The Great Escape

Billy rested his chin on his hands thoughtfully.

'How far do you think it is to Russia then?'

Pete and Joe stared at each other. That was a tough one.

'Dunno exactly,' said Joe, considering it carefully. He had no idea but as head of the little group, it didn't do to admit weakness.

'It'll take us a few days to get there, I reckon,' he said ambiguously.

Billy stared down at the Express spread out on the bedroom floor.

'Imagine what Yuri Gagarin must feel like. A real live spaceman!'

The three boys munched their crisps, contemplating the wonder of it.

'Hey, my salt's missing,' complained Pete, hunting for the blue bag.

'I'll get some off Mam,' offered Billy. Since his dad's accident, his mother would do anything to keep him at home; even if it meant having his friends to stay and buying endless supplies of pop and crisps. Billy was aware of the advantages but he felt embarrassed and suffocated by her protectiveness. After all he was almost eleven and grown up. He should be looking after her.

'Thanks,' nodded Pete. 'Your Mam's nice. She always gets things we like.'

'Only 'cos she knows it keeps me at home,' grumbled Billy crossly. 'Want to swap?'

Pete thought about it. 'I don't think mine cares where I am. She spends more time in the pub than she does at home since my dad went off.'

'It's not right, isn't that,' murmured Joe thoughtfully. 'My dad says she shouldn't leave you on your own at your age. Anything could happen.'

'Like what?' asked Pete, genuinely interested in his possible fate.

'Dunno,' replied Joe. 'He didn't say.'

Billy was growing impatient. 'Never mind that. Are we going to run away to Russia or not?'

Pete and Joe thought about it.

'Might as well,' said Pete. 'There's nowt much doing in Coniston.'

'And I reckon my mam and dad'll understand when we stow away on the rocket,' added Joe. 'We'll sell our story to the Express and make 'em rich and famous.'

'I bet they'll be proud of us,' agreed Pete.

'And my mam will see I can look after myself. I don't need her fussing me all the time,' said Billy.
Pete sighed quietly. He wouldn't mind a bit of fussing every now and then.

'We'll fill our satchels with food and go just before it gets light. Did you bring spare clothes, like we told you?' Billy asked Pete.

'Course I did,' he replied indignantly. 'And I remembered my torch and a spare battery. And a penknife,' he added proudly. He made no mention of the small teddy rolled up inside a jumper. Pete was the youngest of the three, although he'd had to grow up fast recently. The nights spent at Billy's house were the highlight of his dreary life. Folks said it was fun being a kid and you didn't have any worries. It seemed to Pete

adults had short memories. Still it was worse for Billy and he was different since the tractor accident. Tougher somehow. But then he was lonely and Pete recognised loneliness when he saw it.

Ruth Watkins was surprised when she opened the door and found the room in darkness and the boys asleep. Usually she had to impose a curfew and turn the radio off. She missed Billy when he was up here with his friends but at least she knew he was safe. She gazed affectionately at her young son and sat on the end of his bed. She wished he would stay this age forever but she knew her father was right. She had to give him some space and not worry all the time. She was just afraid she might lose him too. And she was lonely.

Pete watched her although he pretended to be asleep. Sometimes he wished Billy really would swap and he could live here all the time. He might not even go to Russia then. Someone at school said America and Russia were going to start a terrible war over a place called Cuba. They might even drop atom bombs on everybody. He shivered. He'd seen pictures of a mushroom cloud and he knew it burnt all the skin off your body. He put his arm round his teddy and tried to sleep.

By nine o'clock, Ruth was frantic. She knew she ought to inform the other parents their sons were missing but she felt so responsible. She picked up the phone and rang her father at the farm. Perhaps the boys had got up early and headed up there.

'Now don't go getting yourself in a state, lass,' said her father calmly. 'There are three of them remember.'
'But where could they have gone? What if they've run away, Dad? You know what could happen if they ended up somewhere like Manchester.'

'Nay lass, they've just been gone a few hours and they're only ten years old. Someone's going to spot them before they get far. Now give the police a ring and let them know what's happened. Do you want me to tell Mrs Moore and the Hendersons?'

'Please, Dad. I don't know what to say to them.'

By 9.30 the boys were in Kendal. Nobody asked any questions on the bus, the sun was shining and their adventure had begun.

'Do you think we ought to ring your mam?' asked Pete, knowing she would worry.

Billy was suffering pangs of guilt too but he just had to get away for a while. Every time he passed his granddad's farm on the way to school, he saw the spot where the tractor turned over and crushed his dad. The pictures in his head tortured him. He couldn't cry and he couldn't talk about it - least of all to his mam. He didn't want to upset her.

'We'll go to the post office and draw out my savings and then we'll find a phone box.'

