Saving Sophia Part 5

I drop the rope back out of the window, and sit on the sill. Itas further up than the floor and thereas a breeze. I wasnat expecting a breeze.

I crouch a" it feels better that way a" and wrap the rope over my shoulder, across my back and under my arm until Iave got a wooden zebra wedged in my armpit. It holds me and it doesnat seem to want to drop me, but I donat know what to do with my legs. I pay out a little more of the rope and walk down the wall about a foot. I probably couldnat climb back in through the window now if I tried, which means I can only go down.

Nedas face appears at the window above me. aThatas it,a he says. aYouare halfway there. Keep going.a I look up at him. Something flickers through my fury a" it might be guilt, it might be love a" but hanging off a piece of string over a beach I canat be sure, and I canat spare the time to a.n.a.lyse it. The stone grates on my knees. This is all real.

The stone in front of my nose is real. The rope slipping slightly through my white fingers is real. My heartas beating as fast as Iave ever felt it. Is this good? Would I rather be at home? Would I rather be with Miss Sackb.u.t.t?

I donat know a" I canat work out if itas all just too scary or if I like it.

I take a deep breath and let the zebra go until Iam gripping a lion. The stone goes past in front of my nose and I graze my knuckles but I donat think thereas much I can do about that. aYay!a I say aloud, as cheerfully as possible, and slip down until Iave got the giraffe in my hand. Itas the last animal.

I look down.

Looking down is always a mistake and this is no exception. What I hadnat realised is that by tying knots in the rope, I was making it shorter. So now itas run out.

I look down again. I suppose itas only about six feet.

aLet go, sis,a calls Ned. aItas not very far, you wonat break anything.a A siren sounds behind the castle.

My heartbeat steps up a notch until I can barely hear the sea a" Iam going to explode if I donat do something soon.

Above me is impossible. Below me might be painful. I hang for probably slightly too long before letting go.

The sand is harder than it looks, and for a moment, Iam winded. I stand, bent double, gulping the air and waiting for my heart to slow down.

Iam alive.

I start to feel more normal and look around. Iam too obvious standing here so I run to the shadow of the cliff, glancing back to see if thereas anything I can do to cover my tracks. Not really. Nedas taken the rope back up into the room but my feet have left perfect prints, and although Sophiaas are lighter, even the dimmest policeman would spot them straight away. Short of a herd of elephants galloping through thereas not much hope of hiding them.

I follow her faint footprints until they stop. There isnat an actual footpath, just a place where you might be able to scrabble up through collapsed stones to the gra.s.sy piece at the top. Itas steep and Iam instantly out of breath, but I keep feeling that a policemanas about to jump up behind me, so even though I think Iam going to die, I manage to stumble over the crumbly sandy gra.s.s and out of sight of the castle. I find myself in a small clearing among tall thin pine trees. Thereas no sign of anyone.

aSophia,a I call, and my voice disappears into the thick pine needle carpet. Even my footprints donat make a sound.

aSophia?a I wander through the trees following what must be a badger track. Sometimes I think I catch sight of Sophiaas green shirt, but then it disappears and turns out to be a tree trunk. I canat hear the sea any more, just birdsong. Itas like a green cathedral.

aSophia?a Perhaps I should have waited at the castle.

I stumble on further and come to a timber yard. There are men working in the distance and several pickup trucks parked at the back. To get past Iam either going to have to scramble through a ma.s.s of brambles or creep through the yard. The yard seems the better option. For a moment, I wonder if I could just walk through like thereas nothing wrong, but then I realise that everyone must know about us, so I drop to my knees and crawl slowly to the pickup trucks.

I hover for an age at the back of the first truck, listening. The more I listen, the odder it sounds because although the noise of the chainsaws rings through the woods, Iam sure I can hear someone rustling, close by, in a whispery sort of a way.

aSophia?a I call.

A yellow pile of leaves in the corner of the yard quivers and an arm pokes out. aCome inside,a she says. aItas cosy.a aAre you mad?a I whisper, poking at the pile with my foot. aTwo seconds with a sniffer dog and theyad have you. Come on, the police must be at the castle, I heard the sirens; we have to get out of here.a The pile of leaves shakes and Sophia emerges, grubbier than before.

aI couldnat think where else to hide,a she says, following me out of the yard and down the track, shedding leaves as she runs.

aWell, it was a rubbish idea.a I stumble up to the left, through a thicket of bracken to the edge of the woods above the track.

aSorry a" I just thought it would be safer than standing there, waiting a" whereas Ned?a I ignore her question. aThey always have dogs. In books, they have loads, especially with missing children.a aOh,a she says. aAnd Ned?a aNed? Heas being an idiot. Heas not coming.a aAre you sure?a she says. aDonat you think we should wait?a aI donat know,a I say, a huge Ned-less cavern opening up inside me.

