by D. J. McCune
Was he hallucinating? Dreaming? He didn’t think so. Adam turned away from the bend and faced the long, straight stretch of black road. The blue sports car was the one that caused the accident, coming from this direction, straying into the path of the red car as it rounded the bend, unable to see because of the hedge. He squinted into the darkness. Was that a light glowing in the distance? It was so dark here the car could have been a couple of miles away but he knew it was coming. Every cell in his body knew it was coming.
He looked wildly around. He’d been so busy figuring out how to get here and save the day he hadn’t stopped to think about how exactly how he was going to do the saving. He didn’t even have his mobile with him to call the police – and even if he had what was he going to tell them? Hi, I’m Adam, phoning to tell you about the crash that’s going to happen in about two minutes. How do I know? Where am I? Both good questions, officer …
Feeling desperate, he started running up the road. At the same time two white points of light crested the hill ahead of him and his heart gave a crazy little hop. This was real. This was actually happening. He had the chance to stop someone dying if he could only reach the blue car in time.
Adam’s body felt strangely light and silent, feet pattering rather than pounding on the wet tarmac. The rain poured down around him relentlessly and the wind howled but nothing slowed him down. The road climbed steeply and his breath began to come in quick gasps as the lights grew closer and brighter. Even as he ran he could see they were veering from side to side, the car following some weaving path of its own in the centre of the road. What was the driver playing at? Were they sick? Drunk? There wasn’t time to think because he had to make it stop while he still could.
He began to wave his arms as he ran, hoping that the bright halogen lights would pick out his shadowy form. He wished he wasn’t wearing black from head to foot – next time he would bring something fluorescent to wear. Assuming of course he didn’t make a total mess of things this time …
The car was roaring towards him and he frowned, wondering when the driver would see him. The lights were rising and falling with the dips in the road, occasionally shining on hedges and fences and trees, but there was no sign of the car slowing down. Maybe in the darkness he would have to be a lot closer. The wind gave an especially vicious gust and the rain turned horizontal, lashing straight into his face. Of course it didn’t bother him but …
Adam stopped dead and groaned, understanding hitting him like a freight train. Of course the car wasn’t slowing down – the driver couldn’t see him. He was still in the Hinterland! I am an idiot! If he wanted to be seen he was going to have to shift back into the physical world. Push through into the wind and rain and into the path of the speeding car.
His heart was beating faster. He wanted to keep running but he had to stop and focus. He had never done this on his own before. When his family worked together they created a kind of group energy that made it easier to move from one world to the other. He took a deep breath, clutching his keystone and steadying himself. He could do this. He just had to tune into his body and everything around him; let his senses lead him.
The car was much closer now, making it hard to concentrate. He tried to ignore it and sent his attention into his body – his feet on the road, his face pointing into the storm, waiting until he could almost feel it. Then he stepped forward.
The shock of the sound and cold and stinging rain left him paralysed for a few precious seconds. He gasped, feeling like he was drowning. The world was a blur of water and wind, battering him like an ant beneath a drainpipe. He tried to shield his eyes from the driving rain and the lights (so close!), squinting, feeling the road beneath his feet. He started to run because there was nothing else he could do, staggering half blind towards the car, waving an arm feebly, trying to call out to the driver, ‘Stop!’ but his voice was swallowed up in the storm. The lights were so bright it was like staring at the sun. They came closer and closer, turning him into something supernatural, all light and stark shadow.
And then, at the last possible second, just when he realised that the car had to hit him, he saw a white face and startled eyes behind the wheel, a mouth dropping open into a perfect ‘O’ and the lights veered left, the car soaring a little and ploughing straight through the hedge into the field beside him.
It took Adam a few seconds to realise that he was still alive. He stood in the road, blinking stupidly, clutching his arms and waiting for his Light to appear before him. The only light he could see was in the field beside him, where the blue sports car had come to an inglorious halt.
