Angel Blood

by John Singleton

  ‘That's how they got so far,’ said Natalie, ‘because they haven't taken those.’ She pointed at two oars floating in the water. ‘Didn't know what they were, poor things.’

  ‘It's one big mess this,’ said Nail. ‘Now what?’

  ‘Now you have to get them back.’

  ‘Me?’

  ‘You.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Why you?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘Because they'll die otherwise and I can't swim.’

  ‘Swim!’

  ‘Swim!’

  ‘Get lost, Nats.’

  Minutes later Nail was breasting it through the icy waters, an oar spearing his way towards the swaying boat.

  Natalie had watched him strip off right there, right in front of her without another word, watched him topple over the gravel and rocks at the loch edge then push into the glassy water unbreezed in the midday stillness.

  She smiled.

  He was wearing Tasmanian Devil underpants! Taz undies. Back at school she and her mate Bethany would have had a giggle about that. Hardman Nail wearing Disney devils. But now, as she watched his clumsy strokes, it seemed to her something, well, more warming than nerdy. It made him look vulnerable. Almost defenceless.

  ‘Come on, Nail. Come on, Nail,’ she breathed.

  He looked so small in the vastness of the loch. If he'd have staggered out of the water at that point she'd have run to him, put her arms round him, warmed his shivering body, held him tight like you would a small child.

  ‘Oh, Nail. Please, please don't drown.’ An image of Nail's white body floating just below the surface flitted through her mind.

  ‘Stupid little noddies,’ she murmured.

  He was nearly halfway there now. She could see his head jerking through the splash of his breaststroke, and his shoulders, his broad white shoulders, were surging and rising then falling then rising gain.

  She wrapped her arms round herself and pressed her fists into her ribs as if to hold in the tension growing inside. She felt shivers run through her, surge almost, one moment cold one moment hot. It was as if her body had begun to synchronize with Nail's, with the heave of his stroke and the drive of his body through the water.

  ‘Yes, yes,’ she cried. ‘Nearly there, nearly there.’

  She found herself trembling. He must be so cold she thought.

  Then she realized the boat was rocking. The kids were rocking the blessed boat. Just how stupid were they?

  Didn't they realize Nail was trying to save them?

  ‘Stop it. Stop it,’ she shrieked.

  Moments later her voice echoed back.

  God she thought. What happens if Dearly and his Hyena Men hear that?

  She leant down and picked up Nail's clothes: shirt, jeans, socks. She bundled them under her right arm and turned to the loch again.

  3

  Bit by bit, stroke by stroke, Nail was closing in on the boat.

  Yes, yes Natalie said to herself. Go. Go.

  Then something caught her eye. A bright flash. Something on the far side of the loch.

  Sun on glass was it?

  She squinted into the distance. Something was moving there. A vehicle of some kind.

  A forestry worker? she wondered.

  But that didn't seem right. Because it was moving fast, very fast. Someone was in a racing hurry.

  Now it was bearing round to the right and coming straight along the shoreline towards her.

  Even though it was still a long way away she could see dust puffing out from behind as it bounced along.

  Then a chill of fear ran over her back.

  She dashed back to the caravan telling herself please no, please no. Moments later she was back at the loch edge scanning the water with binoculars and fumbling with the focus.

  Yes, Nail had reached the boat. Thank God she breathed.

  Then she swept the glasses along the shoreline to her right.

  ‘Don't let it be,’ she whispered. ‘Don't let it be. Not them.’

  And then she found the vehicle. What a blur. She'd lost it. No there it was.

  And then her heart stalled.

  It was a green Land Rover.

  The Hyena Men were back.

  ‘Nail. Nail,’ she shouted. ‘Hurry. Hurry.’

  But Nail was too busy sorting the kids.

  ‘Look. Look. It's them. Come on. Get back. Quick.’

  She shrieked and she shrieked.

  And the echo repeated her panic, loud and mocking.

  But still Nail didn't hear her.

  She began picking up bits of stone and pebbles and hurling them into the loch hoping the splashes would get his attention.

  And all the time she watched the Land Rover bouncing and clambering over the rough track beside the loch. She didn't need binoculars now to see the spotlights on the roof. It was the same vehicle that Dearly had used earlier to track them in the forest.

