The Dark Rider

CHAPTER Twenty-One



Paul drifted in a sea of pain and delirium. His shoulder was burning, an acid fire that now spread through his body. His overloaded senses began to shut down as each wave of pain took more of him away. It was eating him from the inside, steadily consuming his flesh and bone with indescribable agony.

He accepted death.

With a final effort he pulled an image into his mind and held it there. Nicola, on the morning he met her, her face lit with a smile, her eyes falling for him. He had known her and she had loved him. Was that enough for a life?

The pain was fading.

This must be the end.

A numbing chill began to fill him. A small speck at first that grew with each second, meeting and extinguishing the fires that were searing through him. It surrounded the source, smothering it and binding it with thick strands of darkness so that it could never escape again. Once this was done, feeling began to return as his damaged tissue was reborn. Dark magic forced its way inside, flowing effortlessly along his synapses and through the very cores of his nerve endings.

He was alive.

Myrkur had saved him.





Paul opened his eyes. He was lying on his back on a table in a darkened room. To his left the lights of the city stretched out to an endless horizon. Slowly Paul pushed himself up and twisted round. His shoulder was healed, yet he could still feel the corruption within his flesh bound tightly by Myrkur’s magic. He knew he should feel elated, for he had escaped death, yet he felt nothing but apprehension. His body was empty, somehow hollow. It was almost alien to him and now part of it, part of him, was Myrkur.

What had he done?

“You are careless, Rider.”

Paul blinked.

Myrkur stood by the far window as he had before, yet Paul was sure he had not been there a moment ago.

“I have invested a great deal of time and energy in you and this is how you repay me?”

Without conscious thought Paul opened himself to the dark energy, and it flooded through him filling and expanding his consciousness. Immediately he saw Nicola, a bright ball of light, followed by something else, the unmistakable shadows of wolves. They were closing in on her. He felt his heart accelerate in his chest. Nicola would be killed and Myrkur would end the Light. A shudder ran through his body.

“They will finish what you did not,” said Myrkur.

Seeing no trace of his sister, Paul widened his search, sending his awareness into the forest world. He felt where a massive blast of energy had ripped across the land. Already the remains of a group of Serenti were dissipating back into the dark energy.

Something drastic had happened. He expanded his search. There. Almost discernable and moving west, the signature of the warrior Falk. He was moving slowly, holding something but what it was Paul could not tell. Already more Serenti were closing in on him.

“What happened to my sister?” asked Paul. “Why can’t I sense her?”

“Serenti cornered them. Somehow she embraced the energy and now the Serenti are dead. What this has done to her mind is not clear.”

Paul fell silent as Myrkur’s words sank in.

“She has no place in this,” he said.

“If you want your sister to survive you must find her before the Serenti.”

“Call them off,” pleaded Paul.

“That I will not do,” replied Myrkur.

“Why? I can handle him.”

Myrkur turned and walked towards him.

“While I was mending you I took a look inside your mind.”

He stopped in front of Paul, his black eyes devoid of life.

“It seems a little bit of Arachar was left behind last time.”

Memories flashed at Paul. A forest in summertime. Friends and warriors. His wife Amalia. Then the darkness had come and he, Arachar, Warrior of the Light, had gone to fight the monster that threatened to devor them.

And he had lost.

“No,” cried Paul backing away. More flashbacks came to him. Pain, unbearable pain, white hot fire that seared his body and tore at his mind. Myrkur’s face filling his vision, laughing at him as the last of him died and the Rider was born.

“You are special, Rider. You are the only one who can sense the Warders. The only one who can hunt them down and gut them in their hiding places. I cannot afford to lose you again.”

Myrkur had not moved but Paul felt him entering his mind. In desperation he opened himself fully to the dark energy, feeling the power burning his veins, but it was no good. Still the presence of Myrkur grew within him, dismantling his consciousness. His vision began to darken as he fell away into his mind. A soft chuckle hung in the frozen air.

There was one final chance. With his last ounce of strength Paul shot a bolt of power straight into Myrkur’s face. For an instant the presence inside him weakened as Myrkur deflected the blow. In that moment Paul reached out, weaving the dark energy around him and wrenching himself free. In a flash of light his body shimmered and then was gone, leaving Myrkur standing alone in the room.

Myrkur stared at the empty space where Paul had been. After a few moments a smile began to curl along his lips.


*****


Nicola kept walking in the direction of more houses and streetlights, and away from the swallowing darkness of the moorland, all the time knowing that she had no real plan other than to get back to her hotel and hope Paul would find her like he had done before.

Over the sound of her footsteps she thought she heard a soft moaning and ignored it until it came again. Stopping, she listened, her ears straining to pick up the sound. There it was again, very faint but definitely sounding for everything in the world like the howling of a wolf. A shiver ran down her spine, the energy stirring and sending tremors of alarm through her body. Like muscle memory, some instinct she was not consciously aware of had woken within her.

