Delete-Man: A Psychological Thriller (17 page)

A light flickered above me. I
froze and looked up; nothing. I stepped to the side slowly and my
hand hit something. It felt like a tree trunk. I leant up against
it, as still as I could. Careful even not to breath too heavily, I
waited for the light again. When it seemed like I had waited long
enough I stepped out from behind the tree trunk, and crouching ever
so slightly, shifted forward. The light appeared again, and
although my instinct was to run, I stayed long enough to realise it
was just the moon; flickering as I passed beneath the branches of
the tree. I laughed softly to myself, straightened up, and headed
forward again with more conviction.

Between the moon light—half
emerging from behind silver clouds—and my eyes adjusting, I began
to see a little better. Not far ahead still, but enough to see the
ground beneath my feet. I headed forward, unsure of why I had
decided to enter the park in the first place. There seemed to be no
signs of anybody else there, and certainly no noise. I figured that
I had simply misheard a random raindrop and my imagination had run
away with me. The fence behind me was now just a distant tinge of
yellow cutting against the silhouette of the trees. Ahead of me I
could still see nothing, and I guessed that the far side of the
park was obscured by the cluster of trees and the gondola building
that stood across the centre of this section. I checked the time by
the internal light of my watch and turned back towards the
fence.

Before I took the second step it
struck me; the nagging memory in my periphery. Karim had mentioned
Josie sneaking into a park at night with a camera—this park. I
turned around suddenly, as if the memory might provoke something to
appear, but the same blank void remained. Nonetheless, I decided I
wanted to make a clean sweep, and pass through the park. I didn’t
want to stay much longer, and I expected the chances of finding
anything were slim, so I decided to run through. I could see just
enough ahead of me, and the lack of orientation would be good
balance exercise. I placed a hand out and began a gentle jog
forward, ready to stop at any time if I hit a tree.

I managed to narrowly avoid
tumbling over a bin and some bushes, but just as I was getting used
to the rolling curves of the turf I stepped on something hard and
smooth. It felt like a glass bottle, and my foot slipped completely
over it, sending me into a forward dive. I crashed to the floor in
a heap, splashing into a puddle, but still winded from the impact.
Despite the disorientation, I noticed an abnormal rustling a few
seconds after I hit the ground. I forgot my pain instantly and
raised my head to discern it. The rustling shifted hurriedly from
in front of me to the side. Another rustling seemed to come from
behind me. I felt like I was being surrounded. The movements
sounded quick and smooth, like an animal, but I decided to make a
dash just in case.

I leapt to my feet and sprinted
haphazardly for about half a minute. After making a good distance I
stopped and doubled over; I was really out of breath, from both the
fall and the sprint. I put my hand on my knee and felt that I was
covered in mud. The rain seemed to have grown heavier, deep
droplets falling aggressively; the gentle shush turning into a
rapid muffled thumping. A wind was picking up, bellowing deeply
between the trees; creaking branches.

The moon disappeared behind a
black cloud again. I rested for a few minutes, but still felt
tired, and I was starting to get pretty cold. I looked behind me
for the light of the road, but it wasn’t there. I had no idea which
way I had come from, nor where in the park I was. In a second, my
sense of place and direction had disappeared. I checked the time
again and saw that it was around one am. The darkness wouldn’t lift
for a few hours yet— if that. The only option I had was to keep on
walking until I saw the light of a road. I continued on at a brisk
pace. I had been ignoring the pain in my knee long enough not to
notice it was beginning to get worse, and decided to walk instead
of run for fear of falling again.

After walking for what seemed
like a long time I heard the noise again: A drawn out moan, like
someone in pain, or a drunk who had gone beyond words. It wasn’t
close, but in the darkness I had a pretty good idea of where it had
come from. Some place a little ahead of me. I figured that it might
have come from the road. I headed towards it keeping my eyes fixed
in front of me. A few steps later I heard it again, longer this
time. It definitely sounded like some kind of drunk; a prolonged,
hopeless, primal moan; the sound of someone trying to articulate
something they couldn’t. As I drew closer I slowed down, there was
some other sound too; a buzzing or humming of some kind. It was a
peculiar sound, like a kind of motor, but gentler, more organic. It
grew louder as I approached, and I once again heard that moan—both
of the sounds were coming from the same spot.