  Then she saw one of the kids shaking Nail's arm and pointing across at the Hyena Men. Nail turned, hesitated and then grabbed the oar and started rowing furiously.

  In front of him the kids formed a huddle and Natalie watched them duck each time he swung the oar over their heads, left then right, then left again, pulling strokes one side of the boat, then the other.

  Slowly they zigzagged towards the shore.

  Now that they'd seen the danger Natalie could run back to the caravan. She grabbed blankets, a couple of towels and van keys, slammed the door and dashed back to the water's edge.

  Fifty metres to go.

  ‘That's it, Nail. Come on. Come on. You can do it. You can do,’ she shouted, leaping up and down.

  Nail heaved and heaved.

  Thirt metres.

  She could see a figure leaning out of the back window of the Land Rover.

  Twenty metres.

  She splashed into the water, ready to grab the boat

  Ten metres

  ‘Yes, yes, yes.’

  Nail leapt out. ‘I'll get the van,’ he shouted. And he raced towards the edge of the forest.

  Natalie pulled the boat in till it grated to a halt.

  She leant over the side, reached for Lights Out and hauled her up. Chicken Angel was able to clamber out herself but X-Ray needed help. His hands were slippery with blood and to help him Natalie had to lift him out, hands under armpits, and stagger to the grass bank, trying all the time not to friction his skin.

  Chicken Angel began dragging the bundle of blankets and clothes towards the van now racing towards them across the wide grass apron.

  Natalie lifted Lights Out.

  Nail braked and swivelled to a halt. He leapt out and wrenched open the back doors. He took the bundle of blankets, tossed them in the van and Chicken Angel strug-gled after. She spread out some blanket and Natalie lowered Lolo as gently and as quickly as she dared.

  Chicken Angel stroked her face. ‘Look, X-Ray's moosed out. Look.’

  Natalie swung round.

  X-Ray was still lying exhausted on the loch bank.

  ‘Come on. Get him in. Get him in,’ bellowed Nail, rushing down to the water's edge.

  He lifted him. ‘Easy,’ said Natalie. ‘He's in a bad way.’

  ‘Just tired. Tired,’ the boy said, his head lolling against Nail's shoulder blood crusted at the corners of his lips.

  ‘You're all wet,’ he murmured.

  Nail shivered. ‘Too right, kid.’

  He staggered back to the van.

  ‘Leopard. The leopard's coming, Nail boy,’ whispered Lights Out as he laid X-Ray down.

  ‘Bloody well is,’ gasped Nail.

  They slammed all doors and Nail hit the accelerator.

  4

  The van bucked forwards.

  ‘STOP! STOP!’

  It was the loud hailer again.

  A giant voice calling through the tall firs.

  ‘Get lost,’ muttered Nail, his eyes fixed on a gap in the trees ahead.

  Just beyond was the logging track
. He knew any moment now the Land Rover could leap out from the loch road to their left and block the way. They just needed to get beyond that left turn.

  *

  They lurched on to the track.

  ‘What happens if this is the road round the loch and we meet them head-on?’ said Natalie.

  ‘It isn't and we won't,’ said Nail. ‘Look.’ He pointed ahead.

  Natalie could see a fork in the road. The right-hand track turned on itself and seemed to slope downwards. The left hand rose steeply. This was the loch road, and blocking the way twenty metres from the junction was a large wooden gate.

  Natalie laughed. ‘Chained and padlocked,’ she said.

  ‘Yes?’ said Nail.

  Natalie nodded. ‘Sure is.’

  Nail slapped the steering wheel. ‘That'll stop them.’

  And as he spoke the Land Rover suddenly appeared skidding to a halt the other side of the gate.

  ‘Yahooh,’ roared Natalie as they shot past, turning down to the right and out of sight of the Hyena Men.

  Minutes later she was urging Nail to pull over.

  ‘What for?’

  ‘Because you're dripping and you'll catch your death,’ she said.

  Nail grinned.

  ‘It's not funny,’ said Natalie. ‘What if we get stopped?’

  ‘Tough!’

  ‘Well, I'm not riding with a half-naked person.’

  ‘Oohh!’ mocked Nail. ‘What about a whole naked person?’ He put his thumb inside the elastic top of his Taz trunks as if to lower them.

