The Birth of Vengeance (Vampire Formula #1) (5 page)

Her flame red hair cascaded and revealed her vulnerable neck, while her light green eyes kept their gaze into mine.

It’s actually happening, I said to myself over and over. I was no expert in signals from girls but even I had seen enough films to know what to do next. I shuffled along the sofa, removing the final space between us, and put my arm around her. We looked into each other’s eyes for a few moments, her pupils dilated into dark pools and she flicked her tongue briefly across her top red lip. We began leaning into each other’s embrace and edged forwards with our heads titling around each other. Our lips finally connected. We started kissing. I put my arms around her waist and pulled her in closer. She moved with the flow wrapping her arms around me and kissing me back passionately. I shook in ecstasy. My heart felt as if it would break open my bones, as it hammered on the walls of my rib cage. All of my daydreams had come true. I couldn’t believe it was really happening.

When we finally stopped kissing, we just looked into one another’s eyes for a while. Not sure what to do next. I decided I should come clean on my past life just as she had done. I wanted to be a new person and I had to face the truth of what happened in Leeds. I need someone to share it with. I started telling her about Giles and the gangs. The bullying and the fear we lived in, and the eventual move to London. She knew some of the story, as she had read about it in the papers and heard it through friends at my old school. She had heard of the O’Keefe gang and knew of a feud between them and a gang on her estate. She understood as she had been bullied herself.

The rest of the day went well. Scarlett texted Mary to tell her the news and we just enjoyed each other’s company without the tension. Just like a normal couple, doing normal things together. We watched the next Star Wars film and snuggled up on the sofa together just as I had dreamed. We kissed more, shared our feelings about how we felt and how it all started, and laughed about our terrible attempts of coming out with the truth. The next morning, I woke up and remembered it was all real, not my subconscious trying to destroy me but life finally rewarding me. I had never been happier and bounced out of bed racing to get dressed, and to get back over to Scarlett’s house for my first full day as her boyfriend.

I’d been dating Scarlett for a couple of weeks in secret, only Mary knew. We decided not to hide it anymore while at college. As Scarlett and I walked across to the front gates,
 
the wind picked up the leaves and continually shuffled them into different piles across the courtyard. Mary walked behind us listening to her iPod, giving us a little space, happy she didn’t have to play piggy in the middle anymore.

Through the gates, a gang hung about waiting for friends and getting up to no good. Scarlett and Mary had warned me about this gang on the first day I arrived; they were called the “Rude Crew.” I never had any issues with them, and I had kept well out of their way taking the long routes around to keep out of their sight. That day, Mary and Scarlett wanted to go shopping nearby and this was the direct route. Probably because of my newly found confidence, I strode through the front gates hand-in-hand with Scarlett.

The gang contained six ex-students who hung around harassing the kids from the school, while selling drugs, drinks and stolen goods. Barry McGown controlled the gang and sat on his mountain bike in middle of the action, and the others vied for his attention. By the look of his hardened craggy face his twenty years of life had been full of fighting. His black puffer jacket covered his large body frame which contrasted to his blond shaven head and high heavy forehead, with the ever-present gang hoodie hung out the back of his coat. Barry looked like a thug. In comparison, Tony, the youngest member of the gang, clothes hung off his lean tall frame. The others in the gang ranged in ages between Tony and Barry. They all wore black or blue jeans, jackets, trainers or boots and hoodies, either over their heads or hanging down. The others in the gang were John, George, Mike and Andy. Mike, on his skateboard and Andy on his bike, shouted and crashed into people as they hopelessly tried to perform tricks. Andy’s face carried a few cuts and bruises, and had the sides of his hair shaven and a strip down the middle in short blond spikes. Mike had perfectly styled hair and a clean shaven face. He obviously spent a look of time grooming his looks. To the side, John and George huddled together with a student making a drug transaction. John, the second in command, was thick set and muscular with light brown hair in a long ponytail. George was small and wiry, head and eyes flitting about like a meerkat. Hands quickly passed money, then small wraps of paper back and then quickly into pockets as they looked around furtively for teachers or police. In the centre of it all, Barry sat smugly on his bike sneering lustfully at the girls walking past, and kept an eye on the general goings on.

The noise of the gang drown out the noises of the other students, and as we walked past, I couldn’t help but look over. At that moment, Barry caught my eye and nudged Tony. They began to whisper and then looked over at me again. I pulled my head round quickly and continued to walk off. I didn’t want to get involved. I had enough of gangs in Leeds. I just wanted a quiet life. I didn’t care that they sold drugs or stole stuff from other students, not my concern. I’d learnt my lessons in Leeds.

