‘I understand,’ Emily said softly. If she had a choice, she’d love to run away too. But she couldn’t. Pegasus still needed her.
Eric jotted down two names and telephone numbers on a piece of paper he pulled out of his pocket. ‘Memorize these if you can,’ he said, handing the numbers to Emily. ‘They are to my brother in Brooklyn and my parents in New Jersey. Call either of them if you really get stuck. My dad is ex-military. You tell them I told you to call and they’ll help you. I wish I could do more. But all hell is breaking loose in the city and I’ve got to go.’
As he and Carol started to move away, Eric called back: ‘You’ve got bandages and antiseptic in the bags. Get that leg cleaned up as soon as you can. And remember, memorize those phone numbers. You might need them.’
‘I will,’ Emily promised softly. ‘Thank you so much for everything.’
‘Good luck, kids, and God bless,’ Eric said with a wave as he and Carol slipped away through the trees.
When they had gone, Emily started to shake.
‘What are we going to do, Joel? The CRU are after us.’
Joel shrugged. ‘I really don’t know. But we can’t do anything until it gets darker.’ He started going through the bags of shopping. ‘If we have any luck at all, the CRU and military will concentrate on finding the creatures before they come after us. In the meantime, let’s get Pegasus fed and that leg of yours cleaned up.’
As the sun started to set, Emily and Joel cleaned and treated the deep cuts on the stallion’s hind end. They had already cleaned and bandaged Emily’s leg. The painkillers were working and she was feeling much better.
‘At least we now know who stabbed Pegasus with the spear,’ Emily said as she gently rubbed antiseptic cream into a deep wound on the stallion’s hind leg.
‘The real question is why?’ Joel asked.
Emily gave Pegasus a soft kiss on the muzzle, then sat down on the ground and reached for an apple. But before the fruit reached her lips, her eyes flew open wide.
‘Robin!’ she cried.
‘What?’ Joel said, running to her side. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘The last thing my dad said to me was to remember Robin!’ Emily caught hold of Joel’s hands and climbed to her feet painfully. ‘I didn’t understand what he meant. He was talking in code in case the CRU were listening. But now I remember!’
‘Remember what? Emily, what are you talking about?’
As she spoke, Emily started to pack their supplies into Eric and Carol’s picnic basket. ‘When I was really young, my mom and dad used to bring me up to the park. We’d go to this really hidden area at the upper end. Dad would pretend to be the Sheriff of Nottingham. Mom would be Maid Marion and I’d be Robin Hood! Every Sunday we’d come and play sword fights.’
‘I still don’t understand,’ Joel said helplessly.
‘Before he hung up, my dad said “remember Robin”. He said he’d be there. Don’t you see, Joel? Dad told me to take you and Pegasus to where we used to play Robin Hood. It’s really private. No one will find us there. We could hide for a bit and plan our next move.’
‘Then what are we waiting for?’ Joel cried. ‘Let’s get you on Pegasus and get moving!’
Remaining in the safe cover of trees, they travelled north. The sun finally set, and they walked for much of the way in complete darkness. As they travelled, they heard the sound of multiple helicopters arriving in the sky over Central Park. Peering up through the trees, they saw the bright searchlights shining down to the ground.
‘They’re looking for us,’ Joel said darkly.
Emily looked down at Pegasus and saw that in the dark, he appeared even whiter than before. He no longer looked like an ordinary horse. There was no mistaking that he was different. If the beam of a searchlight were to touch him, there would be no escape.
‘Joel, wait, we’ve got to stop. Please help me down.’
‘We can’t. We’re meeting your dad at the play area—’ Joel stopped when he saw Emily struggling to get down off Pegasus. ‘What is it?’ he said, helping her. ‘What’s wrong?’
‘Pegs, you are just so brilliant white! We’ve got to do something about your colour,’ Emily turned to Joel. ‘He wasn’t like this when I first found him on the roof. Even last night he wasn’t this white. But look at him now! It’s like he’s becoming brighter by the minute.’
‘You’re right. He’s really starting to glow.’
Joel put the picnic hamper down on the ground and started to dig through their supplies. ‘While we were out shopping, I had an idea. We bought all we could.’
‘What did you get?’ Emily asked.
Joel held up a package, but in the dark, Emily couldn’t see what it was.
‘What is that?’