I stepped cautiously, feeling
like I was extremely close to the sound, yet with every step it
grew louder and louder. I wasn’t scared, but the deep, strange tone
sent shivers through my cold body. It was loud enough now that I
could tell it wasn’t one thing, but a multitude of things, humming
in unison. It was rising ever so slightly in pitch. I stepped
forward, feeling so close now that I was sure I would trip on it at
any second. The drunken cry sounded one more time, longer and more
violently than before. Then everything went silent.

A second after the silence,
twenty flashlight beams were turned on, only a dozen or so metres
ahead of me. The effect of the sudden and extreme points of light
bursting and waving in the darkness set my vision crazy. It took a
few seconds of blinking and rubbing my eyes before I regained
focus. I made out silhouettes; a group of figures standing in a
circle, each with a torch. They turned their flashlights away from
the circle and disbanded, all heading away from each other. I
realised they hadn’t seen me, and was about to turn and run when a
beam scanned over me, then whipped back to shine directly into my
eyes.

“Hey! Someone’s here! Over
here!”

The light in my eyes blinded me,
but I didn’t wait for my eyes to adjust, I spun on my heels and
tore away as fast as I could. I ran blind until I could shake open
my eyes, and when I did I saw multiple spots of light dance around
me; casting elongated shadows of me running in every direction.
Despite the pain that it caused me, I was grateful to see where I
was going, and I pumped my legs into the soft turf as hard and as
fast as I could. Shouts rang out behind me, and I could tell they
were close by the brightness of the beams. I curved around every
tree, slid down every incline, and hurdled over every bush that
came in my path, hoping to lose them.

Cones of light sprung from the
sides, all scanning frantically against the thick rain to catch me,
and I leapt from side to side in order to lose them, following the
darkness. Eventually I shook them and turned back around to see
flickers from behind a cluster of trees. Most seemed far away but
one beam was closing in on my direction. I reached for a tree trunk
and drew myself up close to it on the opposite side, gasping for
breath.

I leaned against the rough bark
in total darkness, my wet clothes pressing against my back, and I
could smell the damp mud that covered me. The sound of raindrops on
a few dry leaves masked most of the shouts that came from within
the depths of the park. After a minute, the ground around me lit up
vibrantly, the thick shadow of the tree swinging from right to
left. I shifted to the dark spot, waiting for the light again. It
came by swiftly, left to right this time, and I shifted again to
stay in the darkness. I leant slightly and looked around the tree.
The point of light was nearby; I could make out a faint silhouette
of the person carrying it. They were jogging lightly, heading down
a path that ran past the tree I was hiding behind. I pulled back
and pressed myself up against the tree again, waiting for the light
to scan by again. It did, and I once again shifted with it in order
to cover myself in the thick trunk’s shadow.

The next sweep of light happened
much quicker. The torch-holder was right next to the tree I hid
behind. I slunk around in the shadow, spun away from the tree and
came up behind the silhouette. They turned just as I threw my fist;
hitting them in the side of the head and sending the flashlight
flying away in a spasm of spinning light. From the cry of pain it
seemed to be a young woman. I leapt on her as she lay on the
ground, felt for her mouth and pressed my hand around it so she
couldn’t shout again.

When I was sure that there was
no one else nearby, I grabbed the flashlight and began running down
the path. A few yards and I got an idea of where I was in the park,
and continued down the path hoping I was correct in assuming it
would take me to the exit.

Just as I relaxed and slowed my
pace down to a jog, something smashed into my side and clattered me
to the ground. I rolled over and tried to find my feet but this
time it was the girl who was holding me down. She put her knee on
my arm and sat on my chest. Before I could swing her off balance
she began throwing punches. She connected a couple of times with my
face, and knocked all of my focus out of me. She scrambled around,
looking for another arm to pin down before feeling my stump. She
pulled the flashlight out of my hand and shone it directly into my
eyes.

