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Footsteps in the darkness
Chapter 1: beginning
We spend all our life in the dark
Searching
But we find nothing.
Until we step into the light....
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Chapter 2: Bethany diary entry; life
I lived all my human life worrying what would happen
tomorrow anddidnt live for the day, when it all ended
on the eve of my 16th birthday I realised I needed some
perspective.Dying was the perfect solution, I didnt want
to die, but I had no choice, the creature I tried to fight
was so much stronger, faster and much cleverer than me,
he even seemed to know what I would do next. What
happened? - Well telling you would probably be easier. I
awoke to my uncle Stephen standing in the corner of a
large clean smelling room looking very dishevelled and
tired, now when this would have been comforting most
people, my uncleto whom I had been very closehad
been dead for almost 8 years, which supported the fact I
was dead. He walked over and put a reassuring hand on
my shoulder when I looked at it closer I saw everything
in such definition that it gave me a headache, every smelloverwhelmed me, every sound was incredibly clear , I
could even hear what the people were talking about on the
high street (the price of meat in the market) I swayed
and my vision blurred, again he put a hand on my
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shoulder to steady me its all right, your safenow he
saidAm I dead?I asked
No
Why not?
Because if I hadnt stopped him you would be dead.
That still doesnt answer my question,You hadto change a bit to not die
What do youmean?
Look for yourself I looked down my usual dark skin
was replaced with what looked like a mix between the
darkest Indian and the whitest albino the colour shifted
and changed in the light, I touched the back of my left
hand with the tips of my fingers of my right hand it was
strange like there were tiny scales instead of my usual
skin what
happened? I gasped like
I said you changed a little
please explain
well your kinda well likea . . . A... um...well...a
please just spit it out
youre I mean were um kinda like well his voice
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faltered and he looked down to his feethalf dragon like
thingsWHAT!,
um well you got attacked by a dragon and afully-fledged
one at that but when he saw me coming he backed off
immediately it was very strange behaviour but only after
slashing you with poisonous claws, I tried to save you butthe poison was already half way around your body there
was nothing I could doI.......
if Im a dragon then whydo I still look like a human?
oh thats because I put an incantation on you, which I
will teach you later, to keep your form human ok,
so what were you saying
um oh yeah I was about to tell you... Im sorry but your
parents were killed by him before I could save them as I
saved you
oh I felt my eyes well up with tearsI fought to keep
them hidden but a solitary tear escaped and rolled down
my new cheek
its okyou have the right to be upset. you can cry if you
want
no I must be strong and for me thats not crying
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ok whatever you say
what are we going to do,people will recognise me but Imso different wont they ask questions?
no because according to what I toldthem youre dead;
you died in an accident along with your parents
so I dontget to say good bye to all my friends?
"No"family?
Nope, no one. We need to keep our
identities secret if people see or hear about a dragon they
grab their spears and torches then hunt us down until
were extinct
oh I felt my heart drop never seeing any one I knew or
loved ever again and if I did, they wouldnt know who I
was. I let another tear slip down my cheek after the last
one I wiped it away before he could see.
That was over two thousand years agoand Im still here.
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Chapter 3: Luke; first day back
But why wont you go out with her? shes perfectly
fine and she is easily won over Ben pleaded
Im not going out with your cousin because after
going out with your sister who beat the snot out of me
when I went to give her a kiss on the hand. Ive given
up on your family theres a mad gene somewhere in
there. Now stop asking,
ok ok fine Ill stop asking but say you will think about
it
fine... Ive thought about it and its still no. We
walked in to the canteen it was jam packed (the firstday back was always the worst) there was nowhere to
sit except with some unusual people who I didnt
recognise who sat with their heads together
oh god I groaned
what?,
theres nowhere to sit except with those weird new
kids,
well were going to have to sit somewhere so I guess
we better get it over with,
yeah suppose we trudged slowly over to the
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strangers table. Three of the strangers looked up with
intense glares except the one on the far left of thetable who looked up with a half surprised half amused
look. She was beautiful (as were they all) but her dark
eyes looked so deep it seemed like I could see straight
in to her soul, her hair which was a shade darker than
chocolate framed her well-proportioned face her full
lips, her high cheek bones and proud nose, just seeing
her face made my heart beat unevenly, I felt the heat
rush to my ears making them turn red.