We do wait. For about ten minutes. Sophia looks anxious and picks at her fingernails. I try to pretend I donat care, but actually I donat just feel sick, I feel as if my whole stomachas missing.

I donat understand it. I mean, I canat stand Ned, weare definitely better off without him, so why do I feel punched now that weave left him behind?

aWe should get moving,a says Sophia quietly. aYouare right, Pinheadas probably got extra dogs in a" Rottweilers or something.a aRottweilers?a I say.

aWith big teeth,a says Sophia. aAnd heavies.a aDayou mean thugs?a Sophia nods. The more I hear about Pinhead the more I can understand why shead want to run away.

With every step that takes us back towards the castle car park, Iam expecting to be caught. In fact, I donat think Iave breathed in for about twenty minutes. Not properly.

The tall yew hedge that encircles the entrance is all thatas left between us and certain failure a" or a faint chance of success.

aThatas Wessonas, that black one, over there.a Sophia crouches next to me and points at an enormous four-wheel drive with blacked-out windows, parked next to a couple of police cars. aDo you think thisall work?a she asks.

aI donat know, but I canat think of another way out of here.a We wait until the car parkas silent. Distantly, I can hear calling and dogs, but nothing close up.

aHere goes,a I say and step forward, out of the hedge.

No one shouts. No one moves to stop us. We stand at the back of the giant car.

Sophia opens the boot, and with my heart somewhere near my heels, I follow her inside. The caras so big that we fit easily, thereas enough room for us to lie under the black floor lining, and poke our heads along the edge under the shelf although thereas no way of seeing if weare actually invisible.

aThis is mad,a I say.

aItas warm,a says Sophia. aAnd comfy. And there are no sea creatures.a aIam trying to think of a story where the hero has to hide in the villainas car, but apart from Deadlock at Deadfall, I canat think of any, and that one ends badly because the car goes over the cliff with the hero in it. He survives, but he has to swim the river and fight off a bear and he loses a finger and his girlfriend.a aHmm,a says Sophia.

Something crunches on the gravel outside, and I listen.

Wesson?

I imagine her opening the door and throwing her boots in. Theyall be tall leather boots with spurs. On top of that sheall have a floor-length black leather coat, and golf clubs or a shotgun.

Or will she look first? Will she wonder what the lumps are under the floor mat? Will she poke the end of the shotgun under the edge and lift it up so that weare caught like woodlice under a log?

Oh no a" did the lights come on? I didnat notice. Will we be starkly lit by searchlights lining the side of the boot? Or is there some kind of alarm thatall tell her weare in here? Perhaps she already knows.

And how are we going to get out?

aPinhead might be with her,a whispers Sophia.

aWhat? I thought he was in New York.a Sophia doesnat say anything, just lets out a long sigh, followed by a tiny hiccupy sob.

aSophia?a I whisper.

She sniffs. aItall never work.a aIt will,a I say. aNed will have told them something good.a I manage to say it as if I mean it, but Iam wondering where he is. Is he even still at the castle, or is he on his way back to Bream?

Sophia laughs and sobs at the same time.

CLICK.

The driveras door?

But thatas the only sound.

I darenat breathe, but if I donat breathe soon Iall choke. I let a little air out and suck a little in. The car is utterly quiet. It hasnat moved a" surely if shead climbed in it would have moved? Of course, Sophia might be wrong and it might not be Wessonas car; it could belong to the miserable vegetable bloke.

Now someoneas opening the boot. I lie completely still. If Wesson finds me Iam dead a" I mean, Iall play dead and pretend I died in her boot; equally, I will die of shock. Iall have a Miss Sackb.u.t.t moment. But then it could be him a" it could be the butcher, bouncer, racehorse trainer. Murderer? Pinhead. He might be bunging his golf clubs in.

aJust thought Iad check,a comes a manas voice. aOh, and does the dog go in there?a Dog? What dog? Then I remember: Wessonas stupid terrier.

Something thumps on to the mat over my chest and every sc.r.a.p of air I ever had explodes from my lungs.

aAll right, boy,a says a manas voice. Itas definitely not Pinheadas, maybe it belongs to a policeman? The door slams shut.

It takes the dog a millisecond to find us under the mat.

It takes him two milliseconds to start licking my face.

The car joggles as Wesson climbs into the driveras seat, then shakes as the engine starts.

I close my eyes, s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up my mouth so that my lips are sealed. Not even an amoeba could get through.

And suddenly weare moving, reversing, at speed and then thumping forwards through the lanes. The dog rearranges his legs but goes on licking.

The car revs as it takes the small hill up from the castle, and I imagine we must be pa.s.sing the sawmill, but Wesson doesnat slow down and we swing on for about ten minutes. The dog stops licking my face and starts licking my neck instead.

aUgh,a I cough. I breathe in thick damp dog air and wonder how long I can stand this for. As well as dog thereas a strong smell of trainer. Itas probably mine. I canat blame it on Ned any more. The hole in my stomach opens up again and I imagine him back in that room in the tower, this time handcuffed to the chair with no orange squash.

