The doors opened and the first of the teenagers began to bustle on and as Nicola approached she could hear friendly banter about who was paying. She ran up the side of the bus where the last of the group, a short, rather chubby boy who looked about eighteen, was still standing on the pavement looking down and counting the money in his hand. As she reached him breathless from the running, he looked up in surprise which turned into a wide smile.
‘Hi there,’ he said, dull eyes sitting underneath short ginger hair, his face full of freckles. She smelt the beer on his breath as if she was standing in a brewery and for a moment felt she was going to retch.
‘Hi,’ replied Nicola masking her reaction and putting on her best smile. ‘Erm, I’m not from around here.’
‘I gathered that,’ he replied, his accent thickly local.
‘Well, I’m really stupid and have gone out without my purse and I don’t know how to get back to my hotel near Penwryn.’ She spoke earnestly trying to give her best helpless damsel in distress act. The rest of the group were now seated on the bus and some began to notice what was going on outside. She heard whispers and then laughter and a wolf whistle.
‘Come on laddie,’ called the bus driver. ‘We haven’t got all night.’
Nicola looked down at him.
‘Please, I know this is really cheeky of me but would you be able to pay my fare to Penwryn?’
He studied her for a moment and then shook his head.
‘Nope, sorry.’
Her face fell and anger sparked in her eyes and then he broke out into a sly grin.
‘Sure,’ he said. ‘Hop on board.’
She looked at him in indignation and then relaxed into a smile as she stepped onto the bus.
He got on behind her laughing to himself as he said. ‘You should have seen your face.’
She looked up the single deck seeing the group taking up most of the back half of the bus turning it into a noisy, crowded mass of laughter and bantering. She went to sit on her own near the front but as she did he passed her and said. ‘Hey, the least you can do is to sit with us.’
She looked at him standing there, his baggy jacket and clothes scruffy, podgy hands holding her ticket towards her, and then past him to the crowd of teenagers who had now settled into the seats and were beginning to chant ‘why are we waiting.’
‘Okay, sure,’ Nicola replied uneasily. She stood up and followed him up the aisle of the bus as he began to push his way past the jungle of legs and bodies to the only spare seats at the very back in the corner. He threw himself down and then shifted up making a space for her which she reluctantly filled trying not to make contact with him. Around them, after a few glances and comments, the group carried on chatting noisily amongst themselves.
The bus pulled away and the background noise of the engine and the rattling and squeaking of seats and windows took some of the tension she had felt out of the air.
‘Well,’ he began turning to face her and extending his hand. ‘I’m Jason and it’s my birthday today.’
She took his clammy hand and shook it, letting go quickly.
‘I’m Nicola.’ She did her best to smile sincerely. ‘Happy Birthday. And thanks for paying.’
‘No problem,’ he replied grinning. ‘Just doing my bit for tourism. Speaking of which.’
He leaned toward her, eyes glinting.
‘What brings a pretty girl like you to Tregarne? It’s hardly the hotspot of Cornwall. Not that I am complaining mind.’
Nicola shifted uncomfortably in her seat trying as best she could to push herself further away without him noticing.
‘I got lost,’ she said evasively.
‘Were you running from someone?’ he said, his small eyes studying her. ‘I think so for you look like someone who is running away.’
She looked at him feeling even more wary of him.
‘What makes you say that?’ she asked hesitantly.
‘Your clothes don’t quite fit you, you don’t have a coat or anything on you, no makeup, no jewellery, not even a watch.’ He turned away to look out of the window seeing the reflections of the group.
What is it? Boyfriend trouble?’
At the moment the bus lurched around a corner with a protesting set of rattles momentarily drowning out any conversation. Nicola turned away wanting to be alone.
‘Kind of,’ she muttered.
He tried to see her past his own reflection in the window but could not. He turned back to her.
‘Don’t get me wrong,’ he said. ‘I don’t care what you’ve done.’
‘I haven’t done anything,’ she protested glaring at him.
He raised his hands. ‘Sure, you’re just out here like this from choice.’
‘Look, it’s a long story,’ she said knowing that somehow this was only the beginning.
‘I ran away,’ he said. ‘From home. My dad used to beat me up.’
Nicola turned to look at him, her heart suddenly feeling for him.
‘I’m sorry,’ she said.
He shrugged.
At that moment a dread filled premonition that something bad was going to happen filled Nicola’s being with such intensity that she doubled up, and then the presence literally fell out of her, leaving her empty and hollow. Seconds later the bus, which had been cruising quickly along a straight road, lurched forwards as it braked suddenly and sharply, compressed air hissing from underneath the chassis. As the bus finally shuddered to a stop everything was suddenly quiet. They looked out the windows but could see nothing but their reflections against pitch blackness.
