Skeletons

by Robert Innes

  Patil exhaled as she threw back one of the tablets and took a sip of the water bottle she had been carrying. “Sounds good. I’ll let you know how I’m feeling. If I can pull my head out the loo for longer than ten minutes, I’m all yours.”

  Harrison glanced up at the clock on the wall and was delighted to see it was time to close the store. “Awesome. Well, I better lock up.” He grabbed the keys from underneath the counter and then followed Patil towards the door of the shop.

  Patil said goodbye and set off down the road as Harrison stepped outside and shivered slightly as a chilly breeze wrapped around him. Apart from the wind, everything around him was quiet. The birds were singing distantly in the trees and the sky was starting to turn a slight shade of orange as the sun began to set. Harrison loved this time of day in Harmschapel. As quiet as the village was, and even though at times Harrison wished there was slightly more to life than what it had to offer, Harmschapel offered the best sunsets he had ever known. It was like a specific patch of sky had been reserved just for the village and its occupants were treated to a visual masterpiece most evenings.

  Harrison took a deep breath in, but his moment of serenity was interrupted by Jai.

  “Harrison! I need you to reach this box down from the shelf for me. Your legs are longer than mine!”

  Harrison chuckled. “Coming, Jai.”

  “Excuse me?”

  Harrison turned to where the voice had come from.

  On the opposite side of the road was a young man who, like Harrison, looked to be in his early twenties. He had a straight fringe, looking to be crimson in colour, that was just visible beneath a cap that had been pushed firmly on top of his head. A bright yellow t-shirt complimented the light blue cut off jeans completing the man’s ensemble. Harrison, however, was too taken by the attractiveness of the man to take any real notice of this. He had naturally tanned skin and just visible beneath the tight t-shirt were what looked to be abs.

  The man stepped into the road, and smiled genuinely at Harrison, revealing a set of perfect white teeth.

  “I was wondering if you could tell me if I’m going the right way for The Dog’s Tail? It’s a pub ‘round here isn’t it?”

  Harrison was temporarily stunned into silence. He briefly wondered if he should feel guilty about being so impressed by the looks of the person in front of him but reasoned himself with the knowledge that the stranger fell very much into the category of ‘Blake’s type’. He could imagine his boyfriend feeling just as tongue-tied, if not more, when confronted with the man.

  Harrison opened his mouth to answer, but suddenly became aware of the sound of a car engine. It was quickly getting louder and louder, implying that someone was speeding towards them.

  In the next second, Harrison turned his head to see a silver jaguar appear from the corner of the street, rocketing towards them and heading straight towards the man who was still standing in the centre of the road.

  The sound of the car’s brakes screeched around them, but it was far too late for them to be able to stop in time. With just a split second to go before an impact, Harrison reached forwards and pulled the stranger towards him with all his might. They both collapsed to the ground as the car sped past them but the drama was far from over.

  The car skidded around on itself and then flipped over, landing first on its side, then on its front, and finally landing on its roof. Debris flew from the wreckage as it rolled down the road, finally coming to a stop by slamming into a brick wall with a loud, metallic crash.

  For a few moments, the sudden stillness and relative silence was almost deafening. Harrison stared in horror at the wreckage before him. Nobody seemed to be moving from within the car.

  Harrison felt movement beside him and then remembered that he had dragged a complete stranger down to the ground with him.

  “Are you alright?” Harrison asked him.

  The stranger looked up at him, looking slightly shaken. “Yeah, I think so.”

  They both stared at the overturned car. Then, Harrison gasped as smoke began to billow from the remains of the Jaguar.

  “Harrison!”

  They both turned to see Patil running back down the road towards them, her mobile stuck to the side of her head.

  “Are you two alright?” she asked frantically. “What the hell happened?”

  “It just came out of nowhere,” Harrison replied, staring at the smoking car.

  “This guy just saved my life,” said the man who was still lying next to Harrison. He sat up and shook his head. “I don’t know what to say, other than thank you.”

