by Nathan Davey
This went on for what felt like a millennium. I lost count how many different turnings we went down. I’d completely lost my sense of direction. I felt dizzy and light headed. This loss of vision for this amount of time had made me feel very unnerving. I knew what was going to happen. I wasn’t ignorant to the fact that I was going to die. I just wished that they’d just do it. It made me agitated. I just wanted them to get it over with. The anticipation was tearing me apart.
I felt a hand press against my chest to make me stop. I stopped walking and stood were I was. A pair of hands pushed down with a lot of force and strength on my shoulders. I decided not to resist and allowed the hands to bring me down. I was then on my knees in the cold mud. Several of the footsteps walked away from me, making the mud squelch loudly. The bag was whipped away from my head and I saw where I was.
Well, here we are. This is where I started this book, back in the prologue. There I was, in the forest clearing with Barry’s gun pressing against my head. The cold air froze my bones to the core. In Barry’s sunglasses I could see the blood splattered across me from when I tripped over back on the forest path. The drug dealer’s associates stood behind a bush a few meters from me. I could see their eyes stare back at me with malice. I was scared. At the same time I was ready to go.
I just hoped that Lizzie had gotten away. Nothing else mattered to me. Life no longer mattered to me. Existence no longer mattered to me. Everything I’d been through on this road trip had no more importance to me. The only thing that was dominant in my mind was the image of Lizzie arriving back in St.Ians. I could see her running to her front door and jumping into the arms of her worried parents. That film playing in my mind kept my spirits high as I awaited my fate.
My mind began to fill with the possibilities that the afterlife could offer. I would finally find out the answer to the greatest answer of all: what happens after we die? Which religion would turn out to be right? Would I become a ghost? Would I go to Heaven or Hell? Would I be reincarnated? Or would there be nothing but a black, empty void awaiting me? That last thought really stuck with me. What if there is nothing after death? What if life was all we have to experience? These thoughts kept my mind occupied as the time in which my life will end drew closer.
“Such a shame you know, mate” said Barry, “I was rather keen on you. With the right teaching you would have done well in this business. Shame. Easy come, easy go I suppose. You really could have gone far. But you double crossed me. You stabbed me in the back. You’ve just proven that you’re nothing but worthless scum. The world will be better without you. Well, for me anyway.”
“I’m sorry” I said in a low, shaky whisper, “but I just couldn’t do it. There was no way I was going to go through with it”
“Then that’s your mistake init?” said Barry with a snarl, “You put the nail in your own coffin. You have no one to blame but yourself. If you just followed my orders, we wouldn’t be in this situation would we?”
“I guess not” I replied, “I wouldn’t take it back though”
“I know you wouldn’t have” said Barry, “We all have our time Mr Connor. Your time has come.”
I closed my eyes tightly. My fists became clenched. The pressure in my hands became so immense that I felt my own nails dig into my skin. My head was shaking. My teeth were clenched. I began to breathe out of my mouth in an uneven manner. Hot tears ran down my face. The tears soon hit my tongue and sent a bitter taste across it. It was only then that the reality really hit me. It was going to die.
The life I was going to spend with Lizzie was now never going to happen. I would miss out on an ordinary life. I would never have kids of my own. I would never be called “Dad”. I would never have a wedding of my own. I would never grow old with the one I love. I would never know what being an adult would be like. I would never get to legally buy a pint of beer in a pub. I would never get to live in my own home. I would never feel the sun on my skin again. I would never kiss Lizzie again. I would never smell the fresh air again. I would never be able to see the beauty of the world again.
An image suddenly appeared in my mind. In my mind I saw the beautiful landscape that I spotted in Gloucester. I remembered the amazing sky, the birds flying in the distance, the green hills, the smell of the fresh country air and the feel of the thick grass underneath my feet. A song began to play in my head as I saw that image. It was a song I remembered singing in primary school assemblies. It was Jerusalem by William Blake and Sir Hubert Perry. That nostalgic anthem played with passion and emotion in my mind. Without at first realising it, I had found myself singing the words quietly to myself:
“And did those feet in ancient time, Walk upon England's mountains green: And was the holy Lamb of God, On England's pleasant pastures seen!”
“Enough of that, Connor!” screamed Barry, “This ain’t Songs of Praise you know, shut your pie hole!”
I was ready to leave this world behind. I was ready to leave my physical body for good. The song that was playing in my mind was helping me prepare for whatever was going to come, after my heart had stopped beating. I could hear Barry’s finger tighten on the gun’s trigger. This was it. I took in one deep breath and held it. I froze completely and waited for extreme pain to be inflicted upon me.
“FREEZE!!” screamed a voice from somewhere in the bushes, “YOU’RE GAME’S UP, BARRY PEPPER, PUT YOUR HANDS IN THE AIR!!”
Suddenly the entire clearing was surrounded by Policemen. A white Police van drove into the circle and stopped. The bright colours of the flashing lights on the van cut through the grey landscape. Several more Policemen holding guns jumped out of the vehicle and pointed their weapons towards Barry. The people behind the bush were now standing up with their arms in the air. It turned out that two Policemen had snuck up behind them and were now standing before them holding guns.
