Читать книгу The Swarm Descends - Jacob Grey, Jacob Grey - Страница 8

aw was glad he’d told his crows to wait at the end of the street, because Selina was standing outside the house that night when he arrived. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her off by chatting to birds.

She looked taller tonight, maybe even taller than him, but then he realised she was wearing stacked boots, made of leather and laced up to her ankles. The rest of her clothes were black too, with a knee-length skirt over dark tights and a fitted black jacket zipped up to her chin. He wondered what Lydia would have made of her. She had headphones in her ears and took them out as he approached.

“You’re late,” she said.

Caw pulled out his watch and checked. It was ten past ten. “Sorry,” he said. “There were a ton of police patrols about tonight. I had to come the long way.”

“You’re supposed to put that round your wrist, you know,” she said, pointing at the watch. “Anyway, what’s wrong with the police? You in trouble or something?”

Caw blushed. “It’s not that. I just …” he didn’t know how to finish.

“It’s fine,” she said quickly. “Actually, I wasn’t sure you’d come at all.” She blew into her hands, which were encased in fingerless gloves.

“I said I would. Ready to go?”

“Sure,” she said. “Where d’you take a girl for dinner round here?”

Caw tried not to blush even deeper, but from the heat rising behind his cheeks he knew he had failed miserably. Surely she wasn’t expecting a restaurant. “We’re just scavenging,” he said.

“And I was only joking,” she said. “Tell you what, you show me where to find a good meal, and I’ll work on your sense of humour radar.”

Caw grinned. He knew she was mocking him, but he didn’t mind. “Are you hungry?”

“Always,” said Selina.

“I know a good Chinese place,” said Caw. “They have a really nice table out back by the bins.”

Selina frowned.

“That was a joke too,” said Caw.

Selina clapped. “Oh, right! You’re learning. It sounds divine!”

They set off down the street. Out of habit, Caw stuck to the shadows where he could, but Selina didn’t look worried. She moved with a spring in her step, sometimes straying into the middle of the deserted roads or kicking cans along the street. While Caw’s head jerked at every sound the city made – a far-off dog barking, the revving of a motorbike engine – Selina didn’t even seem to notice them.

They soon reached an area littered with building machinery and cranes. It had been a forgotten construction site for as long as Caw could remember, probably abandoned in the aftermath of the Dark Summer. Caw took off his jacket and laid it over the barbed wire at the top of a fence.

“This is the quickest way into the city centre,” he said, hoisting himself to the top. Straddling the fence, he reached down to Selina.

He needn’t have bothered. “I’m fine, thanks,” she said, ignoring the hand and scampering up. She swung her body over the top, then dropped into a crouch on the other side. “So where did you say you lived again?” she asked.

Caw climbed down as well. “Er … I didn’t,” he said. “I move around.”

Caw didn’t want to keep secrets from her – but he still wasn’t ready to tell her about the church. And he was grateful that Selina didn’t push it. He remembered when he’d first met Lydia, and she’d bombarded him with questions.

“I used to live in a tree-house,” he said.

“No way!” she replied. “Where?”

“In the old park, north of here,” said Caw.

“That place is creepy!” said Selina.

“I kind of liked it.” Caw remembered the place fondly now, but in the winter it had sometimes got so cold there was frost on his blanket in the morning. “How are you with heights?” he asked. “The safest way is over the rooftops from here.”

Selina swatted an insect off her shoulder, looking up at the buildings ahead. “I’ll give it a try,” she said.

Caw went first, placing his feet and hands in the cracked mortar and climbing up to a broken first-floor window. This place had been a military barracks, Crumb had told him. Selina made it up easily. Caw was glad he hadn’t invited Lydia – she would have slowed them down. They crossed a long room littered with old papers, then climbed two sets of stairs to the roof fire escape. As they came through, the city spread out beyond.

“Oh, wow!” said Selina.

Caw saw the wonder in her face and felt a rush of pride. This was one of his favourite views as well. He set off at a light jog and Selina followed.

“There’s a jump coming up,” he said. “Not big, but follow my lead.”

He reached the edge of the building and launched himself over the two-metre gap. Then he turned to watch Selina, but she had already jumped, landing neatly beside him.

“You’re a natural,” he said, impressed.

“I take – I took – gymnastics at school,” she said, “before I ran away. It’s cool up here! It’s like being a bird, looking down on everything.”

