When he arrived, he knocked twice before there was an answer.
Simon’s father opened the door. He was tall and chubby and he had a brown, scruffy, bushy beard. He was a builder and he owned two trucks. He was wearing his overalls and his boots and looked ready for work.‘Hello, Brendan,’ he greeted Brendan with a friendly smile but it somehow looked invisible inside that giant beard.‘Good morning, Mr. Drewmorphin,’ he responded with a smile too.‘If you want to see Simon, you can come in and have breakfast with us, he’s still in the shower.’He could feel his stomach crying out for food. ‘That’s kind of you but I already ate, and besides, I came to see you only.’Mr. Drewmorphin looked surprised. He closed the door and stepped outside.‘I need a favor, sir.’‘Anything for my son’s best friend,’ he rubbed his hands with glee when he spoke.‘I was wondering if you could pick up something for me and deliver it to a certain place…after your working hours thaBrendan shifted on his bench to see behind him and saw Samantha walking towards their table. Simon and Owen stood up. ‘Come on, Simon please!’ Brendan begged him. ‘She’s turned a new leaf.’ ‘Yeah, right…’ Simon grunted before picking up his tray. ‘If a person had a photo of the devil in one hand and a photo of Samantha in the other, they wouldn’t tell them apart. They’re absolutely identical; she is the devil in person.’ ‘Now that’s being heartless,’ Brendan said watching them move to a table behind him. This time Samantha did not sit in front of him but at his side. ‘Hi,’ they both greeted each other. They sat for a while in silence. Brendan noticed that she had not collected food from the food counter. ‘Aren’t you hungry?’ he asked her. ‘No, I’m okay actually,’ she answered him. They sat again in silence for about twenty seconds. ‘About the money,’ he broke the silence, ‘Simon’s dad will be delivering it
When recess was over, Brendan walked to class alone. He felt someone grab his arm. He turned around and was surprised to see Angus. He was sweating copiously. ‘Brendan, I have to tell you something…you have to help me, please, I messed up big, I…I did something very stupid.’ ‘What did you do?’ he asked him, not waiting to marvel that Angus had called him by his name for the first time. Angus kept wiping sweat from his face but it flowed from his pores all the more. ‘Angus, you and I are eternal enemies. What made you think I would help you?’ He folded his arms inconsiderately. ‘So this is how you want to do it? An eye for an eye?’ Brendan chuckled, ‘Tempting,’ he said. ‘I can’t count the times you punched me in my stomach, jaw…and several other “tender” regions. An eye for an eye would be what you deserve but…’ he shrugged. ‘What do you want?’ Angus did not even wait to answer. His body shook vigorously and he suddenly tore apa
It lifted him higher from the ground, tightening its grip. With all its force it threw its right fist and punched him in the chest, sending him flying across the corridor.The spectators opened a wide gap which Brendan flew through, breaking through the wall and slamming into a tree a large distance from the broken wall.Students and teachers were fighting to get through the exit made on the wall. The monster too was moving slowly towards that same exit. All the students and teachers stood far from Brendan and this giant monster, some on the left and others on the right; watching though, to see how it would end.Brendan sluggishly got up and felt a slight cramp in his lower back, the same part that had slammed into the tree.The monster wiped the blood flowing from its nostrils again with the back of its hand, smearing the blood all over its mouth like a toddler eating chocolate.Brendan stood up straight and looked directly at the monster. He felt feelings rise insid
He pulled the balaclava from his head and tucked it back inside his pocket then rushed back, again unnoticed, and mingled with the crowd in the school.‘Brendan, we’ve been looking everywhere for you, man! Did you see that?’ Simon’s voice was hard to ignore. Both he and Owen now stood in front of him, all three of them within the bustle and clamor of the crowd.‘I was here all along,’ he answered.‘Oh, man! I should have brought my phone; this was awesome!’ Simon exclaimed in a mixture of joy and disappointment.‘Yes…It was,’ Brendan forged a difficult smile at him, trying to avoid suspicions.The rest of the school hours, everyone was talking about this fight. “What was it?” and “who was he?” were the two major questions to which Brendan knew the answer to one of them. Later Principal Johnston walked into every classroom telling all students to go home.B
His eyes widened in surprise. To be honest, he was actually expecting more. Somewhere around twelve zeros…at least. He tried to hide his shock. ‘Did you put it in an account then?’ he asked her.‘Are you forgetting that our safest bank is in ashes?’ she reminded him.‘Oh, right..,’ he scratched his head, remembering the Flicker’s destruction. ‘Just deliver it back to my house then.’‘You think it’s safe?’ she asked him in precaution.‘It will be fine,’ he said smiling.‘Fine, then…I’ll swing it by your house this afternoon.’She folded her arms behind her back, ‘So…are you still coming?’ she asked him.‘For dinner? Tonight? Of course I am.’She broadened her smile, ‘See you then.’He nodded in response.She scampered off into the crowd.Brendan started looking for Ow
‘What do you want, Brendan?’ The flame asked him.‘How do you know..?’‘I know because I am you. The part of you which is yet to be awakened.’‘What do you mean?’ he asked, now feeling extremely perturbed. And it was confusing. Talking to a glowing white ball suspended in midair. It felt like talking to a wall…and the wall was talking back.‘I am the part of you that you have not yet embraced,’ the ball replied, ‘In short; a hidden, unimaginable power.’‘I still don’t understand what you’re trying to say.’‘My name is Marauder,’ it told him as it slowly began to expand and mold out like dough and take shape into a human form. It now looked exactly like Brendan except for its eyes which were completely black as if it had no eyeballs. To Brendan, staring at it was like staring into a mirror.‘Let’s put it this way, Brendan; y
Brendan only had two pairs of jeans. He grabbed one and a clean blue t-shirt and he put them on, then he left his room. Samantha had promised to bring the money back in that afternoon so he went to check in the attic. The money was there, arranged in neat one hundred gem piles but he never heard anyone knock though. Ignoring this, he took one two hundred gem note from one of the piles and left the house.He passed by a flower shop and bought a bouquet of flowers. So many drawback thoughts were telling him that going to Samantha’s house was a very bad idea. Regardless of these thoughts, he rang the bell gate anyway. A few seconds after he had rung the bell, two big pit-bulldogs rushed towards the gate, barking mad at him. Both were the same size but one was brown and the other was black. He did not remember seeing them the last time he was there. Soon enough, the front door of the mansion opened. Samantha came out jogging. ‘Killer! Lieutenant! Back to you
‘I’ve imposed enough, Sam,’ he said getting up.‘Just one, ninety-minute movie? It’s not imposing, is it, dad?’ She turned to her father for backup.Mr. Patricks stood up. ‘You two love birds do whatever you want. I’m going to bed.’ His expression of grief and sorrow had suddenly disappeared and this relieved Brendan. Mr. Patricks left the dining room and headed for the stairs.Samantha grabbed Brendan by the wrist and pulled him towards the living room; ‘Come on…It’s only one wittle movie,’ she forcibly dragged him along. She pulled him along the passage of the house then turned left and after a short walk, they entered the living room.Above the fireplace was a giant flat screen TV. This was the first object he noticed. To the left of the TV, hanging like a Picasso masterpiece on the wall, was a giant portrait of Samantha’s entire family. Fred looked innocent in this portrait.