to live drove her on. She passed other cell doors, making her wonder how many girls had been locked in this horrible place, and then she was up the steps, taking them two at a time.
She could hear him chasing behind her, his footsteps heavy on the stone, the curses raging in his throat.
There was a door at the top, and she prayed it wouldn’t be locked. Grabbing the handle, she gave it a yank so hard that when it opened it almost knocked her back down the steps.
She charged through the gap, then screamed in despair. She was suddenly in a dark, empty cupboard with a blank wall directly in front of her, and no obvious way out. She hammered on the wall, still screaming, but it wasn’t doing any good. Nothing budged. She was trapped, and her attacker was almost at the top of the steps.
Turning round, she kicked at the door with all her strength, the force of the kick sending it flying into him. He let out a yelp and stumbled backwards. At the same time, Tara lost her balance and fell backwards herself in the opposite direction.
She must have hit some sort of lever that opened a trap door, because suddenly the wall wasn’t there any more and she was rolling onto a thick carpet in a grand-looking living room with expensive furnishings. Daylight was glaring in through huge windows, making her squint with pain.
Tara was straight up on her feet, sprinting outof the room and down an equally grand hallway with dozens of incredible animal heads lining the walls. This was the house of a very rich person, but all she could think of was getting out.
There was another door ahead. It looked like the front door to the house. Behind her, she could hear her jailer calling someone. There was increasing alarm in his voice, as if he knew he’d made a terrible mistake. The next second, Tara was outside, the fresh air hitting her in the face like a slap. All she could see in the distance was trees.
Trees and freedom.
2
‘ALL THERE IS up here is bloody trees,’ said Guy, sounding knackered and pissed off. ‘I hope you two know where you’re going, because I don’t.’
‘Course we do,’ said Ash, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
The weekend was only a few hours old and yet she was already bitterly regretting coming away on a walking trip with Guy and Tracy. It wasn’t that they were bad people – they weren’t – but they were Nick’s friends rather than hers (Nick and Guy had gone to university together). And they both had this hugely irritating habit of talking about how much fun they had living in Singapore, where Guy earned squillions and paid only 10 per cent tax, and Tracy lived a relaxed expat lifestyle. This seemed to consist solely of tennis, drinks parties and luxury treatments, but despite Tracy’s best efforts at bigging it up, it sounded to Ash as much fun as having your teeth pulled out.
‘I don’t miss this country, you know,’ continued Guy as the four of them walked down aslight incline towards a pine forest that led to the lodge they’d booked. ‘You pay all these taxes and what do you get for your money? Sod all.’
Ash and Nick, who were walking a few yards ahead, exchanged glances, and Nick raised an eyebrow. It was clear to Ash that he wasn’t having the time of his life either.
‘Well, you get views like this,’ said Nick, stopping and looking back down the hill they’d just climbed to the forest-covered valley below, where a river wound away gently into the distance. ‘I bet you don’t see many sights like that in Singapore.’
‘That’s true,’ said Tracy, who’d been banging on less than her husband about the joys of their new home. ‘It is beautiful.’ She closed her eyes, basking in the last rays of the early evening sun, looking like she was enjoying herself for the first time that day.
Guy wasn’t convinced. ‘Lombok in Indonesia is just as beautiful. And a lot warmer too. We’re thinking about buying a holiday home there.’
‘I don’t know about you
She could hear him chasing behind her, his footsteps heavy on the stone, the curses raging in his throat.
There was a door at the top, and she prayed it wouldn’t be locked. Grabbing the handle, she gave it a yank so hard that when it opened it almost knocked her back down the steps.
She charged through the gap, then screamed in despair. She was suddenly in a dark, empty cupboard with a blank wall directly in front of her, and no obvious way out. She hammered on the wall, still screaming, but it wasn’t doing any good. Nothing budged. She was trapped, and her attacker was almost at the top of the steps.
Turning round, she kicked at the door with all her strength, the force of the kick sending it flying into him. He let out a yelp and stumbled backwards. At the same time, Tara lost her balance and fell backwards herself in the opposite direction.
She must have hit some sort of lever that opened a trap door, because suddenly the wall wasn’t there any more and she was rolling onto a thick carpet in a grand-looking living room with expensive furnishings. Daylight was glaring in through huge windows, making her squint with pain.
Tara was straight up on her feet, sprinting outof the room and down an equally grand hallway with dozens of incredible animal heads lining the walls. This was the house of a very rich person, but all she could think of was getting out.
There was another door ahead. It looked like the front door to the house. Behind her, she could hear her jailer calling someone. There was increasing alarm in his voice, as if he knew he’d made a terrible mistake. The next second, Tara was outside, the fresh air hitting her in the face like a slap. All she could see in the distance was trees.
Trees and freedom.
2
‘ALL THERE IS up here is bloody trees,’ said Guy, sounding knackered and pissed off. ‘I hope you two know where you’re going, because I don’t.’
‘Course we do,’ said Ash, trying to keep the annoyance out of her voice.
The weekend was only a few hours old and yet she was already bitterly regretting coming away on a walking trip with Guy and Tracy. It wasn’t that they were bad people – they weren’t – but they were Nick’s friends rather than hers (Nick and Guy had gone to university together). And they both had this hugely irritating habit of talking about how much fun they had living in Singapore, where Guy earned squillions and paid only 10 per cent tax, and Tracy lived a relaxed expat lifestyle. This seemed to consist solely of tennis, drinks parties and luxury treatments, but despite Tracy’s best efforts at bigging it up, it sounded to Ash as much fun as having your teeth pulled out.
‘I don’t miss this country, you know,’ continued Guy as the four of them walked down aslight incline towards a pine forest that led to the lodge they’d booked. ‘You pay all these taxes and what do you get for your money? Sod all.’
Ash and Nick, who were walking a few yards ahead, exchanged glances, and Nick raised an eyebrow. It was clear to Ash that he wasn’t having the time of his life either.
‘Well, you get views like this,’ said Nick, stopping and looking back down the hill they’d just climbed to the forest-covered valley below, where a river wound away gently into the distance. ‘I bet you don’t see many sights like that in Singapore.’
‘That’s true,’ said Tracy, who’d been banging on less than her husband about the joys of their new home. ‘It is beautiful.’ She closed her eyes, basking in the last rays of the early evening sun, looking like she was enjoying herself for the first time that day.
Guy wasn’t convinced. ‘Lombok in Indonesia is just as beautiful. And a lot warmer too. We’re thinking about buying a holiday home there.’
‘I don’t know about you
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