  “Don’t mention it,” Harrison replied, unsure how so much had changed from the peace and tranquillity of just a few moments before.

  “I’ve called for an ambulance,” Patil said.

  “The car’s on fire,” the stranger said urgently, hauling himself back onto his feet again. “We’ve got to do something. They could be seriously hurt!”

  He started to run towards the car, but Patil grabbed his arm. “Don’t be stupid,” she exclaimed. “We’ve got to wait for the professionals, it could blow at any minute!”

  “The professionals aren’t here, are they?” he replied, before turning to Harrison. “The name’s Tom by the way.”

  And with that, Tom started running towards the car. Harrison stared after him slightly dazed.

  “What is going on out here?”

  Jai had now stepped out of the shop and was looking around indignantly. “So much noise, how do I concentrate on my stock take?” His face dropped as he stared down the road at the burning car. “Oh dear.”

  Jai was not alone. Soon, the street was full of the residents of Harmschapel who had come out of their respective buildings to investigate the commotion. Before long, pandemonium ensued as the realisation of what had happened rippled around the villagers.

  “We’ve got to try and help,” Harrison said at last, standing up.

  Patil looked at him, seeming deeply unhappy with the idea, but eventually nodded and followed him towards the car, followed by a few other villagers.

  When they reached the car, Tom was already on his knees, attempting to pull somebody out of the upside-down car. “She’s got her arm trapped!” he called as they reached him.

  “How many people are in there?” Patil asked, as she crouched down.

  “Two,” Tom replied. “A man and a woman.”

  “Help me!” came a voice from inside the car.

  Harrison looked through the window. The passenger side of the car was occupied by a woman whose face was nearly masked by a mass of wiry, brown, curly hair. She had a gash at the side of her head, her arm trapped underneath her seat which had been crushed by the force of the crash.

  “Help me!” she exclaimed again. “I think the car’s on fire! You’ve got to get us out!”

  “We will,” Patil said soothingly. “What’s your name, sweetheart?”

  “Angela,” the woman replied, wincing in pain. She glanced across at the driver of the car. Harrison could see that he was not moving, his head leaning to the side. “Is he alright? Please, you have to get us out of here!”

  She began coughing as smoke began to fill the interior of the car.

  “We’ve got to get her out,” Tom insisted to Harrison. “I’m no car expert, but I’d say a fire plus petrol in the tank isn’t going to end well.”

  Patil pushed Tom aside and leant in through the window. “Can you undo your seatbelt, Angela?”

  “I can’t move,” Angela stressed. “My arm is trapped!”

  “Okay, don’t worry,” Patil said soothingly. “We’re going to get you out of here.”

  “What can I do?” Tom asked from behind. Harrison was surprised at how keen he seemed to want to play the hero.

  Patil glanced around and shook her head. “Not do anything reckless for a start.” She turned back to Angela and leaned forwards. “Is that your partner?”

  Angela nodded.

  “What’s his name?”
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  Again, Angela winced as she tried to move her arm. “Patrick. He’s my husband.”

  The angle of the car against the wall meant that getting to Patrick from his side of the car would be impossible. Patil glanced worriedly at the billowing smoke and then behind her, perhaps to see where the ambulance was. “Patrick? Can you hear me?”

  There was no response from the unconscious Patrick. Harrison glanced at the flames which were now visible from the hood of the car.

  “I can feel the flames, please get me out!” Angela cried out.

  “Mini, we’ve got to get them out of there. I don’t know how much longer this car has left,” Harrison said urgently.

  “Come on, sweetheart,” Tom said, kneeling down. “Let’s have a look at this arm.”

  “Be careful, are you medically trained?” Patil asked sternly.

  “I did a course a few years ago,” Tom replied, shrugging. “An arm’s an arm. We need to get her out of there.”

  “Who is this guy?” Patil muttered to Harrison.

  “I have no idea,” Harrison whispered back.

