Some betas have already seen this, but I wanted to open it to wider comments, especially (but not exclusively) YA writers/readers. Many thanks in advance.
***************
Adam crouched in the long grass, trying not to think what might be living in it. Or what dogs might have dumped in it. Ten metres away stood the compound’s chain-link fence, a mesh silhouette against the security-lit parking area for the construction vehicles. The May night air stirred the scents of vegetation with the whiff of diesel.
‘Second thoughts?’ whispered Jezz beside him.
‘No way,’ said Adam. ‘We’re the only chance Doaky’s got.’
‘Rick?’ said Jezz — with a trace of doubt in her voice, Adam thought. Rick had never climbed Doaky, and when push came to shove, might not want to risk getting arrested for the sake of a tree. Though he might risk it for the sake of getting into Jezz’s pants.
Sure enough: ‘I’m in.’
‘Top man,’ said Jezz. ‘How about those diggers on the left?’
The light on the office porta-cabin pointed in only one direction, leaving three of the yellow machines in near-darkness. ‘Good thinking,’ said Adam. ‘Even if there’s CCTV, it won’t get our faces.’
‘Right.’ Jezz unzipped her rucksack and pulled out the bolt cutters.
‘How much sugar does each one need?’ asked Rick, tugging his black woollen hat tighter over his bleached hair.
‘Uhm, split the bag between the three?’ said Jezz.
‘You don’t sound too sure,’ said Adam.
‘Everyone knows sugar craps up an engine,’ said Jezz. ‘But if you think I need a degree in it, I’ll just go and sit the exams now, shall I?’
‘I’ll search it up.’ Rick reached for his phone.
‘Don’t, idiot!’ Jezz hoarse-whispered. ‘You’ll show a light. Now let’s get on it.’
Adam’s nerve-heightened senses carried out a last-minute search for danger, but there was no traffic noise from the lane alongside the right-hand edge of the compound, where the heavily padlocked gate was — no sound at all but the faint roar from the town’s ring-road. Still hardly able to believe he was about to commit a serious crime, he went with the others across to the fence, crouching low all the while. Jezz put the cutters to a link. Excitement surged along Adam’s nerves as he watched her push the handles together.
The gunshot wire-snap sent him headlong back to the safety of the patch of long grass and scrub, the others close behind. Once the nervous swearing and giggling had died off, Rick whispered, ‘Are they all gonna be that loud?’
‘F*ck’s sake, it was nothing,’ said Jezz. ‘You’re sixteen, not ten. Act like it.’
‘You scarpered too,’ Adam pointed out.
‘Because you did!’
‘Sh!’ said Rick. ‘Someone’s over there.’
Adam jerked his gaze toward where Rick was looking, the left corner of the compound perimeter. Three figures showed faintly, faces and hands paler than their clothes.
He swallowed, heartbeat faster even than when he’d dived for cover. His leg hurt from how it was squashed, but he didn’t dare move in case it rustled vegetation. To his horror, he realised his and Jezz’s black satin kickboxing pants were glossed even by the small amount of light reaching them. So much for camouflage. He tried to huddle down harder.
One of the figures at the corner of the fence-line knelt to the ground for a minute or so. Then the three stood for a couple more. Traces of whispering came on the air.
‘What the hell?’ Rick sounded scared. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
‘Wait,’ said Jezz. At that moment, two of the figures left the third and walked carefully along the fence-line, until they were halfway along, and only metres from the scrubby area where Adam and the others hid. In the faint light, Adam made out the shorter man’s donkey jacket. The other wore a black leather one with red flashes on the arms.
He hardly dared breathe. His leg had lost all feeling. He mentally begged the two men not to look their way, and he was in luck: they were totally focused on what they were doing. Donkey-jacket knelt and worked at the earth with what Adam thought was a trowel, then leather-jacket handed him something, which he buried. The two then stood facing the third figure, who’d stayed back at the corner, and whispered together in a monotonous chant. After several minutes, that stopped, and the third person, a woman with long pale hair and a dark cagoule, came and joined them. After another short chant, she stayed where she was and the two men walked along the fence to the next corner, where the whole rigmarole was repeated.
When all three had gone round to the side of the fence-line that ran alongside the road, Adam stretched out his leg and winced with pain and relief. ‘What was that about?’
‘Don’t know,’ whispered Jezz. ‘Don’t care. Just wait till they’ve gone and then we can get on with our thing.’
‘Uh, guys?’ said Rick. ‘Turns out sugar in fuel tanks does piss all.’
Adam groaned.
‘Idiot!’ hissed Jezz. ‘I told you not to use your phone.’
‘I did it under my jacket,’ said Rick.
‘This whole thing is a fiasco.’ Jezz shoved the bolt cutters back in her bag. ‘We’ll have to think of something else.’
And bloody research it next time, thought Adam, aiming as much at himself as her. ‘What about those three? Maybe they’re on our side?’
‘Sure,’ said Jezz. ‘Making friends with chanting loons in the dead of night is exactly what we should be doing. Knock yourself out if you want. Come on, Rick.’
The other two crouched to their feet and crept back the way they’d come. Adam considered approaching the three strangers, then thought about all the ways it could go horribly wrong, and followed his friends.
