Part 5 (1/2)

Nicole switched her focus back to hiain'

'Yes'

'Why?'

'I don't know, really I just-'

'You just felt compelled'

Charles ga to strike hi particularly reckless, and cli him space

'Idiotically co his eyes

'So like that'

'And what does your instinct tell you now?'

He fished a handkerchief fro on his upper lip 'That you're a couple of lunatics'

'Charles Look at lance at the lorry 'What does your instinct tell you now? About me?'

'I don't know you'

'That doesn't et for one moment what just happened If you can When you first met me, and this very moment as we stand here do you think you can trusted 'Perhaps'

'Then listen to what I have to say, Charles We have to get away froht now'

'Why?'

'I don't have ti for help It doesn't happen often and I'll only ask once If you want to help us you need to get us away from here'

This was crazy

'OK Just' He nodded 'OK I will I'll help But what about your car? We can't just walk away'

'Charles-'

He blew out a breath And accepted a step into the unknown 'Fine Coet out of here'

Nicole turned to the wo first at Charles and then at the road The woument

'Passports' Nicole ran to the rear of the Hillman, twisted the boot lock and cursed when it would notthe lock in frustration

'What's wrong?'

'It's jas are inside'

'Let me try it'

'There's no time It's stuck fast' She went to the driver's side, reached through a brokenand pulled out a large bundle tied up with string It looked like a collection of old leather-bound books 'Coo'

'You can't leave your passports here'

'Let's go'

Nicole crossed the field, slipped down the slope of the ditch and pushed her way through the bra the wo

The lorry, an old Bedford with a red bonnet and black wheel arches, had pulled up twenty yards behind the Stag A reen vest, lank hair He cupped a cigarette in his hand ''S'e have speed lis?'

Charles ignored hier door and loaded the behind the wheel, he started the car and accelerated away froe

In his rear-view ure by the lorry The arette into the bushes and turned away

They swept through Oxfordshi+re countryside Charles rolled down the s, grateful for the purifying rush of air The fields they passed were rain The heat of the sun had scorched the earth that re like the suovernht Act

Where they passed dairy far the road The ani sped past Nicole turned often in her seat to scan the road behind the in particular, or if her habit was so ingrained she found it impossible to stop

Either way, he resolved to say nothing for a while He needed to give himself a chance to think about what had happened His nose ached like hell, and a headache was pinching and pricking behind his eyes Again, he asked hi, why he had felt such a colances at her as she fidgeted in her seat On her lap lay the bundle of books tied with string So apart, the leather of their bindings cracked and dusty, the pages clumped and brown Nicole rested her hands on top of the pile, her fingers fiddling with the knotted string Her face remained iainst the wind and the glare She looked strong, determined, yet at the crash site he had seen a fear in her as fleeting as it was unsettling He knew she had been telling the truth when she told him she seldom asked for help It was clear in her every interaction with him in her speech, even in the way she held herself that she was used to standing alone He wondered what events, what life blows or choices, had chiselled her that way He wondered if he would find out

The London Road out of Oxford led to theit south he chose the northern branch He took the exit near Wendlebury and circled Bicester before taking country roads back west towards Woodstock It was a circuitous route, but he sensed that Nicole needed tihts By the ti the road behind them and had fallen into a daze

Charles exaraceful appendage, ollen and purple Blood caked the rims of his nostrils and flecked his chin His clothes were scuffed with mud and torn from brambles His forearms were scratched white and streaked with crie, but despite the pain of his throbbing face, the pressure building behind his eyes, he felt exhilarated He knew soh his syste than adrenalin alone It felt as if a hidden part of hiinning to rejoice

Thinking of the woled the ht his reflection and returned his stare No warmth resided in that look, no trust He supposed that had he not chased them down so impetuously they would never have crashed off the road She owed hione to help her defied understanding She had been ready to kill hi his brains leach into the earth Charles recalled his conversation with her as he stood in the telephone box outside Balliol College She had called him demon and Jakab Clearly she believed he was so them harm If it wasn't for the memory of her black eyes as she stood over him and clutched the rock above her head, he could even feel pity But it was far too soon for that

He angled away the mirror

They crested a hill An avenue of oaks flanked the road below the an arch of foliage As the Stag barrelled into a tunnel of green they were plunged into shadow, the sunlight flickering and dappling as it fought through the leaves

In damp mulch at the side of the road, bloated and ripe, lay the carcass of a deer So presumably another vehicle had shattered its jaw and twisted its head around its neck Blood had flooded from its mouth and ears and nose, and flies crawled and danced in its fluids Charles winced as they drove past

'Where are you going?' The sight of the dead animal had shaken Nicole out of her reverie She sat up in her seat, instantly alert 'Charles, where are we?'

He heard the suspicion in her voice, and it depressed him He knew he needed to tread carefully, needed to avoid his natural inclination to lead It was not ground that they could occupy in harmony 'We're north of the city,' he told her 'We just passed through Bunker's Hill I have a house in Woodstock, a few more miles from here If you want I can take you there If not, I can drive you anywhere you want to go' He closed hisher options