Saving Silence

by Gina Blaxill

  ‘Is Nadina coming?’ I said, changing the subject. ‘It would be no problem to pick her up too.’

  ‘She’s walking with Kimmie. We’ll catch her there.’ She cocked an eyebrow at me. ‘Looking forward to hitting the dance floor?’

  ‘Er, we’ll see. My moves are special. I’m not sure the world is ready for them.’

  It was so odd. Here we were, on the way to a party, like ordinary teenagers. It was as though the cloud of fear we’d been living under had never existed. Imogen had clearly decided to worry about nothing more than having a good time, and she was right. We would be safe once we reached school. There was no chance of the McAllisters turning up there. I was starting to wonder if they were bothered about revenge at all. Wouldn’t they have done something by now?

  Maybe I was just letting my guard down because it was almost Christmas and the cheer was catching. It was nice to walk round seeing trees lit-up in windows and happy kids and colourful shop displays. With presents and good food to look forward to, it became harder and harder to believe that pissed-off murderers could be lurking round every corner.

  *

  My good feeling evaporated almost as soon as we got inside the building. The school hall was draped with tinsel and there was a DJ on the stage pumping out tunes. The dance floor was illuminated by flashing disco lights, and a few groups had already started dancing. It was too dark to see much, but I could tell that some kids were already making out in the darkened corners of the room.

  This was more full-on than I’d expected. I’d pictured this as the kind of party where people hung around in groups and no one really hit the dance floor until the night was nearly over.

  So much for letting Imo know how I feel, I thought. There was far too much going on for me to make a move here.

  ‘Hey!’ Nadina appeared, Kimmie behind her. ‘We have Santa and . . . something.’

  ‘Could ask you the same question.’ Imogen poked the ribbon Nadina was wearing round her waist. The rest of the outfit seemed to be a loud dress and a denim waistcoat. ‘Are you supposed to be a present?’

  ‘Ready to be unwrapped, innit.’ Nadina beamed at us.

  Imogen groaned. ‘By people at our school? Are you insane?’

  ‘Don’t be harsh. They’re all right, some of ’em.’ Nadina nodded her head at a couple of guys who had just come in.

  Imogen followed her gaze. ‘Mateusz Nowak? Since when did you fancy him?’

  ‘He’s OK. He’s in my sociology class.’ She grinned. ‘Said I had the best hair in the school.’

  Imogen groaned again. ‘He sure knows the right lines to flatter you!’

  After a little while Imogen and Kimmie headed off on to the dance floor. I wasn’t ready for that yet so I followed Nadina into the canteen, where some festive snacks had been laid out. There were juices and soft drinks too, though Nadina assured me that several people would have sneaked in alcohol.

  ‘Shame I’ll be missing out,’ she commented, looking wistfully at the stack of mince pies. Her jaw was still wired up. ‘Ah well, they probably look better than they taste.’

  ‘D’you think it’ll get wild?’ I asked.

  Nadina laughed. ‘You got high expectations. Best we’ll get is some dodgy dancing.’

  ‘Nads,’ I blurted, suddenly unable to stop myself, ‘tell me honestly – d’you think I stand a chance with Imogen?’

  Nadina spat out her mouthful of orange juice, which wasn’t exactly encouraging. I thumped her on the back as she spluttered and mopped her chin with a napkin, hoping this hadn’t hurt her jaw.

  ‘Ohmadays,’ she said as soon as she could. ‘You having me on?’

  ‘Forget it. Just don’t tell anyone, OK?’ I backtracked.

  Nadina chuckled. ‘Oh, Sam. Look, I’m not really that surprised. I figured waaaay back you had the hots for her. Was starting to think you was never gonna do anything about it!’

  Suddenly hopeful, I said, ‘Did she say anything to you about me?’

  ‘Nope. But that don’t mean nothing. Im doesn’t talk about things like that. God knows I try and make her. Your call, Sammy.’ Nadina slapped me on the shoulder. ‘Im likes your company and she likes you. What’s to lose? Go get her.’

