Chapter One
‘Don’t you just love town Jess? I’m so glad you decided to stay in Manchester and not bugger off to Brighton or wherever it was,’ Alex yelled in my ear.
‘I didn’t have much choice in the matter did I? What with dad going downhill, and then Luke…kissing me.’
‘I know, I know, but it’s nice isn’t it, knowing your way around, knowing where to go,’ she answered.
It was true; I did love Manchester, and since starting university we’d quickly found the best bars and clubs, with the best happy hours, and already knew the safest back streets to take short cuts down. We felt free and safe. We were foolish and naïve.
While my friends all jumped around, Alex and I fought our way through the crowds to the bar.
‘Yey! It’s still happy hour. If we get two each now, we won’t have to queue for a while,’ Alex shouted in my ear.
‘Quit doing that will you! You nearly perforated my ear drum!’ I said flinching, as the awful tickling subsided in my ear.
‘I’m spending the last of my weekly budget on champagne cocktails. I can’t resist.’
By midnight we’d staggered from the bars in The Quay to a new trendy club, Exodus, and that’s where I spotted him some thirty minutes later. He was sitting in a dark corner of the club, talking earnestly to a stunning girl. Unlike me, this girl had definite supermodel qualities, with shiny, dark hair cut very blunt and modern, to just above her shoulders. Her long, slim legs were clad in a tight, shiny black catsuit with killer red heels. Interestingly though, neither of them seemed to be flirting with the other. In fact she almost looked aggrieved with him, which worryingly, I was glad about. He glanced up and his eyes seemed to shimmer a deep, dark chocolate colour. They were mesmerising.
‘Check out his eyes, Jess, and the rest of him come to think of it,’ Alex shouted in my ear over the booming music, nodding in the direction of my gaze.
I wondered if he was a football player, Man United, City or maybe a visiting club. He looked chic and slightly dangerous, and his dark shoulder-length hair was tied back in a low ponytail. He wore a trendy expensive-looking suit with a t-shirt underneath, covering what appeared to be a slim, athletic body. I couldn’t take my eyes off him.
‘Jess? Hello, earth to Jess?’
I was dragged out of my trance and suddenly plunged into the present, the surging music pounding in my head. I felt my cheeks flush as I realised he’d noticed me staring at him, and I swivelled round to face Alex.
‘Yes fine. I just need a bit of air. It’s hot in here,’ I replied.
‘OK, let’s go to the upstairs bar. It’s cooler there and we can sit down.’
As I walked towards the stairs, I could feel his gaze on me. Maybe it was my vanity, but I felt prickles on my neck and wondered if he was talking about me to the girl.
Another drink later and Alex had gone off to dance with Lucy, Gemma and some guys I recognised from Alex’s course. I was guarding drinks for the four of us and flicking through a text message from Luke, who was currently in Dublin for a friend's stag party.
‘Babe am havg gr8 time. Dont worry no strippers! LUXXX’
I smiled, and wondering what to reply, glanced straight up into the dark eyes of the mystery man. Close up, he was even more gorgeous than he appeared in the dark corner, and I smiled nervously.
‘I see your friends have deserted you and made you resort to your mobile phone for company. I’m Daniel,’ he added, stepping up to my table and offering his hand, which I ignored.
He was tall, over six feet I thought, and far too good-looking to be talking to me. He was well spoken, with a slightly old school English accent. I wanted to tell him I was in love, that it was my boyfriend I was texting, but my mouth was suddenly dry. I opened my mouth and closed it again, nodding weakly. God! What was wrong with me? My thoughts were all jumbled up. His gaze pierced mine and he had me transfixed.
‘Would you like another drink? What are you drinking? Rum and coke?’ he asked.
I nodded, somewhat taken aback by his ability to guess my drink, but then I guess there aren’t that many spirits which are mixed with coke. It was probably just a lucky guess, I mused, as I watched him walk towards the bar. As soon as his gaze broke away from mine, everything became clear again. I watched him and remembered Luke. Re-reading my text I quickly replied,
‘Miss u. Lets watch a movie 2moro night. LUxxxx’
As soon as politely possible, I would get away and find the girls.
‘Here you go,’ he said, sitting down opposite and passing me the drink.
‘Thanks, ehm, I think the heat’s getting to me. I shouldn’t have accepted a drink from you. I have a boyfriend.’ The word still felt strange and new on my tongue and I could feel my cheeks burning. ‘He’s in Dublin and I’m missing him like crazy. I wasn’t leading you on and I’ll pay for my drink,’ I rambled on, looking at his beautifully chiselled cheek to avoid eye contact, as I fumbled in my bag for my wallet.