And what do you want? she asked in the most
beautiful voice I had ever heard, it stunned me after a
few minutes when neither of us had spoken she
cleared her throat and looked expectantly at us
oh yeah um theres um nowhere else to sit so.....can
we um sit here I muttered
wed rather you didnt the slightly older looking boy
saidwell theres nowhere else to sit I said angrily
well actually there is he motioned with his chin
towards two seats which had just been vacated the
insanely beautiful girl shot him a furious glance. Ben
elbowed me in the ribs as a signal to go over to the
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empty seats
um yeah thanks" Ben mumbled and propelled metowards the table on which Chris and Jonty were
sitting they stared at us in disbelief.
So you tried to sit with the Crosses? Chris chuckled
yeah but we got told to get lost Ben said glumly.
From the corner of my eye I saw a small fight break
out between the beautiful girl and her two brothers
who were standing either side of her holding her
arms, she struggled against their grip then broke free
from the smaller of the two brothers and put her hand
in her black leather jacket and brought out a small
piece of paper, which she threw with a casual flick of
her wrist, it landed neatly in Bens lap. She shot her
sister a pleading glance, the sister only shook her
head. The girl let her head droop and stormed out of
the canteen her two brothers and sister not far
behind.Who, the hell, are they I asked,
the blond boy Dylan, the black haired girl Schreyer
theyre an item and have been for ages apparently,
the black haired boy Joseph and the brown haired girl
is Bethany. Ben was still staring at the piece of paper
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lying in his lap
oh for god sake,just open it! I said heatedly. I wasannoyed she had given Ben the paper and not me. He
tentatively opened the paper it said call me in
incredibly neat writing, above there was an eleven
digit number and below the initial B.
Oooh looks like you pulled mate Jonty teased. Ben
stared at the paper as if, if he blinked it would
disappear
do you think she would mind if I called her now? he
asked in a bemused tone
maybe if you waited until after school I
suggested he nodded then continued to stare at the
paper until the bell went.
I walked a daydreaming Ben to his English room then
trudged sullenly to mine. As a came to the door I
glanced at my watch, I realised that I was very, very
late for English and opened the door quietly hoping no
one would notice I was late. It didnt work the
moment I was in the room Miss Reeves barked
and why are you so late Mr Sears?
lost some books I lied unconvincingly, I looked
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around to go to my usual place but it was filled with
Marcus Wannts so the only seat left was the one nextto the unnaturally beautiful Bethany. I walked slowly
to my seat and sat with a quiet groan. She looked at
me like she heard me, but she couldnt it was way too
quiet for anyone to hear no matter how close they
were. When I turned to get my books out of my bag
she flashed me a breath-taking smile and whispered
hi Im Beth Im kinda new here so youre going to
have to explain a few things to me, I scowled at her, I
was still sore from the rejection Id received at lunch,
she frowned and when I looked away I swear I heard
her push her chair further away from me. All through
the lesson we didnt speak another word to each
other. Once the teacher told us we could go she was
up and out of the class room in two seconds. I stared
after her longingly.
I had to find out more about her, I just had to.
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Chapter 4: Bethany; my life
I sat with Jo, Schreyer and Dylan they were talking
about the various A levels they had taken and were
going to take I was staring absent-mindedly out the
window on the far end of the canteen, when two boys
one Ben (I was searching through his feelings) he was
pleasant enough but his feelings were still confusing
and rare but the other Luke whose feeling were very
strange each one was totally new to me and hit me
like a ton of rocks and even stranger they were totally
unique no two were anything alike. His auburn hair
was cropped short and his pale skin gave definition tohis noble features and strong jaw. To me he was
perfect in every way. My heart seemed to swell to
twice its size it felt very strange. I waited impatiently
to see if his voice was as perfect as his face, I cleared
my throat impatiently. I could feel my cheeks burning
(even though you couldnt see it) my brothers and
sister could, I could feel Joseph getting angrier and
angrier by the second. Then he spoke, to me it was
like the most beautiful sound on earth I was stunned
by it and when Dylan sent them away I was absolutely
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furious, my bronze haired prince in shining armour
had been sent away at the door to my tower by myannoying brother. He was going to pay.
