London Belongs to the Alchemist (Class Heroes Book 4) Page 19

  “Just a walk for now,” she said.

  Al seemed happy with that. He offered her his arm, which she took.

  For a few moments she was happy. Walking along with Al made her feel special. She’d often stared at snogging couples passing her on the street and on the tube and wondered what that felt like. That could be her and Al.

  Then she remembered Mark Foster. Should she say anything? Would it totally ruin the moment? Would Al go mad?

  “I’ve got something to ask you myself, though,” she said, hesitantly.

  “What about?”

  “Do you know a kid called Mark Foster?”

  “Yeah. He’s the brother of a business associate of mine, Kyle Foster. Kyle owns his own software business. Why?”

  ‘Business associate’? Sam wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or not.

  “Mark is head prefect at my school. Actually, he’s the school bully, and today he tried to attack me.”

  “Really? Is he crazy? Did you give him a good smack?”

  “No. But it turns out he’s been bullying people by using Super D.”

  “Aaaaah,” said Al, suddenly looking at his shoes.

  “Exactly. Aaaaah. Al, did you give Mark Foster some Super D that same lunchtime I met you in the coffee shop?”

  Al nodded.

  “Yeah. Mark is always texting me, asking for Super D. I have to keep Kyle sweet, so since I was coming to Ealing to see you, I thought I’d drop some off with Mark. I had no idea he was using it to bully people.”

  “Doesn’t it make you think, though? I told you Super D was dangerous in the wrong hands.”

  “And I told you that anything is dangerous in the wrong hands. You’re starting to sound like your Dad, Sam. Trust me will you?”

  Sam looked at him directly.

  “I will, and I like you, but I’m not an idiot. So you’ve got to promise not to treat me like one. Remember, I know more about Super D than you do. I’m trying to look out for you.”

  “I’d never treat you like an idiot,” he protested.

  “I know. And I know you mean well. I get everything that you say about the parties. I’m just asking you to think about it,” said Sam, softly. She knew that being confrontational with Al wouldn’t get her far. Like her brother and a lot of other boys, he was too proud to admit when he was wrong. “I can defend myself against people like Foster. But my friend Nina can’t and she got badly hurt by his gang. Just think about that.” Sam left that hanging.

  They walked on in silence.

  “How often do you use Super D yourself?” she asked.

  “Sam, can we talk about something else?”

  “What’s wrong with that question? It’s simple enough. How often do you use it?”

  “Usually, only when I do a party. Got to be fit and strong, especially if the cops show up.”

  “It could be dangerous. You already have a power. Taking that on top might…”

  “Might what? Sam, it’s cool. I always feel fine afterwards, no side effects or anything.”

  He smiled a charming, beatific smile.

  “But I love that you care,” he said.

  They had reached the underground station.

  “And I’ll think about what you said,” he muttered under his breath, slightly more conciliatory.

  That was the best Sam could hope for.

  “Maybe we can meet up at the weekend?” she suggested, hoping he would still want to see her.

  “I’d like that, if your parents allow it.”

  “Don’t forget me till then,” joked Sam. Al smiled, paused for a second, and then leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. Sam didn’t move, but she did feel her head spin. Her mouth tingled. She stopped breathing. Her toes were wiggling involuntarily. She had closed her eyes without realizing it. When she opened them, Al was smiling in front of her.

  “I won’t forget that,” he said.

  He waved goodbye and sauntered through the ticket barrier. Sam watched him as he disappeared from sight down the steps. She just remained standing in the same spot. She’d forgotten how to move. She wanted to remain like this forever, drinking in the new world. Suddenly, everything was different. The London air smelled sweet, like summer. Its warmth brushed her skin. The ticket hall seemed bright and magical, whereas before it had been mundane and functional. The sound of Al’s departing train sounded rhythmic, like a lullaby.

  “You ok, luv?” asked one of the uniformed London Transport staff.

