Faster Than Lightning

by Pam Harvey

  Chapter 10

  Florentine stayed still for about five seconds after Angus had jumped out, then started to stalk Hannah suspiciously. There were no soothing words and strokes from Angus.

  ‘Okay, nice horse,’ Hannah said, trying to sound calm and in control.

  She edged around the left side and, when her path suddenly became clear, sprinted the last few metres over thick bedding to reach the door. She looked briefly to the left and then ran the other way.

  Darting behind a trainer’s cottage, Hannah shoved a hand deep into her coat pocket to pull out her mobile phone. She went to messages, punched in four letters—H-E-L-P—called up a number, and hit send.

  E.D. flicked open one eye, swore and dragged himself into a semi-upright position. He reached out for the phone that had just beeped twice on his bedside table. Or had he been dreaming?

  He hit the message button and swore again.

  ‘Idiot!’ he said, swiping the alarm clock that he’d forgotten to set off his bedside table.

  Suddenly wide awake, E.D. jumped out of bed, threw on some clothes and tore out of the house, yelling ‘Heading off!’ to his mother who was holding a glass of orange juice for him.

  A moment later the door banged open again and E.D. sped back inside.

  ‘Ripper, Mum,’ he said, taking the glass from her and sculling it in one gulp. ‘See ya!’

  He clicked on his helmet as he got onto his motocross bike. It kicked into life straight away. He gunned the motor, and sped off.

  ‘Three minutes, guys, tops,’ he shouted, sending a spray of dirt and gravel into the air.

  Back at the racetrack entrance, Angus heard E.D.’s trailbike a moment before he saw the cloud of dust appear in the distance. E.D. screamed to a halt, ditched his bike and ran across to him.

  ‘Where have you been?’ asked Angus.

  ‘Sorry,’ said E.D., ‘thought I’d switched the alarm on. Maybe I switched it off instead!’

  ‘Follow me,’ Angus said, turning and running into the racecourse. E.D. struggled to keep up.

  ‘Where are we going?’ he panted.

  ‘They’ve locked Gabby in a horse float and I’ve lost Hannah.’

  ‘Who’s locked up Gabby?’ E.D. asked, looking slightly confused.

  ‘Beats me.’ They got to the float. Angus thumped his fist on the side.

  ‘Gabby, can you hear me?’ he called.

  ‘Yes! Get me out of here,’ she yelled, relieved.

  E.D. noticed a group of men half walking, half jogging in their direction. ‘Angus, should we be worried about any of those people?’ he asked, pointing at them.

  ‘Oh no,’ Angus groaned. ‘Those two at the front are after us—let’s get out of here.’

  ‘What about me?’ Gabby shouted.

  E.D. sprinted around to the four-wheel drive attached to the float and opened the front door on the driver’s side.

  Angus frowned. ‘E.D., what are you doing? We can’t take the car.’

  ‘Have you got a better idea?’

  Angus looked at the fast-approaching group of people. He didn’t like their stern faces and doubted they were in the mood for chatting. Especially the thin guy at the front who was now running.

  ‘Get in, Angus,’ E.D. yelled, then slammed his door shut.

  ‘What’s going on?’ Gabby shrieked.

  ‘Hang on, Gabby,’ Angus called before jumping into the car.

  ‘I don’t like the look of those people and we’ve got no time to get Gabby out.’ E.D. looked around the cabin. ‘Nice,’ he sighed, reaching down beneath the wheel. ‘But I don’t know why they make these—’

  ‘Hurry!’ Angus poked E.D. in the ribs. The wiry guy was sprinting, now that he’d seen what the two kids had just done. A moment later, the engine sparked into life. E.D. revved the accelerator and, for the second time in five minutes, sent a cloud of dust spewing into the air.

  Luckily there were no horses ahead of them as they sped off.

  ‘Where to, Angus?’

  ‘We gotta rescue Hannah.’

  ‘No worries. I’ll do a U-turn, and head down the middle of the track. No horses out there, are there?’

  Angus suddenly felt sick. ‘There shouldn’t be,’ he said. ‘The horses should have left the track by now.’

  ‘Good,’ E.D. said, a huge grin on his face.

  Just before the end of the dirt road, he slammed his foot on the brakes and swerved inside and onto the racetrack itself.

