Survival
Killing For Your Love
Chapter 25
I’m running into darkness, unaware of any direction.
I have been accused of murder. I have been implicated in the disappearance of Lizzie and the kids, not by the Police but by a gang who are hunting me down. They are a gang sent by Don I believe. Since that night with Don accusing me or ‘warning’ me as he called it, there have been people watching me without a care for me seeing them. The time has come though to run…
Chapter 24
“Get out my house!” I shout at the bald-headed man standing in front of me in my own house.
He does not speak and instead smashes my glass table and my TV with his metal bat.
He corners me, smashing my living room to pieces with his bat.
“Stop!” I bellow again, but he ignores me.
As he turns away from me, I run towards him and dive onto his back which pushes him onto the ground. He keeps hold of his bat and tries to stand up with me hanging onto his back.
Shrugging me off, he gets to his feet and hits me on the back with the bat.
I try to shrug off the pain and stand up but he swings the bat at me again, hitting my arm and forcing it into my ribs. I manage to stay standing even though my arm is lifeless. I wait for him to swing again. And he does, smashing the bat into my rib cage, knocking me onto the sofa.
I struggle to catch my breath as he hits me again, this time on the shoulder. Wincing with the pain I shut my eyes and feel a sharp pain on the arms cocooning my head.
I look at the man who stands above me as he hits me with his bat. He grabs me by my jacket and throws me onto the ground and he kicks me. I spit blood and try to stand.
The bald man throws his bat aside and punches me in the face and stomach repeatedly and then he tosses me into the smashed television.
There’s an ornament on the floor next to my feet, I grab it in desperation. The bald man charges at me to hit me again. This time I dodge the punch by pushing off the television and its stand to get behind the man. It works better than I expected, he punches the wall and I hit him on the back of the head with the bulky ornament.
The man grunts and falls into the wall, allowing me to hit him on the back of the head, again and again until he flops onto the ground with a thud.
I stand over the man as he turns onto his back to look up to the ceiling. I pick up his metal bat and walk back over to him.
I stand over him, staring. His eyelids flicker as he looks up at me.
“Who sent you?” I ask.
The man shakes his head.
“I said who sent you?”
The man shakes his head again, forcing me to smash his head with the metal bat. Unaware of my strength, I hear a crack. I look down to his face, his eyes are open but he has blood oozing out from the back of his head…
Chapter 25
I hide in the dark woodlands and anticipate an attack. I don’t know how many men are after me and chasing me at this moment but I will fight for my life. These men could be responsible for Lizzie and the kids. I know Don thinks I killed them.
I hear leaves rustling and branches snapping in the distance. I look into the woodland but I cannot see anyone.
After a few moments of hiding, I hear a branch snap directly behind me but I cannot turn around to see, I can’t risk being heard or giving away my position.
I concentrate on trying to slow my breathing down.
I look ahead and see three men standing in a line. They’re all wearing black trousers and hoodies, each of them clutching a crowbar.
“How did we lose him?” I see one man’s breath in the cold air as he speaks.
“Let’s leave him out here. We can wait at the tree line and get him when he comes out.”
“No, this is just a warning.” I hear the third man say. The voice is one I recognise. Don is here with them.
I knew he’d be involved in this.
The three men turn and walk in a line away from my position.
They disappear into the darkness. I continue to wait, just in case…
Eventually, I walk towards the woods exit. I am still on edge, holding a thick branch as a weapon.
There are car lights ahead of me, facing away. There are four men this time.
I approach them with stealth. I walk up a gentle slope which appears to be someone’s garden and crouch behind a bush to try and hear their conversation.
“He got away, but we can get him if he leaves the woods,” Don says.
“No it’s fine, as you said, he needed a warning. I’ve been gathering evidence on him and I have evidence that he’s been up to no good,” says the only man not wearing a hoody.
“Right, so are we leaving now?”
“Yes.” The man says, he’s obviously the leader, but who is he?
“Okay Mr S.” Don says to the leader as he takes the hood off his head.
“Thank you for tonight boys. I will be in touch.” Mr S says.
All four men get into the car. Don and Mr S sit in the back whilst the other two hooded men get into the front and after a few seconds, the car drives away. Without the car’s lights, the area is in darkness. Now I’m alone.
What is Don doing? And who is Mr S?
I look at Tanya as we lie in bed together. I stare into her eyes and she stares into mine.
I say: “I love you.” But she doesn’t respond. She doesn’t even acknowledge it.
“I love you.” I say again. And again, she doesn’t respond.
I shout: “I love you!” She again ignores me, continuing to stare at me. Her pupils dilate. Her eyes begin to redden. Her chest pulsates quickly, in, out, in, out.
I sit up and look at her. She continues to stare at where I was lying.
“Tanya?” I ask her. I sit up and feel her skin. Her skin is burning hot.
“Oh my god, Tanya you’re boiling.”
She doesn’t respond.
I try to move her onto her back but she won’t move.
“Tanya we need to get you to hospital.” She ignores me again. “Tan!” I shout. This time, my voice is heard. She slowly turns her head towards me. My voice echoes in the room. The room itself becomes smoky. Tanya begins to cough when all of a sudden, she bursts into flames.
