The Dust: Book Three - Sanctum Read Online Free PDF

teddy bear. Angel had nothing to say, she was in a state of shock.

Chapter Four
    Jake patted the Suzuki Bandit on the leather seat. It had delivered just at the right time.
    Looking across the road to the small harbour, he knew now was the time for yet another mode of transport.
    ‘I’m hungry, Daddy.’ Amber stretched her arms into the air.
    This sentence was now becoming familiar to Jake. He had forgotten how much food his growing Barnacle needed to keep her strength up. Kids and their growth spurts.
    They had both spent the night camped next to the bike. Waiting for first light to check out the harbour, Jake also felt some morning hunger pangs.
    ‘We’ll take a look over there.’ Jake could see a small newsagents on the corner of the road.
    Ten minutes of foraging had produced three tins of spaghetti in sauce and some dried noodles. No liquids could be found and this was becoming a worry, they both needed a drink.
    ‘That’s yummy.’ Amber tucked into the cold pasta with gusto, plunging her plastic fork deep into the tin.
    Jake wasn’t so enthusiastic. How he would kill for some egg and chips, or maybe a nice thick pork sausage. He looked at the orange sludge that seemed to be glowing on the end of his plastic utensil. Beggars can’t be choosers.
    ‘Are we going on a boat?’ Amber asked.
    ‘Yes sweetheart.’ Jake looked across at the twenty or so boats moored up in the small harbour. It seemed to be a subsidiary of the much larger Prince of Wales dock.
    He quickly discounted anything with a mast. That looked way too complicated. The only vessels Jake had ever been in were a rowing boat and a rubber dinghy. Remembering his last journey under the second Severn Crossing, sailing had gone way down on his list of pastimes.
    Any boat too big was also crossed off his wish list. That left about six vessels. All of them looked like the plastic Noddy cruisers that were the weekend play things of the wealthy accountant or banker.
    ‘Right sweetheart, stick close to me and if you see anything moving you tell me straight away.’ Jake looked into Amber’s eyes.
    ‘Yes Daddy.’ She saluted
    Jake smiled and kissed her on the cheek. ‘Just stick to me like glue.’
    Both of them crouched as they ran across the street to the harbour gate. Jake opened it ,and they were soon both walking down the floating planks that lay between the boats.
    ‘This one.’ Amber tugged her dad’s arm.
    ‘No sweetheart, it’s too big.’ He slowly walked past another two boats. ‘This one.’
    ‘That’s small.’ Amber complained.
    ‘That’s how I like them.’ Jake clambered aboard but it was locked. The shutters were up on the windows and nobody was at home, dead or alive.
    Another similar boat was boarded but again it was locked up.
    ‘Daddy, over there.’ Amber could see a door open on a smaller boat at the end of the boardwalk.
    ‘Bingo.’ He smiled at his little girl, who was standing next to him as proud as punch.
    Jake pulled Amber up onto the deck. He quickly scanned the area, it was eerily silent. Since they had left Newport they hadn’t seen a living thing.
    He quickly popped his head into the open hatch, which led to below decks, and the stench that hit his nostrils told him only one thing.
    ‘Stay here by the door. If you see or hear anything you run down the steps to find me. Okay?’
    ‘Okay Daddy.’ This time there was no salute. Amber could see how worried her dad was.
    Jake slowly descended the steps and found himself down below, where the air was humid and stinking with death.
    Walking through the small galley kitchen, he noticed a bottle of wine on the table at the end. More importantly he could see a six pack of unopened bottled water.
    As he neared the door at the end of the small corridor, Jake had to put his hand over his nose and mouth as the smell became unbearable.
    Pushing the door open he caught a glimpse of a leg. The colour drained from the flesh, it looked like a slab of grey meat. Jake