase hadnât been disturbed. The money. The money. His body was leaden with pain.
Wild returned and sat behind the wheel. Canât take you anywhere, can we? He sounded disappointed. Lee stared straight ahead. Wild paused with both hands on the steering wheel before starting the engine and easing out onto the tarmac, but braked almost immediately. There on the road in front of them, hovering at about knee height, were six shining points embedded into thick, dark bodies.
The dogs were immobile, watching. Their growl was almost beyond hearing, a low monotone of a pitch equal to the car engine. Despite the car, they didnât move. Their malevolence didnât seem to be personal but was perhaps of a more indiscriminate nature. Wild edged the car towards them. Their fur shone silvery in the headlight glare. They stayed firm. The car crept forward and the bumper nudged one of their solid bodies. Only then did they surrender the road, allowing barely room enough for the car. Lee averted his gaze as they edged past.
They left the dogs unmoving on their stretch of road among the whispering trees. Lee lit a cigarette with trembling hands and resisted the urge to look back and see if the dogs were pursuing them. Instead he stared ahead at the roadside markers and at the white lines being sucked beneath the car. He held a hand to his nose and inhaled its bloody scent.
They drove through the night, with no hint of what the countryside around them was like, or what lay beyond the narrow periphery of the headlights. There were few other cars. Occasionally a truck swung past, decked with lights, like a lumbering carnival. They didnât speak and before long were utterly absorbed into the night.
At around dawn, a
The boy spoke up. We were going home.
What?
We were going home. Thatâs all.
Home?
To see our parents.
Leeâs breath fish-hooked in his throat. Youâre what, brother and sister?
The boy nodded. A tremble passed from the girl through the gun, along Leeâs arm, through the root of his shoulder and deep into his body. He looked into her moist and shining eyes. It was an inevitable intimacy. At that moment a person is unlike at any other time in their life; their noises, the flash of their eyes, the darknesses they must be prepared to betray. He believed her when she said she would do anything to save herself.
Lee thought quickly and tilted his chin to address the boy. Come here. Give me your driverâs licence. The boy did as he was told. Lee inspected it. What you need to do, he said at last in what he hoped was a calm voice, is to get back into the car and drive back the way you came. You need to do this quickly. Straight away. You have to get as far away from here as possible, OK? This is no place for you. But I find out you told anyone and . . . Iâll come after you. He thought of the worst threat he could make. Iâll find your parents and kill them, do you understand me? This is no place. No place for you.
The boy nodded eagerly and Lee removed the gun from the girlâs blonde head. She stayed crouching where she was for several seconds before scrambling to her feet and running to her brother. She was sobbing loudly now and they both vanished behind the glare of headlights. The car rumbled to life, skidded on the gravel skirt and sped away. Lee listened to the car recede until they were enveloped in silence once more.
Lee could feel Wild looking at him but ignored him. He turned to one side and spat before picking up the bag heâd taken from the car and staggering across the road with it banging against his calf. He flung the bag into the back seat of Wildâs car and lowered himself into the passenger seat. Automatically, he reached down to check the suitcase hadnât been disturbed. The money. The money. His body was leaden with pain.
Wild returned and sat behind the wheel. Canât take you anywhere, can we? He sounded disappointed. Lee stared straight ahead. Wild paused with both hands on the steering wheel before starting the engine and easing out onto the tarmac, but braked almost immediately. There on the road in front of them, hovering at about knee height, were six shining points embedded into thick, dark bodies.
The dogs were immobile, watching. Their growl was almost beyond hearing, a low monotone of a pitch equal to the car engine. Despite the car, they didnât move. Their malevolence didnât seem to be personal but was perhaps of a more indiscriminate nature. Wild edged the car towards them. Their fur shone silvery in the headlight glare. They stayed firm. The car crept forward and the bumper nudged one of their solid bodies. Only then did they surrender the road, allowing barely room enough for the car. Lee averted his gaze as they edged past.
They left the dogs unmoving on their stretch of road among the whispering trees. Lee lit a cigarette with trembling hands and resisted the urge to look back and see if the dogs were pursuing them. Instead he stared ahead at the roadside markers and at the white lines being sucked beneath the car. He held a hand to his nose and inhaled its bloody scent.
They drove through the night, with no hint of what the countryside around them was like, or what lay beyond the narrow periphery of the headlights. There were few other cars. Occasionally a truck swung past, decked with lights, like a lumbering carnival. They didnât speak and before long were utterly absorbed into the night.
At around dawn, a
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