The Thirteenth (8 page)

The look on Shane’s face said it all. “There was nothing with the picture; he just matched the symbols by chance. It was one of several images of village people who I can only presume died. She was the only one with the tattoo that matched yours. Val, these were all innocent people who were persecuted for no reason in a time of madness.”

Val gazed thoughtfully at the image.

Delta, unable to cope with the uncomfortable silence that seemed to have fallen over them, chirped up, “OK, so who is going to take us home? I don’t do walking.”

She stood up and walked towards the sink to drop off her cup.

“Tell your friend thanks and to please keep looking. If he is as good a friend as you think he is, then tell him about me.” Val looked seriously at Shane as if she was making a life changing decision.

“If that’s what you want, then I will.” Delta, who was ready to leave, shuffled impatiently. Shane shook his head and laughed, taking the hint. “I’ll call you girls a taxi. I need to close up and get home.”

“And there was me thinking this was your home.” Delta looked Shane up and down like an icicle with a tan.

Val glanced up at the old train station clock that was on the wall. “Oh my goodness it’s nearly six o’clock! My parents will be waiting for me.”

Within minutes the taxi was outside. Val gave Shane a friendly hug. Whatever the future might bring, she had made a new friend, someone she could trust and had shown that he cared about her.

“I’ll call in tomorrow to see if there’s any news,” she said to Shane as she got into the taxi.

Feeling a tap on his shoulder Shane turned to face Delta who had come up behind him. She signalled with her index finger for him to bend down to her height. With a very stern face Delta spoke in an almost Al Capone tone of voice.

“Firstly
do not
try to hug me; I don’t do touchy feely. Secondly, if you betray my friend there’ll be no stone left unturned until I hunt you down and make sure you wish you had never been born.” Shane tried to look serious, acting as if he was intimidated by Delta just so he didn’t hurt her feelings. It was nice to see that they cared so much about each other.

“I promise,” Shane mimicked a cross on his heart while nodding profusely. Delta flicked her hair back over her shoulder and strutted off to the taxi. Shane turned towards the shop, feeling the inclination to go and call a good friend for some serious help. What had he gotten himself into?

Delta parked her bottom next to Val in the taxi. As it pulled away from Shane’s shop, they moved in as close as was comfortable for them both.

As Val looked at Delta who was gazing out of the window, she felt something she hadn’t realised before. It was love for her best friend. Their relationship had just moved to a new level, something that Val thought very few people would experience: a friend who would risk everything to keep you safe.

The streets seemed to rush past and they quickly reached Delta’s house. As Delta got out of the taxi she turned to look at Val. To Val’s surprise there were tears in Delta’s eyes. In the seven years they had been friends Val had never seen Delta shed a tear, not even when she had fallen from the tree in Val’s garden and broken her leg.

“I’m sorry, Delta, I don’t know what’s happening to me.” Val moved into Delta’s spot in the taxi almost leaning out. “If you want me to go tonight and never darken your doorstep again I will completely understand.” Val looked up at Delta waiting for what seemed like an endless time for an answer.

“Val, don’t ever leave me again, do you understand?” Val nodded. This was a good sign. Delta bent down now, leaning back into the taxi so their faces almost touching. “Because if you do I’ll have to spend the rest of my life looking for you and I have much better things to do, OK?”

“I didn’t mean to leave you, but, yes, I promise. That’s fine with me.” Delta stood back up, slamming the door shut and signalling the driver to pull away.

Val watched as Delta turned and straightened her skirt before walking up her drive. “I promise,” Val said under her breath as Delta moved out of sight.

When the taxi pulled up outside Val’s house, she found herself paying the driver almost as much as she had earned to date. She didn’t care; she was just glad to be home. She could already see her mum standing in the window of the living room, looking for her.

Val knew she was in trouble. Wednesday was family night. Her mum went out of her way to keep up traditions. As a child, Val had never been allowed to attend any after school clubs or go to play at friends’ houses on sacred Wednesdays.

Seeing her mum come out of the house, Val really wanted to tell her everything. Nonetheless, she knew what had to be done.

