The Fearless Read Online Free Page B

me, don’t stay with me. Run.’
    I started crying again, so hard I couldn’t speak. The knife was heavy, and the thought of having to use it, even on that woman or one of those men, turned my stomach.
    ‘Cass, snap out of it!’ Mum’s voice was suddenly hard and angry. She pulled me round to face her. ‘You have to—’ She drew in her breath sharply, letting go of me to press her hands to the small of her back and closing her eyes. ‘Oh,
God
, not
now
,’ she groaned through clenched teeth. Fresh terror zigzagged through me, the shock strong enough to stop my tears.
    ‘Mum? What’s wrong?’ I said. ‘Is the baby coming?’
    Mum let out a slow breath and straightened up. ‘No. It just . . . kicked me a bit too hard, that’s all.’ She slid her key into the front door lock. ‘We have to be quiet, OK? Very quiet, and very quick.’
    As she pulled the door open a few inches to look out, my palms were so slippery with sweat I was scared I’d drop my knife.
    ‘When I say run, we run,’ she whispered. ‘Don’t stop until we get to Sol’s house.’
    I heard the back door rattle, and a bang as if someone had kicked it hard. Then another, and a splintering sound. I looked over my shoulder to see the Fearless woman clambering through the hole she’d kicked in the door, her lips pulled back in a snarl.
    ‘
Quick!
’ Mum hissed. We slipped out of the front door and Mum locked it. Then we dragged the recycling bin and the rubbish bin, both of which were almost full, in front of it. ‘
Go!
’ Mum said in my ear.
    I got to the gate first, fumbling with the latch. From inside the house there was an animal-sounding howl, and then a gruff shout: ‘
It’s locked!
’ I wrenched the gate open and ran out into the lane, Mum staggering after me. Pure terror sang through my veins; I could hardly breathe. When I looked over my shoulder I saw Mum clutching her knife in one hand, the other pressed against her bump, her hair hanging in sweat-soaked strings around her face.
    ‘Keep going,’ she gasped. ‘Don’t worry about me.’
    I heard that howl again, echoing up into the trees, and crashes as the Fearless tried to break down the front door. I tried to run faster, but my legs felt weak; I wasn’t sure I could keep going. Acid burned up into my throat, nearly choking me.
    Behind me, Mum moaned and fell to her knees on the track.
    I ran back to her. Another shout – ‘
There’s something in front of the door!
’ – and more crashes drifted towards us. ‘Mum, get up!’ I said, frantically tugging on her arm. She shook her head. She’d dropped her knife. ‘You go, Cass. Run. Get to Sol’s.’
    ‘No, I’m not leaving you!’
    I heard the sound of glass breaking. It sounded as if the Fearless had given up trying to get out of the front door and were smashing their way out through a window instead. I pleaded with Mum to get up. Then I heard another sound from the top of the lane.
    A car.
    It was coming towards us, fast.
    Headlights burst out of the darkness, so bright they blinded me, and the shriek of the engine filled my ears. There was no time to get out of the way. I flung a hand across my eyes, screaming, hearing Mum screaming too, time seeming to slow as I waited for the car to slam into us, and wondering how much it would hurt.

Chapter 4
    The vehicle jerked to a halt just inches away from us, the engine stalling. I heard a door open. Then a voice. ‘Clare? Cass?’
    Mr Brightman.
    He helped me to my feet, then Mum. ‘Where’s Pete?’ he asked her and, when she didn’t answer him, ‘Clare?
Where is he?
’
    ‘He’s – he—’ I started to say, but the words stuck in my throat.
    ‘They were soldiers!’ Mum said. ‘
British soldiers!
’
    Mr Brightman stared at us, his face pale in the light from the Range Rover’s headlamps.
    Down the lane, I heard the Fearless woman call, ‘
Come on! I heard them!
’ and one of the men make a roaring sound.
    Mr Brightman ran back to the Range Rover,