Tube Riders, The (6 page)

Dan squeezed his eyes shut. ‘That’s fucked.’

‘Yes, it is. The worst thing, though, was that the looters were still there. In my parents’ room, in the basement, searching for anything of value they could find. They were just about done, their hands full of some money my dad had secreted away, and my mother’s jewelry. And then I walked through the door. I was fifteen. I’d just come home from school.’ She gave a bitter laugh. ‘It must have been like Christmas.’

Dan risked a glance at her, and was surprised not to see a single tear in her eyes. Her face was cold, hard like stone.

‘There were six of them. By the time the first three or four were done, I was past caring. When they’d all had their fill, they beat the living shit out of me and kicked me out on to the street like a piece of junk. Then they torched my house.’

Tears welled in Dan’s eyes. He suddenly regretted coming here. Regretted it very much.

‘Things got worse,’ she continued. ‘The usual downward spiral. I took drugs to blank it out, ended up homeless, whoring myself for money. What I really wanted was to die, I just didn’t know how. Then, three months ago, a guy who called himself my boyfriend dragged me down here, promising a new high. When I saw those trains and what people were doing, I saw my chance to escape. I jumped at that train, wanting it to end me. But when I landed on the other side, it was like I had passed through a wall. I had emerged into a new world.’

Dan didn’t know what to say. Behind them, a train roared through the station, leaving more screams and tears in its aftermath, as the gradual job of clearing away Petey’s remains began.

‘I put a knife in my boyfriend’s heart as we lay together that night. And since then I have hunted and killed every one of those men who hurt me and slaughtered my family. Cross jumping gave me peace. And in return, I will protect it.’ She turned and walked a few steps away from him.

‘The Tube Riders play a game,’ she continued. ‘They hang from the sides of the trains like kids on a climbing frame. The Cross Jumpers joust with death itself. You make it, you live. You miss – like Petey did – you die. Our only game is to see how close to death we can get.’

Dan remembered the way the Tube Riders had talked about the Cross Jumpers, that cross jumping was considered easy, that having no contact with the trains at all was an easy way out, but Dreggo had impressed him. Perhaps coming here hadn’t been such a bad idea after all. If nothing else, he wanted to join them just to be near her.

He waited until she turned around, then he looked up. It took him a moment to speak because his heart was beating so hard. ‘So? Am I in?’

‘Tell me where the Tube Riders are, and I’ll let you take the initiation.’

‘What–’

She turned back towards him, a knife in her hand. ‘This is the knife I used to gut those men,’ she said. ‘The way they did my father. Only I made sure it took them a lot longer to die.’ She rubbed a finger along the blade, and a little trickle of blood appeared on her skin. ‘I’ll let you take the initiation,
if you tell me where the Tube Riders are
.’

He hesitated only a second. ‘St. Cannerwells,’ he said, voice shaking.

The knife vanished. The same hand rubbed Dreggo’s nose. Her thin brow furrowed. ‘I don’t know that one,’ she said.

‘It’s on the old Piccadilly Line, two or three stops past West Green. There’s only one entrance left, at the top of St. Cannerwells Park, opposite a boarded-up launderette.’

Dreggo stroked her chin, and the seductive tone was back. ‘My, my, keen to sell out our friends, aren’t we?’

‘They’re not my friends,’ Dan said quickly. ‘They didn’t want me.’

‘Who is their leader?’

‘They don’t have one.’

‘Every gang has a leader.’

Dan felt a sudden pang of disgust with himself, but the words were already on his tongue. ‘It guess it would be Marta. Yeah, their leader is called Marta.’

‘Hmm.’ Dreggo turned back to him. ‘Okay, you can have your chance.’ She turned. ‘Maul! This one is going to take the initiation. Let’s see if he has what it takes to become a Cross Jumper.’

Maul jogged over. He pulled something from his pocket and handed it to Dreggo. It looked like a black scarf.

‘Come with me,’ Dreggo said.

Dan followed Dreggo along the platform with Maul trailing behind them both. The other Cross Jumpers parted at their approach, stepping away from Dreggo as though they held her in reverence. Dan noticed the sorrow on many of the faces, the tears still fresh. The others had told him that tube riding was about fun, the rush, the excitement. What was this, where it was so easy to get killed?