‘No need to pay for the drink. I just thought I’d keep you company, while you wait for your friends. I’m with a friend too. She’s just gone for a bite to eat.’ He paused momentarily and a flicker of a smile passed over his face. ‘She’ll be back shortly, but as I was on my way to the bar I saw you alone, and I thought we could entertain each other,’ he replied, smiling again.
‘Oh right, well thanks, but I’m not a charity case. I’m fine on my own.’
‘Of course but...’
Alex stumbled over, picked up my drink and took a big glug.
‘Hey, Lucy and Gem have gone off with those guys. Apparently they live near Gem’s Hall in Fallowfield and they’re going to share a taxi home, or more likely to ONE of their homes.’ She giggled, then she looked at who she was sitting next to for the first time and did a very comical double take.
‘Oh hi, ehm, sorry Jess, didn’t realise…hmm... Hi, I’m Alex.’
I was glad he had the same effect on Alex as he did on me; at least it proved I wasn’t too crazy. She was staring into his eyes, her cheeks flushed. He stared back, his eyes connecting with her on some deeper level. It was mesmerising. I looked away, planning my escape.
I definitely didn’t want a huge hangover, as I was seeing Luke in the afternoon, and he totally disapproved of my under-age drinking. Consequently, it seemed a good idea that as Alex was single, maybe she could have some fun with this guy, and I was just figuring out what to say when she jumped up and spoke.
‘Jess, sorry, I’ve got to go to the loo. You stay here. Chat!’ She nodded in his direction, and before I could get out of my chair she was gone. Damn!
I stared after her in horror and then looked at him. His eyes were still shining. I had the biggest urge to reach over and touch him. His skin was luminescent in the dim light. He looked up, smiled at me and I melted. All resolve left me as the alcohol buzzed around my body.
‘So, where were we?’ He reached over and touched my hand, briefly sending small electric pulses whizzing around my body, straight to my groin.
‘You were telling me all about your boyfriend, but I’d be much more interested to hear about you,’ he said, managing to sound completely genuine.
I somehow got it together, suddenly feeling very reluctant to talk about Luke, but even more so about myself. The word ‘boyfriend’ hit me and I wondered fleetingly if Alex had reappeared and chucked a glass of ice cubes down my dress, to bring me to my senses. I was not the type of girl who slept around. Gorgeous he may be, but I wasn’t interested in anyone other than Luke. Instead, I forced myself to remember how dazzled I’d been by Luke’s beauty, as we lay together that first night on his narrow single bed, a mere few weeks ago. His smooth, pale chest was lit up by the moonlight that filtered through the curtains. I was so lucky to have him. It was what I’d yearned for every day for each of the four years I’d known him. I was NOT going to mess it up.
‘I think I should go check if Alex is alright,’ I stated quickly and rose to my feet, dragging my
gaze away from his. ‘Thanks for the drink.’ I headed off, but couldn’t help momentarily wondering what I was missing, as I walked away from him.
I found Alex leaning against the wall outside the women’s toilets, looking into space.
‘Alex, are you OK? Why did you rush off like that?
‘Oh, hi! It’s the strangest thing. I was looking into that guy’s totally gorgeous eyes, wondering if he liked me or you, and I suddenly needed the toilet really badly. Actually, I wasn’t sure if I’d make it in time, before I wet myself. It must have been all those cocktails earlier on,’ she slurred. It was time to get her home.
‘Oh, Alex! I’m just going to the loo myself, and then we’ll go get a cab home.’
Luckily, there wasn’t much of a queue in the ladies, and five minutes later I was back in the same spot. Alex was gone. I popped back into the ladies to check she hadn’t followed me in. I had a little wander nearby and up to the nearest bar, but no luck. I tried her phone endlessly, but it rang unanswered. Ten minutes later and I’d searched the ground floor and wondered whether to go upstairs or head outside. It wasn’t unusual for Alex to disappear when drunk and then turn up in our flat after sometimes walking, sometimes sharing a cab home. After telling her off time and time again, there was no way I could get it through to her. So I decided to go find a cab and see if I could see her outside.
Naturally, there was a huge taxi queue; no taxis and no Alex. I decided to walk round the corner and try my luck on Oxford Road. As I turned the corner onto the only stretch of unlit backstreet, I heard a noise behind me. It was a fairly long, narrow street, but it was straight and I could see the lights and bustle of the main road ahead, so I picked up my pace, careful to walk right in the middle. I heard footsteps getting faster and closer, and suddenly a girl’s voice shouted out,
‘Hey girl, you got any cash on ya?’
Ignoring them I walked on, hoping they’d leave me alone.
‘Hey, you! Are you ignoring us? Bitch!’
