Everything to Nothing

by Mark Henthorne

  Everything to Nothing

  A novel by Mark Henthorne.

  Sequel coming soon!

  Website: www.everythingtonothing.co.uk

  Follow on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Everything-to-Nothing/290085217675838

  Follow on Twitter @Everything2Noth

  © Mark Henthorne, 2011

  Published by Mark Henthorne at Smashwords.

  This book is available in print at most online retailers.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you respecting the hard work of this author.

  All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

  For Sun.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 1

  ‘Please, not tonight! I implore you, please, not tonight!’

  With another cough and a splutter the engine slowly came to a halt with steam pouring from under the bonnet and the young woman who was driving slumped in her seat as she looked out into the dark night.

  It was a dark, dreary, miserable night and the rain was beating down on the road savagely. Not more than two minutes earlier she has passed through a flood under a railway bridge that quickly flooded her old Mini’s engine. Unfortunately for her, at this time of night the road was deserted. Surrounded by fields and darkness she slowly felt fear descend upon her, yet she was aware enough to control herself and she tried to think clearly.

  Quickly, she grabbed her top of the range mobile phone out of her Gucci handbag, both presents from her father, and as quickly as she had grabbed her phone she flung it into the empty passenger seat when she realised that there was no signal. Panic was now starting to mingle with the fear and she peered through the steaming-up windows into the darkness.

  A memory managed to surface through the fear and she remembered that there was an emergency phone back at the railway bridge. Reluctantly, tentatively, she exited the car, her scantily clad body shivering as the rain slammed into her flesh, and she walked back to the bridge.

  She did not know that while these events were unfolding a pair of eyes was watching her.

  *

  ‘Pardon me? What do you mean you can’t help me? I’m a young lady whose car has broken down, and I feel a little scared right now as it is quite late and I’m on my own.’ She had successfully reached the phone that was at the railway bridge. The lady on the other end of the line sounded bored, very bored.

  ‘I’m sorry, as I’ve told you; this phone is solely for the reporting of accidents concerning the bridge. We are not a breakdown service.’

  ‘But, but, could you at least pass a message through to a breakdown service for me, or maybe the police?’

  ‘I’m sorry; I’m not authorized to do that.’

  ‘Look, you are being terribly unreasonable…..’

  ‘I’m not being paid to listen to abusive phone calls…..’

  ‘I’m not being abusive!’

  ‘I have given you a warning. I am now terminating this call. Make no attempt to call back.’

  ‘No, please don’t do…’

  But she was only talking to a ring tone.

  *

  Now panicking even more she made her way back to the car and slumped into the driver’s seat. Struggling to think because of the fear and also now because of the cold, she thought that she vaguely remembered that there was a garage about half a mile further on.

  She searched through her Gucci bag but this time she pulled out a bright red device about the same size as her mobile phone. It had a switch on one side and circular strap at the end, which was attached to a pin that was plugged into the device. She slipped her hand through the strap and pulled the device sharply away from her wrist disengaging the pin. The device emitted an unbearably loud, high-pitched noise which caused her to screw up her face in distaste and she did not let it ring for more than a few moments before re-inserting the pin which made the noise cease.

  After taking the keys out of the ignition, she opened the door, stepped out, shuddered, closed and locked the door and started on her lonely walk to the garage.

  *

  Simon had long given up waiting for his date. He had called and called her but his calls went straight to her answer phone. It was almost like her phone did not have any signal or it was switched off. So now he was with his friends in a bar in the local town, drowning his sorrows at being stood up by his beautiful date. His friends talked as young men of that age talked; one minute it was football, the next the young women in college, then back to football. Simon though was not really listening. All he could think of was the gorgeous woman who should have been with him at that moment. Her thoughts though were not turned to him anymore as her night was just about to get a lot worse.

  Chapter 2

  The rain showed no sign of abating. If anything, it seemed to her to be getting heavier. Ten minutes had passed since she left the car and she topped a rise in the road. She stopped walking and gazed narrow eyed through the rain. There, only a few hundred meters away was the garage. She let out a sigh of relief

  Fields surrounded the garage and directly on her left was a hedge that ran from the railway along the road. On the other side of this hedge there was only darkness, and as she stood peering into the distance, seemingly through the hedge a figure appeared.

