Seb, like Boyd had left his family home and spent most nights either at Greeny's or Mossy's.
John was in the passenger seat next to Boyd. He was the quietest and most violent of the group and nobody knew much about him. He’d just appeared one day and latched onto them.
And then there were the two girls. Charlotte and Carla. Charlotte was Greeny's girl and Carla was Charlotte's best friend.
Carla loved spending time with Charlotte, but felt uncomfortable when the boys were around. She didn’t have many close friends and accepted that time spent with Charlotte would mean spending time with Greeny and his friends.
John liked it when Carla was with them and spent most of the time eyeing her up.
As Boyd parked opposite the adventure playground in Doncaster Road he saw that it was empty. Normally there would be a gang of teenagers who he could intimidate, bully and prise cigarettes, drink, cash, drugs and anything else from.
The crack had kicked in and he was desperate for action.
He jumped out of the car and yelled to the others, “You comin’ or what?” With that, the six youngsters followed Boyd towards Badock’s Wood which was just beyond the playground.
“What’s the plan?” asked Greeny.
“The plan is, my dear boy, we go into those woods and frighten the shit out of the first person we find.”
The others looked at each other and grinned, apart from Carla who didn’t want to be there and wished that she had stayed at home.
The woods were dark, and although the sun had not yet completely set, the canopy of trees prevented the remaining light from making its way through. The setting gave the place an air of mystery. Perfect thought Boyd.
He led the gang with John lagging behind, admiring Carla’s rear.
The group of youths headed towards the woods and walked past a hill which was about a hundred yards to their right.
At the bottom of the hill Boyd saw a couple kissing.
He turned to the others, put his finger to his lips, whispered “sshhhhh” and signalled them to stop.
He whispered, “I’ll go over and say hello to our new friends, and when things kick off, you lot come over and finish the job.”
They smiled, with the exception of Carla and John. Carla was feeling increasingly uneasy, unlike John who never showed emotion. In fact none of the others had ever seen him smile.
Boyd approached the couple, who were unaware of his presence. He stopped and strained his eyes in the dimming light. Then he realised that he knew who the boy was.
Daniel Boyd and Ben Walker had attended Whitcroft Senior School. They had encountered each other only once during school and it was something that Boyd would never forget. The scenario of their encounter regularly repeated in his mind, like a DVD on loop.
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Whitcroft Senior School
Bristol
February 2003
Boyd was fifteen and had achieved little since he’d become a teenager. He was someone that others would do their best to avoid.
One dull wet Monday morning he’d been intimidating a small boy called Jason, with the expectation that he would crease up in tears. Boyd was taken aback by Jason's determination to not give in to his bullying. A fight broke out and Jason gave as good as he got. Boyd's nose and lip were split and bleeding heavily. The pint-sized boy continued to battle against him but began to get weary. Boyd knocked him to the ground and continued the assault by kicking him when he was down.
A group of kids had formed a circle and were watching the fight.
Ben Walker walked across the school yard and heard the commotion. He strolled over and peered over the heads of the kids.
He couldn’t let a small boy take such a beating. He had no idea why they were fighting, but decided enough was enough. He dropped his rucksack and pushed through the crowd, sending a couple of the kids to the ground. He grabbed the back of Boyd’s hood and pulled him back, taking him by surprise. Then he restrained him by twisting his arm behind his back and yanking it as high as he could.
They were similar in height, but Ben was heavier and found it easy to hold Boyd back, allowing Jason to get up and dust himself off.
Ben made it clear to Boyd that he would be keeping an eye on him from then on, and if he was going to pick on anyone he should make sure he chose someone his own size.
Boyd struggled to get out of the arm lock, which was unbearably painful. He saw that the crowd who had gathered to watch the fight were laughing at him.
Many of the kids in the crowd had been his victims and were sick of his intimidation and bullying. Boyd was humiliated.
Ben let him go and gave him a long hard stare. Boyd was expecting Ben to knock him to the ground and was gearing up for this to happen. But Ben made no further moves, for which Boyd was grateful as he had no more strength, and his right arm was hurting far too much to be of any use.
Ben stooped down, calmly picked up his rucksack and slowly walked backwards away from Boyd without taking his eyes off him.
That morning Ben Walker became a minor school hero, but he wasn’t interested in admiration.
Since then Daniel Boyd's bullying had diminished but it had not stopped.
That day sparked a hatred in Daniel Boyd and one day, he swore he would get revenge.
At first the need for payback consumed him, but after his expulsion the following month he focused less on what had happened that day. But deep inside a fire burned that was fuelled by a subconscious desire to severely hurt Ben Walker.
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Boyd watched Ben kissing the girl. He stood in silence and stared. Memories of the fight at Whitcroft made their way to the forefront of his muddled mind as the drugs raced through his veins. He shuddered as anger infused with revenge.
He had one thing on his mind. Payback.
He had become a better fighter since he had left school, but he was no match for Ben. It didn’t matter, he was on a mission to right a wrong that had been bubbling under for far too long.
Boyd slowly walked up to the couple, stopped and looked down on Ben whose eyes were closed as he kissed Liz.