A female Police Officer holding a megaphone stepped forward. She had brown hair tied up into a bun, which was hidden underneath her black cap. Even though she had pretty features, those features were distorted into a serious and authoritive expression. I could tell from that one look that this was someone you really wouldn’t want to mess with.
“PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS!” she said amplifying her voice, “I REPEAT, PUT DOWN YOUR WEAPONS AND DISARM YOURSELVES”
Barry obeyed and allowed the gun, which was a moment ago about to take my life, to drop onto the grass covered ground. Instinctively a young Policeman snatched the gun from the ground, he then placed the gun into a see-through plastic bag as evidence. An older looking Constable walked up behind Barry, put his arms around his back and handcuffed him.
“I am arresting you for distributing illegal substances and the attempted murder of Aaron Connor” said the policeman who was handcuffing him, “You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention when questioned something which you later rely on in court. Anything you say may be given in evidence”
The same man did a search of Barry’s body with his hands. Happy that there was nothing else on his person, grabbed Barry with one hand on the neck and pulled him across the clearing towards the parked police van. Two of the Constable’s associates were already there to open the two back doors of the van. They helped the policeman to put Barry into the back of the van.
A few moments later, all of Barry’s workers were all handcuffed and being led to the police van. The Constables and Sergeants were starting to scatter themselves across the clearing, double checking for any more evidence and taking notes on clipboards as they did so. The Officer with the megaphone came up to me, put down the megaphone and untied me.
As I got up another Policeman came along and took the bag that was previously on my head for evidence. The Officer’s original expression of stern seriousness had now gone, it was replaced with a look of sympathetic concern. She helped me to my feet and brushed some of the dry mud from my clothes. She then quickly checked me all over for any injuries, before leading me over the grass towards the van.
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br /> “Are you alright young man?” she asked,
“Yeah” I answered, “Still feeling a bit shaky, but yeah I’m fine”
“That was a very close call you know” she said, “If your friend hadn’t contacted us, that scene could have gone very differently”
“Friend?” I asked,
“Yeah” replied the Officer, “That’s her over there”
I looked across the field and into a crowd of Policemen and Policewomen. They were all huddled around talking to someone. Spotting me the crowd parted so I could see who was in the centre of their circle. I nearly fainted when I saw who it was. My heart fluttered and I felt like I could float with joy. Standing there, in the clearing and not too far away from me, was none other then Lizzie Penny.
CHAPTER TWENTY – FIVE
Lizzie suddenly ran towards me at full pelt. When she arrived she wrapped her arms around me and cried into my chest. I returned the embrace and held her there. I could feel her body shaking and jolting as tears streamed down her beautiful face.
“Aaron” she cried, “You’re OK!”
“What are you doing here?” I asked, “I told you to leave”
“But I couldn’t Aaron” she explained, “You know I couldn’t”
“How did you know I was here?” I asked,
“When I went back to Barry’s to get the bike, the door was wide open and everyone had gone” she explained, “I went inside and watched everything that was happening on the TV, the one that was connected to that camera that Lucas put on you. For the first few minutes I just saw the inside of a car boot. When they took you out I saw, in the background, a sign that said “Epping Forest”. I called up the police, told them what was happening and they headed straight to the forest. I told them the address that Barry’s place was at. They arrived quickly. They came to lead me to the forest. I followed them all the way through London on our bike, I rode out of the City and into the woodland . . . and here I’ am, to the rescue”
“You’re brilliant!” I said, “Lizzie Penny, you are bloody brilliant!”
“I could have told you that” said the Officer, “I’ve never seen such a brave lass as her, you’re a very lucky bloke, you know”
“Oh I know!” I said, “I know”
The Police van closed up and pulled away with Barry and his workers inside. The van was now heading straight for the nearest Police Station. Barry and his associates were now going to be questioned, before going to court the following day. If you’re wondering how long his sentence was, it turned out to be a life sentence. I doubt anyone will be having anymore trouble from that disgraceful bastard again.
As soon as the Police van left, suddenly lots of media vans drove into the clearing. On the sides of the vans were logos from ITV, BBC, B.E.N, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky News and CNN. Photographers and reporters from various newspapers also came onto the scene and began questioning Policemen and Policewomen. Large television cameras were soon seen on the site as each Broadcaster were recording their reports, which were to be shown on the news programs that night.
“Is that him?” said a reporter pointing to me, “is that the scumbag?”
“I bet she’s some sort of whore” said someone with a camera, “I heard that Barry was a bit of a pimp on the side, that girl’s probably Nikki”
“That’s Barry!” said another, “I know it is!”
“No he’s not!” cried the Officer through the megaphone, “He’s the victim and she’s the hero. If it wasn’t for these two, then we’d have never finally caught Barry and his gang”
“Heroes?” asked a man who was working for B.E.N, “but they’re chavs!”