  “Very ok,” replied Sam, not quite in control of her mouth. Then she looked at the man and blushed. He laughed good-naturedly.

  Sam’s phone pinged. She’d had a message from Al. All it said was:

  ‘Awesome!’

  Sam tried to reply, but kept pressing all the wrong buttons. Eventually she managed to type out what she hoped was a funny reply.

  ‘Were u holding a jelly? ’Cos that’s what you’ve turned me into :-)’

  She sent it.

  The reply.

  ‘Is being cute one of ur powers? x’

  Sam giggled. She didn’t want to go home. She wanted to run after the train, jump on it and ride around London with Al.

  Her phone pinged again. Another message, so quickly!

  But this time it was from Nina.

  ‘Please come quickly. Im in Lammas park. Nr tennis courts. dont tel anyone. Help.’

  Chapter 32

  Sam struggled to focus on the text. What was it all about? She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts of Al, it was hard to take in this change of context.

  She tried to process the message but her thoughts kept scattering around her head. Nina must be in trouble. But why was she in Lammas Park? Who goes into the park after dark? Nobody, that’s who.

  Sam dialled Nina’s number. It rang, rang, rang and then cut to voicemail.

  She couldn’t control her fingers to type anything sensible. She could only manage:

  ‘Where?’

  Lammas Park was about a mile away. Really she should tell her parents what was happening. It would be so much easier if James could teleport her to the park, but that would mean going back to the house first, facing the music, explaining everything, having a row, all while Nina was in trouble.

  She checked her phone. No reply.

  Sam set off running towards the park, as fast as she could acceptably go in public.

  ***

  Sam reached the entrance to Lammas Park on Church Lane, close to the tennis courts. At this time of night the park was closed and the main gate was shut. Every other street light was working and the park itself was a murky gloom. A man walked past with a dog. Both ignored her.

  London was never quiet. Even in the suburbs there were the sounds of passing cars, police sirens, people on their way out, or on their way home. There were lights on in the nearby flats and houses. People were inside with their families, watching EastEnders and eating nice things, she supposed. What were Mum and Dad doing right now? Should she ring home?

  She checked her phone. She’d had two missed calls from Dad while she’d been running. Sam decided to find Nina first, then call home afterwards.

  She clambered over the park gate. She felt uneasy leaving the comfort of the streetlights behind. For some reason the graffiti tag daubed on the wall caught her eye. It said ‘DJ Alchemy’. It gave Sam a funny feeling inside that she couldn’t explain.

  The park was eerie. Quiet, but not empty. She saw several people walking their dogs. How had they got in? Through a hole in the fence?

  There were a couple of older kids making out on a bench, but they didn’t even look up as Sam skulked past. Would she and Al ever be doing something like that? She couldn’t imagine it. Sam shivered.

  She had never been into a park when it was closed and had no idea that people actually went into them. It was weird.

  In the half light, she made her way to the tennis courts.

  “Nina?” she whispered. “Where are you? Are you ok?”

  No res
ponse.

  “Nina?” called Sam again.

  What was going on?

  Sam pulled her phone out of her jacket and rang Nina. Straight to voicemail this time.

  Seconds later, she received a text from Nina.

  ‘Got away from tennis courts at the play area please come quick’.

  Another garbled text. The words looked odd, not the way Nina usually messaged her. Sam was beginning to suspect that somebody had taken Nina’s phone and was playing some kind of stupid game. Or something more dangerous? Given Nina’s beating at school, Sam was seriously concerned. Well, if they wanted to mess with Nina and her, they were in for a nasty shock.

  The play area was on the other side of the park to the tennis courts. Sam hurried along the main pathway that ran around the perimeter. She saw various people, but nobody she recognized.

  She reached the children’s play area. Nobody about.

  “Nina? I’m here,” called Sam, in a loud whisper. No response. Somebody was definitely playing a game with her. But she couldn’t leave until she’d found out what had happened to her friend.

  Another text message.

  ‘What’s it like, everybody hating you?’