Caw instinctively checked the sky, surprised that until then he hadn’t thought about his crows at all. He saw Shimmer and Screech sitting on an aerial about twenty metres to his left. Glum would be nearby too. They were keeping their distance.

They continued across the rooftops and Selina didn’t put a foot wrong. Gradually they penetrated closer to the heart of the city.

“So, do you miss school?” Caw asked.

“Er … sure,” said Selina. “Well, I miss my friends.”

“How long have you been away from home?”

He checked her expression to make sure he wasn’t being too nosey, but she looked fine.

“A couple of months,” she said. “I didn’t think I’d be gone this long, really. I just wanted to be on my own for a while at first, but then … well, I found I quite liked it.”

Caw paused at the edge of a building, peering into the road below. He came this way because most of the shops were boarded up and the streetlights were never switched on, but there were still cars about, and a few people.

“So how’ve you got by?” he said. “For food and stuff like that?”

“It’s been hard at times,” she replied. “I begged a bit in the city, did some things I shouldn’t.”

“What do you mean?” asked Caw, nervously.

“Oh, nothing too bad,” she said. “I learnt how to survive, that’s all.”

Caw was glad to let the subject drop. “We have to climb down here,” he said. “There’s a network of alleys that leads to the river – that’s where the restaurant is.” He pointed to a drainpipe. “You OK with that?”

Selina nodded. She touched his arm. “Wait, Caw – I want to ask you something.”

“Yes?”

She paused. “Tell me if it’s none of my business, but … you said that house was yours. Where are your parents?”

“Dead,” Caw replied. “A long time ago.”

“Oh,” said Selina. “I’m sorry.” Again, she didn’t pursue it.

“That’s all right,” said Caw, shrugging. “What about your folks? Why’d you run away?”

Selina’s mouth twisted a little. “My dad walked out before I was born,” she said. “Mum and I have never really got along. She’s got a really important job. Works ridiculous hours. Probably hasn’t even noticed I’m gone.” She smiled. Unconvincingly, Caw thought.

“Do you think you’ll ever go back?” he asked.

Selina lowered herself over the edge of the building, gripping the drainpipe in both hands.

“I don’t know,” she said.

She slid down quickly, and Caw followed.

Struggling to keep up? said Shimmer, tip-toeing along the parapet of the building.

“A bit,” Caw muttered, as he landed beside Selina.

“D’you always talk to yourself?” she asked.

Caw pasted on a grin. “Sometimes – sorry.”

Soon they reached the river, where the giant wharves stood like hulking silhouettes. Caw had never liked the Blackwater. Perhaps it was simply because he couldn’t swim, but there was something about the impenetrable darkness of the water too, like a black abyss. Crumb told him it was so dirty that if you drank a single mouthful, you’d die within a day. He said there were stories in the Blackstone Herald about people falling in and never being seen again. Caw didn’t doubt it. He remembered Miss Wallace giving him a book once about a creature with a woman’s body and a fish’s tail that lived in the river. The water had looked blue though, rather than black and full of filth. As they walked the deserted path that ran alongside the river, he wondered if there were ferals who could talk to fish.

“You OK?” asked Selina.

Caw nodded. She was at his side, looking at him curiously.

There were boats of various sizes moored up – most looked completely abandoned, like floating carcasses butting up against the dockside. Some had names like Fair Maiden, or The Floating Rose, which seemed completely at odds with their peeling paint, or the years’ worth of weed growing up their battered hulls.

One boat, in better repair than most, was unmarked. It had a slightly sunken cabin positioned in the middle of the craft and through a glass window Caw saw a cabin piled with crates and boxes.

“Maybe we’ll find something in there,” said Selina, pointing.

Caw looked up and down the bank nervously. He couldn’t see anyone – the nearest bridge was some distance away, where cars trailed across like streaks of light.

“I don’t know,” he said. “Isn’t that stealing?”

Selina shrugged. “I guess so. Seriously, have you never taken anything before?”

Caw blushed. “Yes,” he said. When he’d been younger and more desperate. Clothes off people’s washing lines, bread from an open truck. But this seemed different. He had other ways to survive.

Selina reached into her pocket and took out something glinting on a leather strap. Caw’s eyes widened and he felt automatically inside his coat. “My watch! How did you –”

Selina gave a crooked grin. “Up there on the roof, when I touched your arm.”