Why the hell did you do that?! I said furiously
Beth I could see what was happening you were going
head over heels in love with him ,
and what if I had,
look Bethits not right, we go with our own not with
puny humans. I still dont understand whats so wrong
with Jo,
I love Jo.. ..,
there you go problem solved,
let me finish, I was going to say as a brother you
twit, oh ok, but still I wasnt about to let you go for
an idiot like him,
you dont know hes an idiot,
Beth, all boys this age are,
stop telling me how to live my life!,Im just trying to protect you,
dont you dare talk down to me!,
well I am older than you,
you are older in their years but in our terms I am
older than you. I am your senior all I we ask from each
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other is respect for our elders. Or have you forgotten
what I taught you all those years ago! I whisperedharshly,
I am sorry I have wronged you I forget the old ways
when we have to keep up this stupid facade all the
damn time,
I forgive you but I trust you will not do this again,
I will not. Much as I wanted to believe this I knew
that in a few weeks he would forget his tongue again
and speak out against me. Being the oldest was a
burden which I havent always to carry alone. Up until
two hundred years ago (which to us is a very short
amount of time to us) my best friend, my support, my
fiance died, well actually died is the wrong term he
was murdered in cold blood is better. Alec was found
about the same time as me and we hit it off straight
away 100 years later we started dating and an hour
before his death he had proposed to me. He was killedby a rival dragon that had poisoned both of us and
was out to find his next kill. I missed him so much it
actually hurt to think of him but I was worried I was
forgetting him. I didnt think Luke could replace Alec
but I thought he would fill at least part of the void that
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filled my chest where my heart used to be as if when
he died my heart died with him because when yougive your heart your whole heart when the one you
give it to goes your heart goes with it. But when I saw
Luke I could feel again. I could feel love, passion,
happiness and forgiving I had only had before he died.
I was not going to give up on my only hope of
happiness.
I got up to go and say hello to this amazing boy I had
only just met but was madly in love with when Joseph
grabbed my arm I shook it off he was much weaker
than me Dylan then grabbed my other arm I struggledand broke free from Joseph (who had grabbed me
again) and wrote a small note with my phone number
and threw it hoping against hope it would land in
Lukes lap. I shot Schreyer a pleading glance to help
me but she wasnt on my side this time and gave me a
quick shake of the head I let my head drop felling like I
had lost all my strength and walked out the canteen.
When I was far enough away from the spectators of
the canteen I broke into a run letting the raw power
from my muscles take me far away. Once I was far
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enough from civilisation I let my concentration go and
allowed the heat drain from my body. I sat in myfavourite spot in a clearing not far from my home I
watched the birds fly over my head startled by the
flecks of light reflected off my scales, I let my mind
wander back to the amazing boy from five minutes
ago. I sat in the peaceful glade and organised my
thoughts three facts became apparent: one the boy I
had just met was not the norm for this school, two I
had to find out more about him and three I was totally
head over heels in love with him. Damn.
Once I was totally calmed down I concentrated on thepart of my mind that controlled my form and
muttered the ancient incantation to change back. I
looked behind me away from the glade and saw the
scraps of clothes that lay strewn behind me
damn I swore under my breath I forgot to change
before I changed.
I ran silently and swiftly towards my house and
jumped through the open second story window with
ease. I grabbed the first clothes to hand and pulled
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them on roughly, maybe a little too roughly I put my
arm into the shirt and went straight through it,frustrated I grabbed a new shirt I didnt care whether
it went with the faded blue jeans I had just pulled on,
all that mattered was getting back to school as fast as
possible. When I was presentable I walked at a brisk
Pace and launched myself out the window, a quick
somersault in the air and I was running, running as fast
as I was physically possible, every cell in my body
seemed to know I was getting nearer to him. As I
neared the school I slowed to a human run and
walked straight to my first class, English. Having done
the coming English lesson about a thousand times I
knew it would be a very boring lesson I started un
packing my large black bag I waited for someone to be
made to sit next to me and pretending to be
interested in the pitiful small talk they made, listening
to the teacher was even worse than listening to theperson next to me (like listening to a record over and
over a thousand times). I started writing the finite and
infinite verbs (which was what the lesson was about).
