The first real, noticeable difference in lifestyles, when coming from a city to a country town, was that the local night life was nothing like they have in the city. It wasn't even a distant, lost cousin of the city. In the city the night-life, and nightclubs in particular, were a sexy, pulsing, undulating and, above all, exciting affair. Everyone showed up dressed sexy to show off their bodies, some being more successful than others, all of them out to have a good time. Most of them usually without the aid of alcohol, and some of them, Ben had heard, without even any chemicals.
Going out to a club in a country town, the first thing one noticed was the music. It wasn't as bad as country music, but there was a distinct lack of anything hard or driving that you could get a good beat going to. Country town's loved their rock and roll, and as a consequence that was mostly all they played. The closest one would find to techno, or hard-core dance music at Cougars, the Casino RSM nightclub, would be Cotton-Eye Joe. And even that would be tolerated under protest.
Ben often thought that there was nowhere else in the civilised world where you could go and see people getting down to AC/DC.
The second thing you noticed was that everyone was either drunk or trying to get drunk. This was no time for being sober. And if, like Ben, you were in the unfortunate situation of having grown up in the town, you would find you either knew every single person there or they knew you.
Ben hadn't even made it through the doors of the RSM before finding someone he knew.
"G'day Ben, owyergoin?" said the bouncer, standing inside the main doors dressed in the standard bouncer's tuxedo. A hint of a smile played about the corner of his thin-lipped mouth.
"Hey Ed, how ya been?" said Ben, looking at him. The guy was even taller than he'd been in school, and the fat that had once jiggled from his body had solidified into rock-hard slabs of muscle.
"Good," he said. "You been outta town?"
"Yeah," said Ben. "Been living down in Sydney."
"Back for long?"
"Maybe for good."
"Well," said Ed in some surprise. "Welcome back." He stepped back to allow Ben past. "Enjoy your night."
"I'm sure I will," said Ben with more than a trace of sarcasm. But if Ed noticed he didn't say anything.
From there on it was like a High School reunion. As a matter of fact, if Ben knew Casino as well as he thought he did, the High School reunion would probably be held in the good old RSM. Same as everything else. Cold Chisel was blasting out of the auditorium as he walked up the stairs and he hoped he didn't run into anyone else he recognised. Not until he got to the bar, anyway.
There were two separate rooms upstairs and now, unlike when Ben had frequented here, they were both open. One, the larger one, for dancing. The other, smaller auditorium was apparently a chill-out room, although he doubted very much that that was what they called it. Ben decided to steer clear of this room for now. It provided too much opportunity to talk to people. Or have them talk to you.
Ben walked into the main auditorium and glanced around. The lights strobing through the darkness and the undulating masses of bodies made it near impossible for Ben to recognise anyone. He hoped it worked the same way for him.
First stop was the bar for a much needed schooner, the main reason he was here. That and the fact that he couldn't sleep and was going stir crazy in his motel room. On his way to the bar Ben scanned the dance floor and tables again. There were some people he recognised but he wasn't even sure whether they'd been in his year at school or the year below him.
What am I doing here? he wondered. But he knew perfectly well what he was doing here. Even if he wouldn't admit it to himself, it was some perverse desire to see old school mates and hope that he was better off than them now. To try and finally have the last laugh.
Someone thumped Ben on the back as he rose the schooner to his lips and he jarred his teeth against the glass.
"Hey, Ben!" screamed Glenn jovially. "How you going?"
Peter appeared out of nowhere, giving Ben a gentle shoulder-barge, spilling his drink and almost knocking him over.
"Out for a night on the town, hey?" said Rob, shoving him from the other side.
"Fucking watch it," said Ben, moving away from them.
"Hey, steady on," said Glenn, raising his hands in defence. "We just wanted to apologise for last night."
"You don't say," said Ben.
"Yeah," said Pete. "We're sorry we didn't beat the shit out of you last night because now we have to do it tonight."
"Whatever," said Ben. "Now why don't you go back to sucking each other off and leave me alone?"