  How? I wanted to ask Nadina, but I didn’t because that seemed like a stupid thing to say. Should I just tell her? Or should I dance with her? Or maybe there would be some mistletoe about somewhere, though I wasn’t sure about that. Kissing in public didn’t seem like it would be up Imo’s street. The last time I’d kissed a girl had been way back during a game of spin the bottle at a party when I was just thirteen, and I hadn’t really known what I was doing. After Mum got sick, well, stuff like that hadn’t felt important. It also didn’t help that Imogen wasn’t exactly a conventional girl – I had no idea what she’d go for.

  I picked up a drink and tried to figure out what to do.

  IMOGEN

  WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER

  Kimmie leaned across and shouted something.

  I mouthed, ‘What?’ She pointed to the open doors, indicating that she needed air. I shook my head. ‘I like this song. Catch you in a bit.’

  Kimmie disappeared into the crowd. We were an hour and a half in and the party was in full swing. The floor had really filled up, and the DJ had turned the volume right up. I could see Santa hats, girls in short white dresses and angel wings, and lots of tinsel.

  The song ended and a popular rap track started to play. I pushed my hair back from my face and took a swig of the juice Sam had fetched me. Though he’d made a few appearances, he’d spent most of the time avoiding the dance floor. In a few songs, I decided, I’d drag him up here and make him dance.

  After I found Nadina, that was. It hadn’t taken her long to get together with Mat. He’d come over with a grin and asked her to dance. A few songs later I’d seen them heading off together down the ground-floor corridor. That had been a while ago. I was sure Nads was OK, but I’d definitely be ignoring my best-friend duties if I didn’t at least check up on her.

  I pushed my way through dancers to the doors and headed off the way Nadina had gone, passing the boys’ loos and the vending machines. No Nads so far. She must have gone all the way to the end. It was a bit eerie in here at night. During the day it was always noisy and busy and well lit. While it was still just light enough to be able to see where I was going, it was more than a little creepy!

  I was just wondering whether to text Nads when someone thumped against me from behind.

  Before I had time to realize what was happening, both my arms were pinned behind my back in a strong grip. A hand yanked my head back by the hair. A face leaned over me and I felt warm breath on my cheek. It smelt of alcohol.

  ‘Hello again, pretty girl,’ a familiar voice said. ‘Shame your pretty face ain’t gonna be pretty much longer.’

  He shoved me against the wall, letting go of my arms. He still had my hair in his other hand, pulling my head back and to the side, throwing me off balance. I saw a knife above me, a glint of light reflecting off the blade as it flashed downward – towards my face. With all my strength I jerked to one side. The knife dug into my shoulder. I screamed in pain. The guy swore. I saw the knife rise again.

  Remembering the self-defence classes the school had made me take when I became a prefect, I hit back as hard as I could with both hands. One open palm smacked into his nose and he grunted angrily and slashed down again with the knife. At the same time I moved my hands up and dug my fingers into his eyes.

  There was a yell in my ear. Suddenly my hair was free. I broke away and dived along the empty corridor, trying to get back towards the crowded hall. But something had happened, something bad. Pain surged through me, making it hard to move. And it wasn’t just coming from my shoulder.

  Looking back I saw my attacker clutching one hand to his eyes. The other held the knife. It had blood on it. My blood. As I stared, he straightened. An angry face with red eyes met mine.

  One of the McAllisters.

/>   Almost in slow motion, he pointed the blade. Towards me.

  If one was here, the other couldn’t be far away. It didn’t take a genius to figure out who he would be after.

  Where the hell was Sam?

  SAM

  WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER

  It was getting a bit depressing, avoiding the dance floor. I knew I was just putting off the inevitable with Imogen. I had to man up and say something tonight. OK, I thought, squaring my shoulders. I could hear the beat of a song I recognized. The time was now.

  I left the canteen. I decided to take a detour via the loos – just to check I looked presentable. I stood in front of the mirror. I’d always found it weird that boys’ toilets at our school had mirrors, but apparently there’d been a big campaign to have them installed. Guess everyone is image-conscious these days, I thought.

  As I adjusted my Santa hat I saw the door of the cubicle behind me slowly opening. Weird, I thought. I hadn’t heard anyone come in. As I stared at the reflection, I caught the glimmer of something through the gap.

  Something shiny and sharp.