  The words jarred, seeing them against Nina’s name. But it confirmed for Sam that Nina wasn’t sending the texts. It also made it a certainty that Mark Foster was behind this, and she wasn’t about to let his stupid insults upset her.

  Sam received a picture message. A photograph of Nina. It was horrible. Truly nasty. The photo was blurry because of the low light and the obvious movement at the time it was taken. But it was definitely Nina, held on the ground by several hands and arms. She was gagged. The fear in her eyes stood out in the picture. Sam couldn’t recognize anybody else but she was convinced that they were Foster’s hangers-on.

  Sam’s whole body flushed with anger.

  She wanted to text something back. To tell them they were cowards, demand they let Nina go, but then she thought again. She looked at the photo. She could see enough of the background to work out that it hadn’t been taken in an open space. There was shrubbery, a wire fence. It was some kind of enclosure. The only thing Sam could think of that looked like the area in the photo was the old petting zoo in neighbouring Walpole Park. She had always enjoyed looking in at the rabbits and the goat when she was younger. There had been cockerels, too. One of them had had a comically strangled-sounding crow, she remembered. The more she studied the photo, the more she became convinced of where it had been taken.

  She might need some help. James could teleport here in an instant. She tried his phone. The call didn’t connect. That was odd. She tried again. Nothing. There was no signal. All of a sudden she had no phone signal and no internet! Aaaaaaaargh. How frustrating.

  And another thing. Her phone was hot. Why? There was only half battery power left in it too, yet it had been fully charged at the time she’d picked it up after dinner.

  She’d just have to go by herself. It meant another walk in almost total darkness.

  Sam jumped when she heard a rustle in the bushes. She told herself off. With all her powers, surely nothing should frighten her? It was just a squirrel leaping from one tree to another. Not for the first time, Sam wished she was back home.

  She exited Lammas Park, crossed the road, and entered Walpole Park. Equally dark, equally disconcerting. But if she was struggling to see other people, at least they wouldn’t see her. Her black jeans and navy duffle coat made her unobtrusive.

  ***

  Sam kept herself crouched down and near the cover of trees and bushes as she made her way through the park. A random thought crossed her mind that she should burst into song. Where had that come from? She wished she could tell James about it. He should be here with her!

  “Blake,” called out a voice from somewhere in the dark and Sam stopped in her tracks. It was a boy’s voice, loud and taunting. “Blake, we know where you are.”

  Had they spotted her? Sam tried to make out some shapes in the darkness, but it was impossible. She suspected they had no idea where she was and were just calling to try and catch her out. She listened intently and could only hear the sound of her breathing and the distant traffic noise.

  Whoever it was who had called out must be close by. Maybe just ahead of her on the path. Perhaps she should try and intercept this person and then make him tell her where Nina was?

  “I’m here,” she replied, stepping out into the middle of the path. “Come and get me.”

  “We’re all coming to get you, Blake,” replied the voice. Still Sam couldn’t see anybody. She kept walking. Was it her imagination or were there shadows moving beside the trees at the edge of the path? She moved towards the nearest tree, rounded it. Nobody.

  “You’re on your own, Blake,” called a different voice. A girl. “No big brother to rescue you this time.”

  Sam kept her cool.

  “You’ve got it the wrong way round,” she replied. “It’s you who are on your own. Where’s Nina?”

  There was laughter. A collective burst of laughter. Some deep, some high pitched. Sam rubbed her hands together. They were clammy.

  She had no idea how many people were here waiting for her, but it was a lot. The question was, were they all on Super D?

  It was hard trying to get her thoughts into a coherent order. They were fizzing about too quickly for her to form a plan. She just needed to find Nina as fast as possible, get her out, and get home.

  Sam started running. This time she decided to avoid the pathway, where anybody could leap out at her. On the large, open expanse of grass, she would be able to see an assailant approach, and it might draw Foster into the open.

