by Mazhar, S
Slowly the ache died away, leaving him feeling tired and weak but no longer sore. He turned to his side, trying to get comfortable, but as tired as he was he found he couldn’t sleep. He glanced at the bedside clock and saw the red glare read, 12:15.
He smiled to himself. It was past midnight. The first of November. He was fourteen. Maybe now he would be treated differently – less as a child and more as a young adult. He scoffed at his own thoughts. His mum would probably still treat him like a child whether he was fourteen or forty. Isn’t that what she said? That she would hold him back as long as she could? The strange conversation he had eavesdropped on spun in his mind, failing to make any better sense to him now than it did when he’d heard it. He closed his eyes, breathing out a long slow sigh.
Clink.
Aaron opened his eyes.
Clink.
He sat up in bed and reached over to switch on the light. Squinting in the harsh brightness until his eyes adjusted, he scanned the room but didn’t find anything suspicious.
Clink.
He got out of bed. Padding across the room to the window, he looked out to see Rose and Sam throwing pebbles at his window. The glow of the street lamp illuminated their grinning faces. Aaron unlatched the window and pushed it open. Leaning over the sill, he grinned at them, ignoring the night chill that washed over him.
“What are you guys doing?” he asked, careful not to speak too loudly in case it woke up his mum in the next room.
“Getting your lazy ass out of bed,” Sam answered with a grin.
“Don’t just hang there,” Rose scolded, “get down here.”
“We’re taking you out, celebrating in style,” Sam said. “Hurry up, birthday boy.”
Aaron grinned. He held up two fingers, gesturing he needed two minutes to get ready. He pulled back and closed the window.
***
Two and a half minutes later, Aaron crept past his parents’ room. His dad might have been on a night shift but he was careful not to wake his mum. Aaron sneaked downstairs, across the hall and into the kitchen. Quietly, he pulled the back door open and slipped out. He hurried down the path, grinning at the twins waiting for him.
“You sleep like the freaking dead!” Sam admonished. “We threw enough pebbles to build a mountain.”
“Here’s a little tip,” Rose said. “Charge that thing you pretend is a phone so when we call, you can answer it.”
Aaron grinned and ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. “Sorry. How was I supposed to know I’d be getting midnight surprises?”
“You should know,” Rose replied. “If your parents aren’t going to give you a party, then we will.”
“A party?” Aaron asked with wide eyes. “At this hour?”
“This is the hour for parties.” Sam grinned.
Aaron looked from one twin to the other, his eyebrows raised. “What place is going to be open now that’ll let me in?”
“The same place that’ll let two sixteen year olds in,” Sam replied.
“It’s only the Blaze,” Rose said. “Halloween party may be over, but the place is still open till three in the morning.”
“Which means we’ve not got all night,” Sam said. “Come on.” He started walking down the street.
Aaron and Rose walked alongside him. Rose had her long brown hair bunched up on either side of her head. Her soft brown eyes were still marked with remnants of gold glitter.
“Let me guess,” Aaron said, looking Rose up and down. “You dressed up as a gold digger again?”
“It’s a killer outfit,” Rose said. “Makes sense to reuse it.”
Aaron turned to Sam. “Did you go as Facebook again?” he asked.
“Please,” Rose said, scowling. “Wearing your normal clothes and sticking a book under your arm with the word FACE on it doesn’t make you Facebook.”
Sam gave her a sideways look but didn’t argue. “This year it was Twitter,” he told Aaron.
“How could you go as...” Aaron paused. “Never mind. I don’t wanna know.” They walked a few steps before Aaron asked, “So you’ve had this party planned?”
“We’ve lived on the same street as you for, like, forever,” Rose said. “We had a feeling you’d be having your usual family-only-celebration.” She shrugged. “We figured we’d give you a proper party.” Then with a sly grin, she added, “And if you look really hard, you might see other faces you know.”
“Who?” Aaron asked at once.
“You’ll see,” Sam said. “We might have invited a few extras at the last minute.”