  I bolted out of the toilets and into the corridor. I heard a door bang from inside. Someone shouted my name. I looked both ways down the corridor and was shocked to see Imogen at the far end, running in my direction as best she could in her high heels. Without thinking, I rushed towards her.

  ‘Imo!’

  ‘They’re here!’ she shouted, running to the door that led out to the courtyard. She pulled at the handle and chains rattled from outside. Locked! I reached her, shouting that one of the McAllisters was behind me and she had to run. Then I caught sight of a dark figure lurching towards us from the far end of the corridor and knew instantly that it had to be the other twin. I looked over my shoulder and saw the first one, grinning like a madman behind me, slowly closing the gap between us.

  We were trapped. There was nowhere to go! Nowhere except up.

  The doors to the stairwell were just opposite. Grabbing Imogen, I slammed open the doors and dashed upward, two steps at a time. Imogen had pulled off her shoes and followed, clutching them in one hand. As we turned the corner on to the next staircase I looked over my shoulder and saw that we were being followed.

  We reached the second floor. I started on the next staircase, but Imogen stopped.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I cried as the top of our pursuer’s head came into view. Imogen gestured at me to carry on. Then she hurled one of her shoes at him. It struck the side of his head. The second throw was even better, hitting in the same place with more force. He cried out in pain and stumbled.

  ‘Now I know why girls wear heels to parties!’ Imogen puffed as she pushed me forward. At the fourth floor we instinctively made for the English classroom where we hang out at break. I kicked open the door and ducked down behind one of the desks. Imogen quickly joined me.

  ‘Imo,’ I panted, ‘you’re hurt! There’s blood everywhere.’

  ‘No kidding!’ Imogen hugged her knees to her chest. She’d begun to shake. ‘He slashed me a couple of times. Got me across the face. I thought I was safe but . . . not going to be pretty any longer, that’s what he said –’

  ‘He didn’t get your face, Imogen.’ I squeezed her arm. ‘You’re still pretty. More than pretty. It’s OK. This is where he got you, on your arm. Can’t you feel it? I think you’d know if he’d got an artery, but it’s really bloody.’

  She gave me a wobbly smile. ‘It hurts and I can’t tell where from, I was so sure he’d slashed my face – Sam! We’re making too much noise. They’ll find us . . . and . . .’

  ‘Shh,’ I said, pulling her into a tight hug. ‘It’ll be OK. Hang in there.’

  Cradling Imogen, I felt in my pockets for my phone. Then I remembered that I’d put it in her bag for safe keeping.

  Imogen shook her head when I asked. ‘Must’ve dropped it when he grabbed me. It just happened so fast . . .’

  ‘Let’s hope someone’s realized what’s going on and called the police,’ I muttered. I didn’t say how scared I was. I didn’t want to freak out Imogen any more than she already was.

  ‘Jesus Christ, this hurts,’ she muttered through gritted teeth. She was shivering. ‘It’s cold Sam. I’m so cold. I can’t feel my hands.’

  She needs her arm seen to and fast, I thought, the shoulder too. She was losing a lot of blood and I thought she was going into shock. Terrified for her, and terrified that the McAllisters were going to come crashing in at any second, I took off my Santa hat and knotted it round her arm as tightly as I could. I didn’t know if it would help, but it was better than nothing.

  ‘Imo,’ I whispered, holding her close and trying to warm her shaking hands with my own. ‘I just want to say, I think you were amazing with those shoes.’

  She smiled – a panicked, joyless version of the usual smile that I loved.

  ‘I’m always amazing,’ she whispered. ‘Now shh.’

  IMOGEN

  WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER

  Maybe this wasn’t the best place to be. Maybe we should have kept moving. Crap! The pain was making it hard for me to concentrate. Think, Imogen! Think for your sake and Sam’s.

  It felt like we’d been here forever. Even with Sam holding me tight, I felt a deathly kind of cold seeping into my bones. Shock probably. It was silent as the grave. The McAllister twins could be lost. Maybe they’d given up and gone?

  I felt Sam shift. ‘I think we should see if we can get downstairs. We can use the back staircase. We can’t stay here much longer. You need an ambulance.’

