Darkness On The Edge Of Town (The John Beckett Series Book 1) by Matthew Hattersley

Author:Matthew Hattersley [Hattersley, Matthew]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Boom Boom Press
Published: 2023-07-31T23:00:00+00:00

25

They were gaining on him.

He didn’t know who they were or what they wanted. All he knew was they were in pursuit and if they caught him he was a dead man. Time was running out. He needed to escape. The intensity of his heartbeat was suffocating, but he pushed on. It felt as though he was running through treacle or quicksand, each step causing him to sink deeper into his own personal hell.

A twisted labyrinth of demonic shadows and nightmarish visions spanned out in front of him. Visions of bloodied battlefields and terror-stricken faces. The screams of fallen comrades and the dying breaths of insurgents filled his ears as he stumbled on through the hellscape, pursued by faceless adversaries. He tried to call for help, but he had no voice.

He had to escape.

He had to find refuge.

He had to reach Amber.

Amber…

Beckett’s eyes snapped open, his heart playing a prestissimo beat against his ribcage. A figure stood over him, shotgun in hand. Disoriented, Beckett blinked rapidly, his surroundings coming into focus.

“Nigel?” he rasped.

“They’re here, John,” he said. “I don’t know how they found you, but they’re here.”

Beckett bolted upright. “Shit. What time is it?”

“Almost a quarter to six.”

In an instant, Beckett flung the covers off and was on his feet. He’d slept in his clothes as he always did in situations such as this. Pulling on his old boots, he hurried down the landing to the room where Amber was sleeping. He pushed the door open and approached her bedside. “Amber. Wake up. We need to leave. Now.”

She stirred and mumbled something he couldn’t make out, still lost in the throes of sleep. Beckett tapped her gently on the cheek with the back of his fingers, trying to rouse her without causing unnecessary panic.

“Amber. Wake up!”

It did the trick. She sucked in a sharp breath and sat up abruptly.

“What’s going on?” she asked, peering up at him, the whites of her eyes glowing in the dim light of early morning. “Where…?”

“They’ve found us,” he said. “Get up. Get dressed. Come downstairs. Now. And don’t turn any lights on.”

Leaving Amber to ready herself, he met Nigel at the top of the stairs.

“How many?” he asked.

“Not sure. They’re in two black SUVs. They turned onto the track from the main road about thirty seconds before I woke you. They’ll reach the house in the next minute. You need to go.”

They descended the stairs in silence, and as they reached the ground floor, Beckett could hear engines growling in the distance.

“Amber,” he called up the stairs. “Get down here. Now.”

She appeared on the landing and hurried down. Beckett guided her through to the kitchen, where they grabbed their bags before assembling at the back door. Nigel was still holding the shotgun steady at waist height, but Beckett noticed the beads of sweat on his forehead and the rapid rise and fall of his chest.

With one hand, Nigel reached up and unbolted the door. “Go,” he said, opening it. “Quickly.”

Beckett stopped. “You’re coming too.”

“No.” Nigel shook his head.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.