With a desperate fear gnawing at her stomach she quickened her step, checking over her shoulder every few seconds as she hurried past more houses and up towards what looked like some kind of main road. She stepped out onto the pavement, quickly looking around her. Fifty meters away the road curved round, while in the other direction it went on in a straight line as far as she could see past a line of street lamps which soon ended. There were just a few houses on the road and a grass verge on either side lined with trees. Opposite was a pub and she could just see the tops of people’s heads through the windows as they sat at the bar. As she watched, the door opened and light spilled out onto the street as a group of teenagers came out chatting animatedly and laughing.

Nicola watched as the group crossed the road and headed towards a bus stop on the other side. She began to walk slowly towards them and then, hearing the noise of something approaching, she turned and saw headlights appear around the corner, and lit up above them the destination board of a bus that read “Number Four Penwryn Harbor.” Making the decision quickly, she began to sprint as the bus whooshed past her, its indicators and brake lights flashing as it began to pull in to the bus stop up ahead.

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 smelled 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, pudgy 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 among 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 or anything.”

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 jewelry, 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 on board. The first was in his fifties, wearing trousers and a dark colored 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 on sideways facing seats at the front and the bus pulled away, 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 recognized 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 from 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 friend 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, his 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 realization 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, her 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 paralyze 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 among 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 hood 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 hood 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 tires 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.

“You okay?” he called out but she did not respond. Her neck was throbbing and each breath burned her throat while shock numbed her for she had thought she was going to die.

“Just keep going,” said Jason turning his head awkwardly to look at the driver. “Wow, have you seen your face?”

“My face?” shouted back the driver. “My bloody face? What about my bloody car, you’re gonna owe me for life for this.” He paused as he jerked the steering wheel to the left, barely slowing as he took the corner. “Who the hell were those guys?”

“Hey, sorry TJ, I’ve never seen cops act like that before.”

“Yeah well, you’re on your own,” he replied braking hard as they approached a junction. Without stopping he swung the car out onto the road and floored the accelerator again. He reached up and began to feel his face, testing to see if his nose was broken.

“I have to go back,” whispered Nicola.

“You can’t be serious, TJ,” said Jason, not hearing her over the roaring engine and the slipstream blowing through the open window frame. “What am I supposed to do with her?”

TJ turned to him, his eyes glinting dangerously.

“You can do what the hell you want with her Jason, but I’m out of this. Jesus, they were crazed.”

“I have to go back,” said Nicola again a little louder. Paul was in the square. Like a lifeboat in a violent storm she clung onto this belief, this knowledge, and it was the only thing that was keeping her from breaking down. She had to find him. Despite everything that had happened he was the only thing left that she could believe in.

Hearing her now, Jason looked down sharply while TJ turned to him shaking his head and laughing.

“Man, that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard. We just rescued her from some total psychos intent in killing her and she wants to go back. Wow.” He turned back to watch the road still shaking his head in disbelief. “She’s nuts. You’re welcome to her.”

“What do you mean you have to go back?” asked Jason incredulously.

Nicola stared back at him.

“This will have to do,” said TJ pulling into the darkened entrance to a supermarket. He sped across the car park to the far side and then skidded to a stop, engine idling. He turned to Jason, his face set with menace.

“Get out the car Jason. And take your mad woman with you.”

“Shit man, okay.”

Jason scrabbled for the door handle feeling bits of glass brushing against his fingers. He popped the door open and rolled out of the car just managing to land on his feet. He held his hand out for Nicola, seeing the dark red marks around her neck already beginning to turn to blue-black bruising.

Gripping his pudgy fingers, she began to pull herself out of the car. Flecks of glass fell away from her clothes as she stood unsteadily next to him.

Pushing the door shut he shouted out. “Great, thanks TJ.”

“Don’t push it Jason, I’ll be seeing you about this.”

With that the car revved viscously, spun round in a squeal of tires and then was gone, speeding across the deserted car park before braking sharply and disappearing around the corner and back out onto the main road. They stood side by side in the emptiness, the engine noise gradually fading away.

In the silence that followed Jason shifted uncomfortably on his feet as he cast sidelong glances at Nicola who just stood and stared at the shadowed supermarket. She could feel her neck throbbing, the sensation of the man’s fingers choking her still fresh. She knew they were something more than police; she had wanted to shy away from the sensation she had experienced when looking at the man with the ponytail.

It had seemed like he was not really there, a shadow of a person, and within that shadow had been darkness and beyond that something more sinister. It was that which frightened her the most, for the intent had been clear. Her heart began to race as the realization hit her. He had wanted to kill her. She felt her legs trembling. Paul was right, Falk was right. As much as she wanted to deny it, to pretend normality was what was real, that magic did not exist, her brain could no longer accept that. Something had definitely happened to her. Her mind was changed, perceptions altered, and now something was trying to kill her.

