Catherine Jinks TheRoad (98 page)

A blast of wind, gale-force and focused like a laser, tweaked the frayed blanket out of Noel’s hand and cast it, with an abrupt and furious roar, into the topmost branches of a nearby tree.

Alec didn’t even feel a breeze on his face.

Noel fell back. He was forced to, at that point, because the channelled wind was blowing flames in his direction. It fanned them, so that they leapt up exultantly, throwing sparks like fireworks into the sky – and it continued to do so until the jerking, cawing, burning thing on the ground became still.

Still and silent.

The smell hit Noel first, because he was the closest. He staggered backwards, coughing. Then Linda, who was crying, her hands over her mouth, began to cough too. When Alec caught a whiff, he thought he was going to puke; the stench was appalling, worse than anything he’d ever smelled, worse than the stench of all the road kill that he’d seen on the highway. Gagging, he retreated.

‘Come on!’ he choked. ‘Come
on
!’ There was smoke everywhere. Linda and Noel were clutching each other, their bodies shaken by spasmodic tremors. Someone in the car was wailing.

‘Come on!’
Alec screeched.

His wrist was sending flashes of intense pain up his arm, like molten metal through the veins. He realised this only as he limped towards the car; he had been heading for the driver’s seat before it occurred to him that he wasn’t in any condition to drive. So he screamed at Noel again.

‘Come on, you thick bastard!’

He wanted to get out. Out and away. He was so afraid that John Carr would climb to his feet, charred flesh dropping from seared bones. He was afraid that the fire might chase them, like glowing magma, or that the smoke might suffocate them, or the terrible smell disable them.

‘Wait! Alec!’ Noel’s cry was broken up by hacking coughs. ‘What about Del? We have to find Del and Col!’

‘We can’t!’

‘Alec –’