packing up all their kit they took turns washing in the cold stream at the bottom of the wooded slope. Then they left the cave behind them and set out across the harsh terrain. To keep moving due north would mean going over the mountain, so they skirted its base through miles of fir and spruce trees.
‘We could walk for weeks and find nothing,’ Alex panted. ‘This is one of the biggest States, with one of the smallest populations. We should have stayed on the road.’
After a few more miles Ben was beginning to think she was right. Apart from the occasional buzzard, the only sign of life they saw for hours was the big elk that stepped out of the trees as they passed, stared at them for a moment and then vanished like a ghost.
They stopped and rested a while, then kept moving. Ben’s head was spinning and his shoulder was throbbing badly. After just a few hundred yards he had to rest again.
‘You’re in a bad way,’ Alex said. ‘Listen. I can move faster on my own. I could scout ahead. Maybe I’ll come across a road or a farm. I’ll come back for you. With luck I won’t be more than a few hours.’
He knew he couldn’t argue. ‘You be careful.’
She smiled. ‘I can take care of myself. Back before you know it, OK?’ She checked her pistol, took a long drink of water from the bottle and headed off without another word.
It suddenly struck him that he hated to see her leave.
‘She’ll come back with Jones,’ Zoe said, watching Alex walk away. ‘You’re pretty naive, letting her go off on her own.’
He ignored that. ‘She’ll be gone a while. We need to find a place to rest up.’
After a few minutes of hunting around they came across a broken spruce, its trunk bowed sideways at a right angle. Ben grabbed a branch. ‘Help me pull this down,’ he said.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Making a shelter. We can’t just sit out in the open, where we can be seen from the air.’
She frowned. ‘They’ll be looking for me, won’t they?’
He nodded. She took hold of another branch of the bent tree, and together they strained and heaved downwards. With a crackling of timber, the trunk gave. The heavy canopy sagged right down to the ground, forming a space they could crawl into without being seen. He settled himself into the leafy den, resting against his bag.
Zoe crawled in after him and arranged a blanket on the ground. She lay down and sighed loudly. ‘I’m so fucking exhausted,’ she complained. ‘My feet are killing me, and this place crawls with insects. Jesus, I’d give anything for a soak in a hot bath right now.’
Ben ignored her. After a few minutes, when she realised he wasn’t going to react to her huffing and puffing, she shut up and they sat in silence for a while. The pain in his shoulder was dulled by the codeine, but it still hurt badly. He drifted in and out, and time passed. He checked his watch. Alex had been gone more than half an hour.
‘I’m so hungry,’ Zoe groaned.
He pulled the bag out from behind him, undid the straps and reached inside for the package of leaves. He opened it and tossed it across in front of her. ‘Eat. Alex went out of her way to prepare this for you.’
‘I can’t eat dead things.’
‘Then you’re not hungry, are you?’
‘I’m starving.’
‘You look it,’ he said.
She glanced down at the rabbit in distaste, then glanced back up at him, hesitated, then picked up a piece with her fingers and took a small bite. Then a bigger one. After two more bites she was chewing away happily, except when she thought he was watching and she would pretend to be revolted. He smiled to himself at the display. When she’d finished and was covertly licking her fingers, he reached for the drinking flask and tossed it over to her. ‘I know how unpleasant that was for you,’ he said. ‘Wash it down with this.’
She twisted the cap off and sniffed. Her eyes lit up. She took a long gulp, then passed the flask back to him. He took a small sip and returned it to her. As she drank some more, he took out his cigarettes. He offered her one, and she refused. ‘Smoking kills you slowly,’ she said.
‘Good. I’m not in any hurry.’
She chuckled. ‘I haven’t had a drink for weeks,’ she said. ‘This stuff ’s going to my head a little.’
‘Finish it,’ he said, lighting up a cigarette.
She drank down the last of the Scotch, screwed the cap back on and leaned back, stretching. She gazed up at the blue sky through the leafy canopy. ‘So good to be outside,’ she breathed. ‘Feels like I was cooped up for ever.’
‘I’ll get you home soon,’ he promised.
‘You saved me. I haven’t thanked you.’
‘You can thank me when it’s over.’ He closed his eyes again. Waves of hot and cold were washing over him. He needed to get this bullet out.
She nodded. ‘I don’t understand. How do you know my parents?’
‘I’m one of your dad’s students.’
‘You? A theology student?’
‘I get that a lot,’ he said. ‘I was a soldier before. But now I’m looking for a new direction.’
‘The Church?’
‘Maybe.’
She smiled. ‘What a waste. You’re far too dishy to become a vicar.’
‘Thanks. I’ll bear that in mind.’
‘Have you got a girlfriend?’
He shook his head.
She smiled again. ‘You’re not gay, are you?’
‘Not that I know of.’
‘Good.’ She moved a little closer to him. Brushed a lock of hair away from her face. ‘I wonder how much longer she’s going to be away for.’
‘Alex? Probably quite a while.’
‘I’m glad we can talk like this,’ she said.
‘Me too.’
‘You’re nothing like any of Dad’s other students I’ve ever met. They’re all wimps.’
The sun was overhead now, rays filtering through the branches. Zoe squinted up at the dappled sunlight. ‘Getting warmer,’ she said. She peeled off her heavy jumper and laid it down on the ground. She was wearing a flimsy top underneath. She leaned forward and smiled again.
‘Your bangle just slipped off,’ Ben said, pointing down at the gold bracelet that was lying in the leaves.
‘Shit. That’s always happening.’
‘You should be careful,’ he said. ‘It looks expensive.’
‘It was my great-grandmother’s.’
He nodded thoughtfully, and was quiet for a few moments. ‘Shame about Whisky,’ he said suddenly.
‘Yeah, it’s loosened me up a lot,’ she answered. ‘Wish we had more of it.’ She giggled.
He shook his head. ‘I wasn’t talking about the drink. I was talking about Whisky. He got hit by a car. He’s dead.’
Her eyes widened in horror. She drew away from him, her body snapping rigid. ‘What? When did this happen?’
‘While you were partying on Corfu.’
‘Those bastards never told me,’ she said.
Then she clapped a hand over her mouth, realising what she’d done.
‘No, they didn’t tell you,’ he said. ‘Because it’s not true. I just made it up. Your dog’s alive and well. And I think you’ve just given yourself away, Zoe Bradbury. You walked right into it.’
She went red. ‘I don’t know why I remembered that. I don’t remember anything else.’
He grabbed her wrist and held it tight, ignoring the pain in his shoulder. ‘No, of course not. Apart from the fact that your father is a theologian and all his students are wimps. That you don’t eat meat. That you’re wearing your