'How much have you got?' asked Joe, finding the aroma of freshly baked bread drifting out of the baker's shop almost too much.

'Twenty-three pounds, ten shillings and sixpence,' said Billy, checking his post office book.

'Heck,' said Pete, impressed. 'That ought to do us. If we hide in the back of a lorry and then stow away on a ship to Russia, we only need enough for food.'

Joe had been pondering that. 'How do we know the lorry's going over to the East Coast?' he asked.

'Simple,' cut in Billy. 'We look out for one with a Newcastle address painted on the side. Or anywhere over there. You've got the map, Joe.'

'Oh, right,' nodded Joe, fishing in his pocket for the page he'd torn out of his dad's AA book.

It seemed the intrepid group had thought of everything.

'Billy!' cried Ruth, relief flooding through her as she heard his voice. 'Where are you? Why did you go off like that without telling me?'

Billy tried to stay calm. 'We're going on an adventure, Mam, but there's nothing to worry about. We've got lots of money and a torch. And you'll be ever so proud of us when you hear what we're going to do.'

'Billy Watkins, you listen to me! You tell me where you are this minute and wait there until your granddad comes to pick you up. You're not going anywhere!'

Billy swallowed. 'I'm not a kid any more, Mam, and I'm going to prove it to you.'

'Billy,' cried his mother. 'Wait, the police are looking for you.'

That shook the ten-year-old to his boots. 'I've got to go, Mam,' he said. 'Don't worry about us. I'll phone you again in a few days.'

He put the phone down, frightened and upset.

'What did she say?' asked Pete, guessing it wasn't good news.

'She's set the police on us,' he answered, shocked. 'We're on the run.'

By the time the description of the boys was circulated, it was too late. The removal van from Newcastle had completed its first drop in the Lakes and was on its way to the next. The driver had no idea he was ferrying three fugitives and a teddy on the first leg of their journey to Moscow and into orbit. There was no reason why he should really.

The aspiring astronauts only woke up when the driver jumped down from his cab and slammed the door. He was lost and went off into the farmyard to ask directions.

'Hey you two, wake up! We must be in Newcastle already,' called Billy.

'C'mon, let's get out quick before the man finds us,' said Pete, afraid they would be arrested and put in jail. The prospect was only slightly less terrifying than an atom bomb. They struggled with the heavy doors and escaped into the wild, remote countryside.

'I know I've never been to Newcastle,' whispered Joe, scratching his head. 'But I didn't think it would look like this.'

Pete and Billy gazed round at the windswept, desolate fells in despair.

'I can't see the sea anywhere,' whimpered Pete, in urgent need of his teddy.
Billy knew he had to take charge before it was too late.

'We must be near 'cos that's where the van came from. I bet if we make our way over those hills, we'll see Newcastle just down the other side.'

The other two looked uncertain but they were prepared to accept any crumb of comfort.

'How about we have something to eat first?' suggested Joe, feeling faint from hunger. Admittedly it was only two hours since they left Kendal but they didn't know that and fear can do funny things.

'I suppose we could have a Mars bar and some Vimto,' agreed Billy. 'But we'd better save the Kendal mintcake we bought in case of emergency. They say that stuff can keep you alive for days in the mountains.'
Pete didn't like the sound of that.

'I'm so sorry, Mrs Moore,' said Ruth, ushering her into the sitting room. 'I had no idea they were planning to do anything like this. I thought Billy would have more sense after what happened last year.'

'It's not your fault,' replied Laura. 'I'm as much to blame. I've neglected Pete since his dad left. I've been so miserable I just couldn't be bothered with him half the time.'

She started to cry and Ruth put her arm round her.

'I reckon we've both had a rough time recently, one way or another.'

The phone rang and Ruth rushed to answer it.

'Mrs Watkins? This is Inspector Miller in Kendal. Apparently the lads were seen here about 10 o'clock this morning. They bought three Cornish pasties and a box of eclairs in a local confectioner's.'

'Has anyone seen them since?' asked Ruth, desperate for information.

There was a deafening silence on the other end. 'We'll let you know if we hear anything. By the way, Billy's schoolfriends told us he was set on running away to Russia and becoming an astronaut. Did you know about that?'

Ruth gasped in horror.

'But I wouldn't worry. They'll probably be all right.'

Ruth sat down by the phone and put her head in her hands. Laura watched her for a moment and then went to make them a cup of tea.

'I'm scared, Billy,' whispered Pete as they stumbled down the hillside, struggling to see in the darkness.
'We can't stay out here all night,' muttered Joe. 'It's getting cold and we'll die of starvation. That mintcake isn't all it's cracked up to be.'

Privately Billy was terrified but he knew he mustn't let his fear show.

'All right, all right. We'll go back to that old barn for the night. Put your torch on, Pete. It's pitch black out here.'

