by G Mottram
‘Oh but Eddie lets us do whatever we want mostly and you get loads of respect from everyone.’ Tanya looked up at him while taking a sip of Dr Pepper. She’d beautiful eyes, big and dark.
‘How much does Alan Brash have to do with the gang?’ Jason asked.
Tanya shrugged. ‘That’s the whole point isn’t it? Being in the Brash is one of the best ways to get a good job from him. You’re sort of proving your loyalty and showing off whatever skills you have to offer. The fighters are after security jobs patrolling the village and valley and the best ones like Eddie and Erin, will get into the abbey itself. All the Pit stuff is a bit of a test really – you know, to see if they would be any good in a dangerous situation.’
Jason nodded. She hadn’t mentioned anything about the Watch. It would make sense he supposed, that even in the Brash gang itself, few or no people knew about that world until after Mr Brash had recruited them as adults… perhaps not even then.
‘What about you – what do you get out of being “associated” with the Brash? Jason asked.
Tanya smiled. ‘I want a decent job in Brash Enterprises and live here in the village of course. Look - my dad’s not got a very… influential position and I’m not the world’s brightest girl which means I could end up with a factory-floor job in Drunken Abbot or having to try to pick up some high flyer who will probably dump me after a year or so. In the gang I’ve got a good chance of being noticed for some cosy office job - marketing or P.R or something.’
Jason brushed his hand through his hair and relented. ‘I’ll give you a reference about how persuasive you can be.’
Tanya smiled. ‘Well there you are – I’m another reason for you to join… we’d get to see a lot more of each other.’
‘But we can do that anyway, can’t we? Didn’t you say Eddie “let” you do what you wanted most of the time?’
Tanya gave a tight smile. ‘He does but… they prefer us to mix with people they know, people that are going places.’
‘People in the gang, you mean,’ Jason said.
Tanya gave an apologetic smile. ‘I wish you’d just say you’d join us.’ Her eyes were wide, almost pleading.
Jason tried to return the smile. This was getting far too heavy.
‘Well let’s just enjoy ourselves for now, while you’re sort of allowed to see me and I’ll think about it.’
‘You get protection as well,’ Tanya blurted out. ‘Callum and Eddie don’t let the gangs fight each other outside the Pit so…’
‘The Skins don’t scare me, Tanya. I don’t need to join any gang for protection, okay.’
Tanya looked at him for a moment then nodded. She leant over and gently kissed his cheek.
It felt like a kiss goodbye.
***
They finished their meal and Jason paid, leaving a good tip. He wanted to keep on the right side of the manager and staff after the trouble with Morton - hopefully he and Tanya would be back here soon. It was lucky Dad had given him and Miranda fifty pounds each to always be kept with them for emergencies. There was still more than enough left for a taxi ride home if Dad wouldn’t come to pick him up.
It had gone half past six when they hit the pavement again. The pubs were open now - all of them traditional inns, mostly thatched and with small, neat beer gardens. The clientele were all relaxed and chatting away happily. The early evening air was deliciously warm and scented by the flower baskets hanging from every lamp post and most of the people sat at the tables and on the grass outside enjoying the late sunlight.
Nearly everyone held a pint or a half of Drunken Abbot ale, including the women. It was always served in the Laughing Abbot logo glasses with the slogan ‘One taste and you’re mine.’ underneath in illuminated script. Dad, who normally let him have a glass of wine or half a pint during a big dinner, had forbidden Jason to even taste the ale. He said it was dangerous – it tasted fabulous and somehow lifted you, but the thought of it increasingly niggled at you until you had your next glass, almost like a mild craving. Dad had told them it had taken him three days to get passed those feelings after just one pint and he’d never touched the stuff since. No wonder the new “brew” had swept all over the country in the past year or so and was earning Alan Brash a fortune.
They walked towards the far side of the village. Tanya said she knew a little park there where they wouldn’t have dozens of adults watching their every move. She’d gone quiet again, almost nervous. When he took her hand, hers was hot and she kept squeezing his gently but wouldn’t look at him for more than a moment.
