Chapter Nineteen

The Silenti ebbs by, taking with it Stu’s thoughts as he stares at the water, fruitlessly trying to make out anything beneath the surface. A spindly twig speeds by, slaloming between two currents. A bobbing shoe then speeds by, reminding him of his own recent deposit.

Stu is sat on the same bench he and Jenny once shared. He is hunched forward, hands clasped as little flickers of electricity spark and pop between his palms. Sighing, he gets up and, taking one last look at the waters, moves away to walk deeper into the park. He passes a wool mill abandoned a century ago after a devastating fire, a prospect for many a property retailer in recent times but still cordoned off from the public. Past the red brick shell is an alley of trees that comes out onto a long, bright green field populated by numerous people enjoying the warm weather.

“Stu!” Jenny suddenly yells, sprinting up to him. Surprised, he turns round as she slams into him, hugging him tighter than an angry wrestler.

“Hey.” He replies, amazed by her reaction since their last meeting. “Everything alright?” he asks, then noticing her sun drenched arms, fully exposed and devoid of any scars. He grabs her wrist, forcing her to wince in pain.

“OW!” she curses, wriggling free. He realises his mistake, and steps away.

“Sorry - I... I’m surprised. You surprised me.”

“Nice grip there, spiller.” she says, stroking where he had hold. She’s in a floaty top and knee-length summery skirt, much less clothing than he is used to on her.

“What happened?” he asks, looking down at her bare arms.

“With what?” she asks, shaking her loose hair behind her head before collecting it and pulling it through a hair band. “With what?” Stu just looks back at her, dumbstruck.

“Um, nothing. Don’t worry.”

“Good.” She smiles, finishing her pony tail. “How have you been? We’ve not spoken for ages, it seems!” Stu is also perturbed by her unexpected perkiness. Remaining cautious, he decides to play along.

“I’m alright. Getting through it, I suppose.”

“How’s work?” Her glowing blue eyes remind him of how enamoured he was with her the first time they met; it’s then that he remembers why he fell for her so quickly.

“Its okay - could be busier to take my mind off things.” he answers, still entranced by her. It’s enough of a pull to make him ignore the mild twitch creeping across his chest. She smiles slightly, equally drawn to him.

“I wanted to introduce you to my boyfriend.” she diverts, disengaging her gaze. He looks up to see someone walking up to them. Stu feels like he knows the man, like they’ve met before, but he doesn’t recognise his face. His chest tightens like a turning screw, and he cringes as he notices it for the first time. Bringing a hand up, he can already feel intense heat leaking from his scar. “This is Thomas.” she smiles, not even realising the agony bleeding through Stu.

“Quod infernum...” Stu pants. As Jenny’s boyfriend reaches her, Stu drops to one knee. Jenny’s gaze follows him, but she fails to react. Stu struggles to look up, steaming blood now leaking from his forehead.

“Praesant,” Thomas offers his hand. “Potius dici Solani.” He smiles. Stu tries to turn his head away, struggling to rise to his feet. The overwhelming heat that burns across his chest weighs him down like molten lead. His eyes dart up, and he can see Solani cruelly smirking at him. Then, as if quickly bored of the scenario, Solani merely turns and saunters away, as if Stu were truly beneath him. Stu gasps as the heat rescinds and the pressure on him subsides. He watches the man step away, confused by what happened. As he returns to a vertical stance, Jenny is still stood there, smiling at him.

“Nice isn’t he?” she giggles. “I knew you two would get on.”

“What the fuck, Jen?” Stu wheezes.

“Bye!” she waves, skipping away.

“No way...” he mutters, finding the blood on his forehead to be congealed already and glued to his skin. Racking his brain, he suddenly feels the overwhelming pain burn into his chest once again. Looking up, he is too late to see a hurtling fist plough into his stomach, so powerful that he floats back, through the air, landing in a heap several feet away. Winded, he turns over to see a shoe this time, sailing towards him so fast that it slams across his cheek, spinning him away. A hand grabs his arm and, pressing the shoe against his chest, yanks so hard that it completely dislocates, flailing loosely as it slaps the ground. Looking at his injury in shock, Stu glances up to see Solani stood triumphantly over him. Jenny is at his side, her face glowering with contempt. Solani bends down and smacks Stu hard in the eye, not once, but thrice, then punches him hard in the nose. Standing back up he then stamps fiercely across Stu’s throat, amused by his inability to cough up the hot blood swilling in his smashed larynx.

“What the hell are you doing?” a random man shouts, sprinting over. Solani looks up, and casually departs. Stu lies there, shattered, unable to gather his bearings. His body has taken a sustained beating, and although he has not leaked any blood, the bruises won’t be far behind.

