’ud see me any second. Then I managed ter shin over and dropped down on the other side. I landed off balance and I thought I’d broken me ankle. I waited a minute ter ease the pain of it, then I started through the scrub. My idea was to get to the highway pretty quick and hitch a lift out of the area before they could get organised. I skirted the lake for a coupla miles, keepin’ in the scrub, knowin’ I’d reach the highway sooner or later. My ankle was slowin’ me up though and when I finally reached the highway, there was fuckin’ cop cars goin’ up and down. I knew there’d be no chance of hitchin’ so I kept in the scrub, skirtin’ the lake, thinkin’ I might come on the railway line and maybe hop on a freight train or somethin’ if one was goin’ slow enough. The line must’ve been further than I thought. I couldn’t come to it. The scrub was pretty thick and I was gettin’ tired. I saw screws twice in the distance. Another time I came on two blokes choppin’ wood and had to drop down quick into a blackberry bush. I felt like a friggin’ pin cushion. The blokes had an old truck and I thought about tryin’ ter pinch it, but it would have been tricky. They were tough lookin’ cunts and might’ve tried to use their axes on me. I dunno whether they’d heard about the escaped maniac or not. So I went round ’em and kept goin’ and got to the edge of this little town. I was gettin’ sick of the scrub and I thought I’d risk goin’ into the town to get some food with the coupla dollars I had. I walked up the street, hopin’ I didn’t look too wild with the cuts and dirt on me.
“An old lady was waterin’ her front garden and she says hullo to me and starts talkin’ about the weather and stuff, and about her fuckin’ rheumatism. Well! I bought some bread and sausage from a shop. The shop bloke was lookin’ at me a bit close, but I didn’t know how far the word had spread about the escape, or whether it was on the radio or anything, so I didn’t know whether the bloke was really on to me or whether he was just a fuckin’ gig. There was an old deserted house at the edge of the town. It didn’t have any windows and the roof was fallin’ in, but I fancied it better than a night in the scrub. The afternoon was gettin’ late and turnin’ cold. I reckoned I should rest in the house till early next mornin’ and start fresh again. To tell the truth, I was startin’ ter think I’d done me dash. I should’ve been fifty miles away by that time. I should’ve been clear away. I got into the house as careful as I could and was eatin’ me food when I hears cars outside. I looked out of a crack and there’s screws and coppers all around. The only thing I could do was hide under a mouldy old bed and hope they’d be careless. They weren’t. I see these big copper’s boots walkin’ up to the bed and a voice says, ’Come out from under there, you fuckin’ animal!’ So I stuck me head out and this young copper’s pointin’ his pistol at me. ’I’m gonna shoot you,’ he says, real quiet. He was, too. Just then a screw comes in and tells the copper to put the pistol away. ’I’m gonna shoot this animal!’ the copper says. So the screw says, real serious: ’I’m a witness. I’ll see you’re charged with murder!’ ’I’ll fuckingwell shoot you too, if you’re not careful!’ says the copper to the screw. ’You’re a psychopath!’ says the screw, and he starts yellin’ for the others to come quick. About a dozen of ’em, screws and cops, come bargin’ in and the young copper puts his pistol away, real sullen. Then some of ’em pulled me out from under the bed and gave me a few hits in the stomach and put me in the car. That was the end of it.”
6
You are the new pool man. The most trusted one. It’s a lovely job. You can go down there whenever you like and occupy yourself cleaning the filters, or sweeping the concrete surround, or working the chlorine equipment, or
“An old lady was waterin’ her front garden and she says hullo to me and starts talkin’ about the weather and stuff, and about her fuckin’ rheumatism. Well! I bought some bread and sausage from a shop. The shop bloke was lookin’ at me a bit close, but I didn’t know how far the word had spread about the escape, or whether it was on the radio or anything, so I didn’t know whether the bloke was really on to me or whether he was just a fuckin’ gig. There was an old deserted house at the edge of the town. It didn’t have any windows and the roof was fallin’ in, but I fancied it better than a night in the scrub. The afternoon was gettin’ late and turnin’ cold. I reckoned I should rest in the house till early next mornin’ and start fresh again. To tell the truth, I was startin’ ter think I’d done me dash. I should’ve been fifty miles away by that time. I should’ve been clear away. I got into the house as careful as I could and was eatin’ me food when I hears cars outside. I looked out of a crack and there’s screws and coppers all around. The only thing I could do was hide under a mouldy old bed and hope they’d be careless. They weren’t. I see these big copper’s boots walkin’ up to the bed and a voice says, ’Come out from under there, you fuckin’ animal!’ So I stuck me head out and this young copper’s pointin’ his pistol at me. ’I’m gonna shoot you,’ he says, real quiet. He was, too. Just then a screw comes in and tells the copper to put the pistol away. ’I’m gonna shoot this animal!’ the copper says. So the screw says, real serious: ’I’m a witness. I’ll see you’re charged with murder!’ ’I’ll fuckingwell shoot you too, if you’re not careful!’ says the copper to the screw. ’You’re a psychopath!’ says the screw, and he starts yellin’ for the others to come quick. About a dozen of ’em, screws and cops, come bargin’ in and the young copper puts his pistol away, real sullen. Then some of ’em pulled me out from under the bed and gave me a few hits in the stomach and put me in the car. That was the end of it.”
6
You are the new pool man. The most trusted one. It’s a lovely job. You can go down there whenever you like and occupy yourself cleaning the filters, or sweeping the concrete surround, or working the chlorine equipment, or
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