“Where have you been? You know what night it is!” Susan was shaking in anger, then she noticed the bloody lump on Val’s head and her face melted. “Oh dear me, what happened to you?” Realising what her mum was looking at, Val lifted her hand to her forehead.

“A book fell on my head at the shop. I was nearly knocked unconscious. I’m sorry I’m late,” Val said convincingly.

“Why didn’t you come home on the bus? And why didn’t you call us?” Susan was now picking at Val’s head as if she was a mother gorilla checking for fleas.

Val pushed her mum away. “I didn’t call because I knew you would worry, and I’m fine. I came home in the taxi because I didn’t want people on the bus staring at me, OK?” Val had now managed to break free from her mother’s vice-like grip and was speedily walking into the house with Susan in hot pursuit.

“Your dad is really disappointed that you didn’t make it home in time for dinner. He has an amazing new job he wanted to tell you about. You’d better speak to him about it.” Susan pushed Val towards the lounge where her father was busy watching golf.

Val had to shout to be heard over the TV. “Hi Dad. Have a good day?” There had been questions in the past about Mike’s hearing although they had eventually agreed it was selective rather than damaged.

“Huh,” and a back-handed wave was the total of Mike’s reaction.

“OK Mum, now can I get something to eat?” Val moved into the kitchen with Susan still hot on her heals.

“There’s food still left from the party in the fridge.” Susan started sniffing around Val. “Can you smell smoke?”

“Do you think Dad has been smoking again? Val asked searching Susan’s face for a reaction; she got exactly what she was looking for. Val felt guilty for lying but she couldn’t take another minute of questions.

“Do you think? If he is, I’ll kill him.” Susan picked up the cordless phone and headed towards the French doors that led out onto the patio. “I’ll check out here for evidence while I call your aunty Janine.” Susan was now dialling and Val knew she was scot-free. Her mum would be on the phone for the next sixty minutes with only a break for the odd breath.

“See you in the morning, Mum.” Val filled a plate, grabbed a bottle of water and was off. Her mother didn’t even bother trying to answer. Val made her way past the lounge, popping her head in to wish her Dad good night and received the same meaningful grunt as before. Well, at least she could rely on them for consistency.

Val dropped her plate of food onto the bed and took a long and much needed drink of water. Putting the bottle down, she checked that the door was shut and slipped off her clothes. Putting on a pair of long sleeved pyjamas, she made her way down the landing to the bathroom. The mirror there revealed horribly matted hair and various bumps bruises and bumps. She wondered how many more she was going to get before this was all over.

Val made her way back into her room to devour the plate of food she had thrown together. Being a strange teleporting, water floating and fire-resistant creature sure gave you an appetite. She finished up and grabbed another sip of water before climbing into bed. What would she dream of tonight Val wondered as she started to drift off into a sound and restful sleep. That was until she woke to the sound of a woman’s screams.

Val sat bolt upright. She was covered in cold sweat. The scream had been so loud! Turning to look at her clock, she realised that it was only three in the morning. Then she heard the scream again. It was here, real, and she instantly thought it must be her mum. She leapt out of bed, quickly moving in the dark towards her bedroom door. The screams seemed to be coming from the landing. She touched the door handle, then had to release it quickly as sharp pains shot up her arm. Taking a deep breath, she grasped the handle again and pushed it down. She needed to find out who was in trouble and where. Coming out of her room, Val was surprised it was so dark given the volume of the screaming, which must have surely woken everyone. Nor was there any light coming from under her parents’ door.

Where was the noise coming from? She stopped and listened, and then it became clear: it was coming from the bathroom. Val opened the door placing her hand hesitantly around the wall to turn on the light. Everything looked normal. Moving cautiously she crossed the room towards the window, still hearing the pounding screams in her head, and feeling the pain in her arm that didn’t seem to be lessening. Opening the frosty window, she leaned out to see if anyone on the street was in need of assistance. The street was empty apart from a couple of stray cats, visible only by the glow of the dim streetlights. No one screaming for help out here, she thought.

