His face is pale and his eyes seem to have been pinned open but he doesn’t say a word as his dad hugs him to his chest and forces his way through the grabbing, soaking branches and stumbles into the clearing. They both have twigs in their hair and water seeping through their clothes and shoes. Th...
‘Well how hard did he knock?’ Tremberg changes down to fourth gear, trying to ease an extra 5mph from the one-litre engine. She finds what she’s looking for, and despite the protestations of the smoking metal beneath the bonnet, pushes the accelerator almost through the floor. ‘No … I can’t say f...
They bloody love you, don’t they? One look at those big sad eyes and they’re pussy in your hand.’ ‘Putty, you mean.’ ‘I know what I mean. It’s just funny. They don’t know what they want to do with you, do they? Don’t know whether they want you to throw them around like a ragdoll or put them in th...
Feels the tickle in his chest. Hold it, Col, hold it . . . He’s made it up the stairs without needing to breathe out. Six, seven, eight steps down the off-green corridor. Eyes streaming, chest thumping...
Pharaoh didn’t sleep much last night. Got a couple of hours of absolute blackness before waking in a tangle of twisted sheets and sprawled-out children. It took her a few moments to realise which bedroom she was in. The middle two children had pushed their beds together and made a nest of eider...