As the pressure across his chest relents, a man in a suit bends down to help, trying to prevent him from getting up, even though he has so little energy left. The stranger plants a hand on Stu’s chest, immediately recoiling as the superheated scar scorches him. Stu stumbles to his feet, woozy, but determined to get out of there. He pushes the man to one side and walks in the opposite direction to his attacker. His Samaritan watches him go, cradling his tender fingers.

Solani watches from fifty or so metres away, arms folded with a triumphant grin across his face. Jenny is cuddled up to him, resting her head against his shoulder. She seems oblivious to what he did, and is daydreaming to herself.

“What do you want to do?” she asks coyly.

“I’ve worked up an appetite.” he says, watching Stu stumble off into the distance. “Let’s get back to mine for something delicious.” he snarls, kissing her so hard her whole body loosens in his grip.

Stu struggles with his phone, stopping by a lamppost to momentarily recuperate. He opts not to look behind him, handily knowing when his attacker is likely to sneak up on him. He agonisingly pulls the phone from his pocket, fumbling with it but managing to get it active. He firmly holds down number 2 until Mike’s name pops up. He flicks the hash key to switch to speakerphone.

Sera answers. “Hello?”

“It’s Stu.” he whimpers, voice hoarse and raspy. “Tell Mike I need him. I’m outside Domino Dave’s on Gallows.” Stu immediately ends the call and collapses to his knees, feeling his crushed windpipe burn after struggling to deliver.

“Who was that?” Mike asks, returning to the lounge.

“Stu.” she replies, looking confused.

“What’s up?”

“I’m not sure - Stu said he needs you, then hung up.” she replies. Mike grabs his keys and heads immediately for the door. “Where?” he calls.

“Domino Dave’s!” she shouts back.

“Which one?” he stops.

“Um, Gallows!”

“I won’t be long - get as many ice cubes as you can into the bath - as fast as you can!” With that he slams the front door, leaving Sera fully aware of what’s to come.

***

Stu finds himself amidst the uninviting landscape of his own Hell, his empty eye sockets scanning his surroundings. The figments of broken men are alerted to him, trudging slowly forth in a bid to leech from his essence. He walks forth, his lumbering steps a little quicker than the flaming whispers leaning closer. He finds his usual trail fractured, instantly struggling to know which way to head across the dusted clumps of dull foliage that disintegrate upon his touch. Looking back up, the lost souls are nearly upon him.

“STU!” Mike yells. He jumps with a start, blinded by the overhead glare that Mike’s head quickly blots. His chest is tight, a different level of pain to that inflicted by Solani. “Come on, time to get you repaired.” He adds, helping the broken carcass up. As he holds onto Stu via his stomach, his hand slips and burns as soon as he touches the lit scar. “Shitting bastard!” Mike curses, loosening his grip on Stu and letting his weary corpse collapse back to the ground. His loose arm flaps around like an unwanted appendage.

Stu is engulfed in the sorrowful plain once more, and he looks behind him. There is nothing but the same dull landscape, a mirror image of what lay before him. Looking down, the trail is there, but as he moves a foot, it shatters once more. He looks up to see the shadows quicken their pace toward him.

“Sorry!” Mike grunts as he lifts Stu back up. He groggily shakes his head as reality bleeds into and devours the dark landscape, then wincing as the pain in his chest aches like he’d been smashed with a sledgehammer.

“Fucking bright, isn’t it?” he cringes, limping away with his good friend.

“Yea, and you’re fucking heavy.” Mike retorts, struggling to help him to the nearest exit and to his waiting car, right outside Domino Dave’s Pizza Palace.

The next few moments are a blur, his vision melted by a combination of the dank landscape and a bright afternoon sun penetrating the grey sky. He can’t quite understand Mike, but is welcomed by the softness of the back seat of his car. He lay there, quickly slipping out of consciousness.

Stu wakes in the barren landscape for a third time. The husks are alerted again, but are too slow as his laboured steps follow his blackened trail as quickly as his heavy legs will take him. They drift nearer, unable to pounce like before with his trail intact. Stomping through grass and flowers that fall to pieces as his boots scythe through them, the terrain drops a little and, through the haze, he comes across a familiar gateway. Oddly, the skeletal guard is absent. Suddenly, Stu jolts forward as his glowing scar spits steaming bile.

The car jolting over a pothole warps him back to reality. Panting as he sits up, he grimaces at the toll his shell has taken. Gingerly sitting up, Mike notices him flop back down through the rear view mirror.

