The Quadrants

Chapter 3

The following day, Rohan once again trudged up Bakers Hill, dread lying heavily in the pit of his stomach. He didn't know what Titus had in store for him, but he couldn't imagine it would be good—he didn't even know why he had come. But now Rohan knew he was strong enough to defend himself, if it came to that, and this time he was determined to.

It was time to stop running.

When he arrived at the top there was no one around, so Rohan waited, lying on the top of the boulder, gazing up at the sky. Almost twenty minutes went by—allowing him to work himself into a blithering mess—before the sound of gravel crushing under-foot could be heard. He sat up with a start and watched as Titus came out from between the bushes, from the path leading up the hill. But he was not alone. He was followed by two large figures.

"Great, he's brought his friends for triple the pain," Rohan muttered under his breath. He felt sick already, and immediately regretted having come there. A moment before, he had been confident he could defend himself against Titus, but against three giants? Rohan's fighting skills left a lot to be desired, making his chances of getting out of there alive, under these circumstances, rather low. His eyes darted to the cliff-edge then, and he quickly estimated its distance. He would rather take his chances sliding down the rocky face of the hill than risk probable death by remaining at the top of it.

Rohan dropped from the boulder and landed awkwardly at its side. He watched the figures make their way across the clearing. These other two with Titus were not boys, he realised then, with a sinking feeling in his stomach, they were men—bulky, strong-looking men. As they approached, he could see that the three of them resembled each other in both size and shape, and it was obvious they were related.

"This the boy?" the gruffer-looking man asked Titus, while drilling a stare into Rohan.

"Yeah," Titus replied, before he turned to address his class-mate. "Ok, show 'em. Pick that up." He pointed to an extremely large rock nearby, one of about three feet in diameter.

Rohan hesitated, sizing up the men who seemed to be doing the same thing to him. Titus hadn't come here to beat him up, it suddenly occurred to him, he wanted to show him off. But why? Rohan didn't know what would happen if they found out about him, but with all the talk of scientists and prison the previous day, he couldn't risk it.

"You're joking, right?" said Rohan, forcing out a laugh.

"Just do it!" Titus ordered.

Rohan moved uneasily across to the rock the other boy had indicated, keeping his eyes on his audience. He paused, but seeing the look on Titus's face, he finally bent down, and slowly placed his arms around the object. Then he pretended to strain a bit, but he didn't lift it off the ground.

"Come on! Pick it up," growled Titus.

"I'm trying," Rohan lied, making another mock attempt. "It's obviously way too heavy, Titus." He stopped what he was doing and made a show of puffing.

"Lift it, or you're dead."

"I am, I mean... I'm trying to..." He shot a glance at the men. Their eyes were still fixed on him. "You don't seriously think I can lift this thing, do you?"

"Shut up and do it. Now!" Titus took some steps towards him and Rohan bent to grab the rock once again, making it look like he was putting in his full effort, groaning and straining some more.

This went on for several seconds until the gruff man spoke. "Don't tell me you've brought us up here for a joke, boy," he said, looking far from impressed. He began moving towards Titus, and Rohan was surprised to see that Titus backed away, almost cowering. He had never seen him un-nerved before.

"No, he can do it," Titus replied, a quiver in his voice. "He's just messing with us, that's all." He strode across and picked up a smaller rock near Rohan, but he struggled with it. Then without warning, he threw the thing in Rohan's direction. Titus had obviously expected him to catch it, but Rohan braced himself and just let it hit him in the chest, giving a grunt and pretending to stumble backwards a few paces.

Titus glared at Rohan, and Rohan thought he detected a hint of fear in the other boy's eyes.

"What the hell are you doing?" Titus snapped. "Pick it up... now, or you'll be sorry!"

"I can't... it's too heavy..." Rohan pleaded.

"Fraser! Come on. Do it!" Titus shot a nervous glance at the men behind him, as one of them leaned in and whispered something to the other.

Keeping his eyes on his audience, Rohan went through the whole charade again, but soon, the older man's patience ran out. He walked across to Titus, and raising a hand, he unexpectedly struck him over the back of the head. "I'll speak to you at home," he rumbled.

Rohan froze, wide eyed, ready to run.

"No, wait," Titus said, rubbing the back of his head, barely showing any concern about what had just happened. "He's just being an arsehole." But the man was already walking away in the direction of the path, with the other man following behind.

Straight away, Titus swung around to face Rohan. "You're dead tomorrow at school, you know that?" he said. "I wouldn't even bother showing up if I were you." His confidence and venom had returned, now that they were alone. "I mean it, Fraser, you're dead!" And with that, Titus stormed off, disappearing through the bushes to follow his relatives.