  ‘Come on. Be serious. Stop. Get some clothes on. This isn't funny.’

  ‘Oh, it is, Natalie girl. You, sitting there getting all eager, not knowing where to look.’

  ‘In yer dreams.’ She stared ahead, occasionally blinking when the low sun flashed them through a break in the trees.

  Why did he have to be so… so… boy all the time she sighed to herself.

  She'd side-glanced him as they'd slammed down the track away from the Land Rover. Yes, he did have touchable skin. And the thought of running her fingers across his chest made her throat tighten a little but… but, well, maybe he needed to grow out of kiddie kecks first. At least they weren't covered in Daffy Ducks.

  And she was glad he wasn't pobby like some of the lads Bethany had fancied. She seemed to go for bouncy boys. And Beth liked chest hair. Chest hair! I ask you. How common was that?

  Suddenly her thoughts were interrupted by a loud banging from the back of the van.

  ‘Sort them, Nats,’ said Nail. ‘I need to get decent.’

  When she opened the doors she found X-Ray asleep, head resting on Chicken Angel's lap, and Lights Out frantically morsing her.

  ‘He's just tired,’ she said.

  ‘What's Lolo saying?’

  ‘A leopard. Coming. Growling and growling. Mouth smoking.’

  ‘It's OK. He's smoking because he's stuck, trapped. We're safe for now.’

  But Lolo wasn't calmed. She morsed faster and faster.

  ‘OK,’ said Natalie. ‘I'll tell Nail. Wrap her up. Use the blankets. Just in case it gets bouncy again.’

  She closed the door and ran round to Nail.

  ‘Everything OK?’

  Natalie nodded. ‘Lights Out says the leopard's coming, mouth smoking.’

  ‘What does that mean, mouth smoking?’

  Natalie shrugged. ‘That's what the little one said.’

  ‘Smoke?’ Nail frowned. ‘Exhaust fumes. Diesel maybe.’

  CHAPTER 23

  Doing Gently Gently

  1

  Natalie glanced in her wing mirror. ‘Jeez, they're right behind us.’

  Nail swore and slammed his foot down. The van leapt like a leopard.

  ‘Must have crashed the gate,’ he shouted.

  ‘It's gaining, Nail. Hurry. Hurry. Smoke's pouring out of their engine.’

  Nail shot a glance in his mirror.

  A big grin spread over his face. ‘Not smoke, Natalie baby. That's steam. The cretins must have punctured the radiator crashing the gate. Yeeess.’

  ‘But they're still catching up,’ said Natalie uneasily.

  ‘Just got to hold them off for a while,’ said Nail. ‘They can't overtake us.’

  ‘They could ram us,’ said Natalie. ‘I've seen a film where this lorry rammed this car. Sent it diving down a ravine.’

  ‘You've seen too many films. They're probably freewheeling now trying to save the engine from blowing. What we want is a hill, Nats. A climb, a steep one. Make that engine work, make them blow a gasket, make them cylinders go boom.’

  ‘They're right up close now. Oh God! Nail. We've had it. They'll kill us.’

  Through the screaming of the engine and the rumble and thudding of tyres Natalie could hear the terrified moaning of the kids in the back.

  ‘God help them. God help them,’ she whispered.

  Suddenly they went crashing through a stream crossing the track. Ahead of them the ground began to ascend. Nail rammed the van into third and roared up the incline.

  ‘They're going to hit us,’ cried Natalie.

  The Land Rover was right on them revving and revving. Natalie could see a huge gash in its radiator. It looked like some one-eyed animal was charging and threatening to crush them.

  ‘Faster, Nail, faster,’ she shrieked.

  Suddenly there was a dull thud from the back and the van lurched from one side then the other.

  Natalie screamed. ‘They've rammed us!’ Her eyes were wide with terror.

  ‘Bastards,’ shouted Nail, desperately tugging at the steering, trying to counter the van's sudden tail wag.

  ‘The kids are going to die. You've got to stop,’ cried Natalie. ‘It's not worth it.’ She checked the mirror. ‘Watch out, they're coming again.’

  ‘Hold on.’ Nail braced himself. The road was much steeper now and fell sharply away on either side. One more ram and the Hyena Men could have them off the road, over the edge and tumbling down the side.

