The Awakening (15 page)

“Andrew told me what you did to Terry. How you’ve been boasting about it. You must hav’ got lucky.” He slapped the bat against his palm menacingly. “You ain’t gonna get lucky twice.”

I looked behind me. The alleyway ran behind the shops that lined the high street. The far wall was fronted by a dozen dustbins and broken wooden pallets. The top coated in razor wire.

A dead end. Nowhere to run.

I put up my hand trying to appease TJ, but he swatted it away.

“Listen,” I continued regardless “I don’t want to fight you. I don’t deserve any of this. Just leave me alone...” I paused, “...please.”

A jeering smirk slid across his sour face. “Haha look at you, you’re brickin’ it! It’s so pathetic! I’m going to enjoy breaking your ribs.” He stepped backwards and raised the bat over his shoulder like a baseball player. My drunkenness had vanished, replaced by keen alertness and the rage. It grew inside me like before, but fuelled by alcohol it felt darker. Primal. So much so, it frightened me. With Terry I’d known what was happening, but this time it felt like it was taking me over.

“Listen to me,” I warned, my voice shaking from the fury brimming just below the surface. “You have to leave now. I can’t control myself. You’re going to get really hurt!” Confusion clouded his face. This was not the pleading he’d clearly expected. “Control yourself? What are you going on about? God you're such a freak!”

The fury spewed to the surface like a raging volcano.

“I AM NOT A FREAK!"

I shot out my fist as TJ swung the bat. The two collided and there was a tremendous crack as the wood splintered over my knuckles. The jagged pieces clattered to the floor. TJ cried out in shock and recoiled. I paced forward and exploded my fist again.It smashed against the side of his face. I felt his cheekbone shatter. He screamed and clutched his damaged face. But I wasn’t done. I grabbed his shirt and spun him around, shoving him further into the alleyway. He flew back at least six feet, sprawling over a dustbin and landing awkwardly on his back. He scrambled to his feet and tried to dart past me to escape, but he might as well have been crawling. I seized him by the neck and hurled him into the wall. His nose burst in an explosion of claret. He was sobbing now, the tears mixing with blood. He doubled over and raised his hands, begging for me to stop. It was no use, I couldn’t. All I could think about were all the times I’d been humiliated. All the times I’d been used as a punching bag by Terry and his gang - including this blubbering wretch. I drove a fist into his ribs. He spiralled to the floor and I started to kick him. He wailed in response. I kicked him again and again. His bones cracked from the hammering of my foot. I was screaming. A demented sound of fury and anguish, which filled my ears and drowned out his cries of mercy. I kicked him in the face, stomach, legs, back, anywhere I could connect. He had rolled into a ball and made thick distraught sounds with every impact. Again and again and again. Eventually, the fury started to drain away, like a receding wave. I stopped kicking and bent over, sucking in mouthfuls of air. Everything was silent. Only the dull thud of the nightclub could be heard in the distance.

The rage disappeared completely, retreating into whatever pit it had sprung from. Then I was left with the utter horror of what I had done. TJ was a crumpled mass, lying in a pool of his own blood. My eyes went wide with fear as I looked at his broken, abused body.

“Oh my god, what have I done?” I gasped and leaned over him, pressing my fingers against his neck. It was slick with blood. They kept slipping off the skin. Eventually I managed to keep them in position long enough to check for a pulse.

I backed away from TJ’s body, stumbling over trash bags and fled from the backstreet. I almost collided with a couple who were kissing passionately and heading into the alleyway. I staggered past them and sped towards home, keeping my head down in someone recognised me. A few seconds later I heard the girl’s piercing scream.

I ran as fast and as hard as I could. My mind was blurry, my temples pounding. The voice in my head just kept repeating
He’s dead! He’s dead!
Oh god, I killed him!
Tears flowed down my face, I could feel them edging down my cheeks, warm compared to the whipping wind that clawed my skin as I shot forwards.

When I reached the house, I raised a trembling hand to the lock and fell through the door. The house was quiet. My legs felt like jelly as I mounted the stairs.
Why did I hit him so hard? Why didn’t I stop?
I knew how strong I was. What did I think would have happened?
Oh no, what have I done?

I kept waiting for the wail of police sirens. In my mind I saw dozens of squad cars weaving their way towards my house, blue lights blazing. I hesitated on the landing, not sure whether to go to my room or call Mikey and tell him what I’d done. I was so scared.

Sweat clung to my hand as I opened the door to my room.

The lights were out and the curtains drawn. The room was shrouded in darkness. I was completely blind, but I could sense something. My breath caught in my throat as I realised that someone was in the room with me.

“Who’s there?” I whispered into the abyss.

No answer.

My hand fumbled for the light switch. After a few seconds I found it and pressed. The result was blinding and it took a few seconds for my eyes to adjust. When they did I gasped. Sitting on my desk, arms folded, was Gabriella.

Vaulting off the desk, she marched towards me, finishing a few centimetres from where I stood. Sweet Ella was gone and the powerful force I’d witnessed on the football pitch was back. I recoiled instinctively, pressing my back against the wall.