The teacher (who was one of the worst I had ever
been taught by), started shouting at a late comer, I
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didnt bother to look up, but when someone sat next
to me with an infinitely quite groan. I looked up andthere he sat scowling at me! Luke.
Hi Im Beth Im kinda new here so youre going to
have to explain a few things to me I said friendlily, he
carried on scowling. Once he looked down to get his
books I moved my chair away as far as possible. I felt
like he had my heart pulled out of my chest (again)
and torn up like a rejected valentines card. I finished
the writing and once the teacher said we could go I
was gone as fast as was possible (for a human). Once
out of the room and on my own I burst into tears I ran
to the nearest empty class room, salt tears staining my
new shirt. I sat in the class room curled in a tight ball,
thats where Joseph found me.
There you are he said angrily, I looked up my
makeup had ran all down my face
awe Beth what's happened? Why are you crying?,hedidntlike me,
who?,
Luke,
how do you know?,
hes in my English class I spoke to him and he
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scowled at me damn it, a fresh torrent of tears shook
mecomeon Beth lets get you home he picked me up
and leaped lithely through the open window we were
two stories up so there was quite a long drop, once on
the floor he started running as fast as possible I had
never been so fast (he was quite a bit faster than me
but I was much stronger) half way back to the house I
passed out, well I guessed I passed out because....
I woke up in the sick room with a worried looking
Joseph and Schreyer talking very quickly and so quiet I
couldnt hear, I opened my eyes and sat up theylooked at me with anxious eyes jeez Beth you gave us
a serious scare there you know youre heart stopped
for a whole five minutes,
really why,
um well we wanted you to tell us that,
huh,
well according to Stephen it looks like you had a
dangerous amount of adrenaline in your blood, B
didnt you know that could have killed you? Why the
hell didnt you change? Were you committing suicide?
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Come on Bethany give us some answers!,
to your first question yes, second because I was tooupset and I could have hurt someone and to your third
no I was not committing suicide you numb skull! And
it would be a heck of a lot easier if I was killing myself
plus how many times do I have to tell you I cant die
very easily now leave me alone! I said still hurt, I
wanted some time to lick my wounds, Schreyer said
we are just trying to help!
May I ask how long I have been unconscious? I
snapped changing the subject,
um just over a week,
a WEEK!,
B calm down oh before I forget youve had three calls
from a Ben,
and what did you say to him?
,um that you couldnt come to the phone he said
like he was hoping that I wouldnt have an argumentwith him, was I that bad that they felt the need to be
careful at what they say or do? I swung my legs off the
bed and grabbed the mobile which had started ringing
hello? I said down the phone
Bethany! A boy said surprise colouring his voice
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Luke I said hopefully
no its...Ben,oh ok and what did you want?
Um well are you free tonight?
Yes why?
um I was erring wondering if um you um maybe err
wanted to go out for a meal or something
yeah Isuppose how the hell did Ben get my
number?
where did you have in mind I said in the most
appealing voice I could
um well like Nandos
oh fancy I said sarcastically
we could go somewhere else,
no Nandos is fine see you tonight,
um yeah,
bye,
yeah bye I hung uplooks like Ive got a date I said, I stood up but having
been lying down for a week I had head rush I swayed
and sat back down on the bed Bethany do you really
think youre in a fit state to go anywhere let alone on
a date ,
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no Im fine just a bit of head rush,
no Bethany Im not letting you go I know you thinkyour strong enough but what happens when you die
from adrenaline overdose again you would do that to
Sylvia, Dylan Schreyer, me and Stephen he didnt save
you so that you could throw it all away!,
I wont do that again and I certainly wont be told
what to do by a youngling like you I have lived three
times as long as you !,
stop telling us what to do I dont care if your older I
love you Beth so I personally want you to live,
fine its settled we will stop tell each other what to do
plus I dont care Im going so if you would kindly leave
I want to get changed,
Beth dont do this please I stood I knew I was strong
enough that I wouldnt fall again I grabbed him by the
wrist twisted it behind his back until he yelped then
lifted him as if he were a young child above my headand walked to the door then threw him, maybe a little
too hard, I accidentlythrew him over the banister Jo
had been swearing all the time I had him trapped and
when I threw him he shouted at the top of his lungs
damn you,
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whoops I said quietly, there was a loud crash down
stairsBethany Auklets Alexandria cross I am going to kill
you. You bloody idiot he bellowed. Knowing he
wasnt joking I grabbed some clothes and jumped
lithely out the window just as Joseph came in with a
furious look on his face. I went back to the clearing
and changed hiding my old clothes in the highest
branches of a very tall juniper tree. I pulled out my
phone and called bens number he answered on the
second ring
hi Ben I said cheerfully
hi Bethany he said confused
yeah so what time were we going to meet coz Im
ready now,
um yeah me too Ill meet you in five minutes,
ok bye I shut the phone and sprinted into the forest,
the wind in my hair the ground flying beneath my feetI loved running like this I felt free and incredibly happy
like all my cares got left behind, but when I stop they
always catch up with me so I never wanted to stop. I
arrived at the back of Nandos within three minutes
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and went inside to wait for Ben but he was already
there I went inside and sat down.