“We’re nearly there, mate, just another minute or so. Sera should have set the bath up ready.” Stu struggles to nod and express his gratitude, eager to get his flesh dunked in cold water and back to normality. He wonders if Mike is actually driving - everything seems so unnatural. Then he blacks out again.

Above the twisted metal, before the bright blue sky overhead, there is the wail of sirens and hurried voices. The shell trapping him vibrates, and the voices come closer. His tongue lolls around where his jaw used to be, licking at the cold metal he finds.

“Aw fuck.” a voice says.

“What?” another, deeper voice says.

“...mess in there.” says the first voice. “You seen that blonde? Fucked. No-one ... this.” He tries to move again, but can’t. A gloved hand appears above, blotting out the sun. He tries to plead for help. A masked head moves into view, but all he can see in the mirrored visor is the twisted and broken steel all around him.

“...eyes moved!” comes the first voice from behind the mask. The hidden face pauses, examining it would seem. “No, no. This one is gone.” The helmet departs, and within the bright blue sea a cawing crow circles, anticipating, smelling dinner. The ruffled black feathers expand, the bird swooping down and darkening his vision. Is this an angel? An angel of shadows? The blackness consumes the blue, and he is gone.

“How is he doing?” Sera whispers. Mike lightly pushes the bathroom door open, checking one last time on Stu. His eyes are still closed, body cramped in the white bath.

“He’ll be fine, he just needs to rest as the bruises, swelling and fuck knows what else get sorted.” Sera opens her arms and Mike hugs her tightly, kissing her on the neck.

“Good.” She answers.

“Thanks for helping.” Mike adds, gripping her tighter. “I’m surprised this is the first time you’ve had to help with one of these.”

“It’s the second time, actually.” she reminds him. “Remember that incident a couple of years ago, when our freezer had broken just when he needed help? He had his body in the bath and arms in the sink, trying to get as much cold water as he could. I thought I was going to have to wee in the kitchen sink, given how long he was in there.” Sera tells him. Mike acknowledges the memory, chuckling at Stu’s then disgruntlement at the sheer awkwardness.

“Ah, I’m not sure he had much fun that time.” Mike half-smiles with discontent, releasing her and peering through the gap between the door and frame. Stu now has his eyes open, staring coldly into space. “Let’s leave him be.” He leads Sera by the hand toward the lounge.

Stu hears them leave, the creaky floorboard in the middle of the corridor enough evidence for him. Reaching across for his phone, he pops open his messages and, creating a new one, adds Jenny as the recipient.

Meet me at the first place we crossed paths. 7.30 tonight. I want to talk.

Stu slides his phone shut, and ponders for a moment, resting it against the side of his head. His body is back to normal now, but he needs time to think. His phone then vibrates, sending a dull throb through his skull.

Sounds good. See you later. J x

A wry smile curls a corner of his mouth.

***

Stu waits patiently in the Iron Anvil, the quiz machine bleeping as it cycles through demo videos right behind him. Over at the end of the bar is the dead woman he saw last time, her daughter nowhere in sight. She is forlorn and perched on her usual end stool, perhaps waiting for one last drink.

The creaky front door sweeps open and Jenny steps in, her face beaming the moment she spots him. He has no time to get up as she is upon him, cuddling him tightly as he struggles for balance. Stepping back, she marvels at his tight white t-shirt, chuckling at the soft jagged halo just off centre. Bringing his hand up, Stu realises his mark is smouldering, and a little hot to the touch. He then notices the sharp pain that accompanies it, clearly forgotten as he marvelled at her.

“I like that.” she smiles, pointing at the glowing entity. “Nice t-shirt.” Stu thinks about smirking but doesn’t quite achieve it, finishing his neat vodka. “Need another?” she asks, setting her handbag down and reaching for her purse.

“Please. Just a double vodka, thanks.”

“Mmm, no green fairy today?” she winks.

“Maybe later!” he half laughs, somewhat unconvincingly. As Jenny walks over to the bar, ignominiously passing an elbow through the woman perched on the end, Stu still has no answers for whatever hold this Solani has over her. It’s a new challenge, but his punishing power is something he has never encountered in the time he’s had this role.

Stroking the side of his empty glass, he smiles back at Jenny as she returns, keeping up with this game for as long as he can muster. He is surprised to see her with the same drink, and before he has chance to take a mouthful, she downs hers and slams the glass back on the table. Immediately she gags and coughs fiercely, her throat burnt and pained. Stu smirks cleverly, sipping his without a reaction. Jenny then sits, still coughing even though it doesn’t seem to debilitate her.

