The Awakening (8 page)

I didn’t have a scratch on me.

Straining, I prised myself free of the car’s steely grip. The metal groaned in protest.

I turned and stared at the wreckage, my mouth a wide O. The look was mirrored by the young, fair haired woman who crawled across the driver’s seat and flopped out of the passenger side. She staggered around and slumped against the twisted chassis next to me.

“Oh my god!’ she breathed. “Are-are you okay?” She glanced at me and then back at her destroyed vehicle. “How... how did you...how are you...? I was going fast. Oh no...maybe too fast... I didn't see you in time, you...”

Her words dissolved into a hysterical panic attack and she slid down onto the ground, sinking her head into her knees. I watched her frame expand and shrink again and again as she hyperventilated.

As I gazed around in a shock, a crowd gathered. People on their way to work stopped and drivers, not content with rubber necking, pulled over their cars and got out.

I saw one man pull out a phone from his pocket and make a call, presumably 999.

Everyone had the same look on their face, a combination of confusion and disbelief. They knew that I should be lying in a crumpled heap twenty feet away.

They knew I should be dead.

All I knew for certain was that I didn't want to be here.

I took a step forward, my legs feeling much more solid than they had a minute ago. The girl looked up at me, realising my intentions.

“N-n...” she wheezed and flailed out an arm to stop me. I ignored her and stumbled away from the crash in the direction of home.

I saw the man with the phone weave towards me, his hand stretched out in my direction. He signalled for me to stop, all the while talking in rushed bursts to the person on the other end.

I turned and ran.

I ran as fast and as hard as I could, snaking through the gathering crowd. They called out and made weak efforts to stop me as I darted past. The strangest thing was, even though I felt confused, all of my aches had gone and my head felt crystal clear.

My bare feet slapped hard against the pavement and I pushed myself faster. All I could think about was escaping the confusion and getting home. The shop fronts whipped past, changing to houses and rows of bushes as the area became more residential. I pushed harder and the scenery became lines, blurs of colours that ran parallel to me, shifting in size and shape. Then I skidded to a stop as I recognised where I was. For the second time my mouth dropped open.

I was home.

I stared, refusing to believe my own eyes. There was no way that I could have arrived so fast. It took me fifteen minutes to drive and that was at full speed. I’d just run the distance in less than five. But no matter how many times I blinked, the red bricked semi with the white window frames and leaking drainpipe was still there.

I didn't know what to think.
First waking up in the park in someone else’s clothes. Then the car wreck. Now this
. It was too much. I felt like I was going insane.

I needed to see my family, see something normal.

Rushing up the driveway, I noticed that Mum and John’s car was missing. I prayed that someone was in.

As I neared the door, my strength began to fade again. The dull throb started back up and the ache swept through my body. It felt like I was wading through water.

“WHAT IS GOING ON?” I screamed. No one answered. A dog barked from somewhere down the road.

I slapped my hand against the wall, and then used it to steady myself as I stretched up to the hidden ledge above the front door and felt around for the spare key. My fingers were shaking as I jiggled the lock open and half fell through the door.

“Hello?” I croaked. “Anyone?”

Silence.

I swiped the door closed too hard, jumping at the sound. I called out again as I shuffled to the lounge, using my hands to keep me upright as my legs dissolved into water. On the far left was the couch. It looked soft and inviting. I was confused and terrified, but nothing could have stopped me from resting on it.

I fell into it and sighed as its welcoming overstuffed cushions wrapped around me.

After a few seconds I was sound asleep.

*

The sound of the front door closing woke me. My eyes snapped open, alert and clear. The light from the window had been replaced by the unnatural glow of the streetlamps outside.

Fear rocketed through me.
What does he mean different? Has the accident done more damage than I realised?
I swallowed and pointed a shaking finger towards a flamboyant mirror that sat on top of a side table.

“Pass me that” I said.

Mikey grabbed the mirror and handed it to me. I breathed in deep, expecting the worst. Then I looked and gasped. Staring back from the glass was me, but a superior version.

My spots had gone. Instead my skin was smooth and no longer anaemic white. My jaw line looked stronger and my eyes gleamed as if they had been scrubbed. Even my hair had lost its coarseness, looking more like Mikey’s now than my own.

As I opened my mouth in shock, I noticed that my teeth were whiter and less uneven than they had been before. As I prodded and poked at my face, Mikey asked a question which sent a shiver down my spine.

I thought about the night before. It hurt my head to try and remember, but I managed to catch fleeting images of us all watching a film together. That had been the day that I’d confided in Gabriella. I thought about the lessons I’d had before lunch. That had been a Wednesday. Therefore today must be:

“Thursday,” I said with confidence.

Mikey shook his head, looking concerned. He flicked the television onto Satellite. The blue bar popped up below the program and my eyes went wide as I read the date.

