Faster Than Lightning by Pam Harvey Page B

She’d thought King was big—until now. Angus calmly walked over to the horse, talking quietly. The horse nodded once or twice as he put his hand out to stroke it.
    ‘What now?’ Hannah whispered. ‘We should’ve brought a camera.’
    ‘We can use my mobile,’ Gabby said loudly, pulling it out of her shirt pocket. Angus andHannah glared at her. ‘You want me to take some snaps of the horse?’ she added, more quietly.
    ‘That’d be great.’ Angus nodded. ‘Try and get a shot of—’
    They all turned at the noise from the stable door.
    ‘Here, what are you kids doing?’
    Gabby shoved the phone into her pocket. A short guy with a mean-looking face and tattoos on his bare arms strode over and grabbed her arm. Angus swore under his breath. It was stupid to have snuck into the stable like this.
    ‘Jim!’ the man shouted. ‘Get in here.’
    Angus charged at him, hoping that he’d break the guy’s hold on Gabby, but he bounced off and fell back onto the soft floor. He scrambled up quickly.
    ‘Angus! Quick!’ yelled Hannah from the gate. The man turned to make a lunge at Hannah and Gabby felt the grip on her arm slacken slightly. She kicked out with all her might, landing a sharp blow on the man’s shins. At the same time she flung her arms out. The man let go with a gasp of pain. Angus shot past him.
    Gabby burst out of the stable a moment after the others, but immediately crashed into anotherman with a stomach bulging out of a dark blue singlet like a mountain of flesh.
    She’d hit a vertical trampoline. Gabby rebounded three metres straight back into the stable, collapsing in a heap on the sawdust. The enormous horse bent down to sniff her gently.
    ‘I’ll lock her up in the float and then I’ll get the other kids,’ Jim snarled.
    He slapped a hand over Gabby’s mouth, then bent close to her ear.
    ‘One stupid move from you and you’ll still be lying in a hospital bed at Christmas—you got me?’
    Gabby nodded, wide-eyed, too afraid to speak.
    Hannah had followed Angus into a stable three down. He led a horse into the corner and pulled Hannah in so they were hiding behind it. A moment later, the smaller man glanced in, then ran on.
    ‘What about Gabby?’ Hannah asked urgently. ‘That other guy caught her.’
    Angus looked at a small window above him. ‘Here, give me a bunk up,’ he said quietly. Hannah joined her hands and Angus hoisted himself towards the window. He peered out the opening. Jim was walking back towards thestables, alone. ‘Push me higher,’ Angus urged Hannah. He levered himself up to the level of the opening. ‘Wait here. If Florentine moves, you won’t have any cover. Then you’d better run for it.’
    ‘Who’s Flor—?’
    ‘The horse !’
    Hannah crouched back against the wall as Angus squeezed himself through the opening. He jumped down lightly, quickly looked around, and ran off along the back of the stables. A large horse truck was parked there and he dived under it, crawling beneath the cabin.
    The rumble of its engine made him jump, hitting his head on the chassis. Lying on the ground, he made himself as flat as possible so he wasn’t touching any part of the vehicle. The wheels began to move. Angus froze. The truck moved faster. He lay still and breathed out, trying to make himself as thin as he could. Then the truck started to turn.
    Two massive wheels were heading for his feet. He flung himself to his left and the tyres turned just centimetres from his body. But now he was in the line of the back wheels. He recoiled to the right, but not before the back right tyres had caught his shirt. Panic rippled through him andhe pulled uselessly. He closed his eyes, waiting for the crunch of his shoulder being crushed. But as quickly as it had started, the truck suddenly jerked to a stop. Angus breathed out and opened his eyes. He was stuck under 5 tonnes of horse truck, but at least he wasn’t squashed.
    ‘’Ere, Griff, you seen a couple of kids running