Suddenly she stopped. ‘Jason, I don’t know if we should go to this…’
A camera whirred above them and a moment later, Tanya’s mobile rang - some unintelligible dance anthem. She stopped speaking and pulled away a little to slip it out of her jeans pocket.
‘Oh, hi… mum. Yes… yes everything is fine. No… no trouble that… uh came to anything. We’re heading off to the park, now. Yes… yes I’ll leave before then.’
She glanced across at him with a weak smile and walked a little away, turning her back on him. He could still hear her though. ‘Yes, yes… all right, I know that. Look, I… don’t think we need to…’
Tanya shut up. For long moments she just listened and then said a quiet ‘Okay, all right.’ and flipped her phone closed.
She drew in a deep breath, wiped her face quickly and turned back around. Her eyes were shiny. ‘Sorry about that… my mum… full of the usual… advice and dire warnings about being alone with boys… you know.’ She didn’t look at him.
Jason slipped his arm around her shoulders. Something was really bothering her but she obviously didn’t want to talk about it. All he could do was play along. ‘Parents – they’re so embarrassing.’
Tanya nodded. She was stiff and tense under his arm and after a few steps he took it away. She glanced up at him apologetically.
‘It would be different if you would just agree to join us… I mean, my mum knows all the boys in the Brash are decent and wouldn’t do anything they shouldn’t… and…’
‘You can be a good guy without joining the smart-set, you know,’ Jason said, a little too harshly. Was recruiting him into the Brash the only reason she was with him after all?
She looked across at him again - holding his eyes for a moment.
‘I know you can.’ Then she started to walk faster. Jason let her get a step ahead of him and watched her. She no longer swayed sensuously with every step. Now she was stiff with tension.
This was stupid. It’s not as if he’d even decided he wouldn’t join the gang – he might have to if Dad really wouldn’t teach him how to use his Gift – Alan Brash might make it a condition of training him.
Tanya stopped at a corner and turned to wait for him. ‘We’re here - Abbeywell Park,’ she said. She sounded as if she were turning up to a funeral.
Despite himself, Jason smiled at the awesome imagination of whoever had named the places in this town. The park centred on a large well, in the lee of the abbey gatehouse hill – hence Abbeywell Park. The evening sun was low now, sinking behind the hill and releasing the gatehouse’s shadows to creep across the manicured lawns and flower beds, draining them of colour and warmth. In a short while, the central well with its columned and roofed plinth would be in darkness too.
‘Come on… let’s sit down,’ Tanya said, without turning around. Shrugging, Jason followed her through a small side-gate into the park and across the grass towards the well.
The place was deserted. It must have been a good three acres in area, taking up an entire corner of Darkston village. A small wood of tall evergreens grew all along its edge - probably to hide the steel fences and the dark town beyond.
Tanya sat on the edge of the well plinth, facing the park entrance, her back set against the trees. The street lamps were coming on, casting glowing pools of yellow over the gentle hills of Darkston.
Jason sat down next to her. It was time to talk properly. ‘What’s wrong?’ he as
ked.
‘Nothing.’
‘Yes there is. We were having a great time and then, ever since the pizza place, you’ve gone all… sort of… cold and “don’t touch me”.’
‘No I haven’t,’ she said, crossing her arms and looking away.
Jason raised one eyebrow and half a smile.
‘I… like you,’ Tanya said, quietly.
Jason frowned. ‘But that’s a good thing, isn’t it? Especially as I like you too.’
‘No, I mean I really like you.’
Jason swallowed. He needed to keep things light. ‘Don’t sound so surprised - I’m really nice. In a minute or two, I’ll even look good as well,’ he nodded towards the gatehouse shadow which was only a metre or so away from them now.
Tanya stared at the dark and shivered.
Jason slid up close and put his arm around her. She tensed for a moment then sank into him.
‘Look, you’re freezing. Let’s go to find somewhere with a bit of sunlight left.’
