Page 53 of The Redemption of Alex Cade
A huge, dark shape, darker than its surroundings, was moving towards me, the panting getting louder. Why the fuck had I come this way? I always avoided it, even during the day. I turned to run, but I slipped on the greasy mud, my feet going from under me as I fell face first. Scrambling to get up but slipping again, I was about to become just another crime statistic as the loud, uneven panting loomed over me.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Here, let me help you.” A pair of powerful arms pulled me up. There was just enough light for me to make out the pudgy, bearded face of a middle aged man, a man I recognised from the estate, a huge man who walked an impossibly small and fluffy dog. Hysteria rose up in me, and I bit down on it hard. If he recognised me, he showed no sign.
“I think you might need to put your clothes in the washwhen you get home because you’re covered in mud. Let me give you a hand with your shopping, it’s fallen out your bag. Are you sure you’re all right? Did you bang your head?”
“I’m fine, really. Thank you. Sorry, just a bit spooked when I heard you behind me.” The words rushed out of me.
The man nodded as he handed me my shopping. “Don’t blame you. Sorry if I gave you a shock. This alleyway isn’t the safest, but with the rain… Anyway, if you’re sure you’re okay I’ve got to run, though it’s been years since I did that!” A second later, he was gone, his footsteps and laboured breathing fading into the dark.
Wiping the mix of rain and nervous sweat out of my eyes, I set off, wanting only to be home and with the door locked behind me.
At last, I could see the end of the alleyway and beyond that the first streetlights on the estate. A hot shower, then a cup of tea, before staying up for as long as it took until I heard from Alex. With my head down as I battled against the driving rain, I gave the big SUV with the tinted windows parked at the estate entrance to the alleyway barely a glance.
My house was at the other end of the small estate, so only another couple or so minutes to go. There was nobody around, all sane and sensible people tucked up in their homes with the curtains drawn against the weather.
Behind me, I heard the low rumble of an engine.
I looked over my shoulder, slowing my pace a little as I did so. The SUV was crawling along behind me, a few metres back. The driver no doubt was looking for a particular house. The vehicle came to a stop, the engine running. Whoever it was had found where they were going. I pushed on, and the low purr of the idling engine burst into life again, but I had no time to think about it as the rain sodden brown paper eco-bag, full of the purchases that no longer felt essential, all butfell apart. For the third time, my shopping tumbled to the ground.
The SUV had stopped. The engine idled and the lights, which had been dipped, suddenly blinded me as they were thrown onto full beam.
What the fuck was the driver doing? I scrambled to pick up what I could of my shopping, not caring if I missed anything.Don’t run, don’t look back, don’t look like you’re scared…but I was scared as the SUV dipped its lights and began to crawl along the deserted road behind me.
My heart was pumping hard. Nervous sweat mixed with the rain that was drenching me. I got to the corner of the road. My home was just a couple of houses away. That’s what I needed to focus on. But I stopped and looked over my shoulder. The SUV glided to a halt and the lights switched off.
This time I couldn’t contain the hysteria and I began to laugh. Somebody looking for a house number. They’d found it. The driver would turn the engine off, get out of the car, and disappear inside.
The SUV started up again, and crept towards me.
I dropped the few things I was holding, and ran.
My breath came in short, panicked gasps, burning my lungs, my throat. Behind me, the SUV’s headlights switched to full beam and cut through the sheets of rain like a knife.
Don’t look back. Don’t look back.
But I couldn’t help it. My head snapped around, my body jerking mid-step as I glanced over my shoulder. The SUV was crawling behind me like some huge, monstrous insect through the rain-drenched night.
I turned the corner, my house finally in sight. Almost there. Almost home. Almost safe. Just a few more steps. My shoes skidded on the wet pavement as I stumbled forward, clutching at the stitch forming in my side.
Then I stopped.
Something was wrong.
The outside porch light wasn’t on. It was always on, a warm, steady glow to welcome me home. Where there should have been soft light, there was only darkness, making my skin crawl.
And then I saw it.
At first, it was nothing more than a dark shape on my front step. A lump, barely visible in the rain and shadows. But as I inched closer, dread coiled tight and heavy in my chest, squeezing the air from my lungs.
Something lay by my door, dark and shapeless. I squinted, heart still pounding, the rain streaming down my face, blurring my vision. Lightning flashed, sudden and bright, illuminating the scene in stark, brutal clarity.
A limp body, small and sodden, its ginger fur matted and soaked, stained dark red in ugly, jagged streaks. The tiny form mangled, limbs twisted horribly, torn and?—
Oh, Jesus Christ.
Buster.
Sweet, friendly Buster, who’d rubbed against my legs, who’d curled by the fire, purring in contentment. Buster, who’d snuggled against Alex’s chest, making him smile.
