After Dark

© 2011 by Jimmy Para. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

First published by AuthorHouse 10/28/2011

ISBN: 978-1-4670-0961-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4670-0962-1 (ebk)

Printed in the United States of America

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Contents

CHAPTER ONE

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER THREE

CHAPTER FOUR

CHAPTER FIVE

CHAPTER SIX

CHAPTER SEVEN

CHAPTER EIGHT

CHAPTER NINE

CHAPTER TEN

CHAPTER ELEVEN

CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER TWENTY

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

Natalie, Harry and Joseph.

You are my world. I could never have done this without you.

Love you forever.

CHAPTER ONE

Another long day was drawing to a close. The sun was setting behind the trees on a warm September evening. The bus that George was on was bathed in orange all along the left side as it cruised along the dual carriage way. The road ahead of them was shining and twinkling as though it was happy to see them and was encouraging them to continue, but George’s destination was only five minutes away. Just five more minutes until he was home again where he felt safe. His wife and two daughters should be waiting for him as usual to ask him how his day had gone and how he was feeling. He would ask them how their day went, and they would tell him about their own normal situations. Elaine, his wife, would tell him about a pupil that had upset her that day by not doing their homework or by back-chatting her. Kayley, his eldest daughter, would tell him what she did at University, which was usually nothing. Paige, his youngest daughter, would tell him about what lessons she had at school and how much she hated her first year in sixth form. These were all normal things that normal people could do. He envied normal. He worked hard every day to try to achieve normal, but somehow everything he tried just kept going wrong. This evening in particular though, just did not seem right. There was a strange atmosphere all around that had been growing all afternoon. Other passengers on the bus seemed tense. Two teenage girls behind him were talking about fighting and screaming that they had seen before they got on the bus. The elderly passenger to his right across the other side of the bus was talking loudly into his mobile phone, telling his wife not to worry and that he would be home soon. Something just didn’t feel right. The bus driver leaned forwards and turned the radio up a little and listened intently to what was being said. George couldn’t quite make out what was being said as he was too far back, but he did hear something about locking all windows and doors, at which point the bus driver quickened his pace, and George’s last five minutes of his journey were over in just two. It was a short walk from the bus stop to his home, so George just kept looking straight ahead at his home, paying no attention to what was going on around him. He was over six feet tall, so his strides were long and fluid. George had a habit of walking with his head down, staring at his size ten shoes, showing everyone his ever expanding bald patch wearing away at his black hair. Today however, he was just focused straight ahead, missing the panic that was engulfing his neighbour’s lives around him. He walked through the front door and quickly shut the door behind him, finally feeling safe inside his own home. George’s home was set on three floors. It sounded like everyone was on the first floor in the front room watching TV, so he quickly kicked off his shoes, peeled away his socks and stepped onto the carpeted stairs. He felt the thick carpet massage the soles of his feet and just creep in between his toes making them feel warm and comfortable, as he went straight up to his beloved family. Sure enough, there were Elaine, Kayley and Paige, sat in front of the TV.

Hi Honey said Elaine, Have you seen what’s going on?

Hi darling, Hi girls, what is it? asked George, already knowing that something wasn’t right.

There’s riots everywhere Dad said Paige. No-one really knows why. Did you see anything?

Not really sweet heart. I had a long day today, not really in the mood to talk about it.

Did you lock the front door? asked the previously silent Kayley. She was of the opinion that you should only really say something if you’ve got something really worth saying. Something important that people would really want to hear. For Kayley to ask whether the door had been locked, it was obviously something that she thought they had to do for their safety, but George and Elaine didn’t quite take it as seriously as she did.

Oh come on girls, around here? No-one is going to come into our house said George flippantly.

Don’t worry Kayley, I’ll go down and do it in a minute. Elaine didn’t share Kayley’s fear, but there was no harm in locking the front door just to be on the safe side.