  “Okay, Angela, this might hurt, but we need to try and get you out of here,” Tom told her.

  With much crying out from Angela, Tom gently moved her so that they could see that her body had trapped her arm between herself and her husband’s seat. Soon, Angela’s seatbelt was undone, and she was gently moved.

  Tom talked soothingly to her as she yelled out in pain. As Harrison assisted in removing her from the smashed passenger window, he could see that her arm did not look to be at a healthy angle.

  “Thank God for that,” Patil exclaimed as they heard the sound of ambulance sirens in the distance. “It’s all going to be okay now, Angela. The ambulance is nearly here, you’re both going to be fine.”

  They pulled Angela to safety and soon she was lying on the side of the road.

  “Leave the rest to them,” Patil told Tom before he could rush in to try and help Patrick. “They know what they’re doing.”

  Harrison glanced up at Tom from where he was knelt down with Angela and was almost amused by how disappointed he looked. Harrison was strongly reminded of Blake and how impossible he found it to not get involved in other people’s problems.

  As the ambulance finally arrived and the paramedics rushed to the wreckage, Angela began to cry. “Is he going to be alright? They’ve got to get my Patrick out!”

  “I’m sure he’s going to be fine,” Harrison said soothingly but as he glanced across at the car, he immediately doubted what he was saying. The flames were now roaring from the hood and he could only guess that the leaking puddle beneath the remains of the car was coming from the petrol tank.

  As more sirens began to fill the air, which Harrison prayed belonged to fire engines, he was moved out of the way by one of the paramedics who began to examine Angela.

  “Do you think she’s going to be alright?” he asked Patil as they watched the rescue operation from a safe distance with the other villagers.

  “It’s not her I’m worried about,” Patil murmured. “Her husband wasn’t the one able to cry out, no matter how much pain he was in.”

  “What the hell is going on?” came a sharp voice from behind them. “Excuse me, let me through!”

  Harrison turned to see Sergeant Michael Gardiner pushing his way through the crowd. “What is happening here? Patil! What’s going on?”

  Patil rolled her eyes. “Hello, Sir. There’s been a bit of an accident. Everything’s in hand.”

  Gardiner looked around at the debris and then to the smoking car, which was now surrounded by paramedics. “Yes, seems like everything is going smoothly,” he said sardonically.

  Before Patil could reply, Tom returned from talking to a nearby paramedic. “He thinks that Angela’s broken her arm. Bit of shock as well, but aside from the cuts and bruises, she should be alright.”

  “And what about the other guy?” Harrison asked.

  “They didn’t say,” Tom replied as they watched the fire engines pull up. “I don’t think it’s looking good though.”

  “I recognise that car,” Gardiner said, frowning. “Silver jaguar? That’s Patrick Coopland’s car.”

  “The undertaker?” Harrison asked. He passed Coopland’s nearly every day on his way to work, though he had happily never had to set foot inside.

  Gardiner nodded. “Nice bloke. He’s not still in there, is he?”

  Harrison’s reply was cut short by sudden shouting from the emergency team. They all turned to see the paramedics and fire fighters getting as far back from the car as they could. Before any of the villagers had time to react any further, the explosion they had all been waiting for finally happened in spectacular fashion. Screams and gasps from the crowd were barely audible from the loud boom as a huge fireball flew into the air. Nearby windows were smashed, shop security alarms sounded, and the emergency team stood back and surveyed the wreckage of failure. It was clear to everyone that Patrick Coopland had not been pulled out in time.

  3

  Blake was sitting in his car on one of the country lanes on the way to Harmschapel staring into the distance as he watched the sun go down over the horizon. It had taken him some time to be able to psyche himself up to even leave the carpark after Nathan’s phone call, with many contradictory thoughts swimming around his head, none of them any clearer than the last.