He stumbled towards it, pausing at the gap in the hedge. His head was swimming but the broken branches and wheel tracks in the grass verge were enough to convince him that it had all really happened. As he stood car lights suddenly swept towards him from the opposite direction and he shrank back into the field, confused. A second later they slid past. In the glow of the tail lights he could see the red bumper. For one horrifying second his mind replayed the premonition – the red car swerving off the road, the bright fire in the darkness. The car disappeared safely along the road, its driver blissfully unaware of what had almost happened. Adam had just cheated the Fates out of a soul.
His legs were like jelly as he walked towards the blue car. It seemed to be intact but what if this driver was injured instead? What if they were dead? He was only going to have a few seconds to escape before his family showed up …
As he reached it he took a cautious peek inside – only to find a very pretty young woman looking up at him. It was amazing – she didn’t seem to have a scratch on her.
When he opened the door she squinted up at him. ‘What happened?’ She didn’t look frightened, simply baffled.
Adam glared at her. She had just breathed pure alcohol over him. It didn’t take any superpowers to figure out why she had just almost killed someone. It was amazing she’d managed to get into the car, never mind drive out into the middle of nowhere. ‘You don’t remember?’ When she shook her head he closed his eyes and tried to take a deep, calming breath. ‘Well … I’m guessing you raided an off-licence, drank everything you could get your hands on and then decided it would be a really smart idea to drive home.’
She blinked in the light above her head. ‘I don’t understand. Who … who are you?’
Superman, Adam thought sourly. I’m the guy who just saved a total stranger from dying horribly. Dying horribly because of you! His relief was morphing into anger. ‘It doesn’t matter who I am. Just be happy I was here to help you.’ He glared at her but she was staring into space. Great. What the hell was he going to do with her now? He didn’t even know where they were!
The woman’s face screwed up with concentration – then outrage flashed across her pretty features. ‘I was just driving home but you jumped in front of me!’
Adam gritted his teeth. ‘No, I didn’t. Well … actually … well yeah, OK, I did. But believe me, it was better that way.’ He thought again about the flames bright in the darkness, the awful screaming – and shuddered. ‘How could you be so stupid?’
The woman slumped back in her seat, struggling to understand. ‘We just had a few drinks after work.’ Her words were slurred. ‘It’s Wally’s birthday …’
Adam felt his jaw drop. Of course she didn’t know she’d almost killed someone. ‘Didn’t anybody ever tell you not to drink and drive?’ That was all they ever heard about in school and they couldn’t even get a licence yet!
‘Only had a coupla drinks,’ she muttered, pouting. She looked sulky and self-pitying.
Adam scowled at her. Somehow she wasn’t as attractive any more. ‘Yeah? Well, the party’s over.’ He chewed his lip, looking around the field and trying to come up with some kind of a plan. The rain was relentless. How was he going to get the woman out of here? She could sit here all night in the dark and no one would even know she was there. There was only one thing he could do. ‘Do you have your mobile?’
She gri
nned suddenly, batting her eyelashes. ‘Bit young aren’t ya? Giving me your number!’ She giggled and her head lolled to one side.
Adam clenched his teeth and tried to smile, wondering if she might actually be the dumbest person he had ever met. ‘Yeah, that’s it. I’m going to put my number in, OK?’ Her eyes were rolling all over the place but she managed to hand him the phone, then slumped back into her seat, humming tunelessly.
Adam dialled for the emergency services, squinting at the GPS miraculously still glowing on the dashboard. When the call went through he cleared his throat and tried to put on a high-pitched voice, feeling ridiculous. He sounded like a cartoon character. ‘Hello, police? No, I don’t know my number. I … erm … I hit my head. And I’ve had a few drinks. I’m in a field.’ He rattled off the GPS location and shrilled a goodbye.
