Marvin: Rise To Fall

by Ben Spavins

as he turned onto the road, Marvin studied each house as he drove by, this had been his dream, now all that was left was bitter memories, grief and anger, so much anger.

  He stopped outside the address Jacobs had given him, he looked over at the house, a large white stone chip house with Georgian windows overlooking a large paved driveway, a Porsche and a new Lexus 4X4 stood in front of the garage, 8ft high gates surrounding the front of the property. Marvin chewed his lip for a moment as he decided the best way in, he decided he'd try to find a back entrance and drove a long a few houses before finding a similar house with several skips outside and no gates or fence, Marvin smiled, he had found his way to the rear of Biddles house.

  Marvin pulled the C2 onto the drive so he didn't attract any attention by parking on the street and turned the engine off. He'd been concentrating on his rear view mirror to see if he'd been followed, he'd been paranoid about being followed since he'd got back into his flat but he didn't see another car.

  He got out and ventured to the back of the house, bits of brick and concrete scattered the path to the back garden, he came out into the garden to find a large hedge in between the garden and the next houses garden. The garden stretched for some distance, the end reaching a small river, on the other side were similar houses. Marvin walked over to a garden bench and stood on it, trying to peer into Biddle’s garden, he could see 3 gardens down, a large flagpole flying the Australian flag, in between the flagpole and Marvin stood two fences and the hedge. He walked up and down the length of the hedge, trying to find any holes to fit through, he found one at the end of the garden and squeezed through on his hands and knees.

  He poked his head through the other side and peered out towards the house, on the veranda of the house lying on a mat was a large Alsatian, snoozing. Marvin edged further into the garden on his hands and knees and slowly rose to his feet, he sighed with relief as the Alsatians eyes remained closed. He eased over to the other side of the garden, getting closer and closer to Biddles next door neighbour. As he moved, he kept his eyes focused on the Alsatian, he'd had a fear of dogs since being bitten when he was young, he had tried to introduce Taya and Reece to dogs early on so they didn't share his fear.

  As he neared the 6ft fence, his eyes still watching the dog, he moved his right foot down onto something that wasn't grass, it began to sink slowly and he looked down to see it was one of the Alsatians plastic toys, Marvin’s eyes widened as he realised it was a squeaky toy, he went to lift his foot but it was too late as the toy let out a high pitched sound. Marvin looked back at the dog, who was now staring back at him.

  The Alsatian bared its white teeth and barked at Marvin. It slowly rose to its feet, its hackles now up and growling, Marvin glanced at the 6ft fenced, could he clear it in one jump? He studied it for a moment too long as he looked back the dog was already running towards him and was closing fast, Marvin turned and sprinted the few yards to the fence, he placed his stronger right foot one yard from the fence and leapt. His arms reached out for the top of the fence and Marvin hauled himself over just as he heard the Alsatian snap at his feet, the momentum of the leap carrying him over and he landed on his shoulder, crushing a group of daffodils before rolling into the lawn.

  Marvin looked up, half expecting to see another dog bearing down on him, instead the house looked empty, the curtains were all closed, the owners must be away Marvin thought. He looked up and could see the flagpole, nearly there he thought, however there was an 8ft fence in between him and Biddles garden, there was no way he could scale that, not without ripping his stitches out. He looked up and down the fence, 8ft high all the way along, he turned to the garden to see if there was any garden furniture he could use to jump over, the garden was empty. He ambled down the fence towards the river, hoping to find an alternative way in.

  He stepped over a low metal fence dividing the riverbank from the garden and peered round the edge of the fence towards the embankment at the bottom of Biddle’s garden. He smiled as the fence was only four feet high and there was even a gate he could use, however it meant he'd have to go into the river. He peered into the murky water, trying to gauge the depth of the river, he couldn't see the bottom so turned to look for a stick and soon found one, he returned to the river and pushed the stick in, it disappeared into the water and eventually found ground, Marvin estimated about two feet Marvin.