“Tanya!” I shout again.
I take a deep breath, inhaling the smoke from her body which sends me into a coughing fit which I can’t control.
Her skin turns to ash and continues to burn until she disappears.
All of a sudden I wake up on my bedroom floor, choking. The realisation kicks in: It was another nightmare about Tanya.
However, I have moved, I fell asleep on the chair downstairs and I must have sleep-walked upstairs.
I sit up and look to the door where smoke slithers into the room through the gaps in the door frame. The smoke enters the room and crawls along the floor towards me to then circulate and rise up into the atmosphere.
Fuck! The house is on fire.
I run to the door, as I grip the door handle it burns my hand. My natural reaction is to let go of the handle.
Shit it’s hot.
I grab my duvet and use it to grip the handle and open the door. A mass of smoke blows into my face, taking my breath away. I fall onto the ground, choking, just as I did in my dream.
I try to stand but I’m weak and still drunk. I get back to my feet, ducking down. I leave my room and see light coming from downstairs.
I run to the stairs whilst ducking down and covering my mouth and nose with my hands, which has no real affect.
I get to the top of the stairs and stare down to the flames in the hallway. The heat burns my face. The heat forces me to shut my eyes. I’m stuck up here, what am I going to do? I stand up and overbalance. I trip over something at the top of the stairs and I fall, hitting my head, back and shoulders on each step. I land on the bottom step into the wrath of the heat.
Flames surround me. I open my eyes and look through the thick flames block the front door. The hallway is consumed by flames and smoke. The ceiling is already blackened with streaks smudged across it. The wallpaper has crinkled and peeled off leaving it hanging off the walls.
I look to the top of the stairs to see the brown bear from the basement at the top of the stairs, that was what tripped me up, how did it get there?
Feeling woozy, my vision closes in on itself. I force my eyes to focus and push myself up off the bottom step. In the sitting room, something odd catches my attention. On the wooden flooring here in the hallway and the carpet in the sitting room, I notice red footprints leading from the sitting room into the kitchen. It looks like blood, and that thought sends shivers down my spine, making the hairs on my arms stand.
I leap from the bottom step into the flames. My shirt catches alight as I run towards the sitting room. Screaming in pain, I run straight into the wall and fall to the floor. I pat my shirt down and crawl into the sitting room.
The chair where I fell asleep and the footprints appear from nowhere. They begin in front of the chair where I slept, around behind the chair. The prints lead out into the hallway and into the kitchen. I duck down and follow the prints into the kitchen. I look to the sitting room door which has flicks of flames blowing into the room.
My sight blurs and my legs are numb, I fall onto the soft carpet. I rest my head back and look up to the sitting room ceiling where the smoke gathers and the flames appear, carving away at the ceiling’s paint. The crackling of the flames strengthens. My eyes begin to grow heavy; my muscles are limp and relaxed.
I need to get up I say in my mind. Get up!
I take a deep breath and sit up.
The door frame has snapped, causing part of the wall to collapse. I look down to the footprints and crawl along, following the prints.
I drag myself into the kitchen. The air is barraged by smoke, making it difficult to keep my eyes open.
The footprints lead to the kitchen table and then to the back door.
The prints are much clearer in here; they are thick and messy, with rivulets leading away from the prints. This is blood!
I stand up with my knees slightly bent and look onto the table. To my horror, there is a piece of wood with two nails sticking out through the top of it. It must be the wood I saw Shola holding before; the piece that he threw into the road when I first moved here.
All the suspicious things going on here must be him. The fox in the shed makes perfect sense to be him, scientist and vet being able to lure a fox to him? He has a fox running in his house as if it’s his pet. Why didn’t I think of this before?
I stare at the wood. The nails sticking through have blood on them. The blood has dripped on the table to create a pool.
I need to confront Shola, why has he done this? He must have set the house alight.
I turn to the front door but the flames still block it. I turn around and look at the back door and to my horror; blood is smothered all over the wall and door.
The blood reads ‘sin beaten them’ across the wall and on the back door multiple times.
What does that mean?
With not much time to think, all I need to worry about is getting out of here alive to stop Shola. He must be the man committing these murders, he’s the one who’s been watching me; maybe he fears I’m on to him.
The back door is locked. I turn to look at the front door but the kitchen has now caught alight. The worktops have flames burning on the top of them. The cupboard door hinges have snapped and the doors have fallen onto the floor. One door lands on the worktop and one falls onto the floor. I position myself to run through the flames and to the front door. It is the easiest way to escape.
As I take a deep breath, I am blown off my feet. In mid air, my natural reaction is to cover my face with my arms. My back smashes into the back door. The windows smash throughout the house. The kitchen door’s window smashes and the glass lands on me. The table flies across the room along with the piece of wood.
All my whiskey must have caused that explosion, along with some electrical works through the house. I crawl away and as I do, the kitchen ceiling caves in. Debris lands on me, pinning me to the ground. There’s another explosion in the house somewhere and I watch part of the hallway ceiling collapse.