The woman was staring up at him bleary-eyed. Adam sighed, not sure whether he’d done the right thing calling the police. Then he replayed the scene in his mind – the red car sliding off the road, the flames and the screams. Suddenly he was quite sure he’d done exactly the right thing. He felt a hot crest of anger. ‘Listen. You’re a total idiot.’ He ignored her outraged expression. ‘You nearly killed someone tonight. Not really worth it just to impress some guy. I mean seriously, WALLY? What sort of a name is that?’ He paused and tried to get back on track. ‘Anyway, just stay here until people find you, OK? And don’t drive!’
She blinked at him as he used the edge of his hoodie to wipe his fingerprints off the phone. ‘Did you put your number in?’
Adam glared and dropped the phone beside her. He could still hear her giggling and making kissing noises as he scurried away.
He waited at the edge of the field until he saw the blue lights approaching. The woman in the car was a moron but annoyingly he felt responsible for her now. The police found the field and as their powerful torches swept through the darkness Adam remembered that he was still in the physical world. He clutched his keystone and quickly tried to push himself back into safety. For one panicked second he couldn’t move but suddenly the relentless drizzle disappeared. He was standing in the Hinterland, cold and dripping wet. The air around him felt almost warm compared to the physical world.
He risked walking closer now that he couldn’t be seen, watching a policewoman mutter something into a radio. A minute later more blue lights came along the road and an ambulance drew up at the great tear in the hedge. He sighed, suddenly tired, feeling his shoulders relax. They could take care of her from here.
Now came the real test. If he couldn’t get home he would have to somehow appear on the road and beg the police for a lift. There would be millions of questions and lots of unsatisfactory answers. He closed his eyes and gripped his keystone tight, letting the energy buzz and flow through his body. Somewhere behind his heart he felt a kind of snag and he thought the word clearly – Home. There was a sharp pain and a second later the field was gone.
Back at the house Adam lurked in the garden, pinching his nose, wiping his face clean with his hoodie sleeve. It wasn’t raining here so it was going to be hard explaining why he was soaked through. For once luck was on his side. When he slipped inside the kitchen door he found the room in darkness. He sneaked upstairs, wincing at every creaky step.
In the shower a few minutes later he started to shake. He was standing under the hot flow of water, letting it run through his hair and down his neck, across his shoulders and chest. At first he thought it was just the cold. Then a series of images flashed through his mind – the wet field, lights cresting the top of the hill, the woman’s face in the car, the red car passing safely by, its driver oblivious.
The enormity of what he had done hit him. He had just saved someone’s life. Someone was driving home tonight, maybe to a family. They were going to open the door and take their coat off and make a cup of tea. They weren’t going to meet Nathanial and step into their Light and walk the Unknown Roads. He had saved someone’s life.
Finally, Adam allowed himself to smile.
Chapter 6
For the rest of the weekend Adam felt ten feet tall. Aron still greeted him with his usual contempt and his parents didn’t seem to notice anything strange but Auntie Jo seemed bemused by his sudden good humour. ‘Are you feeling OK?’
Adam grinned. ‘Walking on air.’
Auntie Jo snorted. ‘Hmmmph. Long way to fall from up there.’
Adam frowned. He toned things down after that, feeling his aunt’s beady stare following him around the house. It was a relief to return to school on Monday. After sending their email to The Bulb, Adam and his friends had gathered eagerly in the library every breaktime and lunchtime, hoping for a reply. For a few days nothing had happened. Today however, Adam could tell something was different. When he arrived at the start of break, the other three were already huddled round Spike’s laptop.
Dan looked up first and grinned through a mouthful of cashews. ‘The eagle has landed, I repeat, the eagle has landed.’
Spike’s face was triumphant. ‘I’ll admit it – I was starting to worry. But it looks like he’s taken the bait.’
They shifted over so Adam could peer at The Bulb’s reply:
Dear Sensei,
I am flattered but not surprised that you have contacted me. Like you I am a sensei, teaching the uneducated. As you rightly say I am well known in wrestling circles (the allegations against me were due to jealousy, nothing more).
