by Emlyn Hall
came across a small high street with a number of shops including a WH Smiths, perfect! I walked up to the door to see what time it was due to open. 8:30, could be worse. The time was approaching 7:15, so I decided to try and find somewhere to sit out of sight until then. I crossed the road, took a few paces left and froze.
BOY 16, STABBED TO DEATH IN AN ALLEYWAY.
This was the headline written on the billboard outside a small newsagent. My heart raced in my chest and I felt as if I was going to faint. I walked up to the newsagents and saw a pile of newspapers lying on the floor. They were bound and dated as today, it certainly appeared as if they had just been dropped off ready for sale. I could only read the front page, but it was enough. It said something to the effect of:
“A 16-year-old boy was found dead in an alleyway in Worthing, Sussex on Tuesday 21st March. Police have not released details of the deceased as they are still trying to contact the late boy’s natural parents. Turn to page six for full story.”
Holy fuck, what the hell was on page six? Could they have put a picture of me on there? Surely not, if they had that could spell disaster and all the more reason to get out of this town before it fully wakes up. I added a copy of this paper to my mental shopping list and walked around the corner and into a narrow lane. I set my rucksack down in a doorway to someone’s garden, rested my head on my sleeping bag and closed my eyes and thought about how I could get to France.
I was woken with a jump by an old mangy Alsatian sniffing around my shoes, I checked my watch, and it was 8:55. I cursed my stupidity, and jumped to my feet and headed back onto the high street to do my shopping.
The high street was thankfully very quiet, I counted two people and one car drive past me as I walked to WH Smiths. WH Smiths was empty as well, mainly filled with staff sleepily getting on with their morning chores. I quickly set to work looking for the items on my mental shopping list. I headed straight for the books and quickly located the map section. I found a rough guide to France and flicked through it. It was exactly what I was after, full of maps and useful information. My second task was to find a map of the south that included the New Forest and Southampton. There was nothing useful in the map area, just a few maps for hikers. I thought I would have a wander around and see if I could find a compass and batteries. I walked to the end of the aisle and saw an ordinance survey map stand, result! I had used these before when I had been out on expeditions with the Scouts, fantastic maps. Unfortunately the area I needed was covered over two separate maps and at £7.99 I felt it was a little pricey. I didn’t have a lot of cash and what I had was really going to have to last me.
I did something I have never done before, and slipped the two Southampton maps into my rucksack as stealthily as I could and moved on. The way I see it, it is not exactly like I am stealing everything. Let’s face it these are desperate times. I’m not proud, but I suppose I have done a lot worse recently.
I walked around the shop and past the kids section; this is where I noticed the ‘junior explorer’ set, ‘with working telescope and compass’. I figured that it would be a load of shit, but how badly can you make a compass? I mean, it’s just a moving tiny magnet isn’t it? Besides £6.99 was a bargain, I was expecting to pay a lot more for a compass!
That just left the batteries and the paper which I picked up on the way to the counter.
“You off on an adventure?” said the spotty 18-year-old lad behind the counter.
“Duke of Edinburgh trip. I have left all my stuff in the house,” I replied. Pretty believable I thought.
£15.97, ouch! Which leaves me with a little under £10 to live on for the rest of my life!
I paid and turned to leave, immediately noticing the security gate. ‘What if these maps are tagged?’ I thought. I took off my rucksack which contained the booby-trapped maps and approached. The gate was quite short and I am quite tall. As I walked up to the gate I winched the rucksack high into the air and jumped with it, just about clearing the top of the gate. Nothing, no noise.
As I stepped out of the shop and into the cold morning air, it caught my throat and reminded me just how crappy I was feeling. I had to get some pain killers and throat sweets. While I’m here I should get some food and water, I thought.
The high street had a chemist about 50 metres from where I was and a greengrocers just a little further down than that.
My shopping list:
• one packet of cheap ibuprofen
• one packet of blackberry flavour throat sweets – these are disgusting, I knew I should have bought the cherry flavoured ones!
