‘Did you say summat?’
I was sitting in the café of a local supermarket when the voice rang out.
I looked over. Manisha Patel was doing her usual. She glared at Amy who was walking past their table. Both were almost sixteen; in my year at school. One used to be a friend, the other was definitely not.
I watched Amy lower her head and walk on towards the exit. She slouched, like she was carrying rocks on her shoulders. My heart hurt for her.
Manisha hadn’t finished, though. ‘I’m talking to you, lard ass!’ she yelled.
I saw Amy shrink further down into her coat and felt a wave of anger. Next to me, I could tell that my best friend, Tilly, was like a tightly coiled spring.
‘Stop it, you nasty cow!’ she snapped. And before I knew it, Tilly had shot out of her seat and stormed across the café to Manisha and her friends.
‘Oh, look.’ A perfectly manicured finger pointed towards Tilly. ‘Hey, Amy. Here comes your super-hero.’
Manisha was one of the rich girls. You know the type, always immaculately dressed – a different outfit for every day, complete with expensive bags, shoes and accessories. She was spoiled and self-obsessed. On the outside, she seemed to have everything – apart from intelligence, manners and a heart, that is. Her threatening eyes were narrow and set into a thin, bony face with a square chin. Her friends were almost as bad – like mini-me versions of Manisha. They sat now and watched Tilly with the same twisted, mean expressions their leader wore.
‘You leave Amy alone!’ my best friend screamed.
Amy looked at Tilly for a moment, before lowering her gaze again, embarrassed. I was so frustrated. Why didn’t she ever stand up for herself ?
It was January and dead cold so the warm café was packed. And we were making a scene. The adults around us mostly glared and shook their heads and I felt a surge of embarrassment. As Tilly and Manisha stared each other out an old lady got up to complain.
Manisha didn’t look bothered. She grinned. ‘What you gonna do, Tilly?’
Tilly had a thing about bullies – and I knew she wanted to protect Amy. It was just her nature, sticking up for the underdog. Her porcelain cheeks started to colour. Her icy-blue eyes were like melted Arctic water, and they drilled into Manisha’s face. I could see she was about to go crazy. Tilly was tall and skinny, with long legs and a tiny waist, but if it came to a scuffle, she could more than match Manisha, I knew. All the sport she did had made her strong.
‘You lot have gone too far,’ Tilly warned. ‘It’s time everyone left Amy alone. I’m telling you first.’ She jabbed a finger right into Manisha’s arm. The silver Sisters Forever charm that I’d bought her for her tenth birthday clinked against her Pandora bracelet. My matching charm hung from my left wrist.
‘If she lost some weight,’ began one of Manisha’s gang, ‘maybe she’d—’
The girl who’d spoken, Ria Smith, didn’t get to finish. I watched in disbelief as Tilly grabbed her plate full of chips and beans, and dumped it on her head. It was something I might imagine doing but never would. I’d be too scared of the consequences. Tilly didn’t care, though.
It happened in a flash. Every pupil in the café started to laugh or cheer – not necessarily because they disliked Manisha and her mates. They were just enjoying the drama.
I saw the security guard approaching fast, and pulled Tilly away. ‘Come on!’ I said. ‘We’d better go.’
Ria, Manisha and the rest started yelling and complaining. I thought of baby vultures, fighting with each other.
As we made our way to the door, I looked for Amy, to see if she was OK. But she’d already gone . . .
There are so many targets for a predator as skilled as the Spider. The virtual world is filled with easy prey.
He finds the things that make them scream inside – the horrors that they fear most. The insecurities that they hide from the rest of the world. The overweight, the depressed, the pathetic and the mentally unstable . . . He exposes those secrets for all to see. He takes victims who are almost broken and pushes them over the edge. A degree of skill is required for this. An ability to pull apart the defences people erect to protect their inner selves.
Girl #1 is a classic example. Too stupid to care about, too ugly to miss. She knows what she is; knows that her life will always be plain and humdrum. He has watched her fall apart – from the jibes on Facebook, to her search for like-minded people. Those looking for a way out.
Most of his past victims have been random strangers – picked out in chat rooms and social-media sites around the globe. Technology has made the world so much easier to get around. The Spider has woven his threads in the USA, in Europe and in Asia, careful to maintain a geographical distance. Yet he has never received credit for his work – and he has not asked for it. He has been content to linger in the shadows – anonymous, silent, patient . . .
But things have changed. The thrill needs to be reawakened. This time it will be different. This time will be like the first. He is crawling out of the darkness again. Moving out from the virtual and back into the real world. It will be a bigger test of his skills.