  ‘Now you’re very young and very sexy to be out all alone at night!’

  *

  He was on the other side of the hedge, peering through it, listening to the starter motor turning over, trying to get the engine going. He had a rudimentary knowledge of mechanics and he could tell that the Mini was not going anywhere just by listening to the attempts of the engine to start. He rubbed his hands with obvious glee and a grin appeared on his face that could be said to not belong on the face of a sane man.

  He always came to this spot when there was heavy rain. The road under the bridge did not drain properly and it always flooded. A number of times he had seen ca
rs break down due to a flooded engine, but up until now the occupants had never been what he desired, a single woman on her own.

  This woman was young and no doubt fresh so he thought. She was dressed incredibly sexily. Low cut top, push up bra, which showed her large breasts off to perfection, and a very short skirt that displayed her long, tanned legs. This woman had already been down to the bridge and as he watched her through the hedge making the phone call he masturbated. He heard what she said he was that close to her and he liked her voice. He imagined what her scream would sound like as he parted… The thought was lost.

  A grin appeared on his face as he saw her slam the handset down and watched her walk back to the car, muttering and cursing to herself. He continued to peer through the hedge as he walked, continued playing with his penis.

  As she reached the car, he thought to himself that he should strike now, but he decided against it as he correctly guessed that she would now walk to the garage.

  *

  As she saw the figure step out in front of her, her eyes were automatically drawn to his erect penis and for a moment she froze. He was slobbering and drooling as he reached for her, his penis throbbing against his stomach and as his hand closed around her upper arm her survival instinct took a hold of her.

  In a split second she pulled the strap on her rape alarm, pressed it against his ear and then drove her knee into his groin area. She saw him wince as the noise blasted and screamed into his ear, heard his breath leave his body in a big rush as her knee connected and then witnessed him falling to the ground, moaning and groaning.

  She stood over him for a few moments, trying to get her shocked breath back, the alarm still raging in her hand unnoticed. She gave him another kick in the groin just to make sure, and then ran for the refuge of the garage.

  Chapter 3

  From a distance, Michelle spotted Simon from across a crowded bar. To say she was surprised to see him would be an understatement. When a young gentleman has arranged a date with a stunningly beautiful young woman it is more traditional for the gentleman to turn up to the date.

  Michelle thought about going to speak to him but from what she could see he and his friends looked very drunk even thought the night was still quite early and that was a confrontation she simply did not want to have. Instead she excused herself from her friends and exited the bar to make a phone call.

  She dialled Sally’s mobile number that she knew from memory but she only got her voice mail. She left a message and then searched her phone’s memory for Sally’s home number, a number she rarely called.

  A cultured, well-spoken voice answered the phone. ‘Hello. How may I help you?’

  ‘Hello. Is that you Alfred?’

  ‘Indeed it is. How may I be of assistance?’

  ‘Is Sally available?

  ‘No. She departed at around 8 o’clock in her Mini and has not been home since. Whom is it that is calling?’

  ‘It’s Michelle.’

  ‘Ahhh,’ his voice noticeably brightened, ‘young Michelle! I presumed, as does her father, that she was with you.’

  Michelle could have hit herself. Sally’s cover story for dates that she did not want her father to know about, which was ninety-nine percent of them, was Michelle, and vice-versa. ‘No, she isn’t tonight,’ Michelle reluctantly had to say. ‘When she comes home Alfred, could you please ask her to call me?’

  ‘Of course, my dear. I will instruct a member of the staff to leave a message on her door and I will have one of the maids inform her as soon as she enters the house.’

  Michelle laughed to herself as Alfred referred to Sally’s residence as a house. ‘Thank you Alfred.’

  ‘My pleasure Michelle. Goodbye.’

  ‘Goodbye Alfred.’ Michelle closed her phone and said out loud, ‘I hope she is okay.’

  Now definitely intent on confronting Simon, she returned to where she had spotted him but he had moved on. Cursing, she could not understand why Simon would stand up the gorgeous Sally to go drinking with his drunken friends.

  Michelle shook her head in mild bemusement and wished she had the opportunity to have the chance to go on a date with someone as attractive as Simon. Excusing herself again, this time she wandered through the bar to the toilets where her reflection caught her eye in the mirror. She knew she was no Sally, but she was still attractive. She was more voluptuous than Sally, larger chest, bigger thighs and not as pretty, but she was still beautiful. Just no Sally. And didn’t she know it.