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Chapter 5: Ben; what the hell am I doing?
Am I stupid or just plain thick? This is what I asked
myself when I called the amazing Bethany to see if she
would go on a date with me I was sick twice with
anxiety. I went home after ten minutes in class, on my
way home I swear I saw a girl running through the
forest
oh crap I said to myself I was hallucinating I drove a
little quicker my old Meganne wheezing unhealthily as
I pushed it past 75. Once I was home I took my mobile
out and the piece of paper (which was quite worn
from where I had taken it out at least one hundredtimes) I dialled the number with shaky hands I pressed
a wrong numbers and had to start again, I pressed the
call button it rang four times then a male voice
answered
hello it sounded stressed and worried
um hi its Ben I was calling the number Bethany gave
me is this her phone,
yes this is her phone,
then why isnt she answering the phone this was
slightly worrying girls always answer their own phones
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and only dont when somethings really wrong, there
was a long pause, this was really, really worrying.Is something wrong I asked worriedly
um sorry Ive got to go,
no wait, wait! Whats happened to Bethany please
tell me! The line went dead
damn I redialled this time a girl picked up
Bethany!,
no its Schreyer whos this?
its Ben can you please tell me whats happened to
Bethany! I said franticly
shes. .........um well shes unconscious,
what? Why? Please explain!
sorry Ivegot to go and please dont call again!!
Please she hung up
for god darn sake whats with this family and hanging
up on people! I gave up on calling, I knew it would
do no good so I decided to call Luke he would knowwhat to do he hadnt had many girlfriends but he
always knew what to do, he usually got me out of
sticky fixes I called his number he answered quickly
what he sounded annoyed, not good
hi Luke its Ben I need some......,
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what do you need, youre not at the police station
again Im not bailing you out this time,no Im not in jail I want some advice ,
ok about what he said in a calmer voice,
well Bethany,
o.........kay youre going to have to give me more than
that,
I called her phone about ten minutes ago first her
brother picked up then her sister she said she was
unconscious then hung up what should I do?,
um well first call in about an hour then if she doesnt
pick up call tomorrow and if shes not in school then
go round her house after school.,
Thanks Luke you know your my best mate right ?,
get lost you old softie go call your girl,
okay bye. I hung up I looked at my watch Luke had
told me to call in an hour I swear it had been at least
twenty minutes but my watch showed only ten hadgone by. The minuets crawled by slowly, to pass the
time I did my maths homework which I soon gave up
on it was algebra and it wasnt due for a week so I
decided to leave it. I busied myself with odd jobs
around the house, and then settled down to watch TV.
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Once the hour was up I had no idea what I had
watched I dialled Bethany number again. This time noone answered I left a message asking her to call me
back. When my parents got home (about half an hour
later) I was asleep on my bed having had some beans
on toast and then seen it go backwards, I had a bucket
next to me encase of another accident.
The next day I went to school as early as allowed and
went to Bethanys form room the family was there but
only two, the older one and his girlfriend, she looked
at me with fierce eyes and growled
you oh dear I was not doing too well with her familyand I hadnt even gone on a date with her yet!
