Discovery

Lucien

He stared at the still figure of the boy, the blood roaring in his ears. there was just one thought going about in his head as he looked at the inert figure lying motionless at the bottom of the ravine, How would he break the news to his wife, he thought, his fists clenching. How?

Beston and Piers, led by Philippe and a few of the men, had already scrambled down the slope, slipping and sliding but uncaring in their haste to get to the prone figure of the youth at the bottom of the crevice.

All the while, Lucien stood, unmoving, his blood boiling as he realised that the boy had been deliberately targeted. This had been no accident. Paddy was someone who revered his bike; he enjoyed gliding along the roads and Gaston had seen him, a beatific smile on his face as he rode by, lost in the moment.

He would never have rashly driven his beloved bike into the woods in this way; would never have taken this path which was not a path at all.

Someone had chased him, forcing him to drive mad