"Why would we want to leave?" asked Glenn. "We wouldn't just piss off and leave our mate here all alone." He put an arm around Ben's shoulders.
Ben dropped his glass and shoved Glenn away. The glass shattered, showering Ben's shoes and pants with beer, but he didn't care. It was creepy having Glenn's arm there, like a snake coiled around his shoulders. He faced them with his feet spread and fists balled at his sides, standing up to them like a cornered animal.
For tense moments there was a stand-off as either side waited to see what the other would do next. Ben's angry gaze didn't flicker from Glenn's face as the others idled like motorcycles either side of him. They were only waiting for Glenn to give the order for them to leap forth and tear Ben to shreds.
"Come on, guys," said Glenn, turning away and surprising them all. "Obviously Reilly doesn't want our company."
Then they were gone, disappearing into the mass of heaving bodies as if diving into water.
"Shit," muttered Ben, looking at the mess on the floor. What a waste of a perfectly good beer.
"Ben?" called a girl from nearby. "Ben Reilly? What was that all about?"
Ben looked up and his frown suddenly broke into a disbelieving smile.
"Vanessa?" he said. "What are you doing here?"
"Now that's a nice way to talk to an old friend," she said, smiling fondly at him. "I could ask the same thing of you."
She hugged him and he hugged her back. She felt warm and firm against his chest and he held onto her for a heartbeat, enjoying her touch. She didn't seem to mind.
"Hey," she said, caressing his bruised and swollen face. "What happened? You look like you've been in the wars?"
"Ah, nothing," he said. "Just a run in with some old friends."
"I can imagine," she said. "So, how have you been?" she asked him. "And more to the point, where have you been? No one's seen any sign of you since High School."
"That was pretty much how I wanted it," said Ben. "Just drop out of sight. And anyway, who would be looking for me?"
"Well," said Vanessa. "Me, for starters. And Edward. And Kath was looking for you to invite you to their wedding."
"Kath was?" said Ben, his body filling with warmth.
"Yes," said Vanessa. "She was trying to get in touch with you for ages. Her and Neil went through a bit of a rough patch a while back, although if you ask me the whole marriage is a rough patch, and she was looking for a shoulder to cry on. Apparently I wasn't enough," she said. "She was running around town asking everyone if they knew how to get in touch with you. So where have you been?"
It took Ben a few seconds to answer because he felt like the ground beneath his feet had dropped a half a foot. Kath had been trying to find him. She'd been trying to find him because her relationship with Neil had been falling apart. What a damn fool idiot he was!
"Uh," he said eventually. "Um, I've been in Sydney."
"Yeah?" said Vanessa. "I thought about moving there but my parents were coming back here and so it was going to be too far away. So what are you doing there? You working?"
He started to answer and she cut him off. "Sorry," she said. "But would you like a drink?" she waggled her empty glass at him. "I'm off to the bar."
"It's okay," said Ben. "My shout. What are you drinking?"
"No," she insisted. "It's not every day I run into the Ghost Who Walked. My treat. What's your poison?"
r /> Ben told her and watched as she went to the bar. She was pretty, there was no denying that, she was a little big around the butt but that was half of what turned him on, she had that whole Jennifer Lopez thing going on. Her face was cute, she had long, wavy, dark brown hair and was good to talk to. Plus, she was available. As far as he knew. But it didn't feel right. Ben and Vanessa had been good friends right throughout High School and she was more like a sister to him. But she wasn't his sister, his mind insisted. She was still one of the best friends he had here, though. He'd have the drink with her and see what happened from there.
"Here you go," she said, smiling at him as she held out his beer.
"Thank you very much," he said, taking the offered drink. He clinked her glass. "To old friends."
"To found friends," she said.
"So where have you been?" he said after a moment. "I know you were still living in Newcastle when I left but what about after that? You said your parents moved back here?"
"Yeah, they did," she said. "Apparently the fast-paced life of Newcastle proved too hectic for my dad so we had to come back here."
"You didn't want to stay?" Ben asked.
She shook her head. "Not really. I'd only been there a year or two so I didn't really know anyone. All my friends were back here. Well, most of them," she added, giving him a look.
