by Gareth Otton
I don’t need your help, was what he meant to say. Instead it came out as, “You can’t help me. Don’t you get that?”
She looked triumphant. In that one statement she almost got him to admit he had a problem and was trying to deal with it on his own. Stella recognised her emotions had given her away when a moment later he turned and walked away again.
She called his name but he didn’t look back. She called a second time and a startled sound replaced the end of his name.
Nice try, he thought. Yet in spite of himself he turned to see what happened.
Stella was no longer following him. Instead she was struggling against a giant who had grabbed her from behind.
His broad face was cast in the shadow of a hood. He had one heavily muscled arm around her neck and he had her left arm gripped in his free hand. The awkward positioning forced her to arch her back and bend her knees, so she couldn’t get the leverage to fight back.
At first Tad couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Was this really happening? Had someone just snuck up on Stella to… what? Mug her? Rape her?
Tad was stunned.
His wheelhouse was firmly in dealing with the dead, the living were a whole other bundle of problems he kept away from for most of his life. In spite of dealing with the odd ghost here and there, Tad’s history of physical conflict usually involved someone hitting him while he curled into a ball.
Tad was ashamed to admit that he felt a moment of paralysing fear while watching Stella and her attacker. His first instinct was to run. Stella wasn’t even a friend. At best she was a pain in his arse. This would solve one of his problems, wouldn’t it?
It’s surprising what will go through a mind at a time like this. Tad was every bit as shocked by his train of thought as he was with the situation. Who the hell was he to be so dismissive just because he didn’t like the victim? Stella may be a pain, but she didn’t deserve this kind of treatment. His shame allowed him to push past his paralysis and reach a new emotion that was much more freeing, anger.
Why did this sort of thing keep happening? First the missing Proxies, then the rise in ghost sightings, then Stella’s investigation, and then his dream the night before that brought a whole new level of danger. Now, when he could have done with a break, he got this.
That made him angry.
As his anger built, his logical mind went to sleep and instinct took over. He didn’t even notice his fingers ball into fists, and was not conscious of his first steps down the alley toward Stella and her attacker.
After he closed half the distance, the big man looked up. He grinned when he caught sight of Tad, thinking nothing of the scrawny guy coming to her rescue. For Stella’s part her eyes widened, but Tad couldn’t tell whether that was fear or her begging for help.
He payed neither of them any notice, he was too caught up in anger and instinct.
He mentally called to Tony a moment before he reached the giant, and felt the familiar rush of power that flowed through him when he and Tony merged.
He reached for the large man who released Stella’s arm to knock Tad’s reaching hand aside. He was just as surprised as Tad when instead of being knocked away, Tad’s hand grabbed his and gripped it hard.
Years of pent up aggression at always being the helpless victim flowed through him and Tad squeezed with strength he didn’t know he had. Tony powered his muscles from within, giving him a grip ten times stronger than natural. Were Tad not so angry he might have let go in surprise. Instead he grinned and squeezed.
The giant gasped as his hand twisted at an unnatural angle and he was pulled forward. He released his grip on Stella’s neck so he could reach Tad with his other hand. Stella used that moment to find her feet again, turn and knee him squarely between the legs.
Tad let go as the giant man crumpled into a heap. Stella coughed hard and Tad turned to see if he could help her.
She wasn’t looking at him though, she was looking at the end of the narrow alley where dark shapes were stepping into view.
There were five of them and when Tad turned he saw another five coming from behind. His anger still ran high, making his heart beat hard and his limbs tingle. There was a rush to what he had just done to a man so much bigger than himself. Rather than experience more fear at the sight of so many men, he had a different thought.
Eleven men just to mug one lady? He didn’t like it. Something felt off. He was sure they were here for him.
Was this what the other Proxies had seen before they were taken? If so, he was not about to go down easy. If he went down here, who would protect Jen?
That thought only added to his anger.
Fresh from his victory over the thug and still buried deep within the realms of instinct, he suddenly came down on the opposite side of fight or flight than he normally chose. If he were in a more analytical state, he would have noticed that this new, amazing, alien feeling that replaced his fear was confidence.
Mentally calling Charles to his side, he got himself ready to show these men why it was not a good idea to corner this particular Proxy.
9
Tuesday, 17th November 2015
20:27
The men near the pub approached as Tad stepped in front of Stella to make her less of a target.
“I don’t know what you’ve been told,” he shouted. “But this is a mistake you’ll regret.”
Both Stella and Charles looked at him as though he were mad, but he ignored them, still caught up in this strange new confidence. He was ready for this fight, maybe even eager for it.
“The mistake was your girl sticking her nose where it doesn’t belong.” It was a dark alley and Tad struggled to make out who spoke. It could have been any of the men as they all looked big enough to own such a gravelly voice.
He took a second to absorb what they’d said before the first seeds of surprise filtered through his confidence. He asked, “You’re here for Stella?”
Stella nudged Tad aside with her left hand and flipped open her warrant card with her right.
“I’m a police officer. You don’t want to do this.”
