Numbers 3: Infinity by Rachel Ward Read Free Book Online

ahead yet. Is Mia okay? She was kicking and struggling before – I hope to God she’s staying still. Still and safe. I have to get to her. Whatever weird power she might have, she’s still just a little girl. Sarah’s little girl and the one who calls me Daddy.
    I twist the throttle again and the bike surges forward.
    After two years of walking, travelling at this speed is a buzz. If I wasn’t so shit-scared for Mia and Sarah, I might even enjoy it. The world looks different from the saddle of a bike. You lose the detail, the edges are blurred, but your senses sharpen up. There’s the wind on your face, the smell of oil in your nostrils, the pulsing of the engine in your hands and legs.
    One more twist on the throttle and at last I get a glimpse of the back of a bike ahead. Yes, I’m catching them.
    The noise from Saul’s bike is getting louder. I twist round to see how close he is and the bike tips under me, veering across the road. Shit! I lean the other way and it rights itself, threatening to tip over the other way. I wrestle with it ’til I can feel the balance again.
    Saul is only a few metres behind.
    And now I’m back to thinking about him firing his revolver into the guy on the ground. Bang, bang, bang. Just like that. I seen things before, bad things, especially during the Chaos when it felt like all the normal rules had gone and people were just looking out for themselves. I seen fights. I seen people pulling knives on each other. But I never seensomething that cold-blooded. It was like he was putting down an animal. And then he turned his gun on Daniel …
    But Dan’s number is sometime in 2066. He should be okay, if it don’t change. If, if, if …
    Now I’m thinking about Saul’s number, too, the way it shimmers in and out of focus. Just like Mia’s.
    Just like Mia’s. Just like Mia’s.
    It goes round and round in my head.
    Saul’s bike draws level. Sarah’s leaning forward, holding him round the waist. Her face is white as a sheet, she’s gritting her teeth so hard her jawbone’s almost jutting through her skin. I don’t know how much more of this she can take. Saul lifts one hand off the handlebars and gives me a mock salute. Our eyes meet and I get a flash of his shimmering number.
    Just like Mia’s.
    I tear my eyes away, but it’s too late.
    There’s a crack in the tarmac across my side of the road and my front wheel hits it square on, then skews round. The handlebars are wrenched sideways out of my hands and suddenly I’m flying, my feet flung up above my head – and the last thing I hear is the sound of Sarah screaming.

Chapter 11: Sarah
    F rom the start Adam never looked in control of the bike. Over Saul’s shoulder I watched him struggling with it, fighting to keep his balance. He was an accident waiting to happen.
    And now it has.
    His body is powerless against the laws of physics. Velocity, resistance, momentum.
    He lands six or seven metres away from his bike, smack down on his back, hands and feet hitting the ground a split second later. There are bits of bike raining down around him. And then nothing. No movement, no noise, apart from our engine and my screams.
    I slam into Saul’s back as he brakes.
    ‘Get off,’ he says, but I’m on the ground and cradling Adam’s face before Saul’s even got the bike on its stand.
    ‘Adam! Adam, can you hear me?’
    His eyes are closed. He’s out cold.
    ‘Let me,’ Saul says. ‘Move!’ He pushes me roughly to oneside and puts his fingers to Adam’s neck. ‘There’s a pulse.’ He moves his hand in front of Adam’s nose. ‘And he’s breathing.’
    He sounds so relieved it’s almost odd.
    He reaches into the inside of his jacket and brings out a phone. I haven’t seen one for two years.
    ‘Man down,’ he shouts. ‘We’re on the A46, north of the M4 junction. Launch a drone and get a fix on me. I need an ambulance here a.s.a.p.’
    He ends the call and turns his attention back to Adam.
    ‘The medics will be here