• one 1.5 litre bottle of water
• three oranges
• three apples
• two tins of spam – I am sure I like this!
• one packet of digestives
• one packet of frankfurters (on offer)
• one pack of four hot dog rolls (on offer)
• one packet of rich tea (broken and on offer)
• two rolls of toilet paper
• one small bottle of ketchup (what is life without its treats!)
This all came to £8.53, a lot of money but it should hopefully see me through a good few days. Only having a very small amount of money did really worry me, how could I get more? Stealing was an option I suppose, then I remembered the portable game in my rucksack and felt slightly better. I could always sell that.
It was time to get out of this town, so I knocked back two ibuprofen, put a throat sweet in, looked at my shite new compass and headed in the direction of what was hopefully south.
I reached the edge of the town around lunchtime, where I stopped and discovered that I really don’t like Spam! I mean who could? It tasted like I was eating meat flavoured with body odour! I then followed the B3355 south towards the M3 (obviously staying out of sight the whole time). It was getting late when I pitched my tent in a wooded area just outside a town called Chandler’s Ford. The compass and maps have already proved their weight in gold. Stolen gold.
I decided to read the newspaper tomorrow, it has been a hectic day and I am too tired to deal with that now. Maybe I will feel better after a good night’s sleep. I knocked back two more ibuprofen and fell asleep instantly.
Monday, March 27th
I didn’t sleep well at all last night. After having initially virtually passed out through sheer exhaustion, I woke up at around 3am. I must have spent about two hours dwelling on what was in the paper and creating my own versions of what it said and the pictures of me emblazoned throughout. I definitely should have read it before I tried to sleep, nonetheless, I continued to resist and lay there just thinking about it. When I eventually did fall asleep again I kept waking up to strange noises. I wish to god I had never seen that bloody Blair Witch Project now. I had the weirdest dream as well, not the hotel one. Something altogether weirder and infinitely more terrifying.
I dreamt that I was in a forest in the middle of summer. Sasha, Martin and my little brother were there and we could all jump really high, like super high – it was awesome, – odd but awesome. I had also somehow managed to perfect this strange jumping technique. I seemed to be able to pause in the air, while the others would fall straight back to earth. The sky darkened all of a sudden with hazes of purple and grey and swirls of black and we stopped our jumping games and turned. A clattering sound, distant at first and ever growing started to come towards us. I jumped and paused in the air, from up high I saw an army of about 5000 skeleton-type creatures marching straight for us. Drums started up and horns rang out. The skeletons then started chanting “Kill! Kill!! Kill!!!” louder and louder and their pace quickened.
We started to jump away, I paused in the air occasionally to check on their progress, they were gaining on us, it didn’t seem like we were going to get away. No matter how fast we went, they always seemed to faster.
“Kill! Kill!! Kill!!!” their voices were booming and increasing in speed and intensity, they were right behind us now. Martin tripped and his blood curdling scream
rang out above their horrible chant, then he was gone.
They were right on us; I tried to pull my brother and Sasha to make us go faster. With the smell of rotting flesh in my nostrils a claw slashed across my back. A sickening warmth engulfed my back as blood poured from me. My brother screamed as a mutilated creature with the face of Todd tore through his throat with its razor-sharp claws, in a tidal wave of blood he was gone.
In desperation I tried to jump, pulling with Sasha with me. I started going up, but stopped as the creatures grabbed her. She screamed and screamed as they literally ripped her to pieces. They pulled me to the ground, stopped and took a step back.
Time stood still for a moment, the only sound to be heard was that of my heavy breathing. One of the skeletal Todd’s moved forward and hissed at me, slowly pulling a knife from behind him using his thumb to skilfully swing it open.
My heart raced, I could not move. I was pinned down with pure fear.
He came closer and closer and started to lean towards my face.
As quick as a flash he lunged at me and the knife crunched straight through my left cheek bone with horrific force, up towards the back of my eye socket deforming my face as it went through. The pain was incredible and the sight in my left eye faded and disappeared.
I tried to scream but nothing came out.
He lunged with his empty left hand and caught me with his thumb straight
