It was then that I remembered we hadn’t spoken since she’d left me the message. I’d tried to call her the night before but her phone had cut straight to voicemail and I’d been too nervous to leave a message. I decided to try again.
Except I couldn’t find my phone.
Where is it? I panicked, pawing at my empty jean pockets. Then I remembered I’d put it in my bag before Science…which was still in the classroom. Crap!
“Sorry guys I got to go.” I left them standing in the hub, sharing a confused expression. I threaded back through the hallways, making sure I kept my speed below superhuman levels. When I reached the room, the door was closed and the window blind down. Great, I bet it’s locked and I’m going to have to hunt Miss Steele down. But when I twisted the handle, the latch clicked and the door inched open.
Miss Steele was facing the outside window. And her whole body was shaking like someone had electrocuted her.
“Oh god!” I gasped, clamping a hand over my mouth.
As if someone had cut the power, Miss Steele stopped pulsing. She whirled around and glared at me. As she did, a gold signet ring she’d had clutched in her fist clattered to the floor.
“I… I forgot my bag,” I said in a strained voice, pointing a trembling finger at the offending item under the table.
The teacher bent to pick up the ring. When she stood up again it was like a cloud had passed. Miss Steele presented me her award winning smile. “Of course,” she said slipping the ring back into her pocket. “I hope I didn’t frighten you.” She cleared her throat. “This is actually quite embarrassing. The thing is, I suffer from epilepsy. I could feel a seizure coming on, so I shut the door and closed the blind.” She leaned forward and used a sender hand to sweep a wisp of hair from her face. “I don’t like people knowing you see, I worry they’ll think it may affect my ability to teach…silly really.” Moving the hand to her chest, Miss Steele gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’m sorry you had to see that Alex.”
“Uh, it’s fine. Don’t worry.” I smiled and edged over to my bag. I wasn’t convinced. Pulling the bag from under the desk, I asked if she needed me to fetch the school nurse. She assured me that it had passed and she would be fine. “Oh and Alexander?” she added as I went to close the door behind me. “Yes Miss Steele?” “Let’s make this our little secret.”
7
That evening, the first one came for me.
It was dark by the time I climbed into the Audi. I took a relaxed drive back to Mason Avenue, enjoying the roar of the engine and the tight handling, not relishing the swap back to my juddering heap. When I reached the Peugeot, I swore loudly.
It had been trashed.
The windows were smashed in and the car was up on bricks, wheels stolen. The CD player had been ripped out. Wires poked out of the backing like curious worms. The worst part was that whoever had broken in had felt the need to urinate on the front seats. The acrid smell hit my sensitive nostrils like miniature daggers, making me gag.
I stood still for a moment, thinking. This was a problem. I mean, I didn’t know how long I was going to have the Audi for and I certainly couldn’t drive it home. There was no way I could explain it away to Mum and John — the rich uncle lie wouldn’t exactly work. Plus there were far nicer cars lining the street, why choose mine?
The only option I could think of was to drive my car closer to home, walk the rest of the way and explain that I was trying to keep fit. I’d have to get my car fixed at some point…once I had some money. I guessed I could always eBay some of the clothes.
Still seething, I ground the car to a halt on Trinity Road — a quiet street not too far from my house, but still far enough for me to have calmed down by the time I got home.
Grey terrace houses ran the length of the road on one side. Lining the other was Susurrate forest. The dense trees created a canopy of leaves, thin slices of pale moonlight cut through the darkness.
I pressed the fob and as the car winked goodbye, prayed it would stay intact. The bitter chill of the evening hit me. I pulled the collar of my jacket up around my neck and headed in the direction of home. In the stillness of the evening, the only sounds I could hear were the faint rustling of the trees and the click of my shoes on the pavement.
Crack!
The sharp sound echoed through the woods. I snapped my head around, staring into the gloomy depths. Every fibre of my body stood on end. My muscles became taught like overstretched chords. The noise stopped abruptly. I stayed frozen in position, scanning the darkness for a source.
A logical thought occurred to me. It’s a forest Alex, probably home to hundreds of harmless animals that could have made that sound. That relaxed me. I continued walking, opening my bag and rummaging about for my iPod. I’d just finished detangling the earphones from around my books, when I happened to glance back into the forest. And saw the eyes. Red eyes. Unnaturally long and angled, burning like coals in the darkness. They shimmered with an intense hatred. Staring at me. I ran.
My feet pounded against the ground in a frantic drumbeat. Rustling to the side of me grew louder and more forceful as something followed. I could hear the thumps as it battered past trees. They shook violently, dusting off leaves like flakes of skin. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a thick, black mass darting through the forest and heard the sound of heavy, harsh panting. The ember eyes were always there, flicking in and out of my view, locked on me. The creature was matching my speed.
My heart smashed against my chest, my senses in overdrive. The harsh wind whipped at my face as I sprinted forward. Still it was there, watching, enjoying the chase.
What is it? My mind screamed. A wolf? Panther? But…red eyes?! My skin crawled as if someone had walked across my grave.
I threw off my bag and vaguely saw it clatter to the ground, spilling its contents like road kill. The weight change made no difference, I couldn’t go any faster. I wasn’t fast enough. The road seemed never ending, as if some cruel spell had been cast which meant I would be chased for eternity. Eventually though, I did see the end. The road split into a T-junction. The forest had been cut back and ended there. In a few seconds, whatever was chasing me would come into full view.
The thought made me want to vomit.
As I shot forward, a deep growl came from the close to my right and I stifled a scream.
A dawning realisation filled me with dread. Where am I running to? I can’t go home. My family!
So I made a decision. One I would never had considered before. I chose to stand my ground. After all, I had these new abilities. I could handle anything…couldn’t I?
At the junction, I split off to the right and spun around so that I was staring into the wall of trees. I clenched my fists into tight balls and tensed my muscles. Beads of fearful sweat rolled down my neck. The glowing eyes grew larger as the creature neared. Its throaty growl raised in pitch and it let out a demented howl. It was like a cross between a scream and a bark. The sound sliced straight through me and my knees went weak. My heart was in my mouth as the last of the trees twisted out of the way.
The creature pounced out of the darkness.
At the same time something flashed across my line of sight and dived at the black mass. A deep thud echoed around the street and I only caught a glimpse of fur before the creature was shoved back into the forest. It let out an indignant squeal and I heard its teeth chomping together as it tried to bite its attacker.
The two shapes rolled around in the darkness. Trees split and crashed to the floor as the fight intensified. Frozen to the spot, I stared, not sure what was happening or what to do. I got my answer when a voice shot out of the woods.