“You stupid
idiota
!” she spat, her eyes brimming with fire. “You know how strong you are. Hell, you showed off to me about it. What were you thinking, beating TJ within an inch of his life?”

My jaw fell open. “H-how could you know about that, I literally just came from-”

“I know everything!” Gabriella blazed, cutting me off. She stormed over to the other side of the room and threw up her hands in exasperation. Turning back to me her tone was softer but still flecked with anger. “All I can say is you’re lucky he didn’t die.”

Her words sank in.

“He...he isn’t dead?”

Gabriella sighed. “No he isn’t dead, thank God. We got to him in time. If you’d killed him we’d have much bigger problems. As it stands, he’s going to be okay. Luckily, we managed to keep it contained. Everything would be so much more difficult if we had unconnected police crawling around us.”

My eyes went wide and my throat dried up. “Keep it contained? We...unconnected? What are you talking about?”

Her eyes flashed up at mine. “Are you really that stupid? The car accident? Beating up Terry and now this? Aren’t you a little surprised there have been no repercussions to any of it?”

Finally it dawned on me. “Gabriella, are you a part of all of this?” I croaked. “Do you know what’s happening to me?”

She nodded, her face solemn. “Yes.”

The room started to spin. I couldn’t take any more. I felt like I was going to pass out. The words slipped out of my mouth, barely a whisper.

PART II

CHOSEN

10

W
hat time is it?” Gabriella barked.

I looked at my watch. “It’s almost one,” I said quietly.

I was still pressed against the wall, beads of sweat trickling down my forehead. I couldn’t think straight. It felt as if the thread which held my world together was coming loose.

I turned to the mirror and heaved. My mouth and chin was smeared with TJ’s blood. My knuckles were coated in it. I froze, staring at the fallout of my actions.

“Alex!” hissed Gabriella.

Her voice snapped me back into reality. I washed the evidence off my mouth and hands, watching as the blood diluted into a pale pink under the flowing tap. Shaking, I shut off the water and dried myself with a towel.

I obeyed without a single argument. I felt numb. Gabriella was the key to it all.
Why didn’t I see it before?
I’d known from the start that something was up with this girl, how had I failed to connect the dots? The answer was glaringly obvious. I’d been blinded by her beauty.

As I put my arms around her waist, I laughed humourlessly to myself. I would have killed for the chance to ride together on her bike. Now I nearly had and felt nothing but sick to my stomach.

Gabriella kicked the bike into action and we surged down the road. Parked cars blurred into trees and shops as we sped into town. The bike slowed as we neared the alleyway where I’d... I didn’t want to think about it.

I noticed with shock that the alleyway was completely empty. There was no evidence that anything had happened at all. The bins had been tidied and the blood-stained concrete had been cleaned. TJ was gone. Those around acted as if nothing had happened. They ate food from kebab shops, chatted and smoked in drunken bliss.

There were no police in sight. No yellow tape. No crying witnesses.

Nothing.

Gabriella twisted the accelerator and we sped up again, climbing the hill towards the north part of town, where the tube station was situated. We arrived at the station and I clambered off the bike. My guide stepped off afterwards, killing the ignition and pocketing the keys.

Gabriella glanced around to make sure no one was looking. This part of town mainly consisted of supermarkets and car showrooms, so was pretty dead at this time of night. Just a handful of drunks stumbled past, cans of beer clutched in their hands. When they’d gone from sight, she positioned herself in front of the barrier. Stretching her arms wide for greater coverage, she yanked hard against the gate. With a scream it snapped off its hinges and into her hands. She placed the entire thing against the adjacent wall. My expression must have been one complete shock, because she laughed.

“Oh come on Alexander, did you
really
think you were the only one?”

We went inside and hopped over deactivated barriers.

Leading the way, Gabriella headed in the direction of the platform. We descended a few flights of concrete steps and jumped more barriers. When we reached the platform, I took her arm.

I stayed on the spot for a few more moments, thinking.
I need to know.

I nodded.

“Then stop being such a baby and get down here.”

So against my better judgment, I lowered myself onto the tracks and followed Gabriella. We ran between the rails for what seemed like forever. Eventually the tube went underground. I could feel the track sloping under my feet as we entered the yawning black mouth. We were plunged into complete darkness, but that didn’t seem to bother my guide.

“Take my hand,” she said without breaking her stride. I closed my palm around hers and felt the familiar crackle along with a harsh tug as she surged forward, pulling me along.

Incredibly, not long after, my eyesight seemed to adjust to the dense darkness and things grew clearer. Not a huge amount, but enough that I could make out the track and tunnel walls.

Ahead I saw the dim light of a station platform. As we reached it, Gabriella slowed. “We need to get out here and change to another platform,” she informed me. I followed her, leaping up onto the platform with surprising ease. The tiled sign said Earls Court.

Not stopping, Gabriella paced along the tiled corridors of the station, leading us to another platform and back onto the tracks. There was a strong smell of diesel here and a flash image of thundering tubular trains shot into my mind. I shook it away.