‘Come here.’ Dreggo went to stand behind Dan. She covered his eyes with the scarf, tying it tightly around the back of his head.

‘What are you doing?’

‘This is the initiation, Dan. To see if you have what it takes to jump with us. You are seven good strides from the edge of the platform. When the next train comes, you will jump across in front of it. Blindfolded.’

‘You have got to be joking.’ Dan suddenly didn’t feel drunk anymore. He started to pull the blindfold off his face, but felt her knife press against his throat.

‘You have made your decision, Dan. Stick to it. Everyone here has done it, as have many before them whose honour you threaten to undermine.’

‘I can’t–’

‘Yes, you can. Listen for the train. You’ll hear it come out of the tunnel. You have about eight seconds before it passes you, but you’re not looking for a jump distance here. Just to get across. I suggest you start to run as soon as you hear it.’

‘How far is it?’

‘About ten feet. The biggest problem with Cross Jumping is that we can only do it with single track lines. Try and jump a double track and you just land on the far set of rails.’ She chuckled. ‘Ouch.’

‘Dreggo, one’s coming!’

‘Okay, Dan, you get one shot at this. Chicken out, and it’s over. Jump, and you’re one of us.’

‘Holy fuck…’

Dan braced himself as he heard the roar building up in the tunnel. This was his chance, his chance to make it as a Cross Jumper, to be accepted. His one chance. He had no doubt that Dreggo would kill him if he didn’t try, so it was jackpot or bust. He steeled himself, praying that the lingering effect of the rum would give him enough courage to make it across.

The train burst out of the tunnel with a roar he knew well. Dan kicked off, counting his steps towards the platform edge aloud.

‘One … two … three … four … five…’

He braced himself to jump–

#

In three quick steps Dreggo reached the platform edge, just to the side of Dan as he started to run. She heard him counting under his breath. Good, he was really trying. A shame he’d never make it.

As Dan came level with her, she stuck out her left foot.

Dan gasped as he overbalanced, his forward momentum sending him over the edge and down on to the tracks. There was a thud as he landed: the breath knocked out of him. He didn’t have time to cry out. He groaned, managed to prop himself up on one elbow, then the train was on him. It thundered past in a blur, wheels clacking over the tracks. Dan, as a human being at least, was done.

As the train roared away into the far tunnel, Dreggo looked down at the tracks, at the mess that remained of the former Tube Rider. Within twenty trains or so, there would be little left but blood, and rats would clean that up. She turned back to the other Cross Jumpers, many of whom were staring at her open-mouthed, horrorstruck. Her predecessor as leader, Billy Lees, looked like he was meditating at the back, arms folded, head down. He was right not to look at her; any sign of dissent would line him up as the next to fall. Dreggo had more tricks than just sticking out her foot.

One or two others, Maul included, watched her in a solid show of support. Maul, she knew, would have done it for her, had she asked. He would do anything he thought might get him closer to her bed, but it would never happen. The pleasure Dreggo felt from her body had been taken from her long ago by the looters and worse that she hadn’t needed to tell Dan. It was something she used as a tool occasionally for personal gain; she would never again use it for love or pleasure.

Almost twenty, she counted in total, as they stood before her, waiting for her to speak. Not so bad, and there were a few not here today. Far better than the Tube Riders, who numbered – what had he said – four? Just four. It wouldn’t take much, she knew, to get rid of them. All she had to do was ensure that their disappearance didn’t encourage their legend any further, that they were shown up to be what they were, a group of unenviable misfits with too much time on their hands. Then of course, with the Tube Riders out of their way, the Cross Jumpers could start working on their own legend.

‘Listen up,’ she said. She waited until all their eyes were on her. ‘That man, Dan, claimed to be a Tube Rider. He is not dead now because he was a Tube Rider, though that might be reason enough. He is dead because he betrayed those close to him. Let this be a warning to you. Anyone who does the same to the Cross Jumpers will suffer the same fate, or worse. If you betray the Cross Jumpers, I will find you. Do you understand?’

There were murmurs of assent. Eyes fell to the ground below her gaze.