He’d waited for this day for a very long time and had created many mental scenarios of how to deal with Ben. Now the time had come and the moment of revenge was minutes away, but he wasn’t quite sure how to settle the score.
One thing he knew was that he wanted to see the whites of his eyes.
Would he remember me? thought Boyd. Perhaps Ben would not recollect their encounter back in secondary school.
He took a step closer and his feet were inches from the side of Ben’s head. He coughed, as if he was deliberately clearing his throat.
Ben opened his eyes and stopped kissing Liz. He moved his head to one side to get a better view of the tall stranger standing over him.
Boyd had his hoody over his head and Ben had no idea who it was towering over him.
“Can I help you?” asked Ben nervously.
Boyd needed no excuse to fight, but felt he could not just launch into an attack on Ben, without him knowing his motive. He was confused and didn’t know what to say and what he said next just came out. It was the sort of thing he would have said back in the school yard.
“Are you doggin’ me up?” he asked in his slurred east Bristol accent.
“What?” replied Ben, as he climbed to his feet.
Liz got up and nervously stood to one side.
“You heard me,” and he repeated, but this time with elaboration, “you’ve been dogging me up and you want a fight.”
Ben had no intention of fighting. He wasn’t scared, it was just a principle thing. He hated fights and always had done.
Boyd was determined to goad him into throwing the first punch. He had contrived a theory years before which was if your opponent threw the first punch, then in the eyes of the law you would be seen as defending yourself and therefore innocent.
Ben and Boyd were eighteen inches apart.
Boyd pulled the hood from his head to allow Ben to recognise him.
Ben stared at him. Recognition was not instant as he looked at Boyd’s sickly face. His appearance had changed since school. He looked ill, drawn and worthless. He was sporting a lame attempt at a beard which was sprouting irregularly about his face.
Ben was trying to gather his thoughts. Who is this person and what does he want with me?
Again Boyd repeated, “You’ve been doggin’ me up, why are you doggin’ me up?”
“I’ve not been doggin’ you up, I’ve been kind of busy doing my own thing.” Ben calmly replied.
When Boyd heard him speak he remembered how composed and unruffled he had been that day at school. And he was the same now.
His rage was escalating, and because he could not get Ben to fight, it was making the matter worse.
Ben stood facing him waiting for Boyd’s next move. Ben’s fists were clenched waiting in readiness.
Boyd was confused. He wasn’t sure what to do next.
He turned to hit Liz. His hurried plan was that Ben would have to retaliate to protect the girl. This would give Boyd the excuse to thrash him.
Boyd swung around to throw a punch at Liz. But before he knew what was happening, Liz had effortlessly blocked his punch which caused him to lose balance. He felt a striking jolt to his solar plexus as she landed a precise hit which brought him down. He was taken off guard.
Ben quickly moved over and sat on him, using his weight to prevent him from getting back up.
It was only now that Ben Walker recognised Daniel Boyd as the school bully whose reputation he had thwarted six years earlier.
“NOW” screamed Boyd at the top of his lungs. His voice was muted because Ben was sitting across his chest.
“NOW, GET OVER HERE NOW” he screamed again.
This time the others heard him. Greeny, Seb and Mossy ran over and started attacking Ben by continuously kicking him. Ben recoiled allowing Boyd to get back up whilst holding his hand against the pain in his chest which had been inflicted by Liz.
Boyd watched as the three boys repeatedly kicked Ben, who had no chance of getting up and was becoming disoriented.
Liz was yelling for them to stop, but they carried on.
John strolled slowly towards the fracas with a disinterested swagger.
Carla had witnessed the boys fighting before, but this was different. She ran towards Liz with an idea that the two of them could diffuse the situation and end the fight.
Liz saw Carla running towards her screaming and when she was close enough she instinctively threw her to the ground.
For the first time John showed emotion. Seeing Carla being thrown like a rag doll incensed him. He walked up to Liz, who in the confusion had not seen him coming, and delivered a sharp blow to the back of her head.
She dropped to the ground and John stood over her.
The next thing she heard was John yelling at her in a rage. He was ranting and raving and making no sense. She lay on her side and helplessly watched the three teenagers attack Ben. All she could see was a blur of feet kicking him. Their eyes met and Ben looked too weak and powerless to defend himself. She tried to get to her feet, but was stopped by John who landed another blow to her head with the sole of his boot.
In the short space of time since Boyd had started the fight, it seemed like so many things had happened. The memory of the school yard fight came flooding back to him. This was the second fight he’d had with Ben Walker and it was the second time that Walker had humiliated him. Not only that, he had been hit to the ground by a girl.
His mind was a mess of confused emotions. He pulled the hoody over his head and walked around with his head down.
He was walking in circles with his hands in his pockets when he noticed a rock on the ground. He picked it up. It was heavier than he’d expected it to be.
The rock was large and he needed to hold it with both hands. He examined it and turned it over. One side was spherical and had a rough texture which made it easy for him to grip. The other side was sharp and jagged. He ran his fingers over the jagged side sensing the sharp and irregular points. He felt a stinging pain as one of the points on the sharp side of the rock cut his hand causing it to bleed.