“Come off it mate” said someone from Channel 4, the man spoke with a distinctive Spanish accent, “There’s no need to discriminate against them. These are modern times you pleb, anything is possible. Come on lads, let’s interview them”
The man from Channel 4 came up to us, leaving the man from B.E.N to look at us from his truck in disgust. He was a younger looking bloke with perfect black hair, white teeth and a crisp grey suit with a blue tie. A camera man and a man with a boom microphone followed the reporter as he walked towards us. When he arrived in front of us, he shook our hands warmly and gave us a nice, big smile.
“Hello guys” said the man, “My name is Ernest Tremlett. I’m going to interview you two for Channel 4 news, is that alright?”
“Fine” I said,
“What are your names?” Ernest asked,
“My name is Lizzie Penny” she said,
“And I’m Aaron Connor” I said,
“Cool” said Ernest, “Tell me your whole story, tell me how you came to be here?”
I told him everything that you’ve just read. I told him my whole story from when I left St.Ians to how I ended up there in the woods. Of course it was a summarised version, but he still got to know all of the main points and moments from our adventures. Ernest listened with intense interest. When I finished he just stood there opened mouthed and then smiled. This was every reporter’s dream, an exciting and emotive story which he can report to the world. He’d just been given the big scoop.
“That’s incredible!” he said, “When we start filming, you tell that story again in the exact same way that you just told me then, ok? We’ll get ourselves ready to shoot, I’ll tell you when we’re about to begin”
Ernst took a few steps forward and began to talk with his crew. We both began to feel nervous again. We were about to go on National TV. Ernest assured us afterwards that it wasn’t Live but he didn’t like to tell people that, because when people think it’s Live they usually try harder to do a better interview. Nonetheless, I and Lizzie were going to be on the Television, in Newspapers and who knows where else we’d crop up.
“We’re going to be on Telly!” said Lizzie excitedly,
“I know” I said, “but stay cool, we want to make a good impression, don’t we?”
“Yeah, of course” answered Lizzie, “I can feel butterflies in my belly!”
“Just stay cool” I assured her, “We’ll be just fine”
I may have looked calm and collected on the outside, on the inside I was still a mess of emotions. I’d nearly died back there. I was one second away from death. Yet it didn’t happen. These guys arrived just in the nick of time. I’d survived that horrible and scarring experience. It made me realise how fragile life is. It made me appreciate life even more, as I discovered how quickly and easily it can be taken away from me.
My mind was still reeling. Everything was happening so fast. It seemed like a blink of the eye, between being at gun point and then finding myself standing before an entire Television crew. I tried my best to look strong in front of Lizzie, who had saved my life. If I loved her before that, imagine how I felt about her after she stuck her neck out to save me from loosing my life. I was amazed that she wasn’t afraid to go back into Barry’s place. I was blown away by the fact that she still stood by me, even in our darkest hour. It was then that I realised, that she really was my soul mate.
“We’re about to start” said Ernest, “Are you two ready?”
“Yep” I said,
“Ready when you are” said Lizzie,
“Brilliant!” cried Ernest.
“OK we’re on in 5, 4” said the camera man, as he counted down from five with his fingers, “3, 2” and the last number was shown with his fingers silently. A red light appeared on the camera. The boom microphone was brought down so that it was above Ernest, but not so low that it appeared in the shot. Once the red light came on and the microphone was in place, Ernest began the report.
“Hello, my name is Ernest Tremlett. I’m reporting from Epping Forest, just outside of East London. The notorious drug dealer, Barry Pepper, who has been plaguing the City of London for many years, has finally been captured. He was apprehended with the help of two young people from St.Ians, in Cambridgeshire.
“Other than the event of the arrest of Barry Pepper, I have another story to t
ell. This story came to us, here at Channel 4, completely by surprise. We discovered that these young people have been on a most incredible adventure across Britain.
“They hadn’t many qualifications and they couldn’t get themselves jobs. So, instead of sitting around and making a nuisance of themselves, they decided to go out into the country and do some good. They decided to make it their goal in life, to go across the country and help as many people as they could. They’ve been to many places, met many people and their journey had ended right here, when they mistook the famous criminal as someone who needed assistance. Thankfully the authorities arrived when they did.
“I’m here with the two young people themselves, two sixteen year olds by the names of Lizzie Penny and Aaron Connor. Aaron has agreed to tell you about his exploits and what he plans to do now. Aaron, how are you?”
“A bit shaky” I said, “I’m fine though. I just to say first, that if it wasn’t for Lizzie here, I wouldn’t be standing here now. She saved my life. I owe so much to her. I just wanted to make sure that everyone out there, watching at home, know that I’m not the hero, Lizzie is”
“Wow, what an elegant testimony” said Ernest, “What do you think about that Lizzie?”
“Well, he told me that if things went wrong I was get away and go home” she began, “I didn’t though. I love Aaron. I’d do anything for him. I knew that this was going to be a mess that he wouldn’t be able to get out of alone. I’m just so happy that he’s still with us. I’m so happy that the authorities got here in time.”