One Last Chance

Chapter 11

Chapter 11 - Liar

Daniel held his breath. He heard approaching footsteps and rustling grass.

'Go away... go...' He screamed in his mind. 'Leave...'

Yet the footsteps grew louder. If the man approached any closer, he'd discover the trapdoor...

Daniel shrank towards the ground, as if he could disappear if he curled up into a ball tight enough.

Amazingly, the footsteps faded away, and as a celebration, Edward tore open a packet of potato chips.

Daniel felt a sense of calm replacing the fear he had felt just a minute ago. It was strange, really. A week ago, if anyone had told him he would end up sharing a bag of potato chips with the school bully by torchlight in an abandoned bomb shelter, he'd tell them to check themselves into the nearest mental hospital. But now... Here he was. Life was certainly strange.

As a precaution, they decided to spend the night in the bomb shelter. They chatted late into the night, lying on the rubber mats. Daniel learnt many new things about Edward. Like him, he was into collecting stamps. Like him, he was a Harry Potter fan. And like him, he was a very misunderstood boy.

"That's how I became a bully. People misunderstood my actions. They accused me of sucking up to my teachers and seniors, being manipulative, when all I was actually doing was helping them, being myself. I felt miserable and useless. I wanted power. I wanted my name to strike fear into those who had jeered at me, called me all those horrible names and spread malicious gossip about me. I wanted them to experience my pain."

Edward's words struck a chord with Daniel. It sounded almost the same as his life, without the bully part. And he had one example, a story, from years ago, to prove it.

It was a cool October afternoon. Eleven year old Daniel had just finished baseball training. He was among the other eight juniors in the team, which consisted of eleven and twelve year olds, the seniors. The coach gathered them together after they had finished packing away the equipment. He then announced that he was going to select one of the juniors to be team captain next year. Excitement buzzed. Daniel hung his head. He didn't have a chance. He was an average batter and average catcher. There was always someone who was better than him in whatever he did. He reckoned that Albert, Jake or Quincy would be the top three candidates. Yes, they were the best among the juniors, but their attitude sucked. Daniel shuddered. He couldn't imagine any one of them being captain.

He heard Albert, Jake and Quincy loudly discussing heading to the mall for lunch, and felt an intense surge of jealousy course through him. The sight of Albert's face made him want to swing one of those heavy duty bats into it. Albert had the kind of face that had a smirk carved into it, Jake's was those that looked like that of a porcelain doll, and Quincy was one of those who were annoyingly good at everything and somehow managed to show it.

He waited for everyone to leave first, before stumbling towards the bus stop. Daniel didn't want to listen to any taunting they might throw his way. His legs were sore, particularly because he'd run a total of 4.8km (3 miles) that day. He wondered who Coach would pick to be captain.

Walking ahead of him, he realised, was the current team captain, Matthew. He watched as Matthew began to cross the road.

His eyes drifted towards the oncoming traffic, and that paralysed him. Before he could even attempt to speak, horns blared and tires squealed.

"MATT!! Watch out!" He finally managed to yell, but it was too late. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. The black Mercedes sent Matthew flying, before gravity slammed him back down onto the asphalt. Traffic came to a standstill. The Mercedes's door opened and the driver stepped out. That action prompted Daniel to Matthew's side.

Daniel knelt by Matthew. The older boy was lying on his side, a trickle of blood running down the side of his face. His eyes were closed, as if he was sleeping. Daniel traced the source of the blood from Matthew's temple, and gasped. He knew that it was the thinnest part of the skull, and any blood vessel burst there would place Matthew's life in danger. With trembling hands, he dialled for the ambulance. Somehow, while waiting for it to come, he managed to ignore his surroundings. He didn't hear the angered shouts of other drivers, or their annoying honking. He couldn't feel something building up inside of him. As far as he was concerned, he and Matthew were the only ones in the world, and he, Daniel, was waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

The ambulance finally came, doors bursting open and soon as it slowed to a halt. Two paramedics raced out, wheeling a stretcher along, while the third spoke rapidly to Daniel and the Mercedes driver. As soon as the two paramedics had slotted the stretcher back into the ambulance, Daniel clambered in after, followed by the third paramedic. He sat and looked down at Matthew. This was all his fault, if only he'd shouted earlier... Just a second earlier. He could have saved Matthew, given him time to perhaps jump clear of the car...

Minutes later, the ambulance arrived at the hospital. Daniel was numbed with shock, and he watched as a team of nurses and doctors stretchered Matthew away. A nurse pulled him away into a quiet corner, and asked him questions: Matthew's full name, date of birth and address. Following that, she asked for details of the accident, all the while scribbling down notes on a piece of paper attached to a purple clipboard. When she was finished, she led Daniel into a ward, where Matthew was lying on a bed with a doctor bending over him and a nurse wrapping a bandage around his head. Daniel went straight to the doctor and enquired about Matthew's condition. "His condition is stable, he'll be waking up soon" was all he got.

Daniel plonked himself into a plastic chair by the door and sighed. Waves of guilt were building inside of him, and he struggled to hold back his feelings. He heard Matthew's groans through his thoughts, and he shot to the bedside.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"I'm fine..." Matthew whispered. "Could you get me some water?"

Daniel turned to the bedside table and reached for the jug of water and glass. At that moment, the ward's door clicked open, and Albert, Jake and Quincy walked in. They glared at Daniel for the briefest moment, before placing an enormous fruit basket on the bedside table.

"How are you, captain?" Albert asked in an overly polite voice. "Do you need anything?"

Matthew attempted a faint smile. "No, thanks. I've got Daniel here."

Albert turned to face Daniel, screwing up his nose in scorn. "What are you doing here? Sucking up to captain again?" Behind him, Jake and Quincy sneered.

Something inside Daniel snapped. He'd put up with this for far too long. Whirling around to face Albert, he snarled in Albert's face, "Why can't I be here?"

Albert snorted. "Not afraid people will question your intentions?"

Matthew sat up, ignoring the pain. "What's going on? Stop arguing!"

Daniel snatched a handful of Albert's shirt. "I am here," he said, "because I witnessed the accident! I was there. I saw everything. And I failed to warn Matthew in time." He broke off and glanced at Matthew. "I am here," he continued, "because I feel guilty, because I want to make up for my mistake, because-"

Albert screamed. "You're a liar. You didn't witness the accident, did you? You just wanted to get in on the excitement."

"Don't you dare call me a liar! I was there and I saw everything! Everything!"

Albert paid no attention to him. "You don't actually care about Matthew! You're here only because you want-"

"Shut up! Just shut up! I do care! I care so much it hurts, and I want to make up for it. You're the one that wants the curry favour with people. You want to become Captain next year, don't deny it!"

Daniel realised that he still had the empty glass in his hand and he squeezed it, harder and harder, fighting to hold back tears. The glass shattered, shards biting into his palm, but he didn't care. He couldn't feel the pain or the blood spilling out, splattering onto the sterile, white floor.

And that was when the door swung open once again and their Coach stepped in. The look on his face told the five boys that he'd heard every single word of their argument. And he was not happy.