‘No we can’t... I mean… oh, Jason, I want you to know… I didn’t think it would be like this… it’s been really nice, just you and me…’
She looked up at him for the first time in ages. Her eyes were shining again and a single tear spilled down her cheek.
‘I’m glad I make you so happy,’ Jason smiled, brushing the tear from her soft skin with one gentle finger. She lifted her face to him, lips parted and slightly trembling. Slowly, tenderly, he kissed her.
Tanya crossed one leg over his and they stayed like that for ages, bodies touching, holding each other tightly and kissing.
The cold shadow crept over them. Tanya shivered and pulled away. ‘Let’s go,’ she said, ‘quickly. I’m not going to do this.’
Clink. Iron on iron - a gate latch?
Jason jumped and stared around.
In the glow of main gate lamps, Hairy stood watching them. He was flanked by two other, even larger Skins.
Jason tried to stand but Tanya wouldn’t let him go.
‘Don’t worry,’ he said, gently taking her hands where they gripped him and easing them free.
He stood up. More Skins were coming out of the trees near the little side gate he and Tanya had used… three, four, five of them. There was no Grizz yet, or Callum Mennis.
‘Evening, lover-boy,’ Hairy shouted across the park, his voice harsh in the shadows, ‘what’s she feel like then, eh? I wouldn’t mind having a little cuddle myself… once we’ve finished with you.’ He pushed the gate back and it clanked shut.
Four of the five skins from the trees were slowly closing in - one of them stayed to guard the side gate. There was nowhere to run. Surely the cameras would pick this up and they would send some security.
Jason shouted back, trying hard to keep his voice steady. ‘Tanya’s a Brash girl, Hairy - let her go or all of you’ll be dead meat when Eddie hears of this.’
Hairy mused for a moment then pushed himself lazily away from the gates and made a mocking bow towards them.
‘Off you go then, gorgeous – wouldn’t want to break the code now, would I? But you’d better hope you can explain to Fast Eddie what you were doing out here all alone with this wimp.’
One of Hairy’s companions, shorter than Jason but thick set and with a nose stud in each nostril, opened the main gate a couple of inches.
The four Skins from the trees reached the plinth. Two of them leant against one corner sniggering and leering at Tanya. The other two circled around the back.
‘Come on - I’ll walk with you to the gates,’ Jason said, glancing down at her and forcing a hopefully reassuring smile.
Tanya’s eyes were wide, her lips a tight line. ‘I don’t want to leave you… if I stay they might not…’
‘Oh we will.’ laughed one of the Skins at the plinth corner. He’d a mean ferret-like face and black eyes. ‘Stay or go, darlin’, we will have our fun with your little boyfriend, whatever. It just means you’ll get all upset and splashed in his blood if you stay.’
Jason ignored the ferret-face. ‘Come on. It’ll be okay,’ he said and held out his hand.
Tanya hesitated then took it and he led her towards the main gates. The four skins from the plinth spread out and followed a short way behind them.
Half way to the gates, Tanya suddenly stopped and threw her arms around Jason. With her lips close to his ear, she whispered ‘I’ll phone Eddie for help as soon as I’m out – I’ll get this stopped.’
Jason squeezed her and nodded. They were right on the edge of town - by the time any of the Brash got here it would all be over. That’s if they bothered to come of course - after all, he wasn’t in their gang.
‘Aaah - how sweet,’ Hairy shouted out again, his voice seeming to fill the night. ‘Hurry up, lover-boy – I thought you’d be eager to kick some more Skin arse.’
Jason gently pulled Tanya forward, staring at Hairy but whispering to her from the side of his mouth. ‘Don’t watch, all right? Just get as far away as you can… they may forget their manners when I do a bit of damage to them.’
They reached the main gates. Hairy’s big, rugged face was a shadowed, evil yellow under the lamplight. He and his two mates tightened ranks in front of the gate.
Tanya dropped Jason’s hand and pointed at Hairy. ‘You can’t do this – Jason is about to join the Brash…’
‘Save your mouth for what it’s good at, darlin’,’ Hairy cut her short. ‘No one’s told us the wimp’s joined up so he ain’t got no protection. Now sod off, my boys are gettin’ twitchy an’ I might not be able to hold ‘em off you for much longer.’
