Wild Hearts

The Eyes Always Tell Their Own Truth

This is crazy! What the hell am I doing? Three stops, you gullible, lonely idiot! I was counting each one, even if the destination wouldn't exactly be a pleasant one. Not curfew per se, but if they knew I was in the city at this time of the evening? I shiver.

Now I am tailing a complete stranger, and all because, what, his smile intrigued me?! Because he seemed lonely. Lonely, handsome... cool. Take your pick. So many warning sirens went off. A simple stupid smirk isn't enough to leave me abandoning my senses, but a kid asking me to hang out a couple stops from home is... I don't feel like I'm in danger. Just that my stomach is prickling, churning like mad, and it's freaking adrenaline-raising. Ryder is something new in a monotonous schedule, a world that makes less sense each day.

I see him speeding ahead, not exactly jogging, but his legs carry him far in such a short time, like he's gliding, no weight to his legs. I call out after him and he stops, big cheesy grin, both hands with the thumbs up before waving me on. He's giddy, but he could at least do the decency of waiting up for me. If you're gonna try and make a new friend, it doesn't strike a good impression that you leave him trailing... I grumble and quicken my pace, following in his path as he disappears around the bend. The path snakes, towering walls growing larger as the path sinks into the ground. The beach is this way. Does he think skinny-dipping in ten-degree weather is the kind of chill I was expecting?!

Night crests, blue strokes fading into black, deeper and deeper still. I don't know this part of the city. Or I don't think I do. I know teenagers like to hang out here after dark and it scares me. They could be nice, decent people, for all I know. I see a kind gesture with murderous intent.

A chill sends shudders throughout my back. Ryder, why couldn't you bloody wait?! I look around me. I feel alone, alone in an unfamiliar part of my neighbourhood, but I'm not really alone. Junkies and all manner of criminals loiter here, mum says. Still, Ryder could be a bloody gentleman and wait up!

Shining black gates rest atop crumbling stone walls, pressing back the enveloping blanket of palm trees. The ground is littered with pockets of sand, built up like dust. I feel warm air hit my face, almost suffocating me, then it's replaced by a cool twist. I've never been to the beach at night.

Or at all. Weird, right? We live so close... but family time is scant. Plus all those hot people strutting about confidently in their bodies... Not a place this bag of bones belongs. Uh, yeah, like that's the reason I won't be seen in those places and, oh, I don't know, too many flipping people! Yeah, nope. Can't do it. Already the thought of like, a dozen people nearby fills me with anxiety.

My steps are slower, the swaying trees taunting me, making me smaller with every inch moved forward. An icy dagger runs up my spine and I feel a whisper at my neck. I swivel around, but of course, there's nothing. I know my life's not a horror film, and I know I said I'm practically a man, but who am I kidding? I'm just a terrified kid. Crap. There goes the bus. I could walk from here... uh, I think. That's a good twenty minutes.

There's this roaring along the ground, like the world tearing itself apart, and I jump. The stone walls twist and from around the corner, two figures glide into sight. Teens zig-zagging on their skateboards, tall, wearing dark clothes, faces hidden in shadow, and they see me. And laugh. Laugh like Sam and his cronies when they spot me at school. A brutish cackle.

They're going to crash right into me! I brace, arms shielding my face. Their laughter looms closer, like they're screaming into my ears, and their wheels sound like jets, louder, louder and... gone.

I don't hold any pretences after that. I run as fast as my legs will carry me, turning the corner before reaching a crossroads. Stone steps lead down to the beach, dark sands beckoning me, and no way in hell am I venturing into that void. I can see the waves breaking through the still image and that's it.