George went upstairs to have a shower. He really did feel rotten today. He’d had a bad day at work and he just wanted to forget about everything. His home was his escape. His home was normal. He sometimes felt like he was ruining it for his girls, but he was trying to fix things, he was trying to be normal. George stepped into the shower and yanked it to full power, curling his toes inwards as he waited for the water to warm up before he stepped underneath the shower head and let the water drench him from head to toe. As the hot water pummelled his head and back, George closed his eyes and tried to forget. He imagined walking along a beach with Elaine, watching the sun set on another beautiful Mediterranean evening. Water gently lapping at their feet, a cool breeze on their backs as wet sand flicked up and stuck to their feet. George turned to his left and looked at Elaine as she looked back at him and smiled. Up a sandy hill behind Elaine in the distance, George could see their beach house, with Kayley and Paige out in front, waving them back for dinner. George imagined this is what heaven would be like. How cruel life could be George thought to himself, as one eye flickered open, then another. As George slowly adjusted his eyesight, he found that he wasn’t looking straight up at the shower head as he had been expecting. Instead, he was curled up on the shower floor, staring at the plug hole as the water drained away. The water was cold, almost ice cold. George was shivering all over. He’d had another blackout. The handbrake of his life had been pulled up again, this time, while he was in the shower. George had suffered blackouts for the past eight years of his life. They had made the last eight years of his life a living hell. He could no longer live a normal life, and neither could his family. He constantly lived in fear and could never just relax and enjoy the moment, as he constantly worried about when the next blackout was going to strike. In the last year, they had become progressively worse, with no cure in sight. As George staggered to his feet, shivering all over, he stumbled out of the shower cubicle and reached for his towel with his left arm. His upper arm was aching and pulsing as he stretched out his hand and held his towel. He must have fallen to his left and landed heavily on his arm. He was happy to have crashed against his arm rather than land on his head as he had done so many times in the past. Surely he would have made enough noise for Elaine to have come and checked on him? He slowly shuffled into his bedroom and glanced at the clock on the bedside cabinet. He’d been in the shower for almost an hour. That’s why the water was so cold. But why didn’t Elaine come and check on him? She normally didn’t leave him alone even for ten minutes. George wrapped the towel around himself tightly as he began to warm up. He slowly walked to the top of the stairs and stared down below.

Elaine? called out George weakly. There was no answer. Elaine, are you there? He waited a few moments, but there was still no answer. Something was wrong.

Kayley, Paige? he called out, in more of a hopeful tone rather than an expectant one, but still there was no answer.

George went downstairs as quickly as his body would allow him to. His body still struggling to warm up and his head beginning to pound after his latest blackout, George reached the middle floor and staggered into the front room. Empty. His girls weren’t there. His whole life had just disappeared. George’s attention quickly turned to the TV which had been left on. Had the girls left in a hurry? Why would they have left? The news correspondent finally gave George an insight into what was going on around him.

‘. . . but the panic in the streets is nothing like I have ever seen. The news reaching us right now is that there has potentially been a chemical based terrorist attack in the greater London area that has affected many, many civilians… and I can’t . . .’

George got a terribly sick feeling in his stomach. All around the news correspondent, there were people running and screaming. There were even gun shots in the background, and every time a shot rang out, the news correspondent would duck and move behind a vehicle or into a bus shelter, until finally, the news feed had been lost and they had to return to the news reader in the studio.

‘. . . as you have just heard, the news reaching us right now is that there has potentially been a chemical based terrorist attack in the Greater London area that has affected many, many people. We are hearing that this is creating some sort of chemical imbalance in the brain that is . . . I’m sorry… uhh, its causing almost manic side effects that has people going wild with anger and turning on each other in an attempt to kill . . . I’m, I’m sorry…’

The news reader could barely finish his sentences. It all sounded like a Hollywood movie gone horribly wrong. All around the studio, people were running around frantically, grabbing papers, phones and desperately trying to get updates on what was happening.

‘. . . I repeat, officials are advising to stay indoors, lock all windows and doors and await further updates. People leaving their homes are adding to the hysteria and are putting themselves at risk of becoming infected by a potentially airborne threat. Do not leave your homes.’

George felt like someone just lit a match at the back of his throat, making it crackle and dry as his fears grew and grew inside him to immense levels. His life had just been turned upside down in an instant and as he dropped to his knees, he only had one thought in his mind. He had to go and find his girls.

CHAPTER TWO

George grabbed any dark clothing he could find and threw them on as quickly as he could. It was remarkable how quickly the human body could recover when under the influence of adrenalin. George figured the dark clothing would be the best bet outside so that he could remain as undetected as possible amid all the hysteria that had engulfed the streets. He peered out of his blinds quickly before leaving the house so as to brace himself for what was about to greet him. His house was at the top of a T junction. To his left, he could see a glow in the distance, past all the rows of middle-class housing. This had to be fire, no other explanation. To his right was utter darkness. No lights on in any of the homes that were built just in front of the forest. However, immediately in front of his home, there was an overturned car, not one that he recognised belonging to any of his neighbours. He then became transfixed on events that were occurring just to the right of the overturned vehicle. Almost directly outside his house, four or five adults appeared to be kicking the life out of a poor soul, lying helpless on the ground. The person wasn’t even moving, they were just lying there whilst the beating still continued. What if this was one of his girls? He had to get out as quickly as he could and stop them. George opened his front door slowly, keeping as low as he possibly could, then gently shut the door again behind him and locked it. He crawled on his hands and knees up to Elaine’s car in the drive way and lay down, looking directly at the body lying on the ground which had now been left there by the gang, lifeless. George’s hands were shaking as he lay there looking at the body. His mouth was dry and his skin had lost all colour.