Their footfalls were quiet, not hampered by four inch heels like I was, and before I realised, they’d run the few steps and caught me up. They circled me, and I cursed Alex for running off on me, and cursed my own stupidity for walking down an unlit backstreet on my own.
My eyes skimmed over them, four hard-faced girls, all younger than me, probably under sixteen, possibly under fifteen. Two of them were definitely high on drugs, their eyes too wide, their posture aggressive, twitching and fidgeting, unable to stand still. I knew I wouldn’t have a chance running in my heels, but with bare feet I might just make it, especially if they were all on drugs. Seconds had passed and they were impatient for a response.
‘No, No! I wasn’t ignoring you. I didn’t think you were calling me.’ I tried to back off, slipping out of my shoes as I did.
‘Hey, the bitch is gonna try and run for it,’ said the mean-faced girl. She was skinny, with muddy blonde hair tied to one side in a ponytail, and her eyes were flicking from side to side. Definitely drugs then.
The girls circled me like a lion circles its prey. A dark-haired girl faced me. Her eyes looked dead, and yet crazy at the same time. I guessed she'd never been loved, and never loved anyone herself.
‘Haven’t you heard that the back streets are dangerous places for girls like you? We own the streets now and you need to pay us some respect.’
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of silver as the blonde drew her hand out of her pocket. The dark-haired girl did the same, and I saw she carried what looked like a small, sharp kitchen knife. The third girl reached forward and grabbed my bag, and because I wasn’t a hundred percent sober, okay, nowhere near sober, and because the girl behind me took me by surprise, I didn’t think before I reacted. Instead I held tightly onto my bag, swung my elbow and made a run for it, dodging between the two front girls. I didn’t get more than a couple of feet before they were onto me.
‘Stupid bitch!’ one of them shouted, as three of the girls charged into me. I felt a sharp, hot pain flare up in my back before they knocked me over, the kicks raining down hard and fast. I curled up into a fetal position, trying to protect my head and stomach, but I had a bad feeling about the now dulling, wet pain that wrapped around my left side and back. I tried to shout for help, but realised I was struggling to breathe, let alone shout, and all I could manage was a weak yelp, as my breath made a strange gargling sound in my throat.
‘Silly cow! Sarah get her bag. I’m just gonna make sure she remembers who to respect.’ The dark-haired skinny one was kneeling next to me.
‘Let’s hope someone finds you soon bitch, and you can afford a good plastic,’ she spat.
For a split second I wondered what she meant by ‘plastic’, and then it became clear as she leaned over and ran her knife smoothly across my right cheek, before standing up and running off with her gang of mates. I tried to move, roll over, but I couldn’t uncurl my legs. I couldn’t even feel my legs. I moved my upper body slightly and felt pain sear through my torso, taking my breath away. My hand twitched and I wondered vaguely how I was lying in a puddle when it hadn’t rained in days.
I wondered how long it would take for someone to come down this alley, someone as stupid as me. I wondered if I could last till morning. My consciousness was slipping. I thought I’d close my eyes and try to sleep, but the girl’s words rang in my head. Respect! It was all these gangs ever talked about, and yet I wondered if they even knew the true meaning of the word.
That was my last coherent thought, as I realised it was too late for anyone to find me now. My pulse, which had been pounding in my head had now slowed to a virtual stop, my breath lighter, shorter. I wondered if it was morning, as everything seemed to be getting brighter, even though the outline of everything was rapidly blurring out of sight. I thought I could see Luke, his outline glowing slightly, as if sunshine was radiating from deep inside his body, his soul even. His eyes softened and his lips curled upwards slightly as he came closer, holding out his hands to me.
Then I saw it, no, them. The wings shimmered slightly as they unfurled behind his body, taking shape. I must be dreaming, surely, hallucinating definitely. After all Luke was in Dublin, so he couldn’t be here with me. How I wished he was. I coughed, and felt something wet and thick spatter back onto my face. I tried to smile back at the vision of Luke, but he was slowly vanishing, his face changing, distorting. A fiery fury and confusion flickered across his fading features in quick succession, as voices interrupted the silent night.
‘She’s here! But I think we may have found her too late, Eva,’ a male voice murmured.
‘Are you sure about this, Daniel? Is she the one you want?’ a female voice replied.
‘Yes, I knew it when I saw her in the club. There’s something different about her. I talked to her, but she walked away. She’s special, and she’ll die tonight if I don’t save her. It’s too late for the paramedics,’ he replied.
I couldn’t really take their words in, as everything was fading really fast. I could only hope that whoever was here would help me. I briefly managed to focus my eyes and I saw the face of the beautiful man from the club, staring into my eyes. Something was different about his face though. His mouth seemed to have…No! Surely not! Maybe I was still dreaming.