They didn’t reply, just kept coming closer.
“Tad, run. They don’t want you.” Stella tried to step in front of him, but he stopped her and shook his head. He wasn’t about to let her face this alone.
“Cheers for the offer, but there’s no getting out of this for either of us.” He nodded toward the pub “Getting to the street is our best option. It’s busier than here and there'll be CCTV. If we can get there, we might just get out of this.”
She looked like she would argue, but eventually nodded.
“Sorry for bringing this on you,” she whispered.
He didn’t have chance to answer as the first attacker was within reach.
The alley was narrow so they couldn’t come all at once. Normally they wouldn’t need to. Any of these men had twice the bulk of Tad, even if he was a little taller. However, Tad was not just a normal man, and he still had Tony in him and Charles at his back.
The first attacker swung a crowbar at Stella. Tony’s strength made Tad not just stronger and faster, but improved his senses and reactions. His hand moved quicker than the attacker was prepared for and he caught the descending bar. He twisted, pulling the bar from the man’s grip. His forward momentum drove his shoulder into the man, knocking him into two other attackers at his back. They landed in a tangled heap.
“What the fuck?” said one of the surprised men left standing, echoing Tad’s own thoughts. He could scarce credit that he wasn’t dreaming. His instincts kept him moving.
The thug didn’t have time to say anything else before Tad put the bar he had confiscated to good use. He struck the man’s arm with his ghost-aided strength and speed. There was a sickening crack, and a startled gasp as a bone snapped and the thug’s arm bent backwards. One more step and Tad has his foot against the man’s chest and he kicked hard, knocking him to the other side of the alley where he bounced off a wall.
&
nbsp; Where the hell did I learn that? Tad’s logical brain asked. There was no answer.
He had just taken out four thugs in a matter of seconds. It left him with only one thought.
This is fucking awesome.
The attackers approaching paused to re-evaluate their opponent. The man who bounced off the wall wasn’t moving while the man Tad shouldered aside climbed to his feet with the two men he had taken down. The one who’d lost his crowbar didn’t look eager to continue the fight as he gingerly held his twisted wrist.
They weren’t the only ones in shock.
Stella stared at Tad, dumbfounded. He met her eyes, smiled and shrugged.
“Run,” he said to her, and that word started everything moving again.
It turns out that there was a reason Tad had not drawn Charles into him and received a level 2 power-up. It was not a decision he had consciously made, but it turned out it was the right one. There was another use for a ghost who could not be seen but could interact with Tad.
Charles kept his place at Tad’s back, watching the men coming from behind. Unlike his time in the castle, Charles was not scared. There was no danger here. These men were not Proxies and were no threat.
An attacker swung a bat at Tad’s head from behind, but Charles was there, pushing Tad’s head down and manipulating his body to guide him out the way.
Tad identified Charles’ touch and flowed with it, letting himself be manipulated without resisting. He struck back with his crowbar, and as it crunched against the side of the attacker’s head, Tad was confident that this was one more person out of the fight.
He caught sight of Stella who hadn’t run. Instead she rushed to the first fallen man and retrieved the blade he had dropped. It was twice as wide as her wrist and as long as her forearm. To say she looked menacing as she approached a man at the rear of the pack was an understatement.
Suddenly Tad felt Charles’ touch again, and he turned with it, sidestepping one blow and then a next until his back was against a wall and there were two men in close. He only just dodged a knife that struck at his face, and a fist sheathed in polished steel knuckles bounced off the wall beside his head a half second later.
He dodged and blocked furiously, trying to use his speed and strength to his advantage. Though he had speed, strength and reach, he wasn’t a kung fu master, far from it. That lack of skill and experience was showing. Eventually that knife came in before he could avoid it and it slipped into his side.
His sideways step stopped it from going too deep, but he felt a sharp fire against his ribs and he had to fight back a scream. He focused on grabbing the hand holding the knife inside him and twisted. The thug grimaced and stepped in closer, directly into the path of the knuckle dusters that were on a collision course with Tad’s face.
The blow struck the knifeman in the back of the head and he dropped in a heap. Tad used the moment of shock to punch the other man in the face. He was rewarded with solid crunch and a shower of blood as cartilage broke.
A broken nose was enough to distract any man. He staggered back, his hands cupping his nose, and he was blind to the next punch that took him in the throat. Tad wanted to hit him again, make sure he was out of it, but already he felt himself being manipulated.
He turned again and this time he wasn’t quick enough. An elbow glanced off the side of his head and he cringed away from it, already hating how thick his face felt as he registered the blow. That would leave a bruise. The attacker followed it up by stamping at the back of Tad’s knee.
Suddenly the world was falling up around him and he couldn’t see a way out of this. By his count he had only incapacitated three men. There were seven more where they came from and now he was on his knees.
This time it was not so much gentle guiding as it was an almighty shove. Charles hammered into Tad so hard he knocked him over. Tad fell to the ground and a moment later he felt a pain in his leg as an over balancing attacker tripped over him and crashed to the floor.