It hit her then. Jason had saved her.

She turned to him.

“Thanks,” she said, her voice sounding distant to her, her gratitude overwhelming, “I think you just saved my life.”

Jason gulped, wondering just how intense this evening was going to get. A sense of pride welled up in him, for he had never had something like that said to him in his life.

“It was nothing,” he mumbled. “Hey, are you okay?”

She nodded, feeling numb.

“I’m sorry about your friend’s car.”

“Oh, don’t worry about him,” he said quickly. “He’s a bit fiery. We know someone who’ll fix it. Anyway, just who were those guys?”

“I wish I knew,” replied Nicola quietly.

“They were not like any police I’ve seen before,” Jason continued. “Normally they arrest you. Not try to choke you to death.”

“I don’t think they were police,” said Nicola.

He turned to her.

“You know a lot more, don’t you?”

“Jason,” said Nicola staring at him, a strange look in her eyes.

“Yes.”

“Something weird is happening to me.”

“I gathered that,” he said, as he wondered just what else could happen on this night.

“I met someone a couple of days ago. His name is Paul. He told me things, things you would not believe, things I did not believe, until now.”

She shifted her weight from foot to foot feeling suddenly chilled in the cool night air. Something was prickling at the edge of her awareness.

“He…” she began but did not know how to continue. She swallowed fighting back sudden tears. “Something happened to him too. I thought he was gone but back in the square, just when we got in the car I heard his voice. He called my name.”

Jason did not know how he could feel so suddenly jealous of someone he had not even met.

“Okay,” he said guardedly.

She looked at him earnestly. “That’s why I have to go back now. To find him. I have to know it’s true.”

“Are you serious?” he said incredulously. “We just got you out of there. What if those creeps are still hanging around?”

“They will find me anyway,” she replied with certainty, knowing now that it was true.

“Not if we hide, get you out of town, you don’t have to go back,” said Jason suddenly scared for her.

“You don’t understand. They can find me, I don’t know how exactly but they can. He’s the only one that can help me.” She thought of the man Falk. Why did she not trust him?

“But they tried to kill you,” cried Jason.

“I know,” she whispered, wondering herself why she was going to do what she was going to do, but what choice did she have?

He looked at her in disbelief and then shrugged.

“Okay, but I’m coming with you.”

“No,” she said touching his arm. “You’ve done too much for me already and they’re dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt, or worse.”

He felt her touch. That someone seemed to actually care what happened to him was something he had rarely experienced before. It made him more determined to help her.

“What if I get hurt?” he questioned her in disbelief. “What about you? It’s you they’re after. I don’t know what you’ve done but, wow, they want you bad, dead or alive.”

She looked at him sharply.

“Okay, perhaps not the best choice of words,” he said holding his hands up.

It was then that they heard it. A low moaning that cut across the night, like a faint howl.

In the moment of silence that followed Jason found himself looking around, fear tugging at his chest. The car park was ringed by trees and bushes, and apart from the front of the supermarket everything was shadows, and beyond were even darker shadows that could be hiding anything.

A breeze ruffled the trees behind them, sending empty crisp packets and Coke cans slivering across the tarmac. Jason jumped and turned sharply, his heart pounding, but he couldn’t see anything. Suddenly scenes from the hundreds of horror films he had seen flashed into his mind and a prickling sensation walked itself up and down his spine, the kind you’re supposed to get when something monstrous is stalking you in the dark.

“Erm, what was that?” he said shakily.

Nicola turned to him, aware now that time was running out.

“I’m sorry Jason, I have to go.”

“What? No,” he said as she began to back away from him.

“Thank you,” she mouthed to him and then turned and began to run across the car park towards the exit.

“Nicola, wait,” he shouted as he began to follow, but he quickly realized he would never catch her and he stopped, feeling out of breath. She had to be going back to the square and was following the main road back down to the town center. He knew there was a footpath that went along the side of the supermarket and through a small wood that would cut the corner off. If he was quick he might still be able to catch up with her.

He began to head towards the entrance to the path, which was hidden in the shadows. He stopped, his breath coming hard, eyes jumping left and right. His imagination of what was hiding in the dark was running wild. Did he really want to do this? He could walk away now, go back to his foster parents’ house and his Playstation, and then he would not have to be scared of walking through a wood in the dark, of meeting those men who could swat him down as easily as they would a fly. If he went back and they were there what good could he do anyway?

Jason actually turned and took a step but then stopped. The memory of her touch on his arm, that she actually cared what happened to him sent a pang of guilt through his system. Was he really going to just abandon her in response? He stood torn between his fear and his desire to do something for someone. For a few seconds he was motionless, the battle raging in his mind. Then, with his decision made, he turned back to the path and was soon swallowed into the darkness.