The Awakening (11 page)

Miss Steele was facing the outside window. And her whole body was shaking like someone had electrocuted her.

“Oh god!” I gasped, clamping a hand over my mouth.

As if someone had cut the power, Miss Steele stopped pulsing. She whirled around and glared at me. As she did, a gold signet ring she’d had clutched in her fist clattered to the floor.

“I... I forgot my bag,” I said in a strained voice, pointing a trembling finger at the offending item under the table.

The teacher bent to pick up the ring. When she stood up again it was like a cloud had passed. Miss Steele presented me her award winning smile. “Of course,” she said slipping the ring back into her pocket. “I hope I didn’t frighten you.” She cleared her throat. “This is actually quite embarrassing. The thing is, I suffer from epilepsy. I could feel a seizure coming on, so I shut the door and closed the blind.” She leaned forward and used a sender hand to sweep a wisp of hair from her face. “I don’t like people knowing you see, I worry they’ll think it may affect my ability to teach...silly really.” Moving the hand to her chest, Miss Steele gave an exaggerated sigh. “I’m sorry you had to see that Alex.”

“Uh, it’s fine. Don’t worry.” I smiled and edged over to my bag. I wasn’t convinced. Pulling the bag from under the desk, I asked if she needed me to fetch the school nurse. She assured me that it had passed and she would be fine.

7

T
hat evening, the first one came for me.

It was dark by the time I climbed into the Audi. I took a relaxed drive back to Mason Avenue, enjoying the roar of the engine and the tight handling, not relishing the swap back to my juddering heap. When I reached the Peugeot, I swore loudly.

It had been trashed.

The windows were smashed in and the car was up on bricks, wheels stolen. The CD player had been ripped out. Wires poked out of the backing like curious worms. The worst part was that whoever had broken in had felt the need to urinate on the front seats. The acrid smell hit my sensitive nostrils like miniature daggers, making me gag.

I stood still for a moment, thinking. This was a problem. I mean, I didn’t know how long I was going to have the Audi for and I certainly couldn’t drive it home. There was no way I could explain it away to Mum and John - the rich uncle lie wouldn’t exactly work. Plus there were far nicer cars lining the street, why choose mine?

The only option I could think of was to drive my car closer to home, walk the rest of the way and explain that I was trying to keep fit. I’d have to get my car fixed at some point...once I had some money. I guessed I could always eBay some of the clothes.

Still seething, I ground the car to a halt on Trinity Road - a quiet street not too far from my house, but still far enough for me to have calmed down by the time I got home.

Grey terrace houses ran the length of the road on one side. Lining the other was Susurrate forest. The dense trees created a canopy of leaves, thin slices of pale moonlight cut through the darkness.

I pressed the fob and as the car winked goodbye, prayed it would stay intact. The bitter chill of the evening hit me. I pulled the collar of my jacket up around my neck and headed in the direction of home. In the stillness of the evening, the only sounds I could hear were the faint rustling of the trees and the click of my shoes on the pavement.

Crack!

The sharp sound echoed through the woods. I snapped my head around, staring into the gloomy depths. Every fibre of my body stood on end. My muscles became taught like overstretched chords. The noise stopped abruptly. I stayed frozen in position, scanning the darkness for a source.

A logical thought occurred to me.
It’s a forest Alex, probably home to hundreds of harmless animals that could have made that sound.
That relaxed me. I continued walking, opening my bag and rummaging about for my iPod. I’d just finished detangling the earphones from around my books, when I happened to glance back into the forest.

My feet pounded against the ground in a frantic drumbeat. Rustling to the side of me grew louder and more forceful as something followed. I could hear the thumps as it battered past trees. They shook violently, dusting off leaves like flakes of skin. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a thick, black mass darting through the forest and heard the sound of heavy, harsh panting. The ember eyes were always there, flicking in and out of my view, locked on me. The creature was matching my speed.

My heart smashed against my chest, my senses in overdrive. The harsh wind whipped at my face as I sprinted forward. Still it was there, watching, enjoying the chase.

What is it?
My mind screamed.
A wolf? Panther? But...red eyes?!
My skin crawled as if someone had walked across my grave.

I threw off my bag and vaguely saw it clatter to the ground, spilling its contents like road kill. The weight change made no difference, I couldn’t go any faster. I wasn’t fast enough. The road seemed never ending, as if some cruel spell had been cast which meant I would be chased for eternity. Eventually though, I
did
see the end. The road split into a T-junction. The forest had been cut back and ended there. In a few seconds, whatever was chasing me would come into full view.

The thought made me want to vomit.

As I shot forward, a deep growl came from the close to my right and I stifled a scream.

A dawning realisation filled me with dread.
Where am I running to? I can’t go home. My family!

So I made a decision. One I would never had considered before. I chose to stand my ground. After all, I had these new abilities. I could handle anything...couldn’t I?

At the junction, I split off to the right and spun around so that I was staring into the wall of trees. I clenched my fists into tight balls and tensed my muscles. Beads of fearful sweat rolled down my neck. The glowing eyes grew larger as the creature neared. Its throaty growl raised in pitch and it let out a demented howl. It was like a cross between a scream and a bark. The sound sliced straight through me and my knees went weak. My heart was in my mouth as the last of the trees twisted out of the way.

The creature pounced out of the darkness.

