Survivors

Chapter 1: Return

Erica

It hasn't changed, not one bit. It's still a rundown suburb in southern England, home to squatters, drug dealers and teenage parents _ Greston the shit hole of England, and my childhood home. When I left for University I vowed I would never return, but I guess I didn't really mean it. I sighed and pushed open the door to the bed and breakfast. A woman in her thirties sat at the desk, rocking the Slutty oompa loompa look while reading about Kim Kardashians latest exploits in OK magazine. I cleared my throat and spoke, trying to sound as confident as possible.

"Um...excuse me? Booking for Erica Jhonson?" The women looked up, set down her magazine and rooted through her desk until she found a rusted key with U1 engraved onto the front.

"Up the stairs, first door on the right." She handed over the key and went back to her magazine. I nodded my thanks and began to haul my suitcase up the flight of stairs. The room was quaint, about 10 feet across with a single double bed and a painting of a vase. The bed was tidy with no questionable stains and no rogue springs. The bathroom was tiny with a sorry looking bar of soap and a sink with no hot water. Thankfully I was only here for the weekend.

I dumped the suitcase on the bed and began to unpack; mostly jeans and T-shirt with a single black dress for tomorrow, and pair of boots as well as a shabby pair of old trainers. Beneath them was an old photo. I brought it out and saw it was a photograph of our Sixth Form prom. We were so happy that night - no more A levels or teachers, we were free to enter the big wide world.

There were six of us in photo - Jack, Eden, Sophie, Grace, Reece, and myself. Jack was our ringleader, a troublemaker and almost impossible to shut up. Eden was the mischievous one, an avid gamer and our resident parkour master - a typical tomboy. Sophie was probably one of the most ...open people I knew. If you had a problem with a sensitive or sexual nature she was the go-to person - she was pretty much the mum of the group. Grace had to be snuck into that photo as she ended up going to college. Reece is also very open - if he's on his phone and wants to show you something it was most probably a dick pic...not his, mind you. Probably some guy's off tinder.

I folded up the photo and placed it in my purse. It had sentimental value. Those people made my school life amazing, full of laughs and crazy stories, not to mention some really in-depth conversations on what to do in various situations.

We used to sit on a single table tucked away in the corner of the school canteen. We could discuss a single topic for hours at a time and still have some left for the next day.

Three years ago

"Are you bringing in the laptop tomorrow?" asked Jack, a tall round-faced boy with blonde hair which probably took an hour each morning to perfect. I shrugged in response.

"Dunno, probably, got no lessons, right?"

"Uh-huh, so bring it in," Jack replied, rolling his eyes

"Fine I'll bring in my heavy, cumbersome laptop just so you can play a videogame." I sighed.

"It's not just me, it's Sophie too," he replied haughtily - now it was my turn to roll my eyes.

"What about me?" asked Sophie as she approached the table. Sophie was a tall Indian girl with curly brown hair.

"Tell Erica to bring in her laptop so we can play that game," pleaded Jack as she pulled out a chair and sat down.

"Erica bring in your laptop tomorrow," she said bluntly. I sighed again and shook my head.

"Anyway, how was maths? Boring?" I asked, desperate to change the subject.

"Meh always is -" her sentence was cut short by a chorus of laughs emanating from the other side of the canteen. The three of us looked around to see a disgruntled girl clambering to pick up the books scattered across the floor.

Jack was sniggering slightly across the table. I gave him my best glare.

"What. You have to admit it's kinda funny." I shook my head again and turned back to the girl, I noticed a figure standing slightly off to her side.

"Jordan, immature bastard," I spat, "just because Harlow's on her own now he thinks he can be a massive jerk to her. Everyone does." Sophie nodded.

"Harlow was lucky she didn't go to college with Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee, sick fucks. And Jordan's a jerk...to everyone," she said.

"You've got to admit she is a little weird though. And creepy," said Jack as he leant back on his chair. Admittedly, Charlotte Harlow was a little creepy - she did have a tendency to hover, and half the time you didn't even know she was there. Didn't help that her previous 'associates' were not the most pleasant of people. One had a fascination with all things cruel the other a devotion bordering on obsession with the one with a fascination for all things cruel. Harlow was probably the nicest out the group but her 'perks' made her a prime target for assholes like Jordan. I took one last look at Harlow and returned to our little bubble, but I couldn't quite shake the feeling that one day quiet little Harlow would snap and we all would pay the price.