“How did you two meet then?” Stu pipes up. Jenny turns to him amidst another hacking cough.

“He’s so hot.” is her reply.

“Well that’s always helpful, but how did you meet?” Stu pushes.

“Silly, you introduced us, remember?” she smiles. Stu strains his eyes, surprised by the response.

“Oh yes, silly me. How are things with you two?” he then asks.

“Awesome!” she grins, coming up with another harsh clearing of her throat. “Fuck, that stuff is strong.” she gasps with an extended tongue, pushing the glass away. Taking another sip to collect his thoughts, he spies her saunter off to order another.

“You alright?” he asks as she returns with her latest double. Without answering, she clears it with one gulp, and coughs so hard she almost vomits. Stu considers getting up, but instead she gazes up at him, her blue eyes much more vibrant than he remembers.

“He’s going to kill you.” she says.

“What?”

“I said this stuff kills.” she giggles, barking once more. “Do you like this top?” She lowers the plunging neckline to expose her bright pink bra. “I took it from Aimee.” She smiles, containing the next cough in a fist. “Another?” she points, aiming for her empty glass.

“No, let’s go for a walk.” he replies.

“Good good, I like walking.” she grins, almost comically. Stu gets up, unable to look away from her pert bottom as she bends over to collect her bag. “I saw that.” she adds, sauntering out without ever having caught his eye.

As they reach the end of the alley, Jenny suddenly sprints across the road in her heels, narrowly avoiding running into the side of a passing bus.

“What are you doing?” Stu yells, checking for traffic before following her.

“Double cheeseburger!” she calls, hacking cough in tow, as she waves a fiver at two men elevated in a parked kebab van. “Loads of ketchup too, thanks.” Suddenly Stu locks his fingers with hers, and drags her away sharply, note still prised between two fingers. Warming to this move, she cuddles into his shape and dreamily looks up at him. With her this close, his scar simmers loudly. “Where are we going?” she purrs.

“For a walk, like I said.” he repeats. Their touch breaks and she wraps an arm round him, urging him to copy. He drops his arm across her shoulders, and he struggles to contain his overwhelming passion for her.

“Mmm, you’re such a good friend.” she says, digging into him. The mild discomfort is nothing compared to the searing burn eating away at his chest. “You would have gotten on so well with my grandfather...”

“I would have loved to have met him. But, tell me more about Solani.” Stu asks. “I know I introduced you both, but I don’t know him so well.”

“Really?” her voice calls from below. “I thought you two were best friends, that’s why you’ve let me have him.”

“No, that’s Mike. He’s my best mate.”

“Oh, that is a surprise. Never did like him too much.” Jenny retorts.

“Why?”

“He’s a letch. He fondled my bottom the first night I met you, when you paired me with Thomas.” Stu nods in response. “You were playing on that quiz machine in the Anvil, and Mike was chatting up some women at the bar, having drunk far too much as usual. Doesn’t he have a girlfriend?” Her face scrunches up as the words leave her mouth.

“That he does, but she’s very understanding.”

“She speaks to dead people, you know.” Jenny says. “I caught her doing it. Fucking bitch.”

“Okay.” Stu replies, processing everything that he hears. “I thought that intrigued you.”

“Only when you do it, spiller. No-one else should be bestowed with such a privilege.” she laughs. “Hey, what am I going to use this for?” she stops, breaking away from him and waving the loose five pound note in the air. Her eyes look him up and down.

“Taxi?” he posits, watching one fly by and ignoring her lusting gaze. She turns to watch it, whilst Stu watches her. She stares at it drive off, eyes narrowing as a burrowed memory stirs.

“I’d rather walk.” she grunts disapprovingly as the thought vanishes. “There you go, take me back to where Erica died. I hate that place, I hate sleeping in it, I hate being there...” Her eyes trail off into some lost place. “Take me home.” she huffs, coughing once more. “Until I find somewhere else.”

“As you wish...” Stu obeys, taking her arm gently and leading the way.

There it is again. Her mind twitches, feeling a sudden sharp pain where he touched her.

“No, wait.” She pauses, shaking him loose.

“What’s wrong?” Stu relinquishes.

“TAXI!” she yells unexpectedly, stumbling out toward an oncoming cab. It has enough time to stop, the window winding down as she leans in. The driver is annoyed with her at first, but warms quickly as he leers at her cleavage, not noticing her wiggle her bottom at Stu. He remains where he is, watching Jenny enter the car without her once glancing back. They drive away and it’s like he was never there, Jenny looking ahead and wholly ignoring him. Stu has plenty to think about, so casually begins his walk home.