Page 94

A scream sounded from behind them, stopping Cutler and Olivia in their tracks. They looked at each other, his eyes widening. He dropped the rope and ran, following in the direction Annalise had gone.
Olivia was tempted to follow, but she recognized the voice that made the scream: Janine.
She couldn’t leave her all alone.
She ducked down beneath the pulk, using it as shelter as she tried to figure out what was happening. Shielding her eyes against the snow, she thought she could make out two figures: one in a red jacket, and another in black.
The pair stumbled closer, Janine running towards the pulk, still screaming her distress. In a few steps, the black jacket caught up with her, and Janine beat her hands against her attacker. The hood of the black jacket fell back as the two of them struggled, his hat falling to the ground. The man was tall, with a shaved head. Sergei. Sergei had found them.
Her instincts had been right after all. It had been him all along.
‘Get off me!’ Janine screamed again.
Olivia had to help her. She couldn’t allow Sergei to claim another victim. She grabbed one of the shovels from the pulk, trying to ignore the wave of revulsion that rose up as she brushed against Liam’s dead body. Then she ran towards the pair, brandishing it high.
The element of surprise was the more effective weapon. She swung the shovel but it didn’t make contact – all it did was shock Sergei enough to let go of Janine’s jacket. She swung it again, but it was so heavy. It clattered against the man’s leg, and he cried out in pain. Olivia dropped the shovel, grabbed hold of Janine’s arm, and pulled her away.
‘We have to run!’
‘Wait, Olivia!’ shouted Sergei, stepping forward before grunting in pain again.
But she didn’t wait. She ran, dragging Janine behind her, as fast as she could. She didn’t know if she was headed in the right direction. All she knew was that they had to get away.
‘That guy is a psychopath!’ said Janine, panting after every word. ‘He came out of nowhere looking for you. I tried to stop him. But now … where did he go?’
‘I don’t know. But he’s going to follow us. That much I’m certain about. We have to keep moving.’
A huge black boulder disrupted their path. They ran around it, leaning up against it to catch their breath. Olivia chanced a look around it, but couldn’t see any sign of Sergei. From the other side, she could see they’d run perpendicular to one of the red metal shacks of Brown Base. They could make it there in a few minutes if they ran.
‘Look, Janine, we’re so close. We can make it.’
She grabbed her friend’s arm, but there was a wild look in her eyes. The poor thing was terrified.
‘Come on, we have to get to the others.’ Olivia took a step, but Janine had hold of her sleeve. Then Janine dropped to the ground, picking up a rock the size of her fist.
‘Good idea,’ said Olivia, grabbing a rock too. She didn’t know what good it would do, but there were two of them against Sergei. Maybe with an extra weapon, it would be enough.
The snow had eased, though the wind still roared. But she was surprised by how much she could see in the eerie light.
But if she could see, that meant Sergei could as well. It meant they wouldn’t be able to hide from him. Not until they could get into one of those buildings.
Then she saw him. He was staggering towards them.
‘He’s found us!’ she shrieked. She grabbed Janine’s hand and forced her to bolt.
45
To her relief, Janine ran, useless shards of rock in hand.
Olivia glanced over her shoulder. Sergei was limping towards them, but they were moving faster. The base itself was on a rocky promontory into the bay, with a big hill rising up behind. The path towards it was littered with boulders, mounds of snow and penguin guano. It was undulating and uneven – she hoped the terrain might slow him down.
She stumbled over loose rock, cursing her own carelessness even as she wished it on him.
There were several buildings making up the base. ‘Let’s go here,’ Olivia said, pointing at the closest – which looked more like a shed. ‘If they’re not there, we’ll move on.’
There was a bang from inside the second shed. ‘Did you hear that?’ Janine asked.
‘OK, that one first then.’