“Like?” Aaron asked.
“Like...Becky, for example.” Sam grinned
Aaron almost tripped. “You didn’t. You...you invited Rebecca?”
“Yep.” Rose chuckled. “And you’d better not waste this opportunity.”
“What?” Aaron exclaimed. “What does that mean?”
“It means you ask her out, idiot,” Rose explained.
Aaron threw her a furious look. “Yeah, sure, I’ll ask her out. Where will I take her? Oh, that’s right, the only place my parents will allow me to go: my house, which happens to be right next to hers.”
“Nothing wrong with taking a girl to your room, bro.” Sam winked.
“Nice.” Rose glared and poked her brother in the ribs. She turned back to Aaron, ignoring the sputtering of her twin. “Talk to your mum and dad. I’m sure they’d be okay with you taking Rebecca out.”
“Did all that glitter get to your head?” Aaron asked. “You know what my parents are like.”
“They’re not that bad,” Rose countered. “You just blow things out of proportion.”
“Rose, they are that bad; you just don’t believe me,” said Aaron.
“Come on, mate,” Sam said. “I’m sure they would be okay with you taking Becky out. I mean, you’re neighbours. They know her.”
“You’re also my neighbour,” Aaron argued. “They know you too, but they don’t want me hanging out with you either.”
Sam fell quiet, his smile evaporating. His gaze dropped to the ground as they walked in awkward silence.
“What’s their problem?” Sam asked, betraying his honest confusion. “Why don’t they want you hanging around with me?”
Aaron shrugged, not having an answer.
“I don’t think it’s us,” Rose said. “Your parents are just paranoid. And given your time at Westbridge, you can understand why.”
Aaron groaned. “One incident!” He held up a finger to accentuate the point. “One small, tiny incident of bullying and they pull me out of school. How does that make sense?”
“It may have been one incident,” Rose argued, “but Matthews had it in for you ever since you joined our class.”
“That’s ’cause Matthews is a prat,” Sam added. “He just couldn’t take it that you’d been bumped up to his class.”
“He wasn’t the only one,” Aaron grouched. “The majority of Year Three had a problem with me.”
“Come on, Aaron,” Rose said. “You were the seven year old that got pulled up two classes because he was too smart. You were showing up a bunch of nine year olds in their own classroom. Of course they were going to have a problem with you.”
“You say it like it was my fault,” Aaron accused.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Rose agreed, “but nine year olds don’t see it that way.”
“Plus, you were the smallest in class.” Sam said. “It automatically sets off the teasing reaction inbuilt in us humans.”
“So how come you both didn’t join in?” Aaron asked, this time with a smile. “You guys were in the same class. How come you two became my friends?”
Rose and Sam shared a look, wearing identical grins.
“’Cause we’re awesome,” Sam answered.
“And you always brought the nicest treats for lunch–”
A screech of tyres interrupted Rose. The smell of burning rubber was the first thing to register to Aaron, before he even saw what was happeni
ng. There was a thunderous crash of metal hitting rock, the deafening roar of an engine, then two bright lights blinded all three of them.
A car suddenly came belting towards him and the twins. The driver must have lost control; as the car was half on the pavement and half on the road, swerving this way and that, with Aaron and the twins in its path. There was no time to move out of the way. Instinctively, Aaron threw up both hands to shield his face – a simple act, no matter how ineffective.
What happened next, Aaron could never have anticipated. The ground under their feet trembled, then shook as if in the grips of an earthquake. All three of them fell to the ground, shrieking in panic. The car was coming towards them but before it could run them over, it stopped and tilted forward – the back lifting clear off the ground. For an awful moment, the car was completely vertical, looming threateningly over them. It seemed inevitable that it would fall on top of them, crushing them to death, but instead the bonnet of the car sunk into the ground. An enormous crash shattered the windscreen. Shards of glass flew in every direction, raining down on the terrified teenagers. The car continued to fall deeper into the ground until only half of it was visible.