  That last part was right. ‘You stay, Sam. I’ll go on my own. If they are out there, there’s no point you getting in the line of fire—’

  ‘I’m not letting you go out there on your own! No way. You’re too damn important to me!’ Sam helped me up and I was woozy enough to let him half carry me towards the door.

  Tentatively he put his hand on the handle. ‘Are you going to be able to run?’ he asked, looking worried. My blood was smeared all over him and my head was spinning.

  But there was no point hesitating. We stepped into the corridor.

  One of them was waiting just outside the main stairwell doors.

  He smiled, waving his knife at us as though he was about to carve a joint of beef. Looking at him face to face, I could see that they were less identical than I’d thought. This one was taller. Slightly broader. And right now, a hell of a lot more dangerous.

  ‘Patience is a virtue,’ he said. ‘Knew you were here somewhere. I saw what you did to my brother, bitch!’

  His words were slurred. He’s pissed or doped up, I thought. That could work in our favour. I wondered why the other one wasn’t here too. Perhaps he was hiding, or waiting on the stairs. I felt Sam’s hand press into my waist.

  ‘We came here to show you no one messes with us,’ he carried on. ‘We’re invincible, me and Dale. We done the service station up the road tonight. You know the one? We’ll never get nicked for it. We won’t get done for nothing.’

  So this was Josh. They’re on a high, I thought. This new robbery must have reminded them they had unfinished business.

  ‘We weren’t gonna hurt you that bad,’ he said, pulling a face. ‘Just give you a little something to remember us by. A nice little scar. But now –’ he waved the knife – ‘you hurt my brother. It’s different –’

  Without waiting for Josh to finish I pulled at Sam and we ran. Josh shouted and came after us. We had a head start, but Sam wasn’t a runner and I was so dizzy from blood loss I could hardly see straight. We finally reached the back stairs. Chancing a backwards look I saw that Josh was gaining on us. As we hit the third floor, hope surged through me. Unless I was hallucinating, I could hear a siren!

  We were almost at the first floor when I lost my balance and fell down the rest of the staircase. Winded, I lay at the bottom. If you pass out, you’re dead, Imo, I told myself, and with every bit of strength I had left I heaved myself up. Looking over my shoulder I saw with horror that Jos
h was on top of Sam at the top of the stairs and they were grappling. Sam was lashing out, but Josh had the upper hand. His knife flashed and I screamed. But then I saw it falling. Over the banister, right to the bottom of the stairwell. Sam had knocked it out of his hand!

  I had to get help. I could see that in the hall police and teachers were ushering everyone outside. Nadina and Mat were there. So was Dale, being helped out by a paramedic. I sprinted towards them, waving my unhurt arm and screaming.

  SAM

  WEDNESDAY 18 DECEMBER

  Memories are odd. They bring back things you’d rather forget in excruciating detail. When I was finally able to think properly, I realized I remembered very little of the run upstairs, apart from Imogen’s incredible shoe throwing. I remembered even less about the final chase. People told me I’d been incredibly brave to fight Josh to save Imogen. They were amazed I’d managed to get the knife off him. They asked how I’d done it. I said I didn’t remember.

  Actually, I remembered perfectly. The truth was, I hadn’t knocked it out of Josh’s hand at all. He’d simply lost his grip on it and dropped it. I guess he was more drunk or high than we’d realized.

  I wasn’t going to tell anyone though. Let people think I was an amazing knife-grappling hero. Why not?

  Everything was cleared up pretty quickly after the police got there. It reminded me a lot of the night when Josh and Dale had tried to mow me down outside the chicken shop, only this time it was Imogen who was hurt and me who was doing the explaining. Well, actually it was the police who really did the explaining. Apparently they’d been in the area following up a robbery at a garage. Once they’d been alerted there was trouble at the school they’d come straight over.

  ‘But how did you know?’ I’d asked the officers, confused.

  Nadina waved her phone at me. ‘You ain’t the only one doing a bit of heroics.’ She explained that she and Mat had been in one of the ground-floor classrooms. She didn’t need to say what they were doing. They’d heard shouting and Imogen rattling the door and had peered into the corridor just in time to see us head upstairs, closely followed by Josh. I stared at her, putting everything together.