I walked on picking up the pace, pulling Scarlett and Mary with me. If I walked away and didn’t look back, it would show I wasn’t interested; it would show them I wasn’t worth the bother. I reached the corner and turned around to look back. Tony and John were stalking me.
Too late.

I kept striding on when Scarlett hauled me back.

“Why you in such a rush?” she asked, as she ground to a halt, and pulled me back by my arm.

“I think I have attracted the attention of that gang. Some of them are following me,” I replied, and glanced back at them again. My new confidence started melting away and in turn the same anxieties I felt when at school in Leeds crept back.

She peered around, and glimpsed them catching up with us, turned back around and grabbed my arm.

“Just keep walking,” she said to us calmly, as she pressed forwards.

We moved quickly through the rest of the kids walking home but they still followed. We tried to escape by running down a deserted alley. Our legs cut through the cold autumn air whipping up the leaves and rubbish, which stuck to our feet as we ran. They saw us and started to run; their feet slapped the ground behind us. I let the girls run ahead as I knew we weren’t far from a shopping area and relative safety in public view. As they ran, Scarlett’s bag slipped off her shoulder and wrapped around my legs. My feet tangled up in the shoulder strap, and I stumbled and tripped. I flew forwards stretching my hands out before me and shielding the blow from my face. My hands took the blow and burnt against the rough pavement, and I rolled forward onto my back trying to take the momentum out of the fall. I shook my legs loose of the strap but Tony and John had already made up the ground and now stood either side of me.

“In a rush are we?” Tony asked.

“It’s not nice running off; we just wanted to meet you,” John added.

I stood up, picked up Scarlett’s bag and went to walk past them but Tony blocked my path with his arm.

“Hey, where are you going with your pretty little bag,” he asked, and looked at the pink bag I had swung over my shoulder.

“With my friends,” I replied and looked straight past him to the end of the alley, knowing I wasn’t far away from safety.

“You’re not from round here are you? You’re new. Where are you from?”

“Leeds,” I responded.

I tried to play it cool, just give them easy answers and maybe I could get away with a warning. Maybe I could be walking away from here in a few seconds with just my ears ringing with abuse and threats. I would be happy with that, not a pleasant way to finish the day but better than others.

“Hey John, we’ve got a northerner here. What are you doing here? I don’t remember you asking us,” Tony said.

“What?”

“Listen to him, what do you sound like,” he laughed, and John sighed with disapproval.

“Just leave me alone,” I said, and I tried to walk off past Tony again, hoping it would prove my lack of interest.

“No. I won’t leave you alone. What are you doing with that girl?”

He grabbed hold of my coat collars and pushed me back into John, who placed his hands on my shoulders and held me firm.

“She’s my girlfriend,” I responded, not expecting this question.

“No way,” he laughed, “you don’t get to go out with one of our girls.”

“She’s not from round here either. She’s from Leeds like me,” I responded angrily.

Tony punched me in the stomach.

“Not anymore she isn’t; she is one of ours.”

I doubled up in pain and put a hand to the floor to regain my balance. I should have let that be it but my anger grew rapidly as I didn’t want to give her up. I wanted to be a proper man not scared anymore. Being with Scarlett was the best thing that had ever happened to me, and I wasn’t going to let it be ruined by anyone. I won’t be bullied again. I stood up quickly and pushed my hands up through Tony’s arms forcing him to release me; then I stamped backwards onto John’s foot. He shouted and let go of my shoulders. I slipped the bag off my shoulder and swung it into Tony’s stomach knocking the breath out of him, and I ran off.

They chased after me but I could tell I had gained enough ground. They would never catch me now before the safety just beyond the alleyway, past a few houses, and around the corner into the shopping area. I turned the corner at the end, and I slammed straight into someone on a bike. I tumbled over and so did he, and the bike crashed around over both our heads. I quickly scrabbled onwards with my hands and feet getting myself back up right, and went running off not caring about who I hit. But a hand grabbed and threw me back across the pedals of the bike, ripping through my jacket and cutting into my back, as I rolled off onto the pavement. I looked up and saw the gang leader, Barry McGown. His face grazed and scowling red, and his fists clenched. Tony and John quickly gained ground down the alley.

“Where you going boy?” Barry said.

I put myself back on my feet and went to run off again, when something heavy pounded onto my back and I collapsed to the pavement with my face flat against the concrete.

“What’s going on?” Barry asked Tony, as John got to his feet from knocking me to the floor.

“The new kid took us by surprise,” he said while catching his breath.

Barry looked down and frowned.