‘Petey died today with honour. Petey wanted to prove himself strong enough to run with the Cross Jumpers. He gave us the greatest honour he could give by risking his life for us, and it saddens me that he is dead. He failed, but he will be remembered. This day should have been Petey’s day, but instead it has been stolen from him by this coward whose blood, as we speak, mixes with Petey’s pure blood and taints it. We will remember Petey for giving his life as a Cross Jumper, and we will also remember this dissenter who dared wear the name “Tube Rider”.’ She spread her arms wide. ‘The Tube Riders are my enemies, as they are yours. But until this day I respected them. I respected them for what they did, for what they are, for what they have become. But I respect them no longer. I’m embarrassed to think that they soil the same places we use for cross-jumping. It
hurts
me.’

There were more murmurs of assent. Maul punched the air and shouted, ‘Yeah!’

‘Thankfully, this fool’s life was not entirely wasted. Before he died, he told me where we can find them.’

There was a ripple of excitement across the crowd.

‘So tomorrow…’ Dreggo paused for dramatic effect. ‘We hunt.’

The crowd erupted into cheers.

Chapter Six

Training

‘Everyone, this is Jessica. My, um, friend.’ Simon waved a shy hand at her, looking uncomfortable with their scrutinizing eyes on him. Paul looked just as flustered as Simon, while Marta wore an amused smile. Switch wasn’t looking at him at all, but was over by the platform edge, staring down at the tracks and muttering under his breath.

‘His
girl
friend,’ Jess corrected, giving a smile of her own at Simon’s awkwardness. ‘And call me Jess.’

‘Nice to meet you, Jess,’ Marta said, reaching out to shake the other girl’s hand. ‘Marta. Short for Martina, but God, I hate that. Sounds like a shit type of car.’

Jess laughed. ‘I can’t decide if “Jessica” sounds more like a doll or a bar of soap.’

‘I’m Paul, short for, um, Paul.’ He shook her hand too.

‘Switch?’ Simon said, looking back at the little man as he continued to examine the tracks.

‘Is she cool, Simon?’ Switch asked without turning around. ‘We can’t have another bailer on our hands.’

‘Huh, what are you, a Cross Jumper?’

Switch turned quickly, eyes firing. ‘Don’t say that.’

‘Well, ease off the inquisition.’

‘Hi, I’m Switch,’ he said without coming closer.

‘Hi.’

Switch nodded then turned away. He started to walk along the platform edge.

‘Wow, he’s a little–’

‘Sharp?’ Marta finished. ‘Yeah, he is. Sharp as the knife he carries. He’s a loyal friend, but he’s under no illusions about the world up there.’ She cocked her head towards the ceiling. ‘Be nice to him, but don’t expect him to be nice back, for a while. It takes time to earn his trust. He doesn’t hand it out easily.’

Jess shrugged. ‘Sounds like he has it right. Trust kills, some people say.’

‘Maybe,’ Marta said. ‘But some of us prefer to maintain a higher level of optimism.’

‘Sure. Why do you call him Switch?’

‘See that twitch in his eye?’

‘Couldn’t miss it.’

‘Steve’s twitch. Over time,
Switch
.’

‘Oh. That makes sense, I suppose.’ Jess looked around her. ‘Are you the leader?’

Marta grinned. ‘What? The leader of fat boy, thin boy, and weird boy? Lucky me.’ She shrugged. ‘My older brother, Leo, was the first Tube Rider, but we’re just a group of friends.’

‘We don’t really have a leader,’ Simon said.

‘No,’ Paul agreed. ‘There’s nothing much to be decided except when to go home. We do have an order of seniority, though. Kind of like a code. Marta’s been here the longest, so she rides first. Simon comes next, then Switch, then me.’

‘There are just four of you?’ Jess asked.

Marta looked away towards Switch, now standing down by the breakfall mats. ‘There used to be more. Things happen, though. Some people drift away, others get scared, or lose interest.’

‘What happened to your brother?’

Paul and Simon tensed, and Jess immediately wondered if she’d said the wrong thing. Marta, though, just gave her an easy smile, and Jess found herself warming to the other girl quickly. ‘He disappeared,’ Marta said. ‘I don’t know what happened to him, and the speculation kills me. I try not to think about him, and being here, doing this thing he started, strangely enough it helps to put him out of my mind.’

‘Hey, I’m sorry.’

‘We all have our horror stories. Even you, I suppose.’