***************
Adam crouched in the long grass, trying not to think what might be living in it. Or what dogs might have dumped in it. Ten metres away stood the compound’s chain-link fence, a mesh silhouette against the security-lit parking area for the construction vehicles. The May night air stirred the scents of vegetation with the whiff of diesel.
‘Second thoughts?’ whispered Jezz beside him.
‘No way,’ said Adam. ‘We’re the only chance Doaky’s got.’
‘Rick?’ said Jezz — with a trace of doubt in her voice, Adam thought. Rick had never climbed Doaky, and when push came to shove, might not want to risk getting arrested for the sake of a tree. Though he might risk it for the sake of getting into Jezz’s pants.
Sure enough: ‘I’m in.’
‘Top man,’ said Jezz. ‘How about those diggers on the left?’
The light on the office porta-cabin pointed in only one direction, leaving three of the yellow machines in near-darkness. ‘Good thinking,’ said Adam. ‘Even if there’s CCTV, it won’t get our faces.’
‘Right.’ Jezz unzipped her rucksack and pulled out the bolt cutters.
‘How much sugar does each one need?’ asked Rick, tugging his black woollen hat tighter over his bleached hair.
‘Uhm, split the bag between the three?’ said Jezz.
‘You don’t sound too sure,’ said Adam.
‘Everyone knows sugar craps up an engine,’ said Jezz. ‘But if you think I need a degree in it, I’ll just go and sit the exams now, shall I?’
‘I’ll search it up.’ Rick reached for his phone.
‘Don’t, idiot!’ Jezz hoarse-whispered. ‘You’ll show a light. Now let’s get on it.’
Adam’s nerve-heightened senses carried out a last-minute search for danger, but there was no traffic noise from the lane alongside the right-hand edge of the compound, where the heavily padlocked gate was — no sound at all but the faint roar from the town’s ring-road. Still hardly able to believe he was about to commit a serious crime, he went with the others across to the fence, crouching low all the while. Jezz put the cutters to a link. Excitement surged along Adam’s nerves as he watched her push the handles together.
The gunshot wire-snap sent him headlong back to the safety of the patch of long grass and scrub, the others close behind. Once the nervous swearing and giggling had died off, Rick whispered, ‘Are they all gonna be that loud?’
‘F*ck’s sake, it was nothing,’ said Jezz. ‘You’re sixteen, not ten. Act like it.’
‘You scarpered too,’ Adam pointed out.
‘Because you did!’
‘Sh!’ said Rick. ‘Someone’s over there.’
Adam jerked his gaze toward where Rick was looking, the left corner of the compound perimeter. Three figures showed faintly, faces and hands paler than their clothes.
He swallowed, heartbeat faster even than when he’d dived for cover. His leg hurt from how it was squashed, but he didn’t dare move in case it rustled vegetation. To his horror, he realised his and Jezz’s black satin kickboxing pants were glossed even by the small amount of light reaching them. So much for camouflage. He tried to huddle down harder.
One of the figures at the corner of the fence-line knelt to the ground for a minute or so. Then the three stood for a couple more. Traces of whispering came on the air.
‘What the hell?’ Rick sounded scared. ‘Let’s get out of here.’
‘Wait,’ said Jezz. At that moment, two of the figures left the third and walked carefully along the fence-line, until they were halfway along, and only metres from the scrubby area where Adam and the others hid. In the faint light, Adam made out the shorter man’s donkey jacket. The other wore a black leather one with red flashes on the arms.
He hardly dared breathe. His leg had lost all feeling. He mentally begged the two men not to look their way, and he was in luck: they were totally focused on what they were doing. Donkey-jacket knelt and worked at the earth with what Adam thought was a trowel, then leather-jacket handed him something, which he buried. The two then stood facing the third figure, who’d stayed back at the corner, and whispered together in a monotonous chant. After several minutes, that stopped, and the third person, a woman with long pale hair and a dark cagoule, came and joined them. After another short chant, she stayed where she was and the two men walked along the fence to the next corner, where the whole rigmarole was repeated.
When all three had gone round to the side of the fence-line that ran alongside the road, Adam stretched out his leg and winced with pain and relief. ‘What was that about?’
‘Don’t know,’ whispered Jezz. ‘Don’t care. Just wait till they’ve gone and then we can get on with our thing.’
‘Uh, guys?’ said Rick. ‘Turns out sugar in fuel tanks does piss all.’
Adam groaned.
‘Idiot!’ hissed Jezz. ‘I told you not to use your phone.’
‘I did it under my jacket,’ said Rick.
‘This whole thing is a fiasco.’ Jezz shoved the bolt cutters back in her bag. ‘We’ll have to think of something else.’
And bloody research it next time, thought Adam, aiming as much at himself as her. ‘What about those three? Maybe they’re on our side?’
‘Sure,’ said Jezz. ‘Making friends with chanting loons in the dead of night is exactly what we should be doing. Knock yourself out if you want. Come on, Rick.’
The other two crouched to their feet and crept back the way they’d come. Adam considered approaching the three strangers, then thought about all the ways it could go horribly wrong, and followed his friends.