  As soon as she broke cover, there was a chorus of yelling, whooping, whistling, jeering, laughing and every conceivable sound that a human being could make. It was horrible. She felt like a gazelle being hunted by a pack of hyenas. She looked around. She still couldn’t see anybody.

  Sam ran faster, making the most of her incredible speed. She quickly reached the old petting zoo, leaving the cacophony of jeering far behind. A section of the chain-link fence had been ripped apart, creating a narrow entrance to the enclosure.

  The petting zoo had been disused for years, but it still smelled of animals. There was dank, wet straw and wood chippings on the ground. Sam’s shoes squelched as she entered.

  “Nina?” she called. “Nina, are you here?”

  Sam heard a whimpering from the adjacent section. She pushed aside some branches, stepped over a broken rabbit hutch, and picked her way along the side of another fence into a second enclosure. Poor Nina was tied to a tree by her own dirty white cardigan. Her face was streaked with mud and tears. She was gagged with a scarf and she looked terrified, although as soon as her eyes alighted on Sam, they showed relief and hope.

  Sam pulled the gag out of Nina’s mouth, untied her, and helped her stand up. She was crying.

  “Get me out of here, please,” she screamed.

  Sam hugged her and told her it was going to be ok. She wanted to ask Nina what it was all about, but now wasn’t the time. She was about to lead her out of the enclosure when they heard another voice.

  “Look at the animals in the zoo!” was the first shout.

  “Monkeys in a cage,” whooped another. And within seconds, bodies started emerging from the darkness outside the zoo. Three, six, ten kids. Then more. Some ran, some walked, some were practically skipping. Within seconds, there were dozens of them, some that she recognized, some that she didn’t, all older, grabbing hold of the fencing, rattling it, shouting, swearing, spitting and throwing mud at them.

  Nina was crying, begging them to stop.

  Mark Foster pushed his way to the head of the pack. His feral scent was the strongest smell in the zoo. Sam nearly gagged.

  “I warned you, Blake. Nobody messes with us.”

  Chapter 33

  A clump of mud hit Sam in the face. A second one slopped into her hair.

  Sam and Nina backed
away to avoid being pelted with more mud. Surely the pack would burst into the enclosure any minute? At the moment, they seemed happy just to snarl and taunt from outside the fence.

  Finally, one kid ducked through the gap into the zoo, kicked the rabbit hutch out of the way and blundered around the dividing fence to where Sam and Nina were waiting. Nina backed away, stumbled and fell on her bottom. Sam stood her ground. She was caught in a moment of indecision. She didn’t want to strike first. She had no way of knowing if this kid had taken Super D. If he hadn’t, she could potentially kill him if she hit him too hard. She had to be sure.

  The kid panted as he stood in front of her, legs apart, ready to strike. With a snarl, he launched himself at Sam. She caught his wrists, mid-assault. She could feel the strength in his arms and knew he had taken Super D. He broke free from her grip and struck her across the face.

  It hurt. The kid followed it up by pouncing again, arms outstretched.

  Not this time.

  Sam pushed her hand out, palm facing away from her, and caught the boy in the face. The impact knocked the wind out of his sails, and he rocked on his heels, unable to work out what had just happened.

  Before he could figure it out, Sam grabbed the lapels of his jacket with both hands, and launched him high over the chain-link fence. He crash landed on top of his friends, knocking them to the ground.

  The baying and the calling escalated. Curiously, while some of the fallen kids were picking themselves up, others actually started attacking the ones who were on the ground. They had turned in an instant, like animals devouring the weakest of the pack.

  Foster seemed astounded at what was happening.

  “Leave them. Get Blake,” he shouted, looking at Sam as though his eyes were burning into her.

  Sam didn’t want to hang around for whoever came next.

  “Come on.” She grabbed Nina’s hand and led her through the back of the zoo until they reached the rear perimeter fence. Beyond that was a brick wall. Sam guided Nina along the line of the fence until the wall behind it ended. Sam put her hands into the chain-link fence and pulled it apart.