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17
For the rest of the afternoon I avoid everyone. Pink and Kate knock on my door at about 8pm asking whether I want to go and watch a movie in the rec room before curfew, but I decline their offer. I need to get my head straight before my ‘date’ with Monk.
Fuck.
What was I thinking?
Now it’s ten minutes to curfew and despite Monk’s request I amnotdressed in something short and tight. He can go fuck himself. Instead I’m wearing my trusty pair of black denim jeans, Doc Martens and a black t-shirt. I’m not feeling particularly colourful this evening. I just want to get this‘date’over and done with so I can see the rest of the video.
Grabbing my phone, I dial Eastern again. It rings, then goes straight to voicemail. The dickhead is avoiding me. Why is he making it so difficult? I get that he’s on the run and he needs to keep his head down, but doesn’t he realise we’re worried about him? Doesn’t he understand thatI’mworried about him? I really don’t need to get messages from him via Monk. He’s the last person in the world that I’d want to communicate through. I have a damn phone he can contact me on. Speaking of which, I stuff said phone back in its hiding place. Grabbing my rucksack, I pull out my sketchpad. I’m not willing to take it with me to the Tower, and I can’t risk someone finding it should anyone get any funny ideas and break into my room. So, I stuff it in a sealable plastic bag and shove it into the toilet cistern. Monk might think he has me fooled, but I know there’s more to this evening than a chance for me to see the rest of Eastern’s video message. I’d put money on him getting one of his crew to ransack my room just for the hell of it.
Once I’m satisfied everything important to me is safely hidden, I head up to the third floor arriving exactly at 10.30pm just like Monk said. This will be the first and last time I obey any of his orders, that’s for damn sure. I try to push open the fire exit door, but it’s locked. I’m guessing with one minute to go I’m still too early. So, I lean against the door and wait, assuming Monk will be here any moment now.
Then the lights go out.
And the whole fucking floor is pitched into darkness.
Intuition tells me this is not a random blackout, and my stomach bottoms out as my heart thumps so loudly I can barely hear myself think. This all for me.Fucking Monk and his gang of wolves.
I don’t hesitate, I run blind towards the stairs at the other end of the corridor, my hands held out in front of me. Laughter echoes down the hall pulling me up sharp, and all I can think is where the fuck is everyone? It’s curfew, but there are no sounds coming from any of the rooms on this floor, or anywhere else for that matter. I find it hard to believe that everyone is tucked up in bed fast asleep and oblivious to the power cut.
“Skank!” a voice whisper-shouts.
“Where are youuuuuuuu…?” another voice singsongs creepily from the far end of the corridor I’m moving away from. Forcing myself to control my breathing, I try and work out if it’s just me and these two arseholes, or if there are more of them.
“There’s nowhere to ruuuuuuunnnnn,” another voice calls, this time coming from in front of me. Motherfuckers have me surrounded. I feel blindly for the wall, then push my back against it the moment my hands find the smooth plaster. I ease myself along it, step by agonisingly slow step, trying not to breathe too heavily and give away my position. I figure these arseholes are just as blind as I am, unless they’ve managed to get hold of some infrared goggles that you see in the movies. If that’s the case, I may as well give up now.
“Here,pussy,pussy,” another dickhead says, followed by a round of laughter. I’m not certain, but that’s at least four different people going by the voices. None of which are Monk.
“Fuck, shit!” I hear someone shout, the sound of them stumbling to the floor reverberating down the hall.
“Dickhead, give away our position, why don’t you?” another guy whispers.
Another two more.
I hear the scramble of feet and I’m assuming one of the bastards is helping the other guy stand up. They’re both very close by and I can only assume they’ve walked out of one of the bedrooms on this floor. Fucking perfect.
“Monk is gonna beat your arse if you fuck this up,” the same arsehole hisses to the other.
I hold in a nervous laugh. No infrared goggles then, good. At least that levels the playing field somewhat. Well, maybe not level it out, given there’s at least six boys on this corridor with me, but if I can’t see them, they can’t see me. It’s all I’ve got. I just need to get off this floor and down to my room without getting caught.
No such fucking luck.
“Come out, come out wherever you are…”
My head whips around and I stiffen like a deer caught in headlights. A flashlight turns on at the far end of the corridor highlighting a face I’ve quickly come to despise.
Monk.
He’s standing by the door that leads to the staircase and escape with a flashlight pointing up under his chin. He looks fucking insane with his nasty grimace contorted into a scary mask because of the light and the shadows it casts across his face. It reminds me of some long forgotten scene in a horror movie. You know the ones? Where everyonedies. Now what am I going to do? If he points the light in my direction, I’m caught. My fingers curl into my palms… I’ll just have to fight. I can do that, even if it is now seven on one. What other choice do I have?
Yet, he doesn’t lower the beam of light towards me. I’m still shrouded in darkness, but I think that’s the point. He wants me to know he’s there and that he has the power to light up the whole corridor at any given moment but is choosing not to. He has the power to end this, but instead he flicks off the switch and throws the corridor back into darkness just to make this whole fucking episode even more fucked-up.
I hate to admit it, but I’m scared. One-on-one fist fights I can handle, maybe even seven-on-one but mind games like this? Not so much. For the second time I wonder where the fuck everyone else is.
“Time to learn who’s the boss around here,skank,” Monk sneers and I swear he’s looking directly at me even though I can no longer see him, and he sure as fuck isn’t able to see me.
Fuck.