There was a rustling in the satchel and a look of panic on the young boy's face.

'It's gone! I must have dropped it in the van coming over. Now what are we going to do?'
Even Billy was lost for words.

Ruth's father had no idea why he was driving round the countryside like this. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack and the boys were probably in Manchester by now. He turned the Landrover onto the dark fells, thinking how frightened they must be. They were only kids and not as tough as they pretended to be by a long chalk. He knew Billy was having problems and Ruth was smothering him. Geoff was dead and there was nothing anyone could do about that. But he couldn't bear it if anything happened to Billy as well.

Billy made them hold hands, which felt a bit silly at first.

'We can't afford to lose each other,' he said sensibly. 'If we go back the way we came, we should come to the barn soon.'

'Shush a minute. What's that noise?' asked Joe, stiffening.

'What noise?' asked Billy, although he heard the mournful cry.

'I can't see anything, it's so dark,' whispered Pete, clutching his teddy.

The haunting sound crept ever closer to the terrified boy.

'It's a ghost,' cried Pete, shivering violently from cold and terror.

There was an unearthly screech by his ear and he let go of Joe's hand and ran off blindly until he tripped over an old cairn and fell to the ground.

'It's an owl,' called Billy, racing after him. 'It's just an old barn owl, silly.'

But Pete was hurt and frightened and the tears streamed down his face. His ankle hurt, he couldn't walk and worst of all, he'd lost his teddy.

Billy looked down at his friend and knew what he had to do. This adventure had been his idea and he'd led them all into terrible danger. If Pete died, it would be his fault.

'Joe, you stay with Pete and try to keep warm. Put my coat round him. Eat as much of the food as you want.'

'Wait, Billy,' said Joe anxiously ‘where are you going?'

'For help,' said the young boy grimly. 'I'm the one who got us into this. I'll keep walking till I find a house somewhere and then I'll get help. They might have to take Pete to hospital in Newcastle and we'll have to let his mam know. And mine,' he added sadly.

So much for proving he was a man. Someone who could take care of her now his dad was dead. He blinked back the tears and set off. He was still walking four hours later when he saw the headlights across the moors. Not just one set - but three or four. What were that many cars doing on the moors of Northumberland in the middle of the night?

He realised they were coming his way and he was afraid. They could be dangerous criminals or poachers up to no good. But they were also the only chance he had of saving his friends. He started to scream and shout wildly as they got closer.

The first vehicle stopped and the door opened. Billy took a deep breath.

'Please can you help me? My friend's hurt and if we don't get a doctor soon he might die. Please!'

He sank to the ground, overcome by fear and exhaustion. He was barely conscious as strong arms enveloped him and held him close. He was confused. There was something familiar about that smell.

'It's all right, Billy, everything's going to be all right.'

'Granddad?' whispered Billy, thinking he was dreaming or more likely dead. 'Is that you?'

'It is,' sighed his grandfather, kissing his head. 'And Joe and Pete are going to be fine too. I found them two hours ago. It was you we were worried about.'

Billy buried his head deep inside the comforting woollen jacket, unable to believe he was safe at last. Everyone was safe. Then a thought struck him.

'Granddad?'

'Yes, lad?'

'What are you doing in Newcastle?'

'Delirious, poor lad,' nodded the ambulance man sagely. 'It's all been too much for him.'

'Has your mam forgiven you yet?' asked Pete, the next week at school.

Billy sighed. 'Not really. She wasn't as proud as I thought she would be - when I told her what we were going to do. She made me promise never to do it again because she needs me. She said she relies on me now - like she used to rely on my dad.'

Billy didn't know his granddad had talked to her and tried to explain the way he felt. Secretly they were both proud of him but they couldn't tell him that.

'The funny thing is she thought we'd run away forever at first. She said that's what really scared her. I told her I wouldn't do that - I'm happy and she burst into tears. I thought it'd make her feel better. I don't think I'll ever understand women.'

Joe nodded in agreement, resting his chin on his hand thoughtfully.

'It was the same with me,' said Pete, equally bewildered. 'Even my mam was crying when I got home. Ever so upset she was and I didn't think she would be bothered.'

They pondered the enigma that was the fair sex.

Joe sighed. 'The worst thing is we went through all that and never got more than ten miles away from home.'
'Well how was I to know the removal van had another delivery in the Lakes?' asked Billy mournfully.

Two teachers walked past the bench, glancing at the three boys in amusement.

'Let's hope they don't hear about the strange lights Wilf Potter saw in the sky over the Coppermine’s last night,' whispered one.
'On his way home from the pub,' added the woman grinning.

Billy looked up, his face alight with interest. He turned to the others and realised they had heard the conversation too. An unspoken idea formed in their minds.

'Are you two doing anything tomorrow night?' he asked, excited.