Tad wrestled with him, seeking a way to cause as much damage as possible. He gouged and poked until eventually he got a hand to the back of the man’s head which he took great pleasure in slamming into the ground. On the third repetition he was sure that his work was done.
Four. Still not enough.
He struggled to his knees, wincing at the pain from the cut in his side. As he got one foot under him he looked up to see Stella struggling with an attacker who stayed back to deal with her. She had lost her knife and there was a dead or unconscious man in her wake. Good for her. But it wasn’t enough.
The man she wrestled with had both of her wrists in his hands and he was forcing them apart. Tad could see him lean back, building up momentum so that he could bring his head into her face. It would be game over for Stella. No way she would walk away from such a vicious blow.
Again Tad didn’t think, he just acted. He pointed to Stella and with a mental shout he ordered Charles forward. Charles moved like a man possessed, crossing the distance between Tad and Stella in a second and screaming as he did so.
The man holding Stella froze, his head turning towards Charles and his eyes going wide. Stella took advantage of his shock. She kicked his knee, hitting him hard enough to make him wince and relax his pressure on her hands. She slipped one free and stepped away while Charles did the impossible.
He collided with the man, a living man, and with the weight that Charles had on him the collision drove the man from his feet and into the wall.
One of the nearby men swung for Charles, but he had become insubstantial again, the weapon passing through him as though he wasn’t even there. Charles was every bit as shocked as his attacker. Stella stared at him with a stunned look in her eyes and was completely ignoring the man approaching from behind with a bat in his hands.
Tad was in no position to help so he gave up his last remaining advantage. With another mental shout he urged Tony forward. The ghost sprang from him without hesitation and Tad felt his world fall apart.
He didn’t realise how much he was relying on Tony’s strength. The wound in his side was deeper than he thought. The blow to his knee had done serious damage and the side of his face felt like it might cave in. On top of this he felt sluggish and weak. He was in no position to fight.
Tony however, was.
He repeated Charles’ success in interacting with the living and took great delight in knocking the startled attacker away from a stunned Stella. He was not as heavy as Charles so he inflicted little damage, but most of the work had been done.
These men had been expecting an easy victory. They had not expected that half their number would be incapacitated. They didn’t expect Charles to appear from nowhere. Tony’s appearance was the last straw. Those that could stand were suddenly running. They’d had enough.
Of course it was in that moment when Tad thought it was all over when one of the fleeing men paused long enough to swing a club at his head. Without Charles to guide him he couldn’t dodge it. Without Tony’s strength he couldn’t fight it.
All he could do was take it in the face and know that it was game over.
10
Tuesday, 17th November 2015
21:00
Jen couldn’t believe Tad hadn’t called Letty. Instead of the old woman waiting when Hannah’s mum dropped her off, there was no one home and the lights were off.
“It doesn’t look like anyone’s here,” Hannah’s mum said with a frown.
“There will be. Tad sometimes works in the spare room. You can’t see the light from here,” Jen lied. “Thanks for having me, Mrs Thompson.”
She didn’t wait for an answer before climbing out the car and rushing to the house, fishing her keys out on the way.
“Hello,” she called when she got inside.
“Jen?”
Great. It was Miriam.
“Come here a second.” Miriam did as asked and Jen exerted her will, just as Tad had taught her… the only thing he taught her. She made Miriam visible.
“I hope Tad told you to do that. If not, then you’re in serious trouble when he gets home.”
“Yes, he did.”
"Why isn't Letty here?"
"Because Tad knows I'm old enough to look after myself."
Miriam didn't look convinced. "I don't think so. Let's talk to her."
"No."
"Now, young lady."
Jen flashed her a disgusted look. "Kate wouldn't make me do that.” Kate was always on her side. She used to think the same about Miriam, but she had changed. It was all that time she spent in Tad's head.
“You don't know Kate as well as you think. Come on, let's go."
"No."
"No? I'm telling you, Jen. Let's go."
"No. And you can't make me. If you want to see Letty, why don't you go see her yourself."
Miriam got that same look on her face as when Tony was speaking. It made Jen hesitate, but then she remembered that Miriam couldn't do anything about it. She was just a ghost.
"This is your last chance, Jen. Either come to see Letty with me or when Tad gets home, I'll have to tell him."
"Where is Tad?" Maggie asked as she stepped into the kitchen. She gave Jen a friendly grin which Jen was happy to return. She liked Maggie. She hadn't spent enough time with Tad to stop being interesting yet.
Jen shrugged. "He only said one of you would have to show yourselves to Hannah's mum so she could drop me off. I don’t think he’ll be long."
"Oh," Maggie said. Then to Miriam she added, "We can watch her. No point disturbing the old lady."
"Jen shouldn't be home alone."
"She won't be. We're here."
"We're ghosts. It's not the same."
Maggie rolled her eyes in a way that made Jen giggle. "So everyone keeps telling me. Don't worry about it so much. If the worst happens, Jen can show us to any intruders and we can scare them to death. Besides, Tad won't be much longer.”