"I didn't know you were going to come back," said Ben. "Otherwise I would have hung around."
"You still could have called, Ben."
"Yeah, I know," he said. "I'm really sorry, Ness. I guess I was so mad at my parents and it was so much a spur of the moment decision that I never thought of it. I'm sorry."
"That's okay," said Vanessa and smiled at him. "They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. Want to dance?"
"Well," said Ben. "I don't really know this song."
"Who gives a shit?" said Vanessa. "Let's go!" She took his drink off him and sat it down next to hers on the table, grabbed his hand and swung him out onto the dance floor.
They danced holding each other's hands and Vanessa stared into Ben's eyes as she writhed and undulated like a snake. He was mesmerised, staring as her short dress pulled up her legs, revealing even more of their caramel length. But he couldn't dance for shit. He pulled her in close to him and put a hand on her arse, pressing her grinding hips against his. His other hand stole to the back of her head and he planted a big kiss on her.
She didn't resist, kissing back even more passionately, her hands clutching at his hips and pulling him tighter against her. They stayed that way until the end of the song.
All too soon the song ended and they broke apart, breathless and panting with desire. Ben grabbed Vanessa by the hand and led her off the dance floor. They were halfway to the door when Vanessa's friends, who'd been watching the whole dance, ran up to her. They weren't anyone Ben recognised.
"Vanessa," said one of them. "Where are you going?"
"Ben and I are going for a walk," she said.
"You can't," said the friend. "I mean, we need you here it's... it's Jodie. She needs your help."
"Can't you help her?" snapped Vanessa, glancing desperately at Ben.
"She's asking for you, Ness," said the girl.
"Shit," Vanessa turned to Ben. "Wait up a second can you? This shouldn't take long."
"All right," said Ben, holding onto her hand a fraction too long before letting her walk off. He watched her disappear into the crowded gloom of the tables.
That was the last he saw of her until the end of the night.
Ben stood by the table where they'd set down their drinks and waited, drinking his beer and watching the dance floor. From here he couldn't see where Vanessa and her friends had gone, he assumed they were in a dark corner somewhere, or the ladies' toilets, that perpetual stage for female misery. Ben's erection wore off and his insecurity increased, he had a growing suspicion that Vanessa wasn't coming back. These girls' problems always seemed to happen at the pub, just when you were starting to enjoy a good night out along came a drama and ruined it.
The schooner glass sat warm and empty in his hand and the ice in Vanessa's drink had long since melted and still there was no sign of her coming back. Probably her friends had talked her out of hanging out with him.
Ben sat at the table and stared out into the dance floor, looking at everyone and seeing no one. There were still people out there he knew, he had no doubt of that, maybe even friends. But Ben was beyond caring. He'd expended what enthusiasm he had on Vanessa, he couldn't be bothered making the effort again.
"Bugger it," he said, and headed for the door.
As he neared the door Vanessa suddenly came rushing out of the crowd towards him.
"Ben," she said.
Ben stopped, looking at her patiently.
"Listen," she said. "I'm really sorry. Jodie's really upset so we're going to take her home."
Ben's face twisted into a smile. "Sure," he said shortly.
"Maybe we can get together for lunch or something one day," she said.
"Whatever," said Ben. "I have to go. See ya."
It was Ben's turn to walk off now, striding out the door and leaving Vanessa staring after him.
"Shit," Ben said to himself as he crossed the street to Kingie's Pie Cart, a little, grey caravan opposite the RSM that sold the best pies Ben had ever tasted. What a fucked night this had turned out to be.
While eating the pie Ben started slowly walking home. Beyond the Pie Cart was the big Woolworths building, housing the supermarket and a handful of specialty stores. A narrow walkway, almost a corridor, ran along the side of Woolies, through a parking lot to a laneway at the back which cut through to Walker Street. It probably wasn't any faster than going up around the corner but it felt like a shortcut. And besides, Ben liked being away from the main streets.
