The Chronicles of St Mary's - 05 - No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor

The Chronicles of St Mary's - 05 - No Time Like the Past by Jodi Taylor

Author:Jodi Taylor
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Tags: Science Fiction, Historical Fiction
ISBN: 9781783759040
Published: 2015-02-27T00:00:00+00:00


Chapter Eleven

I had a sudden picture in my head. A small, concrete room, smothered in white fluffy filling and a dismembered teddy bear pinned to the wall with a knife through his eye together with a note telling me this wasn’t over.

Sick Bay had put me back together again after the Battle of St Mary’s and Mrs Enderby had done the same for Bear 2.0 – Leon’s special gift to me. He’d taken time out from saving the world just to bring him to me. A brief glimmer of light in a dark time. Now I was back to what passed for normal and Bear spent his days on my windowsill, smiling at the world. I’d let my guard down and here she was.

There was nothing I could do. She was behind me. There were people all around us. I felt a sudden anger that no one was looking at what was going on under their noses. She’d chosen her moment well. Everyone was watching the Raft Race. I could hear cheers, boos, laughter. No one was watching what was happening here.

I stood very still because I didn’t want my stupid, ugly head blown off my stupid, ugly shoulders, either. I said nothing. She wasn’t the most stable person on the planet and this is me saying that.

She jabbed the gun.

‘Walk.’

In the absence of more detailed instructions, I turned and set off towards St Mary’s and got the jab again.

‘Not that way.’

Well, it was worth a try.

I set off again, away from the lake. Away from the noise, the activity, the people, the possibility of any chance of help.

‘The barn.’

Half hidden behind a group of trees was our old barn. Now that we had proper stables and a feed store, it had fallen into disuse. Mr Strong kept his grass cutters there and a bunch of miscellaneous tat which, being a man, he was incapable of throwing away, because, of course, it might come in useful one day.

The sound of large numbers of people having a great time slowly died away as I headed towards the barn. I could hear her walking behind me. We could have been the only two people in the world. Shortly to have that number reduced by half.

I stepped out of the sunshine and into the dim darkness of the barn. It smelled of straw, oil, and earth. Dust danced in the sunlight filtering in through holes in the roof. I walked into the centre and stood still. Waiting.

She stood well back in the shadows. In a quiet, deadly little voice, she said, ‘I’m going to kill you.’

‘Well, yes, Izzie, obviously.’

‘You ruined my life.’

I opened my mouth to say, ‘Glad to have been of service,’ but something stopped me.

‘Actually, Izzie, I think you did that yourself. You’re the one who betrayed St Mary’s. You’re the one who picked the losing side. People are dead because of you. People don’t like you. You’re actually very unlikeable.’

Yes, good move, Maxwell. Winding up the unstable woman with the gun who’s always hated you, in an out-of-the-way place where no one will come to your aid.



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