  His slow and deliberate journey home, in which he had taken a much longer route than was necessary, had led him to the road that had eventually led him into Harmschapel for the first time, when he had first moved to the village to get away from the problems that breaking up with Nathan had brought him. He had a vague recollection of sitting in this exact passing point, irritably waiting for a tractor to pass him so he could continue on his way down the narrow roads.

  Now, the road was clear, and Blake was alone with his thoughts trying to work out what his next move should be, but all his judgements were clouded by numbness. At this moment, he could be HIV positive, and could have been ever since he had arrived in Harmschapel. Blake had never been one for sleeping around, so he did not have the duty of informing numerous people he had met since he had broken up with Nathan. At that moment, there was only one person he knew he needed to speak to.

  He leant down and picked up his phone which was still in the footwell where he had dropped it and flicked through his phone book. Then, he pressed call and waited for an answer.

  “Y-ello?” came the reply.

  Blake smiled at the sound of his best friend’s voice. “Hey, Sally-Ann.”

  Sally’s usual admonishment at Blake using her full name was missing, meaning that she could immediately tell something was wrong by his tone of voice.

  “You okay, Blake?”

  Blake sighed. He wanted to tell her everything, but he was afraid that saying it out loud would somehow make it all the more real. “I’ve had a phone call from Nathan.”

  “Nathan?” Sally repeated. Blake could almost see the disdainful expression on her face. “What the hell did he want? Not trying to invite you to another wedding, is he?”

  “Not exactly,” Blake replied.

  He took a deep breath and told Sally everything that Nathan had said. Once he had started, as he had expected, the gravitas of the situation really began to hit home and by the time he was finished, Blake was starting to feel emotional.

  For a few moments, Sally was silent down the phone. “I’ll kill him,” she said at last.

  “Trust me,” Blake replied coldly. “I’m there with you.” He reached for the glove compartment and pulled out a packet of cigarettes that he had been keeping in there just in case. Blake had been trying to quit smoking since he had moved to Harmschapel, but his current mindset left him feeling more than justified in lighting up.

  He stepped out of the car as he lit the cigarette, before slamming the door shut and leaning against the hood, inhaling deeply with each pull.

  “I can’t even imagine where your head is
at right now,” Sally told him, a sympathetic tone betraying her obvious anger. “And Nathan has no idea whether he actually has it or not?”

  “Of course he doesn’t,” Blake replied bitterly. “All he knows is that he messed up and that it might, just possibly, have consequences. Frankly, I’m surprised he even rang to tell me.” A sudden surge of anger flooded through him, causing him to kick a rock fiercely across the road. “How dare he do this to me? He broke my heart, I had to turn my life upside down to get away from him and then he does this to me!”

  “I know, sweetheart.”

  “Harmschapel was my safe haven from Nathan. Once I came here, that was it. He and all the hurt he caused me was done and out of my life. Now, he throws me this. I could throttle him.”

  “Regardless of that though,” Sally said gently, “have you spoken to Harrison yet?”

  Blake’s hesitation was apparently all she needed to hear.

  “Blake, you have to tell him.”

  “You think I don’t know that?” Blake sighed. “How though? We’re not exactly going through the best time at the moment, after everything that happened at the hospital. And yes, I know that was mostly my fault, but now I’m supposed to tell him that I might have infected him via make up sex that I had nearly two years ago? Infected him with that? I don’t think I can tell him. I wouldn’t know the first thing to say.”

  “Then get yourself tested,” Sally pressed. “You can go in and get your results the same day for that, Blake. You just need to book an appointment.”

  “And if they tell me I’ve got it? What then?”

  “Then you live your life almost normally but with more medication, Blake,” Sally told him sternly. “You know that. You’re not exactly uneducated when it comes to this sort of thing.”

  Blake took another long pull of his cigarette. “That’s other people though. It’s not me. This kind of thing happens to other people.”

  “And it might still be happening to other people,” Sally said soothingly. “But you’ll never know until you book an appointment. You need to do it, and soon.”

  Blake said nothing. He just took one last drag on his cigarette then flicked it away.