Reckoning
Ms Vengeance Book One

Chapter Six

Jessica glanced back over her shoulder. The man at the window was no longer there.

‘Keep running!’ she hissed.

Oliver was panting and stumbling. He’d never been a physically active child, even when he had been at school and had to go to PE lessons. It wasn’t going to be long before he would tire and slow to a halt. Unless, of course, the adrenaline rush of fleeing a man intent on killing him kept him going.

A light rain had started falling, the raindrops so tiny they almost formed a mist. The heavy clouds in the evening sky indicated there was heavier rain to come. The last golden rays of sunlight, sneaking through a gap in the cloud on the horizon, illuminated the footpath just enough for them to navigate their way. Soon though, the sun would have set and they would be plunged into darkness without even the moon and stars for light.

The children stumbled up the path and past the Range Rover, which was still making pinging noises. Jessica fleetingly wondered if the keys were still in the ignition, and maybe they could drive out of here. But she had never had a driving lesson, and the path out of their bay was rocky enough that only experienced drivers could attempt it.

They had a better chance on foot.

Jessica grabbed Oliver by the wrist and dragged him up the rocky path. To their right, a steep drop to the sea. To their left a steep rise into woods.

The rocky trail led up to a tarmac road, which would take them to the small harbour where Jessica was taken by boat to the mainland every school morning. But they didn’t live on an island, and the road curved around the bay and finally took them to the mainland. The boat was faster, that was all.

If they stayed on the path, then their pursuer would catch up with them, but if they escaped into the forest, they had a chance. They could get to the harbour, and just hope that the harbour master was still there.

Jessica spotted what she had been looking out for; a frayed rope hanging from a branch. With knots along its length, it was ideal for swinging and climbing.

‘Quick, climb the rope, into the forest!’ Jessica hissed.

Oliver stopped and looked at her. The slam shut of a car door carried through the evening to them.

Jessica pushed Oliver at the rope. ‘Use your hands to climb the rope and your feet on the bank. I’ll help you.’

The Range Rover’s engine rumbled into life.
Oliver grabbed the rope and hauled himself up, his feet scrabbling at the soil bank. Jessica’s chest tightened with dismay as she realised Oliver had only a pair of socks on his feet. Her situation was barely any better as she was wearing slippers.

Jessica bent down and planted her hands on his skinny bottom and pushed. With her help, Oliver managed to climb the rope. He snatched at a root protruding from the bank of earth, Jessica still shoving him up and in to the packed wall of dark soil.

Twin beams of light cut through the evening gloom, like searchlights probing the darkness for their quarry. The beams jerked crazily from side to side as the Range Rover tackled the rocky trail.

The vehicle wasn’t visible yet, still below a ridge on the trail, but Jessica could see by the headlight beams that it was drawing closer.

‘Get a move on!’ Jessica gave Oliver a hard shove into the packed bank of earth, and he managed to scramble up and onto the edge.

The note of the Range Rover’s engine changed as it took a steep section of the trail. Jessica heard tyres scrabbling against pebbles before they got traction. She hauled herself up the knotted rope much faster than Oliver. Before she reached out for the thick root, Jessica glanced back.

The Range Rover appeared into view and Jessica squinted as the headlights swept over her. She reached out and closed her fist around the root and pulled herself in to the bank of earth. With two quick moves, she was up and on to the edge.

On all fours, she scrambled into the forest, her hands and knees snapping twigs like firecrackers.
They had to move fast. The man had to have seen Jessica, frozen like a rabbit in the headlights of an oncoming car. He would follow them into the forest.

And if he found them, he would kill them.