New Reality: Truth by Michael Robertson Page B

machine, to me, and then back to where they'd come from. A line that was exactly the same as the one that led up to where you were sat last night. We're not being followed by Rixon, Tom. I wish we were."
    "I bloody know that now, don't I?"
    The pair stood in silence for a minute or two before Tom finally turned his back and walked away again.

    ###

    Wincing with every step, the burn in Jake's shins wasn't getting any better. The last few hours had passed in silence. The hill they were currently climbing was getting steeper, and the dark sky above was getting darker. They had to reach the summit before they stopped because there was no shelter on the steep incline.
    Having lost count of the amount of times he'd tried to get his friend to talk, Jake tried again anyway. "Come on, man. If we're going to find Rory together, we need to be able to communicate."
    Looking over at him, Tom dropped his head. "Who am I kidding? We're not going to find Rory." His features twisted like he was about to cry. "If they haven't got him by now, he's probably dead or at the bottom of one of those sinkholes."
    Walking and talking on his current oxygen intake seemed impossible for Jake. Reaching across, he grabbed Tom's forearm.
    Pulling himself away, Tom continued walking.
    "Who are they, Tom? You're getting the hump with me for not telling you what I saw, but you're doing exactly the same. I'm a big boy, I can handle it."
    Tom stopped so abruptly it caught Jake off guard. "No, you can't. Just fucking grow up and accept you don't need to know."
    Stepping closer, Jake snarled. "Don't tell me to grow up. You're the one behaving like a child. You're the one keeping secrets. I want to be prepared for what we might have to face, and you're making that much fucking harder."
    Without replying, Tom stared at Jake, his jaw locked tight.
    When Jake looked down at Tom's balled right fist, he smiled. "Go on then, do it. Hit me if it'll make you feel better."
    Clenching his hand so tightly it shook, Tom continued to stare.
    Letting the tension in his own body sag, Jake stepped back a pace. "What are we doing? All we have is each other out here. Let's not fight."
    Staring for a moment longer, Tom relaxed and unfurled his fist.
    "Just tell me what you saw."
    Tom's face buckled and his eyes watered. "It was horrible." Gulping, he continued, "It all happened so quickly. I saw long black claws, white skin, dark mouths. But the worst of it was the eyes. Hundreds of pairs of eyes." His own eyes widened. "They all looked straight at me."
    Letting the silence hang, Jake finally said, "And?"
    Staring into the distance, Tom didn't reply. Eventually, he said, "I don't think I can keep going. I don't think I can do this anymore."
    "Don't be ridiculous. You're the strongest man I know. If anyone can do it, it's you."
    "Maybe no one can do it."
    "Rubbish. Most people would have given up a long time ago, but not you. Not my friend, Tom. You're the only reason I'm alive. I wanted to top myself at several points in the first year, but you and the love you feel for your son has kept me going. Now it's my turn to repay the favor. I'm not going to let you give up."
    There was the slightest lift in Tom's posture.
    "You never know what's over this next hill."
    "Rubble," Tom replied. "Rubble, and more fucking rubble."
    Laughing, Jake shook his head. "You're probably right, but what if Rory's there too?"
    Tom's eyebrows pinched in the middle. "Don't do this to me. I can't take it anymore."
    "But he could be." Moving closer to his friend, Jake put his arm around him. "Come on, let's go. We've got a lost boy to find."
    A gentle shove encouraged Tom to move as they both started walking again.
    It took about twenty minutes, but when Jake reached the brow of the hill first and looked over, he turned to his friend and jumped on the spot. "Tom! Tom, come quick!"

    ***

    The tension in her shoulders eased. This world was getting to Tom. Surely he'd give up soon. Especially when he saw what