At the same time something flashed across my line of sight and dived at the black mass. A deep thud echoed around the street and I only caught a glimpse of fur before the creature was shoved back into the forest. It let out an indignant squeal and I heard its teeth chomping together as it tried to bite its attacker.

The two shapes rolled around in the darkness. Trees split and crashed to the floor as the fight intensified. Frozen to the spot, I stared, not sure what was happening or what to do. I got my answer when a voice shot out of the woods.

“Alexander,
run
!”

I didn’t need to be told twice. Spinning on my heel, I charged away. Behind me the epic battle continued. The cries of human and animal pain mixed together into a cacophony of agony.

Tears streamed down my face. I felt tainted, as if those eyes had stared into my very soul.

When I reached home, my hands were shaking so badly I could hardly get a hand into my pocket. The keys jangled together as I rattled them into the lock.

Once again no one was in. Running upstairs, I burst into the bathroom. I jumped into the shower and switched it on, not even waiting to remove any clothes. I slumped down to the tray and as the warm water rushed over my head, wrapped my arms around my legs and cried.

The shower helped. I felt human again. My sodden clothes were balled up in the washing basket and I was sitting on my bed, trying to get a handle on what had just happened. Something
very
nasty and
very
powerful had come after me. That much was clear. It had managed to keep up with me, which meant it had to have been something with serious speed. A large wild cat seemed the most logical explanation. I’d heard stories of wild panthers living in England. But the fur had been thick and shaggy, more like a dog’s than a cat’s. And those eyes – a nightmare straight out of a Romero film. Even thinking about them made me shudder.

Then there was the second fact. Something - someone had saved me. They’d called out to me. Called out my
name
. So this person knew me. Did that mean I knew them? They had moved so fast, I hadn’t even been able to tell if they were a man or woman. Faster than even I could move. Plus the strength they’d attacked the beast with had been incredible.
Is it possible there are others like me?
The thought was both comforting and concerning.

I needed to talk to someone. Confide. Grabbing my phone, I dialled Mikey. It cut straight to voicemail. I swore and dropped the phone onto the bed. I looked down at it again and sucked in a deep breath. My finger had tapped Gabriella’s speed-dial before I had a chance to talk myself out of it. As the tinging tone filled my ear, I walked around my room picking up random objects and setting them down again.

“I’m...well actually I’m not too good. It’s uh...” I rubbed a hand across my eyes.
What do I say?

The doorbell rang and I stopped pacing.

Running downstairs, I swung open the front door. My stomach clenched as Gabriella was revealed. She looked great, even in a baggy GAP jumper and jogging bottoms. Her thick black hair was pulled into a ponytail which rested on one shoulder.

Her eyebrows lifted. “Alex. You look...different!”

“So everyone keeps saying.”

We headed upstairs and I told her everything. I demonstrated by straightening the knotted dumbbell out of its pretzel shape. I ended with what had happened on my walk home. When I had finished, I held my breath waiting for her response.

“I think it has to be. I don’t see what else could be going on. I mean, that thing was
after
me.” I gave a heavy sigh. “I don’t know, what do you think?”

“I think you must have been chosen for a reason.”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

Gabriella shifted into a cross legged position on the bed. “Well, it’s like I said to you that day in the park, there’s something about you. I noticed it the day we met. It sounds stupid, but I felt drawn to you. Maybe these people - whoever they are, maybe they noticed it to. It could be that these abilities were always inside you, they have just been...unlocked somehow.” She gestured a slender hand towards me. “And maybe this animal thing noticed it too. That could be why it singled you out. Or maybe you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” she added with a smile.

I considered what she was saying and gave a careful nod. “I guess it’s possible about the ability thing. But I don’t understand why these people don’t just come out and talk to me, instead of being all cryptic. I just want to know what’s going on. It’s driving me crazy!”

It was her turn to nod. “I can imagine. But I guess all you can do is wait until they do; I mean, it’s not like you have a choice.”

I idly spun my phone between my fingers. “Would you trust them?”

Gabriella sighed. “That’s a tough one. It’s all very surreal. All I could say is that from what you’ve told me it seems these people are trying to help you. If they’d wanted to hurt you, they could have done it when they took you. But here you are, better than ever. So I would at least give them the benefit of the doubt.”

It made sense. Gabriella’s objective way of looking at the situation somehow made me feel better.

“Maybe I’ll give them a chance once they drop the smoke and mirror act,” I grinned.

Gabriella laughed and swept a strand of stray hair over her ear. All it took was that simple movement and I became very aware that I was a teenager sitting on my bed in an empty house with a beautiful girl. In an instant, I became old Alex again. Clasping my hands together, I tried to look anywhere other than in her eyes. I could sense her looking at me, the faint lift of a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Those soft, perfect lips, which you could lose hours kissing
. The waves of electricity started to buzz underneath my skin.

“Are you okay”? Gabriella asked, clearly sensing the shift in atmosphere.

“I um...yeah I’m cool,” I croaked.
I need to change the subject.
“Listen since you’re here, do you want to watch a film downstairs or something?”

We were watching a comedy on satellite, when my family came back. In truth Gabriella was watching the film, I was secretly watching her. The way her eyes crinkled at the corners and tiny dimples appeared on her cheeks when she laughed; it made it hard to breathe. After a while she leaned her head against my shoulder. It made the charges spike, but I wouldn’t have moved for the world.