Lost River
Stephen Booth
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
HarperCoiimsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2010
Copyright © Stephen Booth 2010
Stephen Booth asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work
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Source ISBN: 9780007243488
Ebook Edition © FEBRUARY 2010 ISBN: 9780007290604
Version: 2015-01-19
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For Lesley, as always
Table of Contents
Monday
On the banks of the river, Ben Cooper was running. His breath came ragged and hot in his throat. The sweat ran into his eyes. All around him, water rushed over stones, pale rocks gleamed under the surface, wet slabs of limestone caught the glare of sunlight trapped in a narrow valley. As he splashed at the edge of the water, he saw shimmers of steam rising from the wet grass, bursts of foam on the edge of his vision. And he saw long streams of blood, swirling in the current like eels.
A hundred yards away, someone had started to scream. The noise echoed off the limestone cliffs, and shrieked among the caves and pinnacles of the dale. He wanted to put his hands over his ears to block out the noise, to stop the pain of the screaming.
But he knew it would never stop, would never be out of his head again.
Behind him, other people were running. He could hear them stumbling and gasping, crashing into trees, cursing each other. The outlines of the Twelve Apostles swayed against the sky above him, jagged stone