  Angus went pale. ‘You know, maybe we—’

  ‘Hey, that’s her, isn’t it?’ About 3 furlongs away, Hannah was sprinting across the track. E.D. glanced in the rear vision mirror. A group of men were running after them. ‘Angus! We’ve got a tail!’ For the first time, E.D. started to look worried. He pressed his right foot down hard, and the four-wheel drive kicked on in a burst of speed. Moments later, they screamed to a stop beside Hannah. Angus closed his eyes, trying not to think about the damage to the track.

  ‘Hannah, jump in!’

  ‘Oh it’s you!’ Hannah said, relieved. ‘I thought you were race officials. Where’s Gabby?’

  ‘In the float,’ E.D. said.

  ‘What’s she doing in there?’

  ‘They locked her in,’ Angus said, not turning around.

  Movement in the side mirror caught Angus’s eye. ‘Time to go,’ he said. The back wheels spat more grass and mud as the four-wheel drive sped off again. Hannah hadn’t managed to close the door and was thrown off balance.

  ‘Shut the door!’ E.D. called.

  ‘What do you think I’m trying to do?’ Hannah lashed out, slamming the door closed. ‘Wind my window down, Angus.’

  He pressed a button near the handbrake.

  ‘Gabby! Can you hear me?’ Hannah screamed, her head out the window.

  ‘Hannah?’ Gabby’s voice was thin over the roar of the car. ‘Is that you? It’s about time. Get me out of here!’

  ‘We’re working on it, don’t worry.’ Hannah turned back to the boys in the front. ‘So, what’s the plan?’

  ‘Just got to get some space, buy us some time,’ E.D. said, glancing again into the rear view mirror.

  ‘And then?’

  ‘Wait on.’ E.D. grimaced, pressing his foot on the accelerator. The car lurched forward. There was a muffled cry of pain from inside the float. ‘We’ll just get round this curve here.’ E.D. gripped the wheel hard. They went past the finishing post, and headed away from the grandstands. Angus slunk down low in the seat, imagining how shocked any members would be at the sight of a four-wheel drive towing a float down the main straight of Teasdale Racecourse.

  ‘Bloody long curve, E.D.,’ Hannah called.

  ‘Nearly there.’ The vehicle raced up the back straight.

  ‘Let’s get out there,’ Angus cried, pointing to a gap in the railings further up the track. E.D. braked hard and manoeuvred the four-wheel drive and float through the small opening. They came to a stop alongside a row of peppercorn trees, shielding them from the track.

  The three jumped out of the car, racing around to the back of the float.

  ‘We gotta smash the lock,’ E.D. said, desperately searching for something to use on it.

  ‘And quick,’ said Angus, looking between the trees at a group of people running across the inside section of the racecourse towards them.

  ‘I can pick it,’ Hannah said, pulling something out of her pocket. ‘You okay, Gabby?’ There was no reply. ‘Gabby? Oh my God, she might be unconscious. It was your stupid driving, E.D.’

  E.D. raced off, opening up the hatch of the four-wheel drive.

  ‘C’mon, Hannah. Hurry!’ Angus urged.

  ‘Shut up. I’m going as fast as I can.’

  Bending her head close to the lock, she wriggled the nail file, listening for a click. From the other side of the float there came an almighty crashing sound.

  ‘Guys!’ E.D. called out. He’d broken a small window using a shovel he’d found in the boot, and was pushing
the remaining fragments of Perspex out of the way.

  ‘Nice going, E.D.,’ Angus said, surveying the hole.

  ‘Gabby?’ E.D. yelled, standing on the trailer frame and looking into the window opening.

  ‘Thank goodness,’ Gabby called, reaching up and nimbly climbing through the opening. In a moment she had joined the others. ‘You look disgusting!’ said Hannah.

  Gabby’s face fell. She glanced down at her jumper covered in green and brown muck.

  ‘Are you all right?’ she added. ‘That must have been scary.’

  ‘Yeah, I’m okay. Just get me to a shower.’

  Hannah nodded sympathetically then turned back to the boys.

  ‘Now what?’ E.D. asked.

  An idea had suddenly occurred to Angus.

  ‘Climb!’ he shouted, pointing at the peppercorn trees. A gathering of people were at the top of the first turn and moving quickly. He pulled off his left boot and hurled it in the other direction towards the entrance of a large pipe. ‘Go!’