Perfect, he thought, as a dry smile of anticipation spread across his face.
Boyd turned around and slowly returned to the bottom of the hill where the fights were continuing.
Lost in deep thought, he had not noticed that John was relentlessly attacking Liz by kicking her with slow powerful thrusts as regular as a swinging pendulum. Each time he kicked, her body lurched an inch closer to the hill. If Boyd had noticed, it would not have concerned him as he had his own score to settle.
Seb, Mossy and Greeny stood away from Ben when they saw Boyd move towards them with the rock. Loose fragments of grit irritated the cut on his hand, but it didn’t bother him, in fact it enhanced the moment.
Boyd positioned himself over Ben and looked into his tired eyes. Boyd’s head moved from side to side as he took time to savour the moment. Ben was conscious after the beating but was too weak to do anything other than look up at Boyd, whose legs were astride him.
Boyd raised the rock above his head and held it firmly with both hands, gripping the spherical side with the jagged side directly over Ben’s head.
Ben knew what was going to happen next and there was nothing he could do about it.
Liz was only just conscious when John had stopped his attack on her to watch Boyd. She was aware enough of what was happening to know that Ben was in terrible danger and there was nothing she could do to help him.
Her bleary and tearful eyes absorbed Boyd’s features. She looked at his dreadfully haggard face and colourless skin. Boyd stood over Ben with the rock held above his head and she knew what his intention was. She was about to witness the death of a beautiful young person before she’d a chance to really know him.
As hard as she tried to fight it, Liz found herself becoming less aware of her surroundings. It was difficult to focus on either Boyd or Ben. They were becoming a blur and she was falling in and out of consciousness. Slowly her eyes closed as she was robbed of awareness.
Boyd dropped the rock and Ben instinctively brought his left arm in front of his face, deflecting the rock as it crashed onto his wrist, smashing and stopping his watch.
Boyd picked up the rock and assumed the same position. This time he slammed it into Ben’s face knocking him out.
He retrieved the rock for a third and final time and held it high above his head. Then, lowering the rock, he moved close to Ben’s bloodied face and spat in his hair. He resumed his position, holding the rock above his head. He summoned all the strength he could to deliver the final blow.
The rock crashed down upon Ben's skull like a ball launched from a cannon. The dull thud of the impact could be heard by all who were there. Ben's forehead fractured as the rock and his cranium became a fused mix of bone, blood, stone and grey matter.
Ben’s murder was followed by silence. What happened next brought all of them back to their senses.
"Run, it's the police!" screamed Carla at the top of her lungs pointing towards the entrance of the woods.
Seb, Greeny and Mossy ran to the depths of the woods, quickly followed by the rest. Even John was running.
Adrenaline-charged heavy breathing was all that could be heard as seven pairs of feet stampeded, crashing through the undergrowth. It had been fight or flight as soon as Carla had shouted ‘police’.
When they reached the far side of the woods by the Lakewood Road entrance, everyone stopped. Seb and Mossy had unbearable cramp and Charlotte was sick on the path.
Carla hadn't seen the police. Shouting ‘police’ was her knee jerk reaction to end what was happening. Although it was too late for the boy - she knew he was dead - her quick thinking would hopefully save the girl's life.
After regrouping and discussing their options, they agreed to leave Badock’s Wood and make their way
home separately.
Ben's corpse lay at the bottom of the hill with Liz nearby. She was barely alive. Her almost undetectable shallow breathing was the only sign.
Ben's broken watch had stopped at 9.56 pm, precisely one minute before his young life had so violently and quickly ended.
Chapter three
Bristol Maternity Hospital
9.31pm
Sunday 6th September 2009
Maria Jameson lay on her back in the delivery suite, and was now in the active labour phase.
She had been admitted forty eight hours earlier, when she was ten days overdue, but felt as though she had been in hospital for a week. This morning she’d been induced.
On Friday her nerves were on edge. Over the past months she’d made herself sick worrying about giving birth and now she was desperate to get it over and done with.
Maria's mother Claire, and her best friend Samreen, were by her side.
She was to be a single mum. Her long term partner Rob had left her the day she’d told him that she was pregnant. She had been devastated when he’d upped sticks. She’d considered terminating the pregnancy, but was talked out of it by her friends. Claire was initially disappointed with how things had turned out for her daughter but now she was happy that Maria had decided to keep the baby.
The initial shock of Maria's announcement soon faded and Claire was looking forward to becoming a grandmother. A new baby would be the perfect antidote to help fill the void left when her husband, and Maria’s father, Christopher, had died the previous year.
Maria, a twenty-six year old fiery red head, had a great job with Westhouse Marketing in Bristol.
She’d graduated from the University of York with a first in Business Studies and was quickly picked out by Westhouse during a graduate recruitment drive.
She had slotted into her role of business analysis manager effortlessly, and enjoyed leading her team. She had made many friends since working there and enjoyed the social side of Westhouse.
The Hill - Ben’s Story (Book One).: A Paranormal Murder Mystery Thriller. (Book One). Page 2
