That night was the one when I made my mistake. Being with Theo had removed me from the world, I was in a new, dreamy frame of mind, and though mistakes were allowable at GTF, they weren’t out in the real world. I wasn’t as tense, as ready as I should’ve been.
That was the mistake.
We’d just been walking along by the Co-op, the very same supermarket where the last incident had happened. I noticed the too-bright light, streaming out invitingly onto the pavement, and my heart clenched.
“Theo…” I hissed, clinging to him with both my arms. The hairs on the back of my neck prickled. I couldn’t help remembering last time, and the final parting words I’d been given.
He seemed to accumulate to the situation immediately.
“Let’s go inside.”
I nodded; my mind racing. I could tell that he was trying to summon the reasons to fight into his mind. Trying, and failing so far. He stepped into the supermarket, his shoes clicking on the lino. My hand was clenched in his.
Then, just as I thought all would be alright, my hand was wrenched, firmly and defiantly out of Theo’s. I screamed, silently, frantically, my mouth straining to bite the hand wrapped around my face. I just saw Theo turn back, before I couldn’t see anything at all. I was being dragged backwards into the empty street, as far as I could see it was devoid of life.
My struggling hands found my captors hair, and I pulled with all my might, so that my face came away from his neck. I twisted round and with one pathetic last attempt, spat full in his face.
Thankfully, this seemed to work. I was free for a nanosecond as the man’s hand came up to his face to wipe the spit away. I turned, running back towards the shop, but I slammed into another body. I kicked and hissed, the world spinning around me as I tried to pull it away. It, too, was shouting something I could only just comprehend.
“Tessie,” It called, “Tessie! Shh, it’s me. It’s me.”
I cried with relief at Theo’s voice, and fell forward into his arms, sobbing. We turned, and ran. There was no way we could go into the Co-op. That hadn’t stopped them last time. I didn’t want to hurt innocent people, besides, so when Theo veered to the left, I ran to the right, dragging him behind me.
“Tessie!” He shouted, the blood pumping in my ears, “What the hell are you doing? It’s a dead end!”
“We can’t go inside, it wont stop the-” My last word was cut short, as I was halted by Theo, quite suddenly, my face inches from a brick wall. An apology rose in my throat, but he cut it short.
We turned to face the enemy. Theo was undeniably the fittest fighter of the two of us, and slumped forward into an aggressive crouch, the muscles in his back tensing in front of me. I could almost see the flash of light in his eyes.
There were three men in front of us. Their faces twisted with hatred. Then, I recognised one of them.
Ashley? I looked at the others; they were clones. It was Ash. But why, why would Ash want to attack us? I tried to ask him, to warn Theo, but my voice wouldn’t come.
“Tessie,” I felt Theo’s breath on my cheek, “Do you have anything on you, a lighter, a match, anything?”
My stomach clenched. Theo didn’t have his lighter. I didn’t have mine. So unless Ash tried to burn us to death, we stood no chance. He saw the terrified answer in my eyes.
“Well… I’ll just have to fight.”
At his words, my voice box connected to my brain at last. “Theo, its Ash. There is no way I’m letting you take him. He could have a million of himself attacking you in no time…”
“I know.” He knew? “But I defeated him once, didn’t I? Maybe I can do it again. As long as you stay out of the way.”
“Theo-” I tried to protest, but he cut me off.
“If you try to fight him, you’ll get hurt. It would kill me, Tessie, just please, stay out of the way.” And before I could stop him, he turned back to the first clone, and sprung an attack.
I couldn’t help myself, I watched every move with a kind of fascinated horror. The beauty of Ash’s clone fighting was nothing I hadn’t seen before, but out of no where, Theo had acquired the precision and balance of a cat. They twirled in an out of each other, dancing not fighting.
And then I saw the second clone move. I, and I was sure Theo too, had forgotten all about him. But it wasn’t that, that made my stomach plummet. It was the flash of silver I had seen in the second clone’s hand. And the grimace on his face.
In a flash, Theo was on the ground, writhing in pain. And then he was flung back against the wall, next to me.
“Theo!” He slumped in my arms, his weight dragging us onto the blood spattered concrete below, inferiorly positioned below the attackers. The wall was behind our backs, brick and cement digging into my shoulders as I pressed fearfully against it. Willing myself to disappear through and come out the other side, on a different street.
Theo swore, bringing his hand up to his head, and then to his mouth, tasting the blood. There was so much of it: both mine and his, mingling on with the black grit and neon coloured plastic rubbish bags.
I held him, what, for the last time? I couldn’t know. He was losing so much blood, injured worse than me, his energy slowly draining out of his body. His muscles lost all tension; he was loose, nowhere near as in control of himself as I was. Was this the last time I’d see him? Speak to him?
“Theo, I-” Didn’t get the words out. He was looking at me as if he felt what I felt, thought what I thought, as if he knew this could well be our last time.
Then he kissed me.
It was nothing new, it wasn’t a different person pressing his lips to mine, but it brought out in me a desperation that I hadn’t known before. I clutched at him; sending tremors down my spine and making my hands grip his hair like I was hanging on for dear life.
I didn’t see the figures standing above us, predators, pausing, prolonging the moment before the kill. I didn’t see the dirt and scum and shit on the dirty paving. I didn’t see the moonlight, pouring into the alley, reflecting and refracting off the windows stories above our heads, but not quite reaching us. I only saw him.
Even when I heard the inevitable, inescapable shot fired. I didn’t see who it had come from, who it had hit. I wasn’t conscious. All I could feel was Theo.
Then he jerked up, his face the picture of agony. I never before had seen that expression on any face, living or dead, real or fantasy. It was beyond terror.
My first thought was “They shot him first.” They shot Theo first and any moment now they’d cast him aside and take me.
“Tessie!” He mouthed wordlessly, “Tessie.” Why was he wasting valuable oxygen saying my name? Why?
And then all in one moment, it all added up. The expression on his face. The swimming landscape, colours melting into one another. The shooting pain in my left arm dawning on me slowly.
Theo hadn’t been shot. I had.
I fell forward, cradled in his arms, sobbing uncontrollably, jerking and convulsing. I could hear voices, so loud, such loud voices, Theo, voices, Theo, moonlight, Theo Theo Theo Theo Theo. I let my eyes close in peacefulness.
I love you Theo. I love you. Don’t let me go, ever.
But he was letting me go, placing me backwards onto the ground.
He had found his reason. In his hands, I could see a slight ball of fire, burning, constricting, winding. Theo was doing what could only ever be achieved at Educated level. But then again, Theo had been educated in other ways more powerful than anything that the government could offer. He was standing: to fight.
i loved that part most. This is so like dramatic but I really neeed to know what went on before and after this. You need to start writing from the beginning, to the end!