He leaned over me and I felt his tongue sliding over my cheek and chin. The woman had knelt down next to him and she picked up my hand.
‘Her pulse is fading. If you don’t do it now, it will be too late. She’s already lost most of her blood. Such a shame. She has seconds to live.’ She began licking my blood-soaked hand. I briefly wondered about their words, but couldn’t really take it in, as I summoned up all the energy inside me to whisper my final words.
‘Please don’t let me die. Please!’ I closed my eyes and waited for death. I felt him pause and heard a strange ripping noise. He cupped my head and gently lifted me up a little. I felt the pressure of his wrist against my mouth and something warm, wet, sticky.
‘Jessica, liste
n. If you want to live, you have to drink this. Stay awake. Look at me.’
His voice got quieter and started to fade away, as something trickled onto my lips. My tongue felt dry, but then more trickled down my throat. I opened my eyes and quickly shut them again, as he was too close, my blood staining his beautiful face. I felt my heart beat then, strong and quick, too fast to be normal.
‘Drink Jessica, you won’t die, I promise.’ His words calmed and soothed me, and I suddenly felt a thirst like no other. I found myself biting down hard on his wrist and sucking hungrily as his blood gushed into my mouth. I heard my pulse pounding in my head and the whole world came alive. I could hear the cars on Oxford Road, people’s voices as they left the club trying to get a taxi home, and even his heartbeat, very close to mine - fast like mine. They were beating in unison.
‘Daniel, she’s had plenty. I can hear people coming this way. We have to leave, now. Wipe her mouth and chin quickly,’ the woman said, as the man eased his wrist away from me. I looked up at him and noted excitement in his sparkling eyes.
‘You need to sleep now. There’ll be some pain, but it’s the only way for you. I have to go, but I'll come back for you. Remember that,’ he seemed to mumble, but since he’d taken away his wrist, I could feel myself slipping away again.
The exhilaration faded and was suddenly replaced by a bone-splitting ache. I tried to scream, but my mouth had dried up again, and I was unable to peel my tongue from the roof of my mouth. I dozed off in a haze of pain-filled hallucinations, unable to wake, unable to move, unable to make a sound, as I heard my hammering heart come to a shuddering stop and everything blacked out.
Sometime later I heard voices, strained and far off, and I blacked out again, as a fresh wave of pain flooded my body. Another time I heard a horrible high-pitched wailing, a keening, crying noise, muffled, as if coming from inside a box. I tried to respond, to tell whoever it was that I was alive; but I was in the dark, unable to move. I could see nothing but a thick blackness and I couldn’t move a single part of my body, even though I was very aware of every tiny, aching bit of it. My tongue remained concreted to the roof of my mouth and I felt an excruciating need for liquid. My eyes were sealed shut, and every bone in my body was paralysed. They thought I was dead, maybe I was, and yet again everything went black.
Finally the pain stopped, but the paralysis remained. The blackness enfolded me like the shroud it was, and I continued to slip in and out of a long, deep sleep. I woke as loud thuds vibrated around me and stirred my consciousness. My thirst had increased, and I found I could move my fingertips. The thuds continued, and I wondered what on earth was making them. I realised I could hear more than the banging if I listened carefully. There in the background, muffled and far away, I could hear voices, some talking, some sobbing. They became more distant with each thud, and eventually it became quiet once again and I dozed off.
What seemed like days later, but looking back was probably hours, I once again woke to loud thumping noises, which eventually turned into a horrific scraping, and with a jolt of surprise I realised that I could hear my heartbeat again, very quietly, very slowly. In fact it hardly seemed to beat at all.
I heard nothing for a while and then suddenly I could see again. I was lying in a coffin which had been lifted out of the ground and placed under a large oak tree. It was a dark, cloudy, moonless sky, yet I could see perfectly. I could see for miles. I could even make out the silhouette of an owl, sitting in a tree several fields away.
Two faces looked down at me and I recognised them instantly. I tried to move, but to my dismay found nothing would move, apart from my fingers and toes. My panic must have been apparent, as the woman leaned forward and spoke.
‘Daniel, she’s still paralysed. Carry her to the car, quickly. I’ll put the earth back and join you in a moment.’
I felt his arms move underneath me, as he picked me up effortlessly and carried me silently into the dark night. In a matter of minutes, I was being laid gently in the back of a car and covered with a blanket.
‘Jessica, it’s ok. I know you can hear me. The paralysis is unavoidable, but you’ll be up and about tomorrow. For now, just go back to sleep.’ The man called Daniel spoke softly, his words calming me, and I soon felt myself drifting off. I heard car doors slamming, an engine revving and murmured voices in quiet conversation, but eventually I drifted back into a deep, dreamless sleep.