Aaron’s gaze went from the car to the ground and he stared in utter disbelief. The ground had cracked open – literally open. A tear zigzagged from the pavement to the middle of the road, splitting the tarmac wide enough to swallow the front half of the car.
Aaron and the twins shakily got to their feet, staring at the sight of the absurd-looking car sticking out of the ground, wedged between the two sides of the road.
Sam staggered forward, approaching the car. “Hello?” he called, his voice trembling. “Are…are you alright?” he asked the unseen driver.
Aaron’s legs threatened to buckle under him but he pushed himself forward. He looked into the car, trying to spot the driver, but all he could make out were the back seats of the Honda Civic.
“Oh God,” he whispered. “He must be dead.”
Sam reached into his pocket, fumbling with his phone. His hands were trembling as he called the emergency services. “I-I need an ambulance,” he said. “There’s been a-a car accident. Scottvale Street...”
“The...the ground?” Rose whispered, staring in shock. “How is this possible?”
“I don’t know,” Aaron replied, feeling his stomach clench and his fingers tingle.
“It doesn’t make sense.” Rose was shaking her head. “How–?”
“AARON!”
The piercing scream made Aaron jump. He looked over and immediately saw who was crying out his name with such terror.
“Mum?” he gasped in surprise.
Kate was running barefoot down the road, still dressed in her nightclothes. She jumped over the gap in the road like it was nothing, and threw her arms around Aaron.
“Oh thank God! Thank God!” she cried. She pulled away, her hands coming to rest on either side of his face. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I-I’m fine,” Aaron stuttered. “How did you know I was here?”
She didn’t answer. She turned to stare at the car, as if noticing it for the first time.
“Oh my God,” she whispered. “Oh, Aaron.”
Aaron’s stomach lurched horribly. It almost sounded as if she was blaming him. “Mum?”
Kate grabbed hold of him, her hands shaking badly. “We have to leave,” she said, still staring at the car. “Come on.”
“Leave?” Aaron asked. “But the ambulance–”
“We don’t have time! We have to go – now!” Kate yelled.
She pulled him away from the car and down the street. Aaron tried to protest, but was taken aback at how strong she was. She was dragging him with next to no problem.
“Mum, wait, wait. Sam–” Aaron pulled back, turning to look at the twins.
That’s when Kate saw them, standing awkwardly to the side of the road. Her eyes grew impossibly wide, her mouth twisting in anger.
“No!” she roared. “No! No! No!”
Aaron pulled back, a crippling fear rising inside him. He tried to let go of her hand but her grip only tightened. She whirled around to face him. “What were you doing with them?” she spat furiously. “I told you not to be around them!”
Aaron couldn’t find his voice to answer. Sheer terror stole his ability to speak.
“Mrs Adams, it wasn’t Aaron’s fault.” Rose hesitantly stepped forward. “We came to him. We–”
Kate held up a hand to silence her. Her gaze went past Rose, upwards into the sky. For a moment, she stood completely still, her mouth open.
A strange chill spread through Aaron. His heart started beating faster. His stomach clenched painfully and that strange tingle pricked at his fingertips again. He turned, following his mum’s stare and saw it. High up in the night sky, a strange white mist was gathering, like a wispy white cloud. It started to grow, doubling in size with every passing second, glittering against the night sky.
A heartbeat later, it was moving, coming straight at them.
2
Fleeing
The bruising grip on Aaron’s arm pulled him violently forward as his mum broke into a run.
“Come on!” she screamed at Sam and Rose.
They didn’t need telling twice. They ran after Kate and Aaron as fast as they could. The eerie white mist raced after them, gaining speed, closing the distance at an alarming rate. Kate raced back to their street but passed her house, heading further down the road.
“Mum, where...where are we going?” Aaron puffed, running so fast he could barely breathe.
His mum didn’t answer but kept on running, never letting go of his hand. A car swerved around the corner, heading straight at the mother and son. It stopped with a screech and the door was flung open.
“Kate! Aaron!” Chris cried, running out of his patrol car.