‘My father works for the government. I don’t know what he does, but every day I worry that he won’t come home. My mother, too. She works in a bank. My family, inside the protective gates and security locks and bulletproof glass, we live a normal life. Not many people have that, and I fear losing it so much I could just ...’ She trailed off, feeling tears she didn’t want to show start to come. She gritted her teeth and clenched her fists at her sides, determined not to cry in front of Simon’s friends.

Marta patted her shoulder. ‘Easy, easy. We know. We understand.’ She took a step back and spread her hands. ‘Welcome to the Tube Riders.’

‘Thanks.’

‘So, Simon, are you going to get her started or what?’

‘I don’t know. I just wanted her to meet you guys.’

‘Can I try?’

Marta put an arm around her shoulders. ‘Not until you know what you’re doing. We don’t want you getting hurt. Even then it’s entirely your choice to ride. You’re welcome to just come and hang out.’ She smiled. ‘But if you want an idea of what it’s like, come this way.’

She led Jess up the platform, beneath the stairs to the blocked second exit, and through an opening in the wall beside the platform edge which led into a maintenance tunnel. The emergency lighting was dimmer here. The sound of dripping water came from back in the dark.

‘Why are there lights on?’ Jess asked. ‘Doesn’t the government turn them off?’

Paul said, ‘Even though the station is closed now, the trains still follow the same rules as when it was operating. They have to slow down as they enter the station, and the lights are kept on so that the trains can see it as they come in.’

‘That’s
his
theory,’ Simon said. ‘I just think the government forgot to turn them off. It’s not like they have much control over stuff, is it?’

Marta had her hands on her hips. ‘Enough of the history lesson, boys. It’s study time.’

She reached up and took hold of a water pipe about a foot above her head. ‘This pipe runs straight for about thirty feet. It’s about the same height as the rail you have to catch on the trains. So ...’

Marta handed Jess her clawboard. ‘You can try with mine. It’s a bit lighter than the others.’

Jess took the offered board and turned it over in her hands. The wood was thinner than Simon’s, and the outside face was painted silver. It looked polished, better maintained than his. It also had two hooks instead of one, with a small space in the middle. ‘What do you want me to do?’

Marta pointed. ‘Start running from over there. Try to get into a sprint going parallel to the pipe. When you’re moving as fast as you can, angle in sharply and jump. Lift up the board and try to hook the pipe. Here, hold the board like this.’ She helped Jess hook her arms through the leather straps. ‘Okay, go on then. Have a try.’

Jess looked nervously back at Simon. He didn’t look too happy but he forced a
good luck
smile. ‘Well, here goes…’

She backed up a few steps and then sprinted forward as Marta had instructed. About halfway along the pipe she darted inwards, leapt, hooked, and caught. She pulled her feet up off the ground, slid a few inches and stopped, hanging from the pipe like a bat in an old industrial factory. She looked back. ‘Well?’

Simon pouted. ‘That was okay. I think you understand the basic concept but you probably need to work on your technique a bit.’

Marta laughed. ‘He’s just jealous because it took him about ten attempts on his first day.’

‘It wasn’t ten,’ Simon said. ‘It was more like, I don’t know ... six?’

‘Maybe you’re a natural,’ Paul said.

Marta pointed back along the platform. ‘Again,’ she said. ‘Do it again.’

Jess did, again landing safely on the pipe. Then, at Marta’s prompt, one more time and one more, until Jess had lost count. By the time Marta called a halt, Jess was out of breath and her arms ached, but she was doing it smoothly, with barely a sound.

‘Now, the dismount,’ Marta said. ‘You’re not jumping off a pipe, you’re jumping off a train moving at anything up to sixty miles an hour. Get it wrong and you die, it’s as simple as that.’

Jess looked shocked. She glared at Simon. ‘You didn’t say people died.’

He looked away, his cheeks reddening. ‘I didn’t want to put you off.’

She glared at him a moment and then shrugged. ‘Try and stop me doing it, more like.’ She grinned. ‘I guess you’re probably as likely to die crossing the streets these days.’

Marta nodded. ‘Like I said, there’s no pressure for you to do it for real. You can help Paul keep score if you like.’

