تصادف

Chapter four

The Accident

Autumn turned to winter. In the regular Saturday morning meeting, Joan clapped her hands and asked everyone to be quiet. Everyone stopped talking and looked at her.

“The Council is going to pull this place down, so we have one month to find a new meeting place. Has anyone got any ideas?”

The room was silent.

“Well, if we want to keep Helping Hand, we must find a place for our office. so get onto your bicycles or motorbikes and start looking.”

“This is your chance to ride your bicycle out in the countryside.”

Kathy had an old bicycle she’d bought from a friend at Helping Hand. At the moment the bicycle was at the bike shop. William’s friend George wanted to mend the brakes before Kathy went out onto the busy roads.

“We’ll go on Sunday. We can join the others and have a picnic.”

Kathy got up early on Sunday morning and walked to the shop to collect her bicycle.

“Hello. You’re up early, aren’t you?”

“Yes. We’re going on a picnic today, so I need my bicycle.”

“Well, the new tyres are on and the front brake works, but today I wanted to mend the back brake. It’s not working properly.”

“Oh, never mind. I’ll ride slowly and I’ll try to be very careful with the front brake.”

“It’s very dangerous to use the front brake without the back one. If you put it on too hard, you’ll fall off.”

She still didn’t know how to ride her bicycle very well, but she wanted to go on the picnic more than anything else.

“Show me what to do, then I won’t be in any danger.”

George got onto the bicycle and rode round Kathy, then he put on the front brake. The back wheel of the bicycle moved to the side and George nearly fell off.

“Now you see what can happen.”

He pushed the bike over to where Kathy stood.

“Yes.”

“Now you try, but this time use the front brake gently.”

Kathy rode slowly round George, then gently put on the front brake. The bike slowed, then stopped.

“That’s it, but remember, you have no back brake. Your bicycle is dangerous.”

“Thank you, George. And don’t worry, I really will be very careful. That must be William and the others.”

“Well, have a good time and bring your bicycle back here tonight, so then I can fix it properly.”

“Goodbye and don’t worry.”

She got on her bicycle and went to meet the others. They all started cycling together towards the countryside.

“Is everything all right?”

“No problem.”

At the end of the road, there was a hill. They all cycled slowly up that hill and Kathy pedalled harder to catch up with them. At last, they got to the top.

“Who wants to race me down the hill?”

They started going down the hill. They were going faster and faster and William was singing loudly.

“This is like flying!”

Kathy’s bicycle zoomed down the hill. Suddenly, Kathy saw a crossroads at the bottom of the hill. A lorry was coming slowly from a side road moving into the main road. Gently, Kathy put on the front brake of her bicycle, but it just slowed a little, it didn’t stop.

“Put your brakes on, Kathy!”

“I can’t! William. Help!. Oh, my God!”

Kathy froze with fear. She saw the look of horror on the lorry driver’s face just before she crashed into the side of his lorry. Then, for a moment, everything went black.