“Are you police?”

I turned my head to the side and
closed my eyes tightly. The light burned my senses.

“Are you police?”

I squirmed and shook, trying to
force her off me, but she had me pinned down firmly. Every time I
nudged her off a little she shifted easily, not allowing to me to
gain any leverage. I squinted through my eyelids, trying to make
out a face beyond the bright glow.

“If I say no will you get off
me?”

“What are you doing in the
park?”

“Enjoying the lovely
weather.”

She brought the flashlight down
hard on my forehead. I blacked out for a few seconds, and when I
came to I felt like I was going to be sick.

I heard shouts from far away,
and the girl called out.

“Hey! I’ve got him! This
way!”

She shone the flashlight
somewhere away from my face, and I turned to look at her. She had
surprisingly delicate features, and looked barely out of her teens.
She brought the flashlight back to face me and I turned my head
again.

“You’re not going anywhere. You
shouldn’t be so nosy.”

I was turning my head so much
that my nose touched the ground. It was a gravel path, and the
stones pressed against my cheeks.

“Here! On the path!”

There were shouts back and
forth. The rest of the group was getting closer. I twisted my face
as much as I could against the ground, and with my tongue began
pulling stones into my mouth.

“Stop moving!”

She brought the flashlight down
onto my head again, but I was too determined to acknowledge the
pain. Eventually I had a mouth full of stones. I brought the
biggest to my lips.

“I’m right here!”

She shone the torch away again,
and I turned to face her. With as much force as I could I spat the
stone out. It struck her chin, and I heard the gentle thud of its
impact. She pulled her hand to her face, startled, and I quickly
spat the remaining stones at her. They flew like shotgun spray over
her face, distracting her more than doing any damage, but causing
her to shift back enough for me to move a little. I thrust my jaws
against the thigh she was pinning my arm down with, and bit as big
a chunk of it as I could. She screamed, and I bit harder, as if
trying to rip her flesh away.

I forced until I could taste
blood, and she scrambled backwards to pull her thigh away,
screaming. Only when she got off my chest did I let go, and within
seconds I was on my feet. I put my foot on her chest to stop her
from rising.

“Help! Help!”

Further down the path I could
see the bouncing beams of the others approaching, they were seconds
away. I pulled the girl’s flashlight from her hands and lashed it
down upon her forehead. She groaned and stopped moving. I turned
and ran. My skin felt so bruised and sensitive that every raindrop
against my face caused pinpricks of pain. I struggled to focus on
the light in front of me, and dizzily tried to run in a straight
line.

Stumbling and panting I reached
the edge of the park. I pulled myself over the fence and dropped
heavily onto the pavement. Stealing a brief glance back into the
park, I saw that I was being followed by several flashlight
beams—they had probably followed my own. I threw it back into the
park and tiredly ran across the road. I could hear a siren
approaching, and for some reason it spurred me on. I limped and
hopped as fast as I could down the road until the first turning.
Every step felt like it was the last I could make, with the little
energy I had left within me, I pushed and pushed.

Before I made the turning I
looked behind once more, and saw my followers. There were four of
them. A couple looked like typical, teenage students, another was
an older male in jeans and a raincoat, the last one was bearded and
overweight. All of them seemed completely harmless, and I wondered
even if they were not people simply out and about, and not my
pursuers.

I saw a flash of spinning blue
light, then the siren stopped, and the squeal of breaking tires in
the rain indicated the police car had pulled up right outside the
park. The four runners split off, each running in a different
direction away from the police. I turned the corner and moved as
fast as I could down the small residential street. A few houses
down I leapt over a side wall and stayed low. I waited for someone
to find me, or for footsteps to pass by, but heard nothing. I
closed my eyes and once again all the bruises and the pain pulsated
within me.