Snow Space

Warp

"Khamil!" 

All voices, since the last ten minutes had been in another dimension to Khamil, their empty words circulating around him like an echo. This one however stuck out, though he never moved from his position, slumped against the wall by the post office, his head rested in his hands. Around him stood roughly seven of the Bateson road boys - the rest had run off in a different direction. Pikey was calculating a plan out loud, his words meaningless, and fuelled by nothing but the dull sadness that had stemmed from Gaz's death. Once more the voice spoke, this time softly by his ear, as a strand of curly, brown hair fell forwards and gently brushed his sleeve.

"Khamil." 

Ever so slowly, and only for Poppy, Khamil slowly raised his head, his eyes dark and colourless to meet eyes with her tender expression. 

"I'm so sorry."

As much as he wanted to express something to her, all he could do was maintain eye contact, and twitch his lip up in an attempt of a half smile. Anything he tried to say would have come out as an incoherent mumble. 

"Yo, Poppy," Pikey said, looking over at where she was crouched by Khamil. "You should go."

Poppy looked up.

"Why?" Khamil said, surprising himself at how clearly his refusal had come out. 

"Because, Khamil, Gaz has just been fuckin' killed. It's dangerous. She needs to go."

"What, back to the film store? I don't know if you remember, but last time she was there someone had a gun to her head."

"Khamil, it's okay," Poppy tried to say calmly, though she was cut off by Pikey's interjection. 

"No, she needs to go home!"

It was the raising of Pikey's voice that pushed Khamil to his feet, suddenly overtaken with the waves of anger he'd been surpressing.

"No, Pikey, we need to go fucking home! The fight's over, the police came, they surrendered, what more do you want! You're here, gatherin' what you can of a broken group tryin' to infuse them with more revenge!"

The two boys were inches away from each other, positioned as if squaring up before a boxing match. 

"Hade can't do that and get away with it," Pikey growled through gritted teeth, his eyes sparking as angrily as Khamil's. "We need to kill him."

For a moment it looked as if Pikey was about to get a fist to the face, though Khamil just turned around to run a hand through his hair before snapping back. 

"Allow it, Pikes! That's exactly the kind of bullshit that gets more people killed."

"Yeah. Hade."

"No! Not just Hade! More of our friends, maybe me, maybe Omar, maybe Poppy, maybe yourself. Real people with real families and houses and friends. Did Hade mean to kill Gaz? No, he meant to kill me which goes to show - there will always be collateral damage. We're stuck in an endless warp of revenge, and the only way to stop it is to back down. Now."

Pikey clenched his jaw, evidently understanding the truth in Khamil's words. Everyone watched, and Omar suddenly spoke up, in a quiet voice compared to Khamil's passion.

"He's right, Pikes. We don't need to kill anyone."

"You have no idea how much I want to destroy him," Khamil said in a low voice, and Pikey glanced back at him. "But we can't. For everyone's sake."

Pikey was outnumbered in his war-thirst, and he seemed to crumble under this knowledge with a slow nod, his aggression dissipated.

"OI!"

The nine of them turned to see Callum from the year above Khamil, waving them over. He was stood in the middle of the road, out of the glare of the streetlights, with only his luminous white Nike trainers making him somewhat visible.

"Come here!"

Khamil and Pikey shared a look, before glancing back apprehensively at the others. 

"They've found Hade," Pikey murmured. 

"You two go, we'll stay," said one of the boys, and Khamil nodded.

"And Poppy."

He glanced at her, and understanding, she moved towards him and Pikey, slipping her arm around Khamil's. 

"Oi -" Omar said, stubbing out his cigarette and following her. "Me too. I'm coming."

Pikey nodded, and gestured for the three of them to walk ahead, as Khamil reached out to pat Omar's back, welcoming him to the small group. 

"Need my cigs," Pikey said, so the others nodded and began to follow Calum, caution in their steps. Khamil entwined his hand with Poppy's as they walked ahead, Omar already lighting another cigarette. None of them noticed Pikey's brief conference with Danny from the year below, and none of them noticed Danny handing over the small, silver gun that had been used to kill Gaz. No one had even noticed Danny pick it up in the first place apart from Pikey - who wasn't yet sure whether or not Khamil was right. He'd take the gun. Just to be safe.