Acid Rain by R.D Rhodes (ebook reader txt) 📕

be less chance of us getting caught if they were looking for two people and only seeing one. But where could I go? I didn’t have a clue. I had no friends. No real family. We were both on the run. On the run together.

Another owl hooted hauntingly from the depths of the wood. It was good to have company. I put my arms around him, and we squeezed each other close in the cold.

Exhaustion overcame me, and I drifted off.

Chapter 27

“GET THE FUCK UP!”

M y senses screamed to life and I stared wide-eyed at the door of the shelter. A huge, bulbous man, clad in green and wearing a cowboy hat, stood before us, his eyes bulging out of his beetroot-red face. In front of him he held a long walking stick, which he violently poked at Harry. A mental-looking, salivating dog growled at his side. I don’t know dogs but this one was big.

I sat up and held out my hands, “What’s the matter?”

He glared at me. “YOU CAN’T FUCKING SLEEP HERE! THIS IS PRIVATE LAND!”

“We’re not hurtin’ anyone.” Harry held out his hand to push away the stick. He got up on his knees and rose towards the door, still holding out his palm to the guy as he spoke gently, “I promise, we’ll leave it as it was before we came.”

“I DON’T GIVE A SHIT! THIS IS MY LAND! NOW YOU’VE GOT FIVE MINUTES TO LEAVE OR I’LL SET THE DOG ON YOU.”

His cheeks bulged and his jowls trembled, demented with indignation as he stood blocking the light. He stepped back from the entrance to let Harry out, he was at least half a foot taller and three times as wide, but Harry squared him up anyway, his eyes and tone calm as he said, “Have you ever heard of the public right of way?”

The man snarled, then gave a disdainful smirk. He lowered his voice, but the cold anger remained, “This land is exempt from it, so don’t give me that shit. You’ve got four minutes.”

Harry’s messed face stared right back at him, cuts and grazes everywhere above his scarf, though the swelling on his purple lips had reduced. I stood up beside him and pulled his arm. I looked the fat fuck in the eye. “C’mon, leave the greedy bastard to his self.”

We turned to walk away. The man stood there breathing heavily, his torso heaving in and out as he wheezed. The dog growled, baring its teeth at his side, ready to obey and kill.

Harry wrapped his scarf tighter as we trudged away. His greasy hair was sticking up everywhere. The ground was soft and wet from the melted nighttime frost and morning dew, and I could feel the water infiltrating my already sodden trainers.

“WHAT ABOUT THIS SHIT?!”

I glanced back. The guy was pointing at the shelter as if he couldn’t comprehend what was happening.

We ignored him and carried on.

“Fucking asshole.” Harry seethed.

“Think he’ll phone the police?”

“Nah, he’s got his power trip. He won’t bother us again.”

We walked out of the woods and along the side of the road. The light was clear, I guessed it was about eight or nine. We left the roadside and followed its course at a distance, cutting through the fields, until we found another wood to hide out in. We trudged in and this time gave it a full inspection which lasted about an hour. Harry walked to one side and I walked to another and we met back in the middle, content that no-one around would come in. We found a hollow in the ground where the sun was shining, and again we laid down, this time under the open sky, and tried to get back to sleep.

When it was dark enough, we set off again. The villages and settlements grew more prominent as we neared that town of Exeter. The stolen clothes had given us a new description, but the original feeling of relief they had brought me was replaced by heavy anxiety the closer we got. We went around the villages as diligently as we could, and avoided the main road like the plague it was.

Soon, bright lights shone in the distance like a thousand little Christmas decorations. We made our way through a field and approached a housing scheme. A few little kids were playing on their bikes.

“So, the plan is, get to the town centre. Find out the next trains or buses leaving for the north?”

“Yeah.” Harry confirmed.

“You don’t think we should split up?”

“It would be safer probably, yeah. But not much. If we’re careful we’ll be fine. Why?” He stopped in the field and looked at me, a bit disappointed, “Do you want to take off by yourself?”

“No. No, I just wanted to be sure. You’re sure we won’t have to pay on the train? That it’ll be fine with no money?”

He walked on again, his black eyes watching his feet. “Not sure exactly, but quite positive. Yeah, it’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

We stepped back onto concrete, the housing blocks splayed out before us. A little Spanish-looking girl cycled close to me and I asked if she knew the way to the town centre. She pointed us along a road and told us to follow it.

I tried to look casual as we walked under the neon lights by the heavy traffic. The cars’ beady eyes glared in the darkness in their sinister knowledge of their domination of the world. There were a few times when one seemed to slow down before us, and we were on edge and panicking, but they sped up and moved away and we breathed grateful sighs of relief. I hadn’t eaten in two days and my stomach was churning. I was at that moment thinking about food when the ubiquitous sight of the TESCO letters