“Dad?” Aaron had never been so relieved to see his father but at the same time he was more confused than ever at his sudden appearance. He was supposed to be at work, doing a night shift. What was he doing back home?
Chris wrapped strong arms around his wife and son. It was only for a moment, though, before he pushed both Kate and Aaron behind him, facing the approaching mist that was thundering down the road straight at him.
“Get in the car. Get out of here. Now!” he instructed.
Kate pulled Aaron, opened the back door of the car and pushed him in. “Samuel, Rosalyn, get in.” She turned and it was then she realised that the twins weren’t there. “Samuel? Rosalyn?” she cried, searching the dark street. She spotted them, running in the direction of their home. They had reached the gate and were struggling to open it.
“No!” Chris bellowed, catching sight of them too. “Samuel! Rosalyn! Don’t go in there!” He shot after them.
“Dad!” Aaron made to get out of the car but his mum stopped him.
“Stay inside,” she ordered, slamming the door shut and standing in front of it.
Sam and Rose pushed past the gate and raced towards their home. The mist twisted around and changed direction, pouring into the Masons’ front garden, encircling the small house until it was barely visible through the thick, pulsing white fog. The windows smashed and the front door was ripped off its hinges.
Sam and Rose came to a standstill, frozen in terror. Figures materialised out of the mist, strange shapes that solidified into a group of dark-clothed men. They stared straight at Sam and Rose, a strange hunger growing in their expressions. Someone grabbed the twins and pulled them back, with such force that they fell onto the street. Looking up, they found it was Christopher Adams.
“Get in the car – now!” Chris instructed.
Sam and Rose clambered to their feet and ran. Chris turned to face the men, his eyes dark with rage as he met the glares of the twenty men standing before him. One of them, dark-haired with glittering blue eyes, stepped forward with a smirk. He gave a small nod and the swarm of men descended onto Chris.
Sam and Rose reached the police car a
nd Kate quickly opened the door to let them in. Rose got in but Sam faltered. He turned to look back at their house, surrounded by the white fog.
“What’s going on?” he asked, breathing heavily. “Who are those-”
“Get in quickly!” Kate pushed him into the car and shut the door. She ran to the driver’s side, got in and turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life.
“Wait,” Sam said. “Wait for my mum and dad.”
Kate ignored him. Twisting the driving wheel, she turned the car around.
“Hey!” Sam slammed a hand against the steel mesh separating them from the front seats. “My parents are in there!” he yelled. “We can’t leave without them!”
“I’m sorry,” Kate replied, her voice thick with tears. “We can’t stay. We have to go.”
“What?” Sam cried. “No!” He turned and tried opening the door but, being a police car, it could only open from the outside. He slammed a hand against the window. “No! Mum! Dad! No!”
Rose was crying hard. “Please, Mrs Adams,” she sobbed. “Get them out. We can’t leave without them. Please!”
Kate didn’t say a word. She raced the car down the street.
“Mum, what about Dad?” Aaron asked, his blood running cold at the realisation that they were leaving him also behind. “Mum, no! Stop!”
But Kate didn’t stop. She drove past their house, fingers tight-knuckled around the wheel and her gaze stubbornly fixed to the road. Another police car came speeding down the street, almost hitting into them. It swerved and parked haphazardly in the middle of the road. Michael jumped out if it. His eyes met Kate’s just for a moment before he raced onto the pavement.
Kate pressed down on the accelerator, speeding away. Aaron turned to the back window to see his uncle Mike run full speed towards the Masons’ house. He caught a glimpse of something silver flash in his uncle’s hand before the car turned the corner, then the Masons’ house, the group attacking his dad, and his uncle disappeared from sight.
***
“Stop the car!” Sam smashed his hand against the mesh. “Stop!”
Kate kept driving.
“Let us out!” Sam screamed in rage, slamming his hand repeatedly against the metal criss-crossing of the back-seat barrier, but the reinforced steel didn’t budge. “Let us out! Stop the car! Stop!”