“Going to have to teach you a lesson new boy.”

Barry kicked my stomach, and I wrapped my arms around it and shouted in pain. The others followed suit and I couldn’t defend myself from the barrage of flying feet. The kicks rained in and I tried moving away but they wouldn’t let me go and started spitting in my face.

“Loser,” Tony shouted.

Barry backed off getting his phone out and started recording.

“Another hit for YouTube boys,” he laughed aloud, and they laughed with him as they started posing for the camera and kicking me at the same time.

“We are going to make you famous new boy,” Tony shouted.

The kicking seemed to last forever and I hoped that someone would stop them, a teacher, police, other students or Scarlett and Mary. No one came, the houses nearby must have had people in but they did nothing either.

Finally, they stopped and Barry leant in with his phone to get a close up of my battered face.

“Welcome to London new boy,” he said. “Now give me your money and phone.”

Tony then pushed me onto my back and routed through my pockets, finding my mobile and wallet.

“You go to the police loser and I will be waiting for you every day, and your girlfriend,” Barry said as he stopped filming, and then finished off his sentence by punching me on the nose. My head rocked back and slammed into the pavement behind. My nose burst open and the blood ran down my face mixing in with the streaming tears of pain, humiliation and spit. Through the haze of blood and tears, I saw them heading off back down the alley, as they split up my money. They laughed as they sauntered back down the alley way, passing the money between them and replaying the video of my attack.

 
Once out of sight, Scarlett and Mary reappeared. Scarlett ran over and cradled my head in her lap while trying to pad away the blood from my face, with the sleeve of her shirt. Tears were rolling down her face and dripping onto mine. Her beautiful red hair billowing in the wind and wrapping around her tear-stained face. Mary assumed the role of nurse, asked me where it hurt and checked to see if any bones were broken. People from the houses appeared as well but Scarlett screamed, “Oh now you come out. Just get lost; we can manage on our own.”

Scarlett held me as tight as possible and accidentally put pressure on my bruises, as she whispered in my ear.

“It will be okay; I will look after you,” she said as we both kept crying.

I wanted to scream in pain but the words meant so much to me. I just let it be and held her close not wanting to let go.

They helped me to my feet, put their arms around me and walked me back to Scarlett’s house. I sat on the beige fabric sofa in Scarlett’s front room and clutched an ice bag to my bruised face. Mary cleaned up my wounds and gave me some painkillers. Scarlett did her best to make me feel better by holding my hand and kissing me gently on the cheeks every couple of minutes. It felt nice but didn’t work. I shook all over from the pain and adrenaline. I wanted Barry and his gang to suffer. I wanted to hear their bones break, so I could laugh at them. I wanted revenge. I wanted them dead.

I stayed at Scarlett’s house as long as possible, not wanting to go home to an empty house. Not wanting to burden my Dad with the latest instalment of my troubled life. Scarlett put a film on and sat at the end of the sofa. I slumped down, cuddled into her and rested my head on her chest with her arm wrapped around my shoulder. Mary decided she would leave us to it and headed home before it got too late. A few minutes later, the front door opened and I guessed it was Jill, Scarlett’s mum, coming home from work. We had met a couple of days after I started dating Scarlett, and she seemed nice, friendly and welcoming whenever I came around. I would stop over for tea and watch TV with them when Dad worked late. She walked in dressed in her smart office clothes to say hello and immediately noticed the bruises on my face.

“What happened?” she asked.

“A gang attacked him just outside school,” Scarlett added without giving me a chance to lie.

“Why?”

“We don’t know. I think because he is new. They took his money and phone.”

“Have you called the police yet?”

“Not calling the police, I don’t want any more trouble,” I answered, barley taking my eyes off the TV.

“You can’t let them get away with it; do you know who did it?” she asked.

“Yes I do but they will come back after me if I grass on them. I don’t want to get either of us into more trouble,” I answered.

“You should tell the police. This is how these gangs get away with it. It needs people to stand up to them,” she said.

After the events in Leeds, I didn’t want to go back down that route again. I just wanted to forget about it and hoped it would be a one off event. I still had to face the O’Keefes in the courtroom without going through the same distress again in my new home. I doubted I would get another offer of protection, and I had to make the best of my new life in London. Jill looked at the bruises some more and continued to advise me to go to the police, but I could still hear Barry’s warnings in my ears of what would happen if I grassed on them. I knew from previous experience what could happen if I did. Memories of events in Leeds flashed back in my mind and I remembered the hell Giles and his family went through, and the constant fear I suffered as well. I didn’t want to reach the point I slit my wrists in a warm bath, as Giles did.