Caw was impressed, and a tiny bit annoyed. “I didn’t even feel it,” he said.

“Well, that’s all I meant when I said I’ve learnt to survive,” she said. “I never took anything off people who’d really suffer.” She handed Caw back the watch and he tucked it deep inside his coat pocket.

“Come on,” urged Selina. “No one will notice – we won’t take much. Plus we don’t have to go all the way into the city.”

She was right, sort of, thought Caw. But it still didn’t feel good. He looked around again and saw the three crows had alighted nearby on another boat’s roof. Caw knew they would side with Selina. Crows didn’t have a lot of time for the finer points of human morals. He wondered what Lydia would say though.

“There’s no one around,” said Selina, obviously mistaking his gaze for fear. “It’s safe.”

She jumped on the boat, and Caw followed her. It rocked slightly under his weight. Selina went to the padlocked cabin door and took something out of her pocket, her tongue held between her teeth in concentration as she worked at the padlock.

“What’s that?” he said.

“Swiss army knife,” said Selina. “Never leave home without it.” With a click, the lock cracked open. She grinned and began to unloop a chain from the door handle. The sound was deafening against the river’s silence. “How d’you think I got through your back door?”

“Maybe we shouldn’t …” said Caw.

“Chill out,” said Selina, heading inside. Caw shot a glance around, just in case, then crept after her. She was already crouched beside one of the boxes, using another of the knife’s tools to prise open the lids. She strained for a second, and it popped open. Caw saw stacks of tins inside.

“Urgh! Mushroom soup,” said Selina. She moved on to the next. “That’s more like it!” she said. “Biscuits!” She stood up and tossed two packets to Caw. He caught them clumsily and put them in his inside pocket. At least they would make the crows happy.

“Hey, look what I found!” said Selina. She was kneeling over a crate containing some sort of round fruit. She tossed one to Caw.

He caught it, and sank his teeth into the flesh. Juice exploded in his mouth.

“Wow!” he said. “What is it?”

Selina snorted through her nose. “You’ve never had a peach before?”

Caw shook his head, taking another bite. “This is the best thing I’ve ever—”

A crow’s shriek split the air above. Selina jumped, and Caw heard Shimmer from outside. Danger! she squawked.

Caw dropped the remains of the peach and grabbed Selina’s hand. “Someone’s coming,” he hissed.

“How do you know that?” whispered Selina.

He was just beginning to creep back towards the cabin door, when he felt the boat shift again beneath his feet. Someone else had climbed on board. He pointed towards the back of the cabin. “Hide!” he said. Selina looked terrified, but did as he said, sneaking out of sight behind a stack of crates.

Caw noticed there was a smaller door to the rear of the cabin. He stabbed a finger towards it and Selina nodded. As Caw peered through the crack in the main door, he saw two figures standing on the prow.

They weren’t police – he could see that at once. One was a woman – it was hard to tell how old – wearing ill-fitting patchwork clothes of several textures and styles. She had wild hair sticking up at strange angles and her top teeth peeked out over her lip. The person at her side couldn’t have been more different. He was impeccably dressed in a white suit so bright it seemed to glow. He must have been about fifty and his slightly jowly, lined face would have been friendly but for his small, chilly blue eyes. He wore a white cowboy hat.

The woman twitched. “We-we-we know you’re in there!” she stammered in a high-pitched voice. “C-c-come out, little boy.”

Caw’s breath was building in his lungs, and he tried to let it out slowly. He knew he could probably get away with the help of the crows, but what about Selina? The woman had only said “little boy” – perhaps they didn’t even know Selina was inside. He had to cause a distraction so she could escape.

He pushed the door open slowly and stepped out. “Who are you?” he said, trying to sound unafraid.

“Allow us to introduce ourselves,” drawled the man in the white suit. He took off his hat, and beneath it his hair was white too and neatly combed.

“My name is Mr Silk, and this esteemed lady goes by the name of Pinkerton.”

“What do you want?” said Caw. He looked around for his crows, ready to give the word.

“A few birds aren’t going to help you now,” said the man.

Caw flinched. If they knew he was the crow talker, that could only mean one thing.

“You’re ferals,” he said.

The woman with the wild hair began to chuckle, and the deck came alive, shifting in many parts. Hundreds of eyes glinted up at Caw, as a swarm of rats rushed towards him.