‘Hey, what’s going on?’ someone called out to the driver just as the doors hissed open. Everyone turned to look as two men stepped onboard. The first was in his fifties, wearing trousers and a dark coloured jacket, his face hard and covered by a short, ragged beard, a recent graze marring the left side of his jaw and cheek. He flashed something at the driver while the second, a taller, younger man wearing a black leather jacket and black jeans with a goatee beard and black hair tied back in a ponytail pushed past, his head turning as he searched the group. His eyes rested on Jason and then Nicola and a flash of something like hatred flared on his face and Nicola turned away, her stomach twisting in knots. Her whole being was screaming at her that this was wrong and she began to feel like she wanted to throw up.
The men sat down at the front and the bus pulled away again, the banter and conversation starting up again. Every few seconds one of them glanced back at Nicola and she sank down in her seat trying to get out of eye contact.
Jason was watching her intently.
‘I have to get off,’ Nicola said in quiet desperation.
He leaned in to whisper in her ear.
‘Just what are you in?’
‘What do you mean?’ she said looking fearfully up at him.
‘They’re police. They were in town earlier, showing pictures of you.’ His eyes were gleaming in admiration. ‘I recognised you as soon as you ran up to the bus.’
Nicola swallowed hard, her mouth dry, regret that she had left the house now filling her. Energy was churning within her, making it difficult to think. The urge to get up and run was so strong she had to grip the edge of the seats to stop herself moving.
‘I haven’t done anything,’ she said fear causing her voice to rise. ‘I don’t know why they’re here.’ Desperation began to gnaw at the pit of her stomach rising to fill her. She should not be scared of the police but everything was crying out to her that there was something deeply wrong.
‘Well,’ began Jason, his voice quivering with excitement. ‘Whatever it is we have to get you away from them.’
As he spoke he pulled out a phone and began texting, his stubby fingers moving quickly over the keys.
‘What are you doing?’ asked Nicola seeing streetlamps in the distance.
‘Arranging transport,’ he replied happily not looking up.
‘Why would you help me?’ she asked him.
‘Anyone not a fr
iend of the police is a friend of mine,’ he said, pausing to look at her, soft eyes twinkling. ‘I told you I ran away from home, didn’t I? You tend to meet a lot of interesting people if you do that, see another side of life.’
Nicola peered around the person in front of her. The two men were still sitting opposite each other, side on to her. As she looked the shorter one turned and stared straight at her, eyes dark with fury. Gasping she shrunk away, fear coursing through her.
‘What are they waiting for?’ she asked desperately as the bus entered the outskirts of Penwryn, houses and streetlamps flashing past.
‘Probably don’t want to make a scene on the bus. They’ll wait till you’re off and grab you then. Gives them more options.’ Jason put his phone away and turned to her putting a hand on her bare arm yet now she did not notice.
‘Look, don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.’
With that he leaned forward and whispered into the ear of the two teenagers in front of him. After a minute or so they both nodded and began to pass the message on to those around them.
The bus turned several corners and then was out into the main square heading for the bus stop on the other side. The man with the ponytail looked out the window as the bus began to slow, nodded to the other and then they both stood up. Nicola sat in petrified silence, her heart hammering in her chest.
‘Just wait a moment,’ murmured Jason into her ear. The other kids got up and began to move down the bus, filling the space between them. The men parted and tried to push past them but they piled on blocking the aisle and beginning to take them with them. Then two of them at the front started arguing and pushing each other and suddenly a fight broke out with boys shouting, girls screaming and a melee of pushing and shoving. The ponytail man looked up the bus as he tried to avoid the scrum of teenagers, his view partially blocked by the mass of bodies pressing against him. Jason smiled to see the sudden onset of concern on the man’s face as the realisation began to dawn.
Shifting in his seat Jason turned and pulled up the handle of the emergency door release, breaking the plastic seal as he did so. An alarm began to wail in the driver’s cab as the whole back window, which was hinged at the top, came loose and swung out. Now ponytail man was pushing desperately at the throng of teenagers trying to get past, his face set with grim determination. Behind him the other man had almost been pushed off by the gang and he was halfway down the steps of the bus. With a snarl he began to pull the teenagers in front of him out of the way as he struggled to get back on the bus. Next to him one of the girls started screaming that he had hurt her boyfriend and she punched him in the back. Turning he struck her across the face and she staggered backwards, missed her footing, and tumbled down the steps of the bus to crash into the boys already thrown off. This sparked a riot with kids jumping at him and punching him and he disappeared in a frenzy of flailing limbs that fell off the bus onto the pavement.
As all this was happening Jason had slid himself over the edge of the back seat and rolled over the lip of the window to drop onto the ground outside. He looked back and called out to Nicola. She turned to look at him eyes wide open with fear and disbelief.
‘Come on,’ shouted Jason. ‘What are you waiting for?’ He jumped back up, scrabbling at the ledge until he got a hold and then grabbed the collar of Nicola’s t-shirt and pulled with all his might. The sudden jerking broke the paralysis she had felt as she watched the ponytail man fighting his way up the bus, his eyes fixed on her. She pulled herself up and scrambled over the edge of the window to fall awkwardly onto the pavement, her right arm grazed and bleeding. Jason was already pulling at her and she pushed herself up wincing at the pain.