Sunday November 18th

“No...” I whispered.

Mikey switched the television off and threw the remote onto the couch next to me, before sinking down into the adjacent chair. He was wearing tracksuit bottoms. They crinkled against the seat as he settled in.

“So where have you been?” he repeated.

I buried my head in my hands. “I don’t know.”

Mikey leaned forward, raising his voice. “What do you mean you don’t know? How in Christ’s name can you not know? Do you think this is a joke? Mum and Dad have been going out of their minds. Especially Mum, she has been acting mental. Calling up anyone she could think of who may’ve known where you were. She even called the Police. She was convinced something terrible had happened to you! Dad thinks you ran away. You didn’t even take your phone! You - argghh!” He threw up his hands in exasperation.

Tears of frustration were spilling onto my hands. I wiped them away and looked up at my half-brother. When I spoke, my voice sounded thick and throaty.

“I really don’t know Mikey. You need to listen to me. Something weird is going on.”

I told him everything I knew. About waking up in Providence Park in strange clothes, about the accident and running home way too fast.

I ran upstairs into my room. Everything was as I remembered it. Nothing had changed, except that my normally neat bedcovers were screwed in a heap at the end of the mattress. Also someone had cleaned out the bin.

Stopping at the mirror, I had another look at myself. My full length reflection showed that the subtle changes hadn’t been limited to my face. For one, I seemed taller, even though I was sure I hadn’t grown. It was like I carried myself better. Taking off the top showed the rest. I was still slim, but underneath my skin were the faint definitions of muscles. I tensed a bicep and was shocked to see a respectable sized lump appear. Overall, the changes weren’t drastic but still noticeable. Like I’d become an alternate version of myself, who’d spent his life dedicated to health and fitness. Not knowing what to think, all I could do was shake my head in wonder.

I threw the grass stained vest in the wash basket and changed into an old hoodie and a pair of trainers. As I headed for the door, I noticed my phone lying on the desk.

I’ll check it later.

A few minutes later we were standing on the street, illuminated by the overhead glow of a streetlamp. They continued all the way down the road at even distances, casting little pools of orange onto the pavement.

My trainers slapped mercilessly against the pavement as I sprinted forward. For some reason, it didn’t feel fast enough; I was still moving at a normal pace. “Come on!” I shouted at myself.

Then something happened, a mental switch flicked inside my brain. Everything went into overdrive. I could hear the steady thumping of my heart and the pounding of the blood swimming around my temples. The thuds of my soles hitting the concrete sounded like echoing booms. The Streetlights flashed past and I had to remind myself to stop as I rocketed past the fifth. Hopping around on one foot, I turned and charged back. Mikey was just a little blob in the distance, but as I rushed forward, slipping in and out of the light, he grew until he was a full size teenager. I could see his face, frozen in shock. Then I was past him, skidding to a halt about twenty yards further up the road. The strange sensation stopped as fast as it had started. I was barely out of breath as I reached my half-brother.

He stared at me and blinked.

“So how did I do?” I asked, anxiously rubbing the back of my neck.

He made a spluttering noise and backed away from me. “I-I don’t know what to say. That was impossible! No one can run that fast!” He pointed to the spot next to him. “When you passed me you were a blur. I mean seriously, you were a
blur
Alex!”

“Okay not so loud!” I hissed and tried to pull him towards me. Instead, he went sailing past and flew to the ground, sliding along the pavement.

“Mikey”! I gasped, running towards him. He groaned and rolled over.

“Oh crap! Are you okay?”

He nodded. I was afraid of what might happen if I tried to help him up, so I let him stand by himself. Apart from a graze on his left hand he appeared unharmed.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to do that. Oh god, what’s happening to me?”

“Relax, I’m fine,” he assured me, dusting himself down. Then he smiled. “I guess we can put a tick next to super-strength. Guess that would explain the car crash.”

I rolled my eyes. “Mikey, I was hit by a car doing at least fifty. It folded in half and I walked away without a scratch. In what world would that not be news?” I sat down on the couch and rubbed a hand against my head. “None of this makes any sense.”

The sound of a car rolling into the drive caught my attention.

“Mum and Dad,” said Mikey stating the obvious.

Somehow telling them seemed like a mistake. I stood up and walked close to my half-brother. I whispered as if afraid my parents would be able to hear through the outside wall.

The engine rumbled to a stop and I heard the
thunk
of doors slamming, followed by a clatter of keys in the lock.

“Alex! Oh my boy!” sobbed Mum and ran over, wrapping her arms around me. “Don’t ever scare me like that again!” As she held me close, I rested my head into the crook of her neck. There was nothing quite like a mother’s comforting to make all of your troubles disappear. Looking up brought me back to reality with a bump.