The Reachers Collection

Chapter 10

Rachel arrived in S"aven a month after her seventeenth birthday. As she shuffled off the train at Trinity Station her head had been an onslaught of naïve ambitions and excitement. The convent was gone and she was free. Soon she would be with her sister and the world would be theirs. But it never happened. Her sister was killed, and instead of liberation S"aven became just another prison; bigger, noisier and more dangerous.

As Rachel waited in that same station, seven years later, watching the rats duel with the pigeons, she realised it would be the same wherever she went. The prison was countrywide because she was a prisoner on the run and that would never change. They blamed Reachers for everything; she was guilty by nature and no jury would ever say otherwise.

Police marched up and down the boardwalk, shining lights on those huddled around their worn suitcases or battered sacks. They checked the faces of the men and women, even the children, looking for fugitives. People only left S"aven when they had to. It was the cops" job to work out what they were running from.

She could see them questioning a couple, checking their bags over and over while the husband insisted they were just going to see family. His wife was pretty, and the cops were enjoying making her squirm. They made the couple turn, press their hands against the wall. They only bothered to search the wife, laughing as her husband protested their innocence. She was smart though; she told him to be quiet–a quick feel was better than getting shot in the head.

“Do you want to know why we"re leaving? Because of this!” The husband yelled.

With other cops this would have been a step too far, but these two were in good humour. They released the woman, squeezing her backside as she gathered her things. Then they wished them luck – a couple like that were going to need it.

Then it was time to move on. Their flashlights darted about as they headed towards the end of the platform. They passed two men in suits. There was no talk, the men held out a roll of notes, the cops took it and moved on. Rachel sat away from them all, she rested her head back and closed her eyes as they started to approach. They never even looked her way.

The train was running late. There were rumours about insurgents commandeering the northern lines and taking passengers hostage. The longer the delays, the more people remembered what was outside the city walls. S"aven had civilisation and work and food. It was right beside London where people still had money and the world still ran like it was supposed to. But outside the border, beyond the protection of the rational south there was so much unknown. Rachel stared at the arched exit out of the city; for her at least, it was the lesser of two evils.

She turned her head to the station entrance and that"s when she saw him hobbling around the platform. He balanced on the crutch and scanned the crowd just like the cops had done. His bloodshot eyes looked panicked, maybe even desperate. She knew he was looking for her, she just wasn"t sure why.

Then he spotted her, seeing through her powers, seeing just her, alone. The connection was instantaneous, it was like staring at a long lost twin. And it had been so long since she had felt anything more than emptiness.

He made his way over. He looked tired, but relieved to see her.

“Mind if I join you?”

“Why not,” she replied and shifted so he could sit down. “It was David, wasn"t it?”

“Yeah, but you can call me Charlie,” he told her.

“I see. So that"s your real name.”

“Well it"s the name most people know me by,” he said with a shrug.

Rachel stared at the empty exit. “So what are you doing here, Charlie? Making sure I get out safe and sound?”

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. In the distance they could hear the rumbling train hurtling their way. The platform shuffled into life.

“Actually I came to stop you.”

Rachel scowled. “To stop me?”

“There"s a rule amongst Reachers. It"s kind of unwritten and I think I might be the only one who still abides by it, but we look after our own kind.”

“Well, you have done your duty, you warned me to get out of the city so here I go. Bye-bye.”

He took a deep breath which made her nervous. In the hospital he had been confident and insistent, the lack of certainty he was showing her now did little to put her at ease.

“It"s not going to be safe for you outside of the city either,” he confessed.

The train rolled into the station with an air of impatience. A muffled voice echoed through the speakers, but it was too distorted for Rachel to make out. She grabbed her bag and turned to Charlie.

“You have thirty seconds to tell me what the hell is going on or I get on that train and leave this s**t-hole behind me.”

“What do you know about Pinky Morris?”

She stared at him blankly. “Absolutely nothing. Pinky what?”

Charlie paused, surprised. “You don"t know him at all?”

“Do you think I"d forget a name like Pinky Morris? Who is he?”

“He"s an unpleasant gangster, one you don"t want to get on the wrong side of. He hired me to find you.”

Her scowl deepened.

“I didn"t know what you were until it was too late. When I realised in the hospital I panicked. I figured if you left the city you could escape, but he has your picture and your name. It won"t take long for him to find you again.”

There was genuine fear in his eyes. He was scared for her, even more than she was for herself. The passengers around her were making their temporary escape. The survivalist in her wanted to join them, but this man was a Reacher and she hadn"t been with her own kind for so long.

“So what would you have me do?”

“I know someone who can help you. There are safe places you can hide. I can help you get there.”

“And why would you help me?”

“It"s the least I can do, considering. And because we"re the same.”

The last call for the train bounded across the station. Apart from the police they were alone on the platform. Her father had warned her that times would come when she"d have no time to think. She closed her eyes and felt the neglected power within her.

“Kiss me,” she finally said.

“Excuse me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Don"t get yourself excited, old man. Before you knew we had something in common you were ready to sell me out to an unpleasant gangster I don"t want to get on the wrong side of. You"ve given me two fake names and you"re an addict. I may be desperate but I am not stupid. Now kiss me and keep your thoughts open or I am getting on that train and your conscience can mourn my passing.”

unpleasantdon"t want to get on the wrong side ofHis mouth dropped open. She leaned forward anyway, sealing her lips around his. The physical intimacy shattered immediately as his memories flooded her mind. He was intent on saving her; she got that in the instant their mouths met. Not just saving her, he wanted to put things right. It meant so much to him, more than it should, but that was because of something else. She saw a woman, her face flickering from life to death. Her clothes changed as her belly swelled and then she blossomed in circles of blood. At her side was her miniature, a little girl with blond ringlets and rosy cheeks. Only waves of shadow kept stealing her. Rachel felt a pang in her heart as Charlie"s loss struck her. She could take more of his mind and unravel him as a man, but this was more than she ever wanted to see. She pulled away and stared into his sad eyes.

The connection between them was strengthening. Reachers were drawn together, that"s what made them so easy to hunt. The pull towards Charlie was already overpowering her common sense.

“Okay, if I go with you I"m going to lay down a few ground rules,” she said, keen to establish some control.

His smirk started to overcome the general awkwardness of the kiss. “Rules?”

“You don"t lie to me about anything, and if I decide to walk you won"t stop me.” She held out her hand, challenging Charlie to oppose her.

“Is that it?”

“No, I get to add to the rules when I see fit.”

“Okay, deal.” He took her hand.

As they shook on it she felt something shift within her, as though deciding to stay in S"aven had rearranged her thoughts and instincts. The need to flee was subsiding, but she was still uneasy sitting on that platform. She was in danger, serious danger, and she was putting her trust in a man with more issues than the Voice daily newspaper.

the VoiceHe was broken and tormented, not to mention an addict. Even though she had seen that he wanted to help her, she still couldn"t totally trust him to make the right decision. He wanted to save her because he couldn"t save his wife and child–what would happen if he failed her too? She sucked on her lower lip, thinking about what she had seen when they kissed. For now he was all she had and she was too much of a pragmatist to ignore him. “What happens now?”

“We figure out what the hell is going on and try to stay alive.”

She let out an amused laugh–he made it sound so simple. “Good. Excellent plan. You lead the way.”