‘Come on,’ he cried, the excitement practically bubbling out of him. He began running as fast as he could across the square. Nicola turned, saw the ponytail man beginning to climb over the seats, his face curled in a snarl, eyes locked onto her. There was something about him that played at the edge of her perception, like there was a shadow of him within her mind and this seemed to paralyse her into some kind of hypnotic state and she could not move. Jason spun round, saw her still standing by the bus and came back towards her. He grabbed her arm and she turned, her eyes registering him as if for the first time. He shouted at her to come on for behind him ponytail man was almost at the back seat. She blinked and then everything sped up again and sound and awareness came back to her and she began to run.
Jason took off after her, puffing his way across the square. To their right he could see headlamps coming down the hill.
‘Car,’ he shouted after her. ‘Get in the car.’
She turned to look at him in confusion as a black coupe with darkened windows roared around the corner and braked sharply, skidding to a stop in front of them. The passenger door popped open and swung out, the driver’s face a flash of white amongst the shadows. Nicola stopped herself by the car hesitating for a moment.
‘Get in,’ shouted Jason at the top of his voice as he ran towards her. Nicola turned her head seeing him almost upon her. Beyond him the ponytail man had jumped down off the bus and was sprinting towards them, having already covered half the distance. The other man had now separated himself from the teenagers at the front of the bus and was also running in their direction a few paces behind. It was then that she heard it, a shout from somewhere on the other side of the square, a voice she had only known for a few hours yet which haunted her.
‘Nicola.’
She gasped.
‘Nicola.’
Jason slammed into her pushing her into the open doorway of the car.
‘No,’ she cried falling into the seat, Jason squeezing himself in frontward on top of her and somehow managing to pull the door shut at the same time.
‘Go,’ he shouted to the driver just as the ponytail man reached the car and grabbed at the door handle. The car lurched forward and he lost his grip.
‘Lock the doors,’ cried out Jason. Beneath him Nicola was struggling against his weight but he was wedged in and could not go anywhere. It was all he could do to support his body as much as he could so as not to totally squash her.
‘Let me go, I have to go,’ she shouted out, her voice muffled by the folds of his jacket. All she could think about was Paul, her whole being desperate to get to him.
The car pulled away just as a middle aged couple stepped out of a restaurant and, as they were not looking where they were going, out onto the square directly in their path. Cursing, the driver slammed on the brakes, the car skidding to a stop inches in front of them and they stood frozen in the headlights.
‘Get out the way,’ shouted the driver pressing the electric window button and gesticulating wildly. Getting over his shock the man hit the bonnet and shouted back. ‘Watch where you’re driving you lunatic.’
With a sudden premonition Jason twisted his head just in time to see ponytail man standing by the door with his fist raised. Instinctively he turned his face away just as his head and jacket were covered in a shower of shattering glass and, with the noise still ringing in his ears, he felt something hard hitting him in the lower back.
‘What the hell?’ cried the driver as he heard the window breaking behind him. He turned his head towards the noise just as a blur of movement in his peripheral vision become the second man who, with the thud of denting metal, half scrambled, half leapt across the bonnet to land heavily on the pavement next to him. Before he knew what was happening his head had been pushed forward to slam into the steering wheel.
‘Aah,’ muttered Jason as more blows rained down on his back and then he felt the man pulling hard on his jacket, which had risen up to his neck and was beginning to choke him. Desperately Jason pushed himself up trying to relieve the growing pressure on his windpipe and, as he did this, his jacket lifted away from Nicola’s face and suddenly she found herself staring into malevolent black eyes. Screaming in shock she tried to push herself away but had nowhere to go. With a smirk of triumph the man punched past Jason’s body striking her on
the side of the face. Dazed and with white stars filling her vision she felt his hand grab her around the throat and squeeze tightly and suddenly she found herself choking for air. Desperately she tried to pull her arms out but could only get her left arm free and with this she tore at the iron grip of fingers wrapped around her throat, her eyes wide with terror.
Momentarily stunned, and with pain arcing across his face the driver felt the car door pulled open as a hand grabbed his hair and pulled his head back. Instinctively, he reached for the gear stick, his hand just managing to slam the car into reverse and, as soon as he felt the gear engage he dumped the clutch and floored the accelerator. With tyres screaming the car lurched backwards. Next to him the driver heard a dull thud followed by a grunt of pain and then the grip on his head was gone. At the same moment, behind him, Nicola felt her neck pulled violently forward and then the hand was gone and she slipped back heaving and coughing for breath. Stars began to fill her vision, her whole body tingling and trembling.
The car spun round as the driver pulled the handbrake and spun the wheel pushing Jason and Nicola against the car door and causing the driver’s door to swing shut. Now facing away from the square he pushed the car into first and dumped the accelerator again and the car roared out of the square and began to climb up the hill. All he could do as they pulled away was repeat over and over. ‘Bloody hell, Jason.’
Trembling with adrenaline Jason looked down seeing Nicola curled up as much as she could into a ball, her moisture streaked face turned away, eyes staring into the shadows of the bottom of the car.
The Dark Rider (Fading Light) Page 20