Wheres Bethany? I asked politely
at home ,
why?,
because she is,
a little more information please,
I dont have to give you any more information and
why do you want to know anyway ?its none of your
business,
um well your right its none of my business but Im
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worried about her, the boy stood up, he towered
over meI think its time you left he said in a deep but musical
voice he scared me so I backed slowly out of the class
room scowling at them all the time. The rest of the
day went along without event I made small talk to
people when they spoke to me but my mind was with
Bethany I went through all the worst case scenarios
and getting slowly more and more worried at the end
of the day I went to the office and got her address
giving a feeble excuse of giving her some homework
that she missed. I got in my car and started the engine
I looked out the rear view mirror the two Cross kid
that were in school, sat in a bright red Bentley
convertible staring with bemused looks at my car I
drove out of the car park as fast as possible. Once on
the road leading up to the Crosses house I glanced out
the mirror again I saw the convertible a meter awayfrom my bumper the girl sitting inside glowering
viciously at me, I drove a little faster my engine
wheezed loudly then spluttered and died. I scrunched
my eyes and lay my head back against the head rest.
The Bentley came up beside my car and rolled down
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the window the boy said
having problems with your car, hope this doesntmess up your plans to go visit my sister he said
spitefully
but....,
we will give a jump start ifyou promise not to have
any relations with our sister mate,
actually I would rather walk to your house to find
whats really happened to her mate,
well I would rather I didnt have to do this but he
stepped out of the car and grabbed my arm dragged
me out of the car I tried to hold on to the steering
wheel but his grip was like an iron girder pulling me
like nothing else could I let go of the wheel and he
threw me on the floor a few meters away like I was as
heavy as a bag of sugar he walked over, the next thing
that happened will haunt me forever, standing over
me he raised his fist and punched down I passed out, Icouldnt feel any pain though I knew it was coming I
didnt try to wake up I tried to elongate the numbness
that went with the unconsciousness I, embraced it. I
felt something cold touch my face it pulled me from
my numbness I opened my eyes a dark haired man
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was leaning over me
ah good hes awake he said with amazing joy forsomeone I had just met
um who are you? I asked incredibly confused
and where am I?,
Im Stephen Cross and youre in my living room he
said in a heavy Scottish accent,
your Bethanys dad!,
no Im her uncle,
huh I sat up my head throbbed uncomfortably I
held my hand to the source of the pain
oh my god my head,
um yes I must apologise for my son um he loves his
sister a great deal and does not want any harm to
come to her of course I know you mean no harm and
if you do well um you dont want to know what I
would do to you ,
I can assure you I only have good intentions withyour niece ,
yes well I still am not going to accept that she was so
forward with you ,
excuse me ,
well where we come from it is terrible manners for a
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girl of her age and stature to ask a man on a date!,
well technically she didnt ask me on a date as such,oh well thats the impression Dylan gave me I think
his exact words were she was a fraction before
bloody kissing him!,
well all she did was throw me a note with her
number and call me written on it ,
yes well Im still very disappointed in her she has
broken an important tradition in our family. Her
brothers and sister are put to shame,
why?,
well they were all taught how to behave by her,
really, I thought she was the youngest ,
she is but I adopted Joseph, Schreyer and Dylan in a
different country and where we came from there was
a certain way to behave, Bethany has had to mature
more than her seventeen years. She is very dear to
me,you said before her stature what did you mean by
that?
Bethany is a lady,
a what?,
she has been given knighthood by your king, I mean
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queen,
really for what,saving the queens life I think ,
really! Please tell me more,
its not my story to tell please ask Bethany I fear I
have already said too much.
Oh ok I said slightly down heartedly.