  Gabby raced up the nearest tree. Her balance and speed for a moment had Angus just staring after her in admiration.

  ‘Give me a hand,’ Hannah said, reaching up for a branch herself. Angus climbed past her, then leant down to haul her up. They were soon shielded by the leafy green branches from the ground below.

  E.D. had chosen a tree further down, and had already found a comfortable fork which he was leaning against; sniffing at a leaf he’d torn off a branch.

  A few minutes later, a group of men arrived. Angus held his breath, wriggling slightly higher. There were mutterings and many heads being shaken. Someone called out and Angus caught a glimpse of his shoe being thrown into the pipe.

  The four-wheel drive’s engine roared into life, doors slammed and soon there was nothing to be heard but the occasional twittering of some birds further down the copse of trees.

  ‘Have you got to go back to the track to help your dad?’ Hannah whispered.

  Angus shook his head. ‘I told him I’d make my own way home.’

  ‘I’m going to get my bike,’ E.D. called, scrambling down. ‘What’s the plan?’

  ‘Well I’m going to have a shower somewhere,’ Gabby said, looking down at her torn and stained clothes.

  ‘No problems. Let’s go back to my house,’ Hannah said.

  ‘Good, meet you there.’ Not waiting for an answer, E.D. headed off, keeping the trees between him and the buildings on the other side of the track.

  ‘I am revolting!’ said Gabby, looking down at her filthy jumper. ‘What’s this?’ She brushed at a dark smear among the horse hair and straw clinging to her.

  Hannah took a good look. And a sniff. ‘Horse poo.’

  ‘Ahhh! I need a shower, Han. Now.’ Gabby took herself off to the bathroom, carrying some of Hannah’s old clothes.

  ‘And I’ve got some explaining to do,’ Angus said, wondering whether his father or anyone else had recognised him in the four-wheel drive.

  Gabby came out of the shower a few minutes later. She flung her dirty clothes down on Hannah’s bed. ‘Where’s Angus?’

  ‘He’s gone home.’

  ‘Oh. Well, I’ll see you later.’

  ‘Are you going to take your clothes?’ Hannah stared at the dirty jumper lying on her pillow, but when she turned back, Gabby had gone. She pulled the jumper off her bed in disgust. Black horse hairs covered her hand.

  A smile spread slowly across her face. This would be the perfect opportunity to get the black horse hair tested to see if it was the same as Gale Force’s.

  And Tash was the ideal person for the job.

  Chapter 11

  Tamworth Street, Teasdale: Friday morning

  The morning had dawned black and gloomy. Hannah grumped out of bed, ate breakfast without talking to anyone, and went back into her room. Natasha’s email lay on her desk and she picked it up warily as if it was a poison dart.

  Hannah, I don’t know what you’re trying to do! I’ve tested the sample of horse hair that you sent me against our data base of all registered racehorses and it came up negative. It’s probably from an ordinary thoroughbred that a trainer is trying to get ready for the big time. I think you’re letting your imagination run away with you. Perhaps you ought to stick to boys, not science, until you are older! Sincerely, Natasha Miller.

  Hannah flung the email away. It drifted under the desk as she headed back towards the kitchen.

  ‘I’m going to see Angus,’ she yelled at her mother.

  ‘But you haven’t had breakfast! And why are you yelling?’

  ‘I’m not hungry. And I’m not yelling,’ Hannah yelled, running out of the house.

  Angus wasn’t home. Neither was Mr Mac. Hannah stood in the back yard as the first raindrops fell. ‘Angus,’ she muttered, ‘where are you when I need you?’

  Percival Park, Teasdale: Friday morning

  The early morning had been going along in the usual way, Angus taking the young horses onto the track for his dad, going for a gentle gallop to get them used to it. And then, just as he was finishing the last horse, Jack and his mates came up beside him.

  ‘The star of the track!’ Jack said. ‘The one everyone talks about, even though he’s never ridden in a race.’

  Angus didn’t quite know why he had a reputation for being a good rider. It was true: he’d never ridden in a race, he wasn’t old enough. People just saw him riding around the practice track like he’d done for years, handling his father’s horses, not saying much to anyone. He wished Jack would leave him alone. ‘You’ve never ridden in a race, either.’