I try to crawl, the weight on my back unbearable. I use all the strength in my arms to try and pull myself out of the rubble but I can’t move. The flames begin to burn all around me in the kitchen.
“Help!” I shout as loud as I can. My voice is muted by the flames and the smoke.
“Help! Help me!” I shout again and again but no one can hear.
I try turning onto my back to see if that makes a difference - it doesn’t.
I squirm on the floor. Staring at the front door, hoping, wishing, praying that someone has heard me.
I look out of the window next to the front door, there are people out there, blue and green lights circulating, flashing through into the window. I can only hear the sirens if I listen really carefully. I seem to be losing my senses. I think death is upon me…
As I feel myself beginning to drift off into a sleep, I hear a BANG from the hallway. Someone is choking and coughing. Their feet drag along the floor. Pieces of rubble slide past me. The weight on my body reduces by the second. This person stands in front of me and pulls me up off the floor. I don’t get to look at them, my sight is blurred, and my hearing is like there is water in my ears. The voice of this person is deep, it must be a man.
He says: “Ryan get out, run as fast as you can to the front door.” Whoever it is, they could be about to save my life. “Go now!” The man shouts.
I run, my body weight is uneven; I swerve to the left and right. Nothing will stand in my way to reach the front door. I run through the flames, putting my hands over my face. As I reach the hallway, I arch my back, put my shoulder out in front of me, partially turning my upper body so that I’m looking towards the basement door, and launch myself through the front door.
Outside, my vision is blurred. The big fire engines, the police cars and the ambulance are all unrecognisable shapes.
I run onto the grass, the temperature outside is a complete contrast, it caresses my entire body. I take my first clean breath of air for a few minutes. The change affects my body making me feel faint again. I fall onto the grass and roll down the slope. I can see that I am rolling but I cannot feel it. I stop part way down the slope and stretch out my arms in front of me, resting my cheek on the grass.
My eyes feel heavy once again, until three people come running over to me. I hear screams and jumbled voices. There’s someone with green latex gloves on. I look up to see a man and woman dressed in green, they must be paramedics. I see a man wearing a thick black and yellow protection suit with a yellow helmet on.
“He has severe burns we need to get him out of here now!” I hear the female paramedic shout.
The male paramedic places a plastic nozzle over my nose and mouth. I toss my head trying to get away from it.
“Take it easy Mr Milligan, breathe normally you’re safe,” the male paramedic says.
There’s another man collapsed near to me. His bald head shines from the lights of the vehicles. He looks up to me to confirm that Paul Brooke saved my life.
“Thank you.” I whisper through the plastic nozzle, reaching out to him.
“That’s okay mate,” he says between choking.
A paramedic kneels next to him. “I’m fine don’t worry about me love, look after my friend,” he says to another female paramedic and he nods towards me.
He stands up and walks over to Leanne as she embraces him.
I look up at the crowd; no one is here for me now that Tanya and the kids are gone.
My eyes begin to well up with tears, I’m completely alone.
“Can you stand up Mr Milligan?” the female paramedic asks.
I nod to her and struggle to my feet.
I look down to my shirt which once was white but now is grey and black and partially burnt revealing part of my chest. My trousers have holes revealing my left shin and right knee.
“That’s great, we need to take you to hospital; you’re in a bad condition. You must have inhaled a massive amount of smoke.”
“I tried staying low.” I say, wheezing.
“We can tell; you could be dead now if you hadn’t.” The male paramedic says.
“Come on, let’s walk to the ambulance.” The female paramedic says.
As they walk either side of me to the ambulance, Sandra and Sam are standing outside the Cann’s house. She looks at me with relief. Her make-up is smeared around her eyes. Her nostrils are red and her lipstick is ruined. Sam looks at me and smiles.
“Thank God.” Sam shouts.
Sandra stares at me and smiles. As the paramedics open the back doors to the ambulance, Sandra runs over to me.
“Can I hug you?” Sandra asks me.
“I’m in pain,” I bluntly reply.
“I wouldn’t recommend it. He has burns all over his body. He’ll be in hospital the next few days.” The female paramedic tells Sandra.
“Okay. I will come and see you,” she says to me, smiling whilst trying to stop her lip quivering.
I nod to her and step up into the ambulance. They put me onto the bed inside.
“Take it easy now Ryan, you’re in safe hands,” the female paramedic says as she stands over me, placing the plastic nozzle over my mouth and nose again.
I look out through the doors as the male paramedic shuts the back door of the ambulance; I look out through the other, open side.
Tanya stands there, staring at me.
Is that really you?
I stare at her.
“Tanya.” I say.
“What’s that sir?” the female paramedic asks.
I do not reply. I wait to see if it really is her.
The male paramedic shuts the other door.
I look through the window of the door. Tanya stands there still; all I can see now is the outline of a female’s body. She stares. The ambulance pulls away from her and the figure remains, watching the ambulance drive away.
As the figure shrinks into the distance, my head falls onto the pillow on the bed. My eyes gain the weight again and I drift away…