Can I see Bethany please I asked hopefully
well you can her but shesunconscious and doesnt
look great and I have to ask Joseph if she is still slightly
gory but I think it will be ok,
why is she gory,
well we had to take some blood samples and she
bled over herselfyou dont know how worrying that
was. Shes really lucky to be alive
I still want to see her
ok follow me he straightened up out of the crouch
he had been sitting in to speak to me and put a handout to help me up, I grasped it firmly he pulled me
from the ground as if I weighed no more than a small
child. His long dark hair fell delicately over his broad
shoulders his skin was a strange mixture of a white
person and Indian and was abnormally warm, his eyes
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were kind and looked almost yellow, he was tall but
not thin as most are (that height) his arms were wellmuscled and if he wanted to hurt someone it would
be very easy to do so. He walked towards a large
delicately decorated staircase and lead me up the
stairs to a large wooden door with elegantly carved
pictures of epic battles framed with ivory leaves, he
pushed the door open it lead to what looked like a
second living room with eight doors leading off it each
with a name or title inscribed on to it
wow you have an amazing house!,
its not much but its home he walked to the door
labelled sick room he went inside and beckoned me to
follow him. The family sitting in their looked very
worried and there looking small and very pale but still
as beautiful as ever, Bethany. She was unconscious
and she was still covered in gore the t shirt was
stained brownish red and her breathing was shallowand uneven I started to walk over to her bed, but a
firm hand held me in place What the hell where you
thinking Stephen someone whispered behind me
his intentions are good,
and he wants to ask her on a date and if we let him
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stay here well never get rid of him Stephen shot him
an angry glare.we will speak later he said calmly raising one
eyebrow, I looked behind me Dylan was holding me in
place his eyes were as wide as saucers his other hand
was in a tight fist at his side and his jaw was clenched
so hard the veins stuck out on his neck, Jo please take
our guest to the door and tell him where his car is" he
said in a strained voice, almost like he was in pain.
Stephen glared even more intensely at him. Joseph
shoved me out the room grabbed me by the crook of
the elbow and pulled me to the elaborately carved
door and pretty much threw me down the stairs, I fell
down he walked with eerie speed for a walk he looked
down at me like I was a piece of dog muck he had just
stepped in.
your car is in our drive third from the left three rows
down here are your keys he threw me my keys at mewith a light flick of the wrist but the keys hit me very
hard in the middle of my forehead and landed in my
lap..
What was that for? I said angrily then he was there
about two inches from my face,
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they all want you to leave my sister alone because
we all love her and we dont want to see her get hurtIm going to give you the benefit of the doubt so I
need to know the truth, what are your intentions with
her?,
I intend to give her anything she wants be it love,
friendship or just someone to lean on I want to give
her all she wants and needs because I love her as well
and...,
ok I get it you like her maybe not as much as us but
you still like her,
yeah,
now look shes very ill and I would suggest you dont
come round unless Beth invites you he scratched his
head and said and also just a tip dont call her until I
call you, Dylan and Schreyer are angry as it is
provoking them would result in a rather large fight
and them running away again,again?,
well if youre serious about Beth then I will tell you
some more about her and our family I stood up and
walked to the door
thank you Joseph you have done me a huge favour, I
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owe you,
dont worry about it I only want happiness for herand if your what makes her happy, then Im going to
help you make her happy...if that makes sense,
I think so,
please dont break her heart it has been broken only
once before and that nearly killed her so dont
disappoint me Ivegiven you a chance dont waste it
he pushed me lightly through the door and closed it.
In my face! A thought occurred to me he said he
would call me but he didnt have my number. I
searched through my pockets until I found a receipt I
wrote my number on the bottom and tore the bottom
with my number on it, folded it in half, wrote josephs
name on the front walked back up to the door and slid
the number underneath. I looked around the drive
searching for my car; it was like a parking lot! I spotted
it between a red Porsche and a yellow Ferrari, theymay not be the friendliest family but my god did they
have good taste in cars! I got in the cab turned the key
and drove slowly and carefully out of the drive so as
not to hit any of the cars, if I damaged any one of
them it would take me years to pay them back.
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The next three days were very boring my mum made
me stay at home because I was too ill to go to school,translation she wants to have a go at me for not
coming home last night (not exactly my fault that I
was unconscious), no matter how much I told her that
she said
you will have to come up with a better excuse than
that! Why do I have to have the most mistrusting
mother in the world; she even gave me a breathalyzer
test, called the local hospital to see if I checked in and
then the police! Then after the fifth degree she asked,
after three hours of questioning then calling, she
asked where I had been unconscious and when I told
her she laughed and said
you at Bethany Crosses house I doubt it your hiding
something I know it,
what did I ever do to make you not believe me, I
hardly ever lie, I tell you everything for god sake whatcan I tell you to make you believe me !,
the truth!,
I am! I knew I was getting nowhere and I was so
angry and infuriated with my mother I would just end
up lashing out at her so I went out of the room
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slamming the door as I went
Benny my mother wailed through the door. I ranstraight to my room and locked the door, thats where
I stayed and only came down for meals which
infuriated my father, I hate him hes just so damn
caught up in his pride and old ways he has never even
given me a hug not once in my whole life, his only son!