  He took his shoes and socks off, rolled his jeans up and perched on the embankment before submerging his foot into the depths of the water, it sank until he felt ground. He slowly stood up, putting pressure onto it and winced as it sank a few more inches into the riverbed, the mud enveloping his foot, he put the other foot it and waded to the back of Biddle’s garden, he pushed himself onto the small embankment before pulling his feet out of the river. He winced again as both feet emerged, covered in wet mud and smelling horrifically. In an effort to remove the mud, he rubbed them on the grass but it wasn't having the desired effect, ruefully, he removed his jacket and wiped his feet on the inside of the jacket, the smell was still there but the mud was now on his jacket instead, he tossed it into the water and watched it float away as he put his socks and shoes back on.

  Marvin crawled up to the fence and peered over, there was a long lawn leading up to Biddles house with small shrubs flanking it on either side. There was a small rockery next to a small pond with a path leading up to the huge house.

  Marvin watched the house for a moment, studying each door and window to see if anyone was looking out over the lawn, he couldn't see anyone. After a couple more minutes of watching the house, Marvin slowly stood up and straddled over the fence, he crouched down on the other side, and still crouched, advanced up the garden, sticking to the left hand side. He reached the rockery, still focusing on the house, still he could see no movement inside, he passed the rockery and reached the patio, he ran up the two steps and was at the back door. He tried the handle, it was locked, ‘damn’ he uttered.

  He moved further along the back wall towards the patio door, he peered round to see if the back room was empty, seeing no movement, he placed his hands on the handle and began to push it, he grinned as it moved slightly ajar. Suddenly there was a clicking noise, Marvin froze, replaying the sound over in his mind, it sounded very similar to a gun being cocked, he looked up to see his reflection , next to the reflection of his head was the barrel of a pistol, he traced the lines of the reflection, down to the butt, down to the arm and down to the figure holding it, it was the man in red, again.

  'I told you, you can't escape us, we will always follow you and find you, it's only a matter of time', said the man.

  Marvin smiled, 'I escaped you twice didn't I?' Marvin replied.

  The man huffed, 'maybe so, but I don't think you have much chance here...' The man in red said before being interrupted by the sound of another gun being cocked from Marvin’s right. Marvin slowly turned to look at the back door he'd tried earlier to see a smallish man standing at the door, a Magnum pistol trained at Marvin and the man in red, behind him was a very large man, with two Uzi's trained on the pair. Marvin gulped, this had not been the plan.

  'Who the hell are you two and why are you trying to get in my house'? The smaller man said in an Australian accent, it must be Biddle.

  The man in red started to edge backwards, 'don't move another fucking muscle' Biddle said, training his gun on the man in red.

  'I was …. errr... I caught him acting suspiciously around your house so followed and found him trying to break in' the man in red said.

  Biddle nodded, 'right, you just happened to be passing with a gun did you?'

  The man in red was silent, Marvin could see in the reflection of the patio door, the gun was shaking in his hand, he looked further over at the reflection and could see the man’s chest pumping out furiously, Marvin smiled, his heart rate was a little raised, but compared to the man in red, he was calm.

  'Well, lucky for you, I know who you are, your one of his, so piss off, and tell him until he pays, he's not getti
ng any more favours, alright?' Biddle shouted.

  The man in red, slowly lowered his gun, winked at Marvin and ran off towards the road.

  'You. Biddle said, focusing on Marvin, ‘I don't know who you are but I'm going to find out, get in the fucking house or I swear to god I'll shoot you dead here' Biddle said, his Magnum now trained on Marvin.

  Marvin gulped as Biddle approached and pulled open the patio door, 'after you' he said as pushed the Magnum into the base of Marvin’s spine, he raised his left foot and stepped into the house, Biddle followed him, not moving the pistol and they were followed by the large man, who shut the patio door behind them, turning to face Marvin, fists clenched, smiling.

  Marvin will return in:

  Marvin

  Necessity of Death