light was of utmost importance. There was no point being weighed down by needless luxuries – not that they had any – when they were only going to be on the road for a week, less if they were extremely fortunate.
'I'll carry one,' Shane said, feeling the weight of the fattest pack. 'I'm pretty sure Terry can manage the other.'
Marla smiled. 'I'm not a complete girl , you know? I reckon I could manage that.' She pointed at the second pack, knowing that Shane would never expect her to be the second packhorse. Not because he doubted her ability, but because he knew that Terry would be gravely offended if he wasn't utilised.
'Your job will be to keep that little damsel in check.' Shane didn't know which one of the girls would be most vulnerable, but he had to place Marla ahead since she was the responsible adult. 'If something bad happens, I want you to get her to safety as quickly as you can. Don't even look back. Terry and I will be fine.' He didn't like the thought of separating the group, but if it came down to it, there was no point in them all remaining in the firing-line.
Besides, he felt responsible for River, somehow. Not in the same way he'd been responsible for his own daughter, but he knew that River was just as important, in her own unique way. Losing her was not an option.
From the dinosaur-room, there came a clattering of steel on steel. Terry was yelling randomly. “ En-Garde, ” and “ One for all, and all for one .”
'He'll be fucked by the time we leave,' Marla said, giggling childishly through her hand. 'That pack might be mine, after all.'
Shane picked it up and launched it towards her. Instinctively, she plucked it from the air about an inch before it hit her in the chest. She almost dropped it as its full weight became apparent.
'Second thoughts,' she said, carefully lowering it to the ground. 'The old man can have it.'
Shane nodded, hoisted his pack onto his shoulder, and said, 'He'll be happy to hear it.'
As he made his way towards the door, his muscles bulging beneath his tee-shirt from the strain of the pack, Marla wondered how serious he had been about the massage.
She couldn't help hoping that he would take her up on it sometime in the near future.
CHAPTER FIVE
Nightfall came with very little in the way of danger. A few lurkers had decided to attempt entry to the museum through the rear-doors, but the weighty Tutankhamen statuette that had been dragged in front of it was enough to keep them out. Shane and Terry had stood watching as the door rattled in its frame; the woeful groans from the creatures on the other side were quite satisfying to listen to.
Forget your whale-music and those stupid CDs of thunderstorms you could buy down at the local hippie-shop. Lurker-speak was enough to lull anyone into a peaceful sleep, so long as there was no chance of it penetrating the safety of a double-fortified door and a solid-bronze Egyptian Pharaoh.
When the lurkers finally ceded, Terry and Shane made their way back to the dinosaur-room to find Marla and River asleep beneath a silk, ceremonial textile. It was definitely the most expensive bedding either of them had slept beneath, though now it was nothing more than an old object, something with no classification other than the fact it had probably been used to dry one of the apostles' sodden feet.
'I don't know how they can sleep,' Terry whispered, the jealousy in his voice was by no means noxious.
'It's good that they are,' Shane said, opening a bottle of water and sipping. 'We've got a tough few days ahead of us.'
Terry sighed. 'I know it was partly my idea,' he said, 'but do you think we're doing the right thing? I mean, going out there, chasing after those planes?'
Shane swallowed a mouthful of water. 'That's not really the question you need to be asking. The real dilemma is, what good is staying here, exhausting these few little rations? I never did see myself as starving to death.'
Shane
'I'll carry one,' Shane said, feeling the weight of the fattest pack. 'I'm pretty sure Terry can manage the other.'
Marla smiled. 'I'm not a complete girl , you know? I reckon I could manage that.' She pointed at the second pack, knowing that Shane would never expect her to be the second packhorse. Not because he doubted her ability, but because he knew that Terry would be gravely offended if he wasn't utilised.
'Your job will be to keep that little damsel in check.' Shane didn't know which one of the girls would be most vulnerable, but he had to place Marla ahead since she was the responsible adult. 'If something bad happens, I want you to get her to safety as quickly as you can. Don't even look back. Terry and I will be fine.' He didn't like the thought of separating the group, but if it came down to it, there was no point in them all remaining in the firing-line.
Besides, he felt responsible for River, somehow. Not in the same way he'd been responsible for his own daughter, but he knew that River was just as important, in her own unique way. Losing her was not an option.
From the dinosaur-room, there came a clattering of steel on steel. Terry was yelling randomly. “ En-Garde, ” and “ One for all, and all for one .”
'He'll be fucked by the time we leave,' Marla said, giggling childishly through her hand. 'That pack might be mine, after all.'
Shane picked it up and launched it towards her. Instinctively, she plucked it from the air about an inch before it hit her in the chest. She almost dropped it as its full weight became apparent.
'Second thoughts,' she said, carefully lowering it to the ground. 'The old man can have it.'
Shane nodded, hoisted his pack onto his shoulder, and said, 'He'll be happy to hear it.'
As he made his way towards the door, his muscles bulging beneath his tee-shirt from the strain of the pack, Marla wondered how serious he had been about the massage.
She couldn't help hoping that he would take her up on it sometime in the near future.
CHAPTER FIVE
Nightfall came with very little in the way of danger. A few lurkers had decided to attempt entry to the museum through the rear-doors, but the weighty Tutankhamen statuette that had been dragged in front of it was enough to keep them out. Shane and Terry had stood watching as the door rattled in its frame; the woeful groans from the creatures on the other side were quite satisfying to listen to.
Forget your whale-music and those stupid CDs of thunderstorms you could buy down at the local hippie-shop. Lurker-speak was enough to lull anyone into a peaceful sleep, so long as there was no chance of it penetrating the safety of a double-fortified door and a solid-bronze Egyptian Pharaoh.
When the lurkers finally ceded, Terry and Shane made their way back to the dinosaur-room to find Marla and River asleep beneath a silk, ceremonial textile. It was definitely the most expensive bedding either of them had slept beneath, though now it was nothing more than an old object, something with no classification other than the fact it had probably been used to dry one of the apostles' sodden feet.
'I don't know how they can sleep,' Terry whispered, the jealousy in his voice was by no means noxious.
'It's good that they are,' Shane said, opening a bottle of water and sipping. 'We've got a tough few days ahead of us.'
Terry sighed. 'I know it was partly my idea,' he said, 'but do you think we're doing the right thing? I mean, going out there, chasing after those planes?'
Shane swallowed a mouthful of water. 'That's not really the question you need to be asking. The real dilemma is, what good is staying here, exhausting these few little rations? I never did see myself as starving to death.'
Shane
Similar Books
A Rather Lovely Inheritance
C. A. Belmond
The Look of Love
Mary Jane Clark
The Best Australian Science Writing 2012
Elizabeth Finkel
Shadow of Temptation (Asylums for Magical Threats #2.5)
Jessie Donovan
The Prey
Tom Isbell
Secrets of Valhalla
Jasmine Richards
Life After a Balla
Jackie D.
In the Italian's Sights
Helen Brooks
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Jules Verne