The radio comes on. Itas a music station that I canat quite hear. Then the phone beeps.

I wipe dog spit from my face with the raggedy sweatshirt and strain to listen, but thereas a great deal of expensive upholstery between us.

aNoa The little horrors, they got away. I know, I knowaa It goes quiet, sheas still talking but I canat hear the words properly. aajumped out of the tower!a Thereas more chat, but I can only pick up the odd word. And then she says: aIall be back at Bream in an hour or so!a Thereas a pause and she says. aLove you.a And makes a kissing sound.

aBream?a says Sophia, shaking her head away from the dog that is really fairly lovely as things with sharp teeth go but far too friendly when youare trapped under a rug. aBut we want her to take us to Pinheadas office!a aI think I heard her say Bream,a I whisper.

The car pulls out on to a smooth straight road and picks up speed. aBut we donat want to go back a" do we?a I ask.

The dog curls up on my legs and settles its head on Sophia, gazing at her with big brown eyes. Perhaps it sees her as another potential lollipop.

aWeave had it now,a says Sophia. aSheas going to drive us back and thereas nothing we can do.a aI think we should get out,a I say.

aHow?a says Sophia. aWeare going at sixty miles an hour.a aWe need to make her stop,a I say.

aWe need to feed something under the back seat, poke her with it. Thatall attract her attention. She stops the car; we run. In The Dark is a Lonely Place, Simon Strange uses a shipas flare to distract the helicopter pilot for long enough to jump out.a aHe jumps a" from a helicopter?a says Sophia.

aHeas a very experienced sky diver,a I reply.

aBut weare not in a helicopter, weare in a speeding four-by-four a" skydiving wouldnat really help us,a says Sophia. aAnd we donat have a flare.a aWhatever,a I say. aIt worked for him.a Sophia falls silent. I can practically hear her thoughts squeezing out through her ears.

The dog rolls over so that Sophia can scratch his tummy. aPinhead really will kill me if I keep this going much longer,a she says. Her voice sounds worried.

aWould he actually?a I ask.

She looks across at me. aHe wouldnat hesitate a" honestly.a aBut if we went back to Bream right now a" we wouldnat really have caused any problems a" would we? We could do that, you know a" it might be the best thing.a aLottie, heas nasty a" he really is, I know I said he killed someone, well it might have been more than one a" his brother went missing a year or so agoaa aHis brother?a I ask, pushing the dogas nose out of my face.

aYes a" he used to have a brother, they fell out and a the brother disappeared.a aHow dayou mean a" disappeared?a I say.

aHe vanished. Pinhead just stopped talking about him a" just as if he never existed. I think he might be dead.a aHow a" dead?a I ask.

aUnder the motorway extension in West London, dead.a I feel as if another of those buckets of icy water has been emptied over my head. aWearing a concrete overcoat?a Sophia nods.

Mary Thirsk loses her husband to a concrete overcoat in the first chapter of Death by Technology. Thatas why she ends up pursuing the Mexican gun runners all the way to Berlin.

I do not want to go the same way, so I look around the back of the car for anything that might possibly help.

Sophia pulls herself out from under the dog and pa.s.ses me a roll of green garden wire. aFound this in Nedas bag. Any good?a aBrilliant.a Feeling terrified, but not wanting to show it, I unroll the wire and poke it through the underneath of the back seat. I can just see Wessonas elbow. aAre you ready if I manage to get her to stop the car?a Sophia nods.

I could try sticking it through Wessonas seat but thereas always the chance that the wireall get hooked up in the springs, so instead, I jab her elbow. Nothing happens the first time, so I jab it again and pull the wire back.

aOw!a yelps Wesson, and rubs her elbow, but keeps driving.

I wait about half a minute and jab again.

aOW!a and this time she pulls the car violently to the side and slows down.

aNow!a I hiss at Sophia, who pulls the bootrelease catch and disappears from sight. As the car almost stops, I jump too, taking the wire with me.

THUNK.

I hit tarmac and it hurts, but I realise thereas only a split second before the car comes to a stop and Wesson gets out.

I scramble to my knees, but the dogas right with me, standing barking on the tarmac.

aStay! Good dog, stay dog,a I yell, leaping the crash barrier and stumbling down the embankment at the side of the road into a filthy stream. I look back to see if the dog comes too, but miraculously he doesnat. While Iam still staring, Sophia pushes my head down until Iam an inch from the fetid water and we lurk in a ditch with two beer cans and a dead badger.

The dog stands at the top and barks.

CLUNK. The door? Or the boot?

aStupid animal, come on, back in.a Wessonas voice.

She takes a minute to shut the boot.

CLUNK.

I hear Sophiaas feet splashing behind me but I darenat look up to see if Wessonas worked out that thereas a connection between the boot opening and being poked in the elbow.