  He saw Jack sit up. ‘Not an official race. But I’ve had a few goes around the track against other riders. Like we could, now.’ He pushed his horse along faster and came close to Angus’s, the two animals touching at the shoulder.

  ‘Careful, Jack.’ Angus checked his horse. ‘I’m not racing you. This colt isn’t ready for it.’

  ‘You’re chicken, Gussy. Don’t be such a wuss.’

  Angus gritted his teeth. There was no way he was racing one of his father’s young horses, no matter what Jack said.

  ‘Okay, Gussy. If you don’t feel like shining like the superstar they say you are, just forget it.’

  ‘Wait!’ Angus called as Jack went to gallop away. Jack stopped his horse, pulling in close to Angus again. ‘I’ll race you.’

  Jack grinned. ‘From the next furlong post?’

  ‘No, not now. I’ll race you later.’

  ‘Later? What do you mean? Don’t you have to go to school?’

  ‘It’s the holidays. I’ll meet you at the park at 10 o’clock.’

  ‘Yeah, right. As if your dad would let you take one of his horses to the park.’

  ‘I won’t take a young horse. I’ll bring my own.’

  Jack spent a long time laughing, but at the end of it, Angus was still waiting for an answer. Jack had no choice. ‘You’re on. See you at ten.’

  Percival Park wasn’t a proper park. It had once been the sale yards until they’d been shifted out of town. When the fences were pulled down, trees had been allowed to grow in the flattened soil. The council had put a rough path around the outside of the area so maintenance trucks could come in to mow. It wasn’t much of a park, but it wasn’t a bad mock racecourse.

  Angus was on King. He’d told his father he was just going for a ride. His dad had nodded. There was nothing unusual about Angus going for a ride on his horse. Usually.

  The big chestnut gelding snorted. ‘It’s okay, King,’ whispered Angus. ‘We’ll show them.’

  Next to him, mounted on an equally large bay gelding, was Jack. Around both of them was a small crowd of people.

  ‘This is it, Gussy.’ Jack grinned at him. Angus wasn’t fooled, though. He could see how Jack’s hands were tight on the reins. Jack was nervous.

  ‘I guess it is.’ Angus looked away. I must be crazy, he thought. Why am I racing Jack when he’s on a three-year-old racehorse and I’m on a ten-year-old ex-raceho
rse? I haven’t got a chance. He ran his fingers along King’s neck, and the horse lifted his head at the boy’s touch. Sometimes you just seem to get yourself into these things.

  Angus moved King up to the starting point as the rain really started coming down. Lightning flashed in the distance and low growls of thunder grumbled across the sky. King shook his head up and down but didn’t really look worried. Jack’s young horse did, though. It skittered sideways, scattering the crowd of onlookers.

  Suddenly, Angus heard a voice at his feet.

  ‘Angus, what are you doing?’

  He looked down. Hannah was standing with her arms crossed. Her hair was wet with the rain and her fringe stuck to her forehead. She’d never looked so angry.

  ‘I’m racing Jack.’

  ‘This is stupid, Angus. It could be dangerous. What if your dad finds out you’ve been racing?’

  ‘How’s he going to find out?’

  ‘Ha!’ said Hannah, pointing with both hands at the crowd. ‘How’s he not going to find out?’

  Angus looked around. If he hadn’t known it was impossible, he’d have thought he was still at the track. Strappers, trainers and racing officials were all gathered to watch the race. News of it had spread like wildfire. Even Sergeant Malroy was there. Angus gulped. But the Sarge just gave him a wave. He’s come to watch too! thought Angus.

  ‘Ready for starting!’ called Pete, a lanky, bearded strapper who seemed to have the job of getting the race under way.

  ‘I’ll catch you afterwards,’ said Angus to Hannah, and he rode King forward, trying not to think of the way Hannah was scowling.

  Jack urged his horse up beside King. He didn’t look at Angus but stared down the park. The circuit they were racing on was a wide gravelly bicycle track. There wasn’t much room—they’d have to be single file all the way.

  ‘Ready!’ called Pete. The crowd went quiet. ‘Racing!’

  King jumped but Jack’s horse was first away. It bolted down the path, Jack urging it on. Angus kept King back, close to the other horse’s heels but not so he could be kicked. The rain came down in sheets, making it hard to see the young horse. Angus waited. It was nearly two kilometres around the track: Jack’s horse was bound to get tired.