Ben realised as he walked down the walkway that there were only a couple of street lights down here. And they were across the lane on the other side of the parking lot. It was very dark.
He heard a noise behind him and walked a little faster. Voices whispered through the air and he jerked around, trying to see who it was. Although he already had an idea.
Finishing off his meat pie he began to jog, then stopped, feeling absurd. Someone chuckled as he looked around again and fear tightened the skin on his balls and back. It wasn't that he was afraid of Neil's mates per se but he was nervous about them getting the drop on him.
He walked a little faster but refused to outright run. He didn't want to give them that satisfaction. So he walked. Albeit a little faster than his usual walk.
"Ben," whispered a voice from somewhere behind him. "Oh, Benny-boy," they said in a sing-song voice.
A single bead of sweat tracked its way down the side of Ben's face. Another couple of metres and he was in the rear parking lot. But there would be no help there.
So he kept walking, veering a little to the left towards the corner of the shopping centre. When he thought he was out of their sight he ducked in behind the back wall of the shopping centre. He stood there in the darkness, his whole body quivering with tension, and stared past the corner.
A voice called out again and he heard a glass smash against the wall, followed by the sound of its jagged edge dragging along the bricks. A shape appeared in the light and Ben leapt at them, landed squarely on one of them, he couldn't make out who, and slammed him back against the wall. The broken beer glass went flying from his hand and shattered on the ground. At least he had the satisfaction of scaring them. But before he could press the advantage a pair of hands seized his shoulders and pulled him away, throwing him to the ground.
A boot slammed into his ribs and Glenn dropped on top of him, planting his knees either side of Ben's chest. Glenn struck repeatedly at Ben's face and head with Ben doing his best to ward off the blows. He hit Glenn in the jaw and Glenn reciprocated by moving his knees so they were holding down Ben's arms.
"Hey, come on, mate," said someone else. Ben thought, from his wor
ld of searing anger and flashing pain, that it was Pete. "Give us a turn."
"Yeah, all right," said Glenn reluctantly and stood up.
The second Glenn released him Ben slipped to his feet and swung at him. The blow put Glenn's nose halfway across his face and he stumbled backwards clutching at the bloodied mess.
Pete stepped in while Ben was still getting his bearings and hit him in the side of the head. Ben twisted around with the blow and leapt, howling, at him, all vocabulary temporarily forgotten. He latched onto Pete and wouldn't let go, pounding and tearing at his head and face. Ben didn't care what he got his fingers on, hair, skin, lips, nose, eyes and ears all copped a beating. If he could hook his fingers into it, it copped a raking.
Pete yelled in surprise and tried to strike back but he couldn't get a clear shot. He couldn't even see clearly with blood streaming from half a dozen different places on his head. Seeing his mate was in trouble, Rob stepped in. He smashed Ben in the side of the head, dazing him enough so he could get a hold of him.
As Pete went to hit him, Ben raised his legs and kicked him, sending him sprawling back on his butt.
"Right, that's it," said a voice close to Ben's right ear, and a gnarled, tree-root of a fist whistled out of the dark and mashed into his face.
It was followed by another fist that slammed into his stomach and Ben collapsed to the ground. Glenn kicked him again while he was down, fracturing his already bruised ribs.
The gravel dug into Ben's head and back like glass and he was grateful for the brown leather jacket that was all the difference between his back being a little roughed up or completely lacerated. That was about all he was grateful for though as feet began to stomp down on him.
A light flared behind Ben's eyes that he at first thought was coming from somewhere outside. Had someone found them? The light seemed to shine brightly all around him, a coruscating yellow-white glow moving in and out in waves and spiking out from him.
"Ah shit," yelled one of his attackers, hauling off in their beating. "It's fuckin Martin!"
"That fat fuck," said another.
Dwayne's spotlight swept across them and Ben knew this one at least, was a real light, not some hallucination brought on by being hit in the head one too many times. A voice yelled for them to stop even as they were backing away. Then a massive form was among his attackers, clubbing at them with ferocious force.
After that the world went black and Ben went away for a little while.
CHAPTER ELEVEN