Perhaps you have never seen our Western wrestling done properly by a real professional. I am willing to give a demonstration. You will find me more than worthy of instruction.
Bulber
Adam felt a slow smile spread across his face. He shook his head in wonder. ‘How can he not realise that anyone can set up an email account? He’s even dumber than I thought.’
Spike grinned. ‘I know. The fish is on the hook. So we’ll mess with his mind a bit first and then we’ll reel him in.’
They fell silent, looking at each other, slightly overawed by their new-found power. Dan was biting his lip. ‘When you say mess with his mind … what were you thinking?’
Spike frowned. ‘Well, we can’t make it too easy for him.’
Adam nodded. ‘The last email. We said he had to prove he was worthy. So we need to give him something to do.’
Archie scowled. ‘Give him something really painful.’ He pulled out his notebook and began to sketch an eerily lifelike picture of The Bulb being tied in knots by a hideous, scaly monster. He was in a rage because The Bulb had banned the new after-school manga club, claiming that manga was ‘unsuitable’ for teenagers.
Spike shook his head. ‘We have to be smart about this. First rule of war: never let emotions dictate what you do.’
Dan piped up. ‘You can’t just tell him to bang his head on the wall or stuff like that. He’s such a psycho he’d probably enjoy that. So we have to make it hard for him. Like, maybe he has to be nice to people or something.’
Spike nodded thoughtfully. ‘I think what The Bulb needs is to get in touch with his softer side.’
‘Haiku!’ Adam blurted out.
They stared at him. ‘Haiku to you too,’ Dan said politely.
Adam rolled his eyes. ‘Japanese people love all that arty stuff like poetry. We wrote some before in English. Haiku – little three-line poems. We’ll tell him he has to write some poems.’
‘Yes!’ They all jumped. Archie was leering around the table, face alight with fiendish glee. ‘And make him read them out to people!’
There was a murmur of admiration. Dan’s eyes were shining. ‘I could die happy after seeing that!’
Spike’s fingers were already flying over the keys. ‘Hmmmmm … Haiku … oh yeah, I remember these. “A short poem consisting of three lines, with a syllable ratio of five-seven-five”.’
Archie’s eyebrows drew together. ‘What does that even mean?’
Spike spoke in slow and patient tones. ‘Well, your haiku would be something like, “My name is Archie /
I draw ninjas in knickers / Because I’m a perv.”’
Adam laughed. ‘We’ll make him write some love haiku. Everyone knows he fancies Miss Lumpton.’ There was a collective shudder. Miss Lumpton was a solid, bosomy woman of indeterminate age, who taught both woodwork and PE. She was very tall – so tall that The Bulb was able to look straight at her chest every time he talked to her. He wasn’t very subtle about it.
Once again the laptop was pushed towards Adam. It didn’t take as long to produce the email this time.
Dear Bulber-san,
We have considered your words and have decided to give you the chance to prove your worth. The true warrior is in touch with his deepest feelings. It is time for you to share your love with the world. Our beautiful Japanese poetic form Haiku should prove perfect for this job. Perhaps you could inspire your students with your poetic words.
Opening the gates
Of learning to the worthy,
I am, The Sensei.
Dan reread the message and nodded sagely. ‘Good idea giving him a clue how to do it. We don’t want his head exploding before he gets us to Japan.’
Adam frowned. ‘We don’t want his head exploding full stop.’ He’d seen it before and it wasn’t pretty. He ignored the odd looks the others were giving him and hit send.
They weren’t expecting instant results so it came as a shock to hear the subdued ping of an email arriving in the sensei’s inbox just a few minutes later. Spike scrambled to open the latest offering.
Dear Sensei,
I am honoured by your faith in me. Here in England I am famous as a man of profound emotion. My students can tell you what a caring man I am. My ex-wife even told me I was a man who loved too much (she was talking about wrestling but I think this shows my passionate nature).