She opened her mouth to argue but Jason laid his hand on her shoulder. ‘Go Tanya, get out of here.’ His voice cracked just a little. ‘It won’t do any good.’
With a last, desolate look up at him, Tanya nodded. She had to squeeze between Hairy and one of the others to get through the gates. Jason wanted to smash the leering grins off their faces as Tanya was forced to rub up passed them, but it was too important that she get away safely before anything started.
Then she was out and Hairy shut the gate with an ominous clang that echoed through the night.
He just caught a glimpse of Tanya running down a side street, her hand already pulling out her mobile, before the Skins closed around him in a circle. Attacked from all sides he’d have no chance.
‘Not so hard now, are you hero?’ Hairy said.
‘You and I are going to need a bit more space than this to fight, Hairy,’ Jason said as calmly as he could manage. ‘It is one on one, I take it… I mean, you Skins wouldn’t want a reputation for being cowards, would you? I mean, all of you against me would look like you were scared or something, don’t you think?’
Jason spoke slowly, breathing deeply. He glanced around the circle as he talked, noting the weakest looking one – a spiky blonde haired lad of about his own build.
‘Different rules out her here, wimp - you’ve offended the honour of the gang so we’re all going to teach you some manners.’
There was no sense in letting them start when they were ready. Break out of the circle, run like crazy and lose them in the dark woods. Easy.
Jason dropped his defiant stare. ‘Look… I didn’t mean to offend the whole gang – it was just …’ he began, in a small, pleading voice then leapt for the spiky blonde.
He grabbed his neck, spun him into the circle and catapulted himself out into the shadows of the open grass.
There was a half second’s confusion and Jason pelted for the trees.
He was fast, but one of the Skins was faster. Ferret-face caught up ten metres from the tree line and tripped him. Jason fell, rolled straight back up to his feet but they were already on him.
Fists and boots flew at him out of the darkness. He’d no chance of blocking so he just lashed out in all directions. He hit a few, felt noses crunch under his fists but their punches and kicks rained in on him. His whole body was being beaten and the Skins were leaping over themselves to punch his head
and face. Any moment now he’d be knocked to the ground.
‘Scum’ he screamed and threw his arms out to push his way clear. A surge of ice-cold energy shot down each arm and out though his palms. Two skins flew back from the circle in different directions and Jason burst into a panicked, half-blind run for the deep dark of the trees again.
His legs wouldn’t work properly - they were too heavy, weak and throbbing with pain. His head was spinning and blood ran into his eyes and mouth. He couldn’t move fast enough - the Skins would be on him again any second now. He could still feel their fists in his ribs and face, their boots biting into his shins.
The first tree rose up before him, black and massive. He dodged passed it and stumbled further into the woods. At least they couldn’t all hit him at once in here.
Two shadows materialised before him, others detached themselves from the trees to either side. Oh hell - they were everywhere.
Jason had no choice - he just ran at the nearest silhouette.
He smashed into a chest which twisted to take the force from his charge. Two steel-strong arms slapped around him and held him fast with his face pressed up against a silk-smooth shirt.
Jason gasped in a breath for one final attack and smelled aftershave.
‘Steady old boy, we’re the good guys.’
Jason’s knees gave way. He felt himself being passed back to other hands, then lowered to the ground to flop against a tree.
The shadows flitted away and he was suddenly alone.
It was cool here. He hurt everywhere, everything was blurred, his ears rang and his head throbbed out all thought. Somewhere back towards the park there was shouting, cries of pain, swearing, and dull thuds and smacks.
He didn’t know how long it went on for. The next thing that really registered was a soft cloth touching his face, dabbing his nose. A delicate, sweet perfume filled the one nostril that wasn’t full of drying blood.
‘Oh God, I’m so sorry, Jason. I never wanted this to happen. They took so long to get here… I phoned straight away… the scum wouldn’t stop hitting you…’
