Trauma: a gripping psychological mystery thriller

by Dylan Young

  ‘Ask Cam.’

  ‘Cam?’ Josh asks.

  ‘I spoke to the manufacturers after… you know what after. My name was all over the net. People were very generous on JustGiving. I filmed myself running a half marathon over two blocks outside my flat. This company, BioSkel is big in the States and in Germany. They want to get a foothold in the UK. I raised a shedload of cash. Enough for BioSkel to trial one of their units with Vanessa. Not easy because of Covid. There’s been lots of one to one and the poor guy who’s been helping her has needed to be tested every other day to make sure he’s virus-free, but they’ve been brilliant.’

  ‘Wow,’ Leon says.

  ‘It’s called HabWalk. Backpack battery lasts a couple of hours. They’re working on that,’ I elaborate.

  ‘See, almost getting murdered on a balcony has its advantages,’ Josh quips.

  ‘I can even climb stairs,’ Vanessa says.

  ‘That’s Blade Runner shit, man.’ Leon again.

  That makes Josh snort into his pint. Everyone else laughs hysterically at seeing froth all over Josh’s nose.

  When the laughing eventually stops, Vanessa picks up a Coke Zero, holds it up to the laptop camera.

  ‘So you know I’m not drinking and driving. But I still want to toast my friend, Cameron. Someone who has lost so much but is still there for those who need him.’

  ‘To Cam,’ echo Josh and Leon.

  I lift my glass in response. I’m smiling because I must be the only man alive who can boast being toasted by the dystopian living and the wilful dead.

  Later, when they’ve gone, I ponder for a moment what a strange world I live in. But at least I am in it. No thanks to Haldane and Burridge. And when the world gets back to normal, if it ever does, I hope that I will too.

  Who knows, I may even end up on a beach in Cirali.

  Not to be macabre.

  Just so that Emma and I can one day say goodbye properly. Plus, I’ve promised Vanessa I’ll take her to see the Chimaera.

  ‘Isn’t it a long trek up a stony path?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course. A kilometre at least, uphill, rocky terrain. So what’s the problem?’

  She liked that.

  I said I’d bring the marshmallows.

  THE END

  Author’s note

  In case you're wondering, hallucinogenic fugues as experienced by Cam are a real, though highly rare, complication of brain injury. His experience is a fictional rendering of a serious condition and I hope that I've succeeded in not trivialising it in any way. Indeed, the book, in part, is an homage to those brave patients in rehabilitation units across the country. The Bermondsey that exists in Trauma, however, is a mixture of fact and fiction. Some places and roads do exist. Others do not. As the author, I get to make things up. Finally, a big thank you to Ian for being kind and constructive during Trauma’s gestation. Any errors of detail, place or time are all mine.

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