My sister, well she daddys little girl never done
anything wrong, going to university of art but when I
say I want to be an actor they laugh and tell me I have
to take over the family business, I dont want to be a
butcher I am a vegetarian I dont eat meatand I dont
want to cut up pieces of meat for a living. Much as I
dont want to admit this but I know Im going to have
to run, run away, anyhow, anywhere. My life if I dont
would be pretty unbearable if I couldnt escape I think
I would probably kill myself, not a happy thought but
Im not going to throw away my life with something Idont enjoy. I spend as little as time with my father I
can, I dont even call him dad I call him by his first
name, he may big on the old ways but hes most
definitely having an affair with my teacher! I love my
mum and she doesnt deserve what my dad is doing to
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her, she loves him more than he knows. I caught him
in bed with my teacher ten minutes before my mothergot home and he tells me to go downstairs and stall
for him and when I say no he shouts at me. No one
understands how much I hate my father not even my
best friend he thinks my dad is a decent man with
good morals and a man who deserves respect. I think
the exact opposite. Ive got at least one thousand five
hundred pounds saved in the bank and three hundred
in my piggy bank when the time comes Im out of
here, I want to go to Paris, I can speak fluent French
and I think its the most beautiful place in the world,
with the Eiffel tower and the arc de triumph, parks
everywhere, I know its probably not actually like that
but I need a dream to get me through the arguments,
my older sister tormenting me and the dark nights
until I can find freedom.
Two days later Joseph called and said Bethany was
about to wake up but not to call just yet. The last two
days had passed painfully slowly people had come to
see me but I had sent them away (my nausea had not
yet passed) and every time I saw someone or even
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food, I vomited violently. My mum was getting
worried and talking about taking me to the doctors(not good!) I cant stand doctors, mean people who
say this wont hurt a bit but we both know it is most
definitely going to hurt.
Imfine I repeated every time my mum insisted
even though I hadnt eaten anything in at least a week
well nothing that had stayed down anyway. When
Joseph called I went down to my dark dreary kitchen
and suddenly found I could eat, and that I was
absolutely ravenous. I rummaged through my fridge
grabbing everything that smelt half decent, I walked
away my arms full of food when my sister came round
the corner with her new boyfriend, wearing only his
light green shirt and when I say only I mean only.
My god are you trying to blind me you.....you well
there arentwords to describe you I said shielding
my eyes as if the sight was painful yeah just becauseyou dont have a girlfriend you sissy and I dont care
what mum says about calling you names coz shes not
here and neither is dad not that hed give a crap,
wheresmum I asked worryingly if she was gone
there was nothing to stop Diane from torturing me
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shes at the hairdressers she said with a gruesome
smileyou wouldnt hurt me while we have guests would
you?,
on the contrary my dearest brother hes here to
help,
ah do I get a head start? I pleaded with little success
she advanced menacingly towards me um oh dear I
whispered I walked slowly backwards edging towards
the backdoor theres no use running she said in a
terrifying voice that I recognised all too well I opened
the box of eggs I was holding and threw one straight
at her head she dodged it reflexively I threw another
before she could recover it hit her in the back of the
head,
you got egg in my hair she said angrily, I threw
another it hit her in the middle of her ugly face and
another, I ran to the door flung myself out andsprinted to the shed, thats where I sat until it started
to get cold, I crept quietly up to the wall of the house
directly beneath my window, the ivy crawled up in a
small part of the portcullis that was leant against the
wall I climbed slowly up the portcullises careful not to
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break the fence, when I reached the window I pulled
myself through, I heard someone on the stairs I threwmyself half way across the room on to my bed from
the window sill I pulled the covers over myself just as
my mother came in, she pulled the covers higher
under my chin and kissed me on the forehead. I fell
asleep fully clothed and still totally starved.