Closing the window, she made her way back to the door and locked it. Once she knew for certain that she was alone, she lifted her pyjama sleeve to find out which symbol was causing her so much pain. It looked like the pi sign Val had seen in maths: two straight columns with a flat line on the top. Not only did she not know what it was, she didn’t really care as the noise was getting out of control, just like the cars had on the previous day. Realising that the screams weren’t going anywhere, Val started to search the bathroom to find where they were coming from and spotted a flicker in her dad’s shaving mirror. She pulled it on its flexible bar, drawing it closer to her. Now she could see where the screams were coming from. An old lady was being tied up by a young woman. “That’s terrible,” Val mumbled under her breath, barely able to think straight under the double assault of the pain in her arm and the terrible screams.

For the first time, Val knew she had a choice of sorts. She could touch the mirror and possibly be transported into a very dangerous situation, or she could go back to bed and suffer with the excruciating pain in her arm and the old lady’s wails resounding in her head. Fantastic! Well, at least there were options for a change.

Val took a deep breath. “OK lady, here I come,” she said, touching the mirror. The pain in her arm faded, along with any control over the rest of her body. It almost felt this time as if she had been put through a blender and spat out the other side. Val landed on the curb of the road with quite a jolt; the fact that she only had her pyjamas on didn’t help.

Standing up and brushing herself down, Val checked herself out: arms - two; legs - two; head - one; It all seemed to be there. Val turned around, absorbing the panorama. Where was the old woman? In her vision, she was being tied up to a chair and there were definitely no chairs in the middle of the street.

The place she had landed in definitely didn’t look familiar. She wasn’t even sure what country she was in. As she started to walk down the street, the only light to aid her journey was that coming from the streetlamps, which, at three in the morning, were still lit. What now, she wondered? She didn’t know what step to take next. She had been expecting to fall directly into the situation with the old lady, and now she was completely lost. How was she supposed to find the woman? She looked around carefully. Surely there would be a clue somewhere. Ah! Could that be it? About four houses down and set back from the road, was an open front door. A tree partially obscured it, making it impossible to see in, but as Val cautiously made her way towards it, she could already hear faint cries. She reached the path in front of the house and started to make her way up the gravel drive. “Ow!” Val yelped as a stone cut deep into her foot. She didn’t have time to look at it, but it really hurt.
Note to self, always wear slippers or possibly heavy-duty military boots in bed from now on
. There was a red Ford KA parked in the driveway so Val used it as cover, and quietly made her way around it in the hope that no one would spot her. She reached the open door safely.

“Please don’t hurt me. I will do whatever you say.” The pleading voice reached her quite clearly. It was definitely an old woman’s voice; it could have been Val’s grandma. She didn’t know how she was going to do it, but she was going to help this woman. As Val stepped into the doorway she spotted what looked like a rounders bat leaning on a sports bag against an inside wall.

Odd thing, Val thought, for an old lady to have. Maybe it belonged to one of her children or grandchildren. It didn’t really matter; it would make a perfect weapon. Picking it up, she slowly made her way down the hall.

Her nerves were beginning to get the better of her and it sounded almost like her heart was beating in her head. She was surprised that she could still hear the cries through the drumming. The old woman’s moans had become a whimper; Val guessed she had been gagged.

The closer Val got to the room the old woman was in, the more her fear grew. She stopped when she heard what she thought was a younger woman’s voice. This was good news. Val knew she would stand a better chance against a woman than a man, unless of course she had a mute accomplice. Val was now outside the door, which was open just enough for her to see into the room. As she peeked in, she saw the old woman’s thin frame. She wasn’t in a chair, but on the floor, face down. A younger woman was pushing down onto her back with her whole weight while she bound her hands with what looked like a very colourful silk scarf. That done, the girl started to speak into the old woman’s ear.

“What did you think you were going to achieve? Are you crazy?” The woman was completely irate and prodded the older woman angrily.

Val knew she had to move quickly, while the younger woman was busy. She lifted the bat above her head and she moved into the room.