Flare Read Online Free

thinking, then f ollowed Jerry to his old banger.  He opened the rear door and loaded some of the equipment I’d seen in the field into the back seat. 
    “What made you change your mind?”  I asked as he made his way to the front of the car.
    “You’re right”, he said over his shoulder as he levered up the bonnet, “I can’t just stand up here and watch”.
    Turning to one side so that I could see what he was doing, he held up the battery leads and reconnected them to the battery before closing the bonnet and waving me into the passenger seat.
    He turned the key in the ignition and the car sputtered into life.
    “One of the joys of being skint”, he said as he turned on the headlights and made his way carefully down the rutted track towards the town, “my car is old enough that the only electronics are the ignition and the radio, and the ignition has no live parts to speak of”.
    I didn’t reply, too dazed by what was happening to be able to make small-talk.  My mind’s eye kept replaying the moment the electrical surge had hit the city, seeing first the large explosion, then the dozens of smaller fires that had sprung up in its wake.
    Then there was Melody.  Getting to her had seemed risky but doable when I’d thought about driving up, but without a working car it would take me days, maybe even weeks to reach her.
    “Jerry”, I said, breaking the silence, “what are you planning to do now?”
    He glanced over at me.  “Well, like you said, there are people down there who need help”.
    I shook my head.  “No, not right this second now, I mean after”.
    He shrugged uncertainly.  “I didn’t really think that far ahead, not properly.  The boot is loaded up with supplies, camping gear and the like.  I was intending to find somewhere out of the way and ride out the worst of it in the hills, I guess”.
    I paused for a second, wanting to ask but dreading the answer if he said no.
    “My daughter is in Manchester”, I began, then forged on as I saw him shake his head, “and her mother is probably the worst person to be looking after he r in a crisis. Please Jerry, can you drive me up there?  Please ?”
    My eyes searched his face as he drove, looking for anything that might give away what he was thinking as he sucked his teeth and shook his head.
    “I don’t know, it’s a long way Malc.  I’ve got a spare can of diesel in the back but I don’t know if it’ll be enough to get us all the way up there, and the petrol stations won’t be pumping anymore, those that didn’t go up in flames”.
    “Then we can syphon some on the way”, I said eagerly. “Think about it Jerry, there’ll be thousands of cars as new as mine that won’ t work, just sitting there useless.  I’m sure the owners won’t mind if we trade something for the fuel”.
    Jerry finally looked at me, his expression somewhere between sympathy and anger.
    “And what have you got to trade, Malc?  Everything in the car is mine, and money won’t be much good, will it?”
    He was right, but my concern for Melody was overriding my usual habit of trying to avoid co nfrontation.
    “I promise you Jerry, I’ll pay you back somehow.  Even if it takes me the rest of my life.  This is my daughter we’re talking about, my flesh and blood.  I’ll walk if I have to but the longer it takes me to get to her the more chance there is of…”
    I couldn’t finish past the lump in my throat.  Just the thought of anything happening to Melody was enough to reduce me to tears.  I looked out of the passenger window as we pulled out onto the tarmac road at the bottom of the hill and fought to compose myself.
    “Ok Malc, ok”, Jerry said quietly, “I’ll take you as far as I can.  I suppose one place is as good as another to camp after I’ve dropped you off”.
    I squeezed his shoulder, feeling on the verge of tears again, this time of gratitude as the gut clenching fear faded to a quiet, unsettling murmur.
    “Thank you Jerry, I