Jess glanced at Paul. Simon had told her they were the same age but Paul didn’t look like a man barely out of his teens. He could have passed for forty with his receding hair, glasses and middle-age spread. She hadn’t like to say so, but she couldn’t imagine him running, leaping out and then hanging off the side of a moving train. He wasn’t exactly athletic, but she supposed looks could be deceiving, sometimes intentionally so.

‘Paul doesn’t ride?’ she asked.

Paul looked sheepish. ‘I hurt myself, and it’s difficult to ride now.’

‘He hurt his mind,’ Simon said. ‘The rest healed. It’s psychological.’

‘Okay, enough,’ Marta said, scowling at him. She turned back to Jess. ‘You all right? You want to have a break? I didn’t mean to turn into a boot camp sergeant or anything–’

‘No, I’m good. Let’s nail this.’

Jess hated the way a lot of people saw her as some frilly-dress Daddy’s girl. The neighbours all felt she was privileged, particularly with the home security system that made them the only family on the street which could sleep in peace. She felt a constant urge to prove herself, and now, in the presence of Simon’s friends, she felt the same desire.

While she had been practicing, Switch had been riding alone over on the far platform. She’d seen him clinging to the side of the train like a bug on a tree branch, and it looked exhilarating. She wanted to do it more than anything now, and she wanted to do it better than any of them.

‘When you dismount,’ Marta said, ‘you have to brace your legs on the side of the train, and push your board in and up at the same time as you push upwards with your feet. You can’t just pull the board off. It’s caught on the rail, and the only way to unhook it is to push it in and flick it off in one motion.’

‘Kind of like undoing a bra,’ Paul said.

‘Didn’t realise you wore one,’ Simon scoffed.

Paul grinned. Jess noticed how Marta watched them with a wry smile the way a mother might watch her kids. Marta was pretty, but the brief pang of jealousy Jess had felt when they had first met had gone. The Tube Riders were more like a family.

‘Try it on this pipe over here. It’s a little lower, but it’s nearer the wall so you can brace better. On a real train there’s only a slight curve on the outside of the carriage, so the rail you hang from is about the same level as your feet. This means you are leaning backwards, making the pressure on the clawboard greater. All of which means it’s easy to stay attached, but difficult to get off.’

Jess hooked the pipe and braced her feet on the wall. ‘Okay, so up and out. How do I land?’

‘Usually on your back, but if there aren’t any breakfall mats there, you have to roll.’

Jess stared. ‘You’re joking, right?’

Marta shook her head. ‘I wish. If the train’s going slow enough it’s not a problem, but on a train going at speed, if you try to land on your feet you’re going to break something, or worse, damage your back with the impact. When you dismount, you have to turn your body in the direction the train is going and pull your clawboard into your body like a shield. Duck your head in to protect it. Keep your legs straight. If you do it right, it doesn’t hurt so much because your forward momentum is so great you just kind of touch down. Like a plane.’

‘It hurts?’

Marta looked pained. ‘Always. But do it right and it won’t hurt too much.’

‘It’s the reason we have the big stack of mattresses at the end of the platform,’ Simon said, pointing towards them. ‘Something nice and soft to land on.’

‘I’ll catch you the first time,’ Marta said, going to stand behind her.

Jess grimaced. ‘Okay, well here goes.’ She reached up and hooked the board over the second pipe, bracing her feet on the wall. She took a deep breath, then kicked up and pushed the board in and upwards as Marta had instructed. She kicked a little hard though, and fell back into Marta. For a moment Marta had a hold of her – Jess marveled at how strong the other girl’s hands felt – then Marta lost her balance and they both landed in a heap on the floor.

‘Ow!’ Jess muttered. ‘I banged my bloody elbow.’

Marta, who appeared to be unhurt, laughed as she stood up. ‘Not bad for a first attempt. You don’t need to kick quite so hard, but it was good.’

Simon helped Jess up. ‘Are you all right?’

Jess brushed herself down and nodded. ‘I’ll live.’

‘Do you want to rest for a bit? Watch us do a few rides?’

Jess smiled. ‘Nope. I want to ride with you.’

‘Well, I don’t know that you’re ready yet.’

Jess shrugged. ‘Come on, let’s go see what–’

She broke off at the sound of a shout and running feet in their direction. Switch was bolting along the platform towards them, his clawboard hung loose in one hand. ‘Quick!’ he shouted. ‘We’ve got a problem!’