The others had left him behind. Kieran looked around, then started to run again, half the climb still to complete. His lungs felt as if they were full of smoke, and every step took a massive amount of effort. His thighs burned but he kept on moving, refusing to stop.
He eventually reached the roof and crossed the tarmac to stand with the others who were looking out over the burning town. Heavy palls of black smoke continued to rise up from the area along the sea front which was on fire. The dark, billowing clouds were blowing this way, almost blocking out the sun. From up here the world looked decidedly apocalyptic—like Judgment Day.
“You lot took your time,” a voice said. Kieran spun around, his heart thumping, and found himself face-to-face with a familiar, scruffy-looking figure with a duffel bag over one shoulder and a newspaper tucked under his arm.
“Fuck me,” he gasped. “Hello, Driver.”
“What the hell are you doing here?” Lorna demanded.
“What do you think I’m doing here? I heard there might still be people around who needed a lift.”
“But what about the others? Didn’t they get to the island?”
“I presume. I volunteered to stay back here.”
“You volunteered? Why?”
“Because I knew there’d be more of you to come. There’s times recently when you’ve been almost as slippery as me,” he said, pointing at Harte. “I thought if anyone could get away from that castle again, it’d be you.”
“But why here?”
“Harry said it’d be the safest bet. He said you’d probably end up back here looking for the helicopter, and he was right.”
“So where is it?”
“What, the helicopter?”
“Yes, the helicopter. What did you think I meant?”
“Oh, it’s still on the island as far as I’m aware.”
“So what are we going to do? Are you planning to bus us all over there?”
“Something like that. I’ve got another way out.”
Caron walked toward Driver, her mind a whirlpool of conflicting emotions.
“I could kiss you…” she said.
“Maybe later,” he said, quietly pleased, as he led them back toward ground level.
60
The descent took less than half the time it had taken them to reach the top of the car park. Introductions and explanations were quickly completed on the way back down. Once they’d reached ground level the mayhem out on the streets immediately refocused Michael.
“So what’s the plan?”
“We head for the boats,” Driver replied.
“No use going down there,” Kieran said, “Jas totaled the place.”
“I know, I watched him. Can’t abide vandalism like that. Now I know you lot have just torched half the town, but I’m guessing you did that for a reason. What he did was just plain stupid.”
“So where are we going?”
“I had a word with your mates Richard and Harry before they left,” Driver said to Michael. “There’s another option, providing we can get past this lot.”
He watched the nearest of the corpses with the same nervous distrust they’d seen Jas display.
“They won’t hurt you,” Caron said.
“And you expect me to believe that after everything wea word 19;ve been through?”
“We wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t true,” Michael said.
“Fair point,” Driver agreed, knowing he’d no choice now anyway. “Right, this way.”
He led them down toward the marina, carefully skirting around the edge of the vast crowd of corpses which were still swarming out of the station, all of them moving in the direction of the fire. They paid no attention to the living, the fire now their only focus. The air was dry, the smoke increasingly dense.
Less than ten minutes’ walking and they entered the marina, quickly making their way past the ruined boatyard they’d seen yesterday on their return to the town. Michael thought he knew where they were going. Driver led them past the gap in the moorings where the
“Not that one,” Driver said, gesturing a little farther along the jetty. “That one.”
He pointed at a boat just a fraction of the size of the first. It was beautifully appointed, but barely looked big enough to take the seven of them.
“Lovely,” Harte said sarcastically. He turned to look at Michael. “Think we can get it going?”
“We can give it a go,” Michael replied, sounding less than confident. He didn’t see they had any alternative.
“Your friend Harry’s already sorted out the engine,” Driver told them. “He said you lot left him here on his own for a day. He said this boat was in pretty good working order but he didn’t bother doing anything with it because it wasn’t big enough. Didn’t think he’d need it so he didn’t say anything, but he had it ready as a backup.”
“Good man, Harry,” Michael said under his breath.
“This is all well and good,” Caron said, eyeing the small vessel up with some unease, “but we’ve still got the little problem of trying to sail.”
“And then we’ve got to find the island,” Kieran added. “Are there any maps or…?”
He let his words trail away and looked at Driver, who was standing opposite them all, looking back at the burning town they were so desperate to leave.
“Have any of you lot ever heard of a bloke called Tony Kent?” he asked. Six blank faces returned six blank expressions.
“Was he someone you used to know who sailed boats?” Howard suggested.
“Something like that,” he replied. He tried another question. “Do any of you know what I used to do?”
“You drove buses,” Harte said quickly.
“Correct. Before that?” No answer. “I’ll tell you,” he explained. “Before I drove buses I was a tour guide. Before that, I studied.”
“Well done, you,” Lorna mumbled.
“And before that,” he continued, “I did fifteen years service in the navy.”
“You never said.”
“You never asked.”
It took a few seconds for the importance of what he was telling them to sink in. Michael was the first to twig.
“So you think you can…?” he started to say, too afraid to finish his question.
“What? Get you to the island? I’m a little rusty, but I think we’ll be okay.”
Harte grinned. “Bloody hell. I always said you were a dark horse.”
“When?” Michael asked. “Now?”
“Well, I’ve no reason to be hanging around here. Don’t know about you lot.”
The fact that Caron, Kieran, Howard, and Michael were already rushing to board the boat immediately answered Driver’s question. Lorna and Harte remained where they were for a moment longer.
“So who is Tony Kent?” Lorna remembered to ask just before she stepped off dry land.
“Who do you think?” Driver replied, thumping his chest. “It’s me, you daft bugger.”
She wrapped her arms around him and squeezed. Taken aback by the sudden show of affection, he wiped a