  Suddenly the track took a sharp left and Nail skidded the van round, tail spinning out of the turn, screeching gravel and dust.

  The Range Rover couldn't make it and broad-sided in a flurry of stones and leaves. But it hardly stopped. The nose swung round, the vehicle lurched forward, engine furious, wheels spinning, as it careered back on track.

  Natalie crouched down, watching in the mirror once more.

  ‘They're coming again. Lots of smoke. You OK?’

  Nail nodded, grim. ‘I'm not giving up, Natalie. They tried to kill us back there. They didn't need to ram us. They could have just waited till we ran out of petrol or something.’

  Natalie closed her eyes.

  A sudden explosion from behind jerked her upright.

  2

  ‘They've blown up,’ she cried. ‘Look,’ she said jabbing a finger at Nail's wing mirror.

  Nail checked.

  He just had time to glimpse three Hyena Men leaping out of the vehicle and steam geysering from either side of the engine compartment.

  ‘Gotcha.’ He slapped the dashboard.

  Natalie leant back. ‘No. Don't slow down yet.’

  ‘It's OK. The Hyenas are going nowhere. They're extinct. Deleted. They're out of it.’ He grinned and eased up on the accelerator.

  ‘Give it ten minutes,’ said Natalie, ‘to be sure. Put a couple of miles between them and us. After that we'll stop and check the kids.’

  ‘I tell you that motor back there's scrap. Those guys are dead meat. I nailed them. Nailed them, Nats. Nailed them.’ He heeled his hand into the centre of the steering wheel and set the horn blaring. ‘Wheee.’

  ‘Stop. Stop it,’ shouted Natalie pulling at his arm. ‘You'll frighten the kids. What's wrong with you?’

  Nail let go the horn.

  ‘No need to throw a fit.’

  ‘Hey, come on,’ said Nail. ‘We could have died back there. But guess what – we survived. Did the biz.’

  He eased the van down
a steep turn and came to a stop.

  ‘Can't be too careful with a crate of eggs,’ he grinned. ‘But did we leopardize those Hyenas? We did!’

  He started to chant.

  ‘We nailed them. We nailed them. We nailed them.’

  Jeez thought Natalie, his voice suddenly grating on her. Why did he have to start yelling like some yobbo football fan? She could see why he was called Hard As. Thick As more like. ‘Why don't you go back and van ram them all?’ she said sarcastically. ‘Really wipe them.’

  ‘Oohh, listen to her,’ said Nail.

  Natalie fell silent. Why was she so pissed off with him all of a sudden? Hadn't he saved them from the Hyena Men, not once but twice? Yes, he had. She should be all over him now. So why was she wanting to give him such a hard time? Because… because she didn't want h-a-r-d.

  That was it, yeah.

  Not HARD.

  She wanted SOFT. Why couldn't he do SOFT? Why couldn't he be called Ben or Sean or something? Anything would be better than Nail. He seemed so proud of the name. It wasn't exactly stars in your eyes. He might just as well be called spanner or boot. Boot would be good. She could see him putting it in. What she couldn't see him doing was mess, the soft and the squelchy, the bit in your life you couldn't really control, like blood and smell and dribble and puke breath and huddling and rubbery wings.

  ‘I suppose it's the way you've been brought up,’ she said suddenly as if making an excuse for him.

  ‘What is?’

  ‘This Hard As. This Nail thing.’

  ‘What Nail thing? It's my name, isn't it?’

  Natalie snorted.

  ‘Where'd you get it from, a name like that?’

  ‘What's wrong with it?’

  ‘It's a bit DIY, that's all.’

  ‘Well, Natalie isn't exactly five star.’

  ‘At least it's a proper name. You'd never call a baby Nail, now would you? I baptize thee Nail. Come on. Natalie, yes, but Nail, no. I mean what did your mum and dad actually call you? What's on your birth certificate?’

  Nail stared ahead. ‘My real name's James,’ he said slowly.

  Natalie smiled. ‘Really? James. Oh, I like James. That's what I call a real name.’

  ‘Bond. James Bond,’ said Nail grinning.

  ‘Oh bog off,’ said Natalie turning to face him.

  Then she screamed.