Run Away With Me : A fast-paced psychological thriller by Daniel Hurst (free e novels TXT) 📗

rushing downstairs to investigate. With my teeth gritted in concentration, I get the door to seal silently, and now I am out.

I pat the left pocket of my jogging bottoms to make sure that my mobile phone is still in there and then I hurry away from the cottage down the dirt track that leads back to the main road. My eyes are already watering from the ice-cold wind that is blowing straight into my face, and I almost feel as if the weather is mocking me for the pathetic amount of clothing that I have dared to brave the elements in tonight. I should have a hat, gloves and scarf as well as the coat on my back, but instead, I am out here shivering, and it’s only going to get worse before I make it back to the cottage and climb back into that warm bed.

I walk as quickly as I can down the track, doing my best to dodge the muddiest parts, but it’s not easy with so little light to guide me. There’s no moonlight breaking through the dense clouds that are swirling above my head to help me, and in the end, I have no choice but to take out my phone and turn on the torchlight.

The light from the beam makes a big difference, and I’m able to eventually make it to the end of the track without getting my shoes covered in muddy water. Now I just need to figure out how far I need to go until I can get a phone signal.

I know Adam said about not using our phones, but I’m sure it will be okay if I only do it for a minute or two. It’s a risk, but I’m so desperate to see the news for myself that I am willing to take it. If things are as bad as Adam says they are, it sounds like we will have to be on the move from here soon anyway, so it doesn’t really matter if the police pick up my signal.

Adam goes all the way into the village to get the newspaper every day, but he has the car, so it’s easier for him to do that. But I’m on foot, so I can’t walk all the way there and back, at least not if I want to be back by sunrise. Therefore, I need to find somewhere along this dark road where I can get a signal. There has to be a sweet spot around here.

I just have to find it.

I keep my eyes on my phone screen as I walk alongside the edge of the road, and I’m not expecting there to be any traffic down here in the middle of the night, but I’m being careful just in case. I’ve heard the stories about some of the drivers in this part of the world who like to drive home after a night of boozing in the pub because they know their chances of getting caught here are slim to none. It’s terrifying to think that someone could have several pints of beer and get behind the wheel, but I imagine it happens all the time in the countryside. But it’s not just the risk from speeding cars that is keeping me so close to the roadside. I also need to make sure that I can duck into the treeline if I do see another vehicle approaching. The last thing I need is somebody spotting me. I doubt there are too many heavily pregnant women wandering these roads after dark. I’d be pretty memorable, and that’s the last thing I want because my face might be in the newspapers soon and that driver might recall seeing me out here. It wouldn’t take long for them to track me down at the cottage then.

Fortunately, I hear no car engines in the distance, nor do I see any sign of headlights on the horizon. But most annoyingly of all, I still see no signal on the screen of my mobile phone.

I hold my device above my head because isn’t that what everybody does when they are trying to get their phone to connect to something? But even that technical expertise fails to do the job, and now I’m beginning to think that I am going to have to go all the way into the village if I want to get the signal that I need to use my data and check the news articles online.

I’m so busy waving my phone above my head as I walk that I don’t notice the headlights coming towards me until it’s almost too late. I look up to see the car driving slowly down the lane, and its engine is so quiet that it’s no wonder I didn’t hear it coming from further away. I’m not sure why the driver is going so slowly, but I’m grateful because it gives me a chance to duck into the trees and get myself out of view before they pass.

I step off the tarmac and onto the wet leaves that surround the many tall trees here and quickly shield myself behind one of the thick trunks. I wait as the car moves past my hiding place before letting out a deep sigh as I watch it disappear down the road. I couldn’t make out the driver inside, but I’m just as confident that they didn’t see me either, so it’s mission accomplished.

With the car gone, I go to leave my hiding place and get back onto the road but stumble over a tree root as I do and fall forward.

The sudden motion causes my phone to go flying out of my hand, and as I land on the wet leaves, I hear the sound of my device clattering across the tarmac.

I get to my feet as quickly as I can and look down at my jogging bottoms to see that they are now covered in mud. Great. I’m going to have to hide these