  Most of her life she had been in her best friend’s shadow, and she supposed she always would be. Whenever they were out together the boys flocked around Sally, almost totally ignoring Michelle. What Michelle had yet to realize that if she was not with someone as perfect as Sally then the boys would flock around her; she was beautiful in her own way. Being around Sally, seeing how she was treated like a princess by everyone in her life had eventually dented Michelle’s confidence. Her confidence had been briefly built up, only to be dashed to the ground by her ex-boyfriend who stayed with until he had sex with her, taking her virginity, and then dumping her shortly afterwards.

  She pulled out a small makeup bag out of her handbag, not Gucci but how much did she wish. She rouged her lips a little more and then released the clip that let hair long brown hair cascade onto her shoulders, only to decide to continue to wear it up. Michelle fixed her hair into the style it was before and scrutinized her figure. She was beginning to wish she had dressed a little bit more conservatively, not only because it was cold, but mainly because she did not feel comfortable. Her breasts, which were very noticeable anyway, were struggling to stay inside the top she was wearing and the short skirt was also not leaving much to the imagination. She studied herself some more in the mirror stating that she needed to lose more weight. She was not fat, though, far from it. She just could not see her true self as she was blinded by the competition that is her best friend.

  She shrugged her shoulders again and muttered quietly, ‘There is nothing I can do about it now.’ And then she stated loudly, ‘Right, let’s go and find Mr. Right young lady!’ She turned expertly on her high heels and went back into the bar.

  Chapter 4

  She reached the forecourt of the garage after running as best she could in her inappropriate Prada footwear. By now, she was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably as the shock and realization of what had just occurred took a hold of her. As she passed into the shelter of the garage she stopped running and noted that there was a shop to the left of her that was closed, and in fact the whole garage seemed deserted.

  She did not really believe in God, but all of a sudden she found him as she started to pray that there was someone in the garage. Unsure of how long the man would be incapacitated for, she panicked as she realised that of course he would have seen the way she had ran and could right now be chasing after her. This set off another bout of sobs and then faintly, over the drumming of the rain on the roof of the garage, she heard music. She looked all around her for the source of this most welcoming of sounds but could not see where it was coming from. Guessing that it must be coming from the rear of the complex she quickly realised that she did not want to go round to the back. It was dark along the driveway leading to the music, and the last place she wanted to go to was into the dark. She stood there for a few moments, what felt like to her an eternity, trying to compose herself, which she managed to do a little. She managed to stop the sobbing, but the shudders and shivers would not leave her, partly shock, partly fright, partly coldness. Eventually her courage built up by telling herself that whatever could be in the darkness is probably, hopefully, not going to be worse than what could be running down the road after her.

  After a little more hesitation she walked to the left of the building and along the driveway, keeping close to the wall of the shop, away from the fence on the other side of which was just blackness. Time slowed down for her. Eons seemed to pass as she walked along the driveway and then suddenly a courtyard opened in front of he
r surrounded on three sides by large sheds used by the mechanics. There was faint light in the yard caused by light passing out of the slightly open door of one of the sheds. She made her way quickly across the yard to this light and hopeful sanctuary. She reached the threshold of the door and paused as she heard the voice singing along with the song that was playing.

  Despite all that had happened to her in the last hour she could not help a small smile appearing briefly on her face as she heard the terrible noise that was meant to be singing coming through the door. The smile passed quickly as she crossed the threshold and stepped into the brightly lit mechanics’ shed. She began to sob again as relief overwhelmed her and then puzzlement as she couldn’t locate the body that must accompany the voice. It was after a few seconds of confusion that she saw the feet protruding from under a car. She walked across the few yards and bent down and shook the feet.

  ‘Hello. Could you please help me?’

  ‘What the fuck! Ouch!’ The surprising shock of having his feet shaken had so surprised him that he had tried to sit up whilst he was under the car. He had banged his head against the underside of the vehicle after which he slid out quickly from under the car; wrench in hand, ready to defend himself if needed. Instead of what he expected to see, which was a someone with intentions to rob, mug or murder him, his eyes met the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. They were emerald green and mesmerizing.