Slow motion.
That's what everything seemed to be happening in, for Ste. Nothing was at its usual pace. Instead, reality was moving at an incredibly slow speed. And that made Ste acutely aware of every detail, however insignificant. Or perhaps it was the adrenalin pumping through his veins.
It was like he'd had a shed load of energy drinks and was on a high, making him notice any, and every, bit of movement that he wouldn't normally. His brain was going into overdrive, making hundreds of thoughts whizz through his mind.
For all Ste knew this is what could happen seconds before death came.
14 hours earlier...
However much Ste tried to get used to it, he just couldn't- least of all on a Saturday when there wasn't any reason whatsoever to be rolling out of bed practically before the sun had even made an appearance.
That may have been a lie, but still, Ste couldn't comprehend why, at 9 o'clock on a Saturday he had two small hands attached to each of his arms, shaking him until he at least opened his eyes.
Then would undoubtedly come the shouts.
Reluctantly, Ste lifted an eyelid and shut it instantaneously when he became aware of the harshest light ever known to humans.
To Ste's misfortune, his movement had been noticed by these attackers and he felt a weight jump onto his stomach.
"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy! Wake up!" Leah's voice screamed at him.
He felt another weight leap up onto the bed and then Ste suffered the pain of his eye attempting to be pulled apart.
Leah and Lucas screamed in delight when they felt two large hands grab their legs and pull them closer to the supposedly sleeping form of their dad.
"Come 'ere ya little rascals!" Ste shrieked and pulled his children in for a big morning cuddle.
"Did ya sleep well?" He asked to them both and received two nods in reply. Then he heard Lucas's stomach rumbling.
"Hungry are ya?" Ste chuckled and ruffled his son's hair. "Let me get up then and I'll see what we've got." He continued.
As Ste got out of bed, a thought struck him, "Is mummy up?"
"Mummy's asleep on the sofa." Leah informed him.
Great. She must have got back pretty late from that party and would probably have a hangover for the whole of the morning...
Ste followed his kids to the kitchen in his pyjama bottoms and could just see Amy's foot propped over the back of the sofa. He lifted it up and it fell back down like a dead weight.
She certainly wouldn't be waking up any time soon.
When Ste saw Amy's face, he did a double take. Never in a million years would he ever say to her what he thought right at this minute, because Amy looked a right state. Her hair was big and bushy and she held a close resemblance to a panda with all that black smeared around her eyes. And she was not in the most flattering sleeping position either.
Ste let her sleep off the drink for a little bit, but in the end he had to set the kids on her, otherwise she would have gone mad at Ste as she had a work shift after lunch.
From the kitchen, Ste could hear the troublesome-twosome jumping up and down on their already haggard sofa and Amy moaning in response.
It took a while for Amy to properly wake up but when she did, Ste had prepared a tablet with a glass of water and was holding it out for her.
A small smile appeared on Amy's lips and a word of thanks was whispered.
"Right Ames, I'm just gonna go to the shop an' get some lunch in. You'll be alright with the kids? They've been playin' by themselves anyway so…"
Amy nodded in response, not being able to find much of a voice; to be honest, her throat hurt quite a bit, probably from all the screaming and singing she'd more than likely spent all night doing.
"An' a word of advice Ames, don't go lookin' in any mirrors before ya go in the shower." Ste sniggered just before he left through their front door.
Wonderful, Amy thought. She must look an absolute wreck.
(((x)))
Ste knew they would all enjoy what he was going to make for lunch. Some vegetable and chicken wraps- a healthy option that the kids would actually like to eat.
Usually, anything with vegetables was not an option for Leah and Lucas as they would stick their noses up at it- but with some special sauce Ste made, it would be down their throats within seconds.
Just as he was leaving the shop, his phone started to ring. A bag slipped from his hand and all the items inside tumbled out as he reached into his pocket.
His phone displayed an unknown number, but Ste went straight ahead and answered it, regardless of any potential consequences, feeling slightly annoyed at the bag.
"Hello?"
"I want you to do something for me Ste, a pick up." Ste recognised the voice instantly,
it was Danny. He checked the time. Yep, 11 o'clock. Same as always. Just always an unknown number and never the same one. Not that Ste ever kept the numbers Danny rang from in his mobile. Oh no, big mistake. And he didn't keep them stored anywhere else either.
Danny told him all Ste needed to know, and then hung up before Ste could utter anything other than confirmative noises. All of Danny's phone conversations with Ste were always over so quickly.
Picking up the fallen bag, Ste dawdled back in something of a stupor. Danny hadn't called him in a while asking him to do anything. Probably had something to do with how the last one went. When he was chased for about a mile around streets he didn't really know by three older men; a set up, Ste thought. Thankfully they weren't as fit as Ste, so he'd been able to out-run them.
Somebody knew what he had been up to, what Danny was doing. And had gone after Ste; Danny's little worker.
Ste recalled how Amy had been that night- terrified for Ste. And she had sworn that if he ever got into that sort of situation again, then she was calling the police on Danny.
Up until that point, she was willing to turn a blind eye. And it was because of the money.
They weren't exactly legitimate jobs- well not at all actually- so they paid well.
Ste never had any idea of what he was carrying. And if he ever did, because he'd opened it, Danny would know. And Ste would be in for it.
Tonight, Ste was picking up a parcel from under a bin down some alley, in a rough area on the outskirts of the village. It sounded a bit odd as usually Ste would go and collect packages from houses; definitely not under bins. But no way was Ste going to question it. He was just grateful for the money he would be receiving.
(((x)))
Ste was pretty sure that if anyone asked him what he had done for the rest of the day, he wouldn't be able to tell them; he'd been concerning himself too much about this pick up.
In a zombie-like trance, Ste went about the day looking after Leah and Lucas and tidying up the flat.
He wasn't aware of what was happening in the present; more concerned with what was to happen later on.
At some point, Ste must have stopped talking to and answering Leah and Lucas as he overheard Leah worriedly ask Amy, "What's wrong with Daddy?"
Amy hadn't known how to reply- she didn't realise there was anything wrong with Ste, or perhaps she'd just been too busy that day and hadn't really paid much attention to how Ste was acting.
When she did start watching him from the corner of her eye, it was obvious something was wrong; he wasn't being his usual loud and chatty self.
"Ste, what's going on? What're you thinking about?" Amy eventually had to ask.
Ste shook his head at first, not wanting to tell her, but this was Amy and she wouldn't stop until Ste told her what was going on.
"I'm doin' a job for Danny in a couple of 'ours." He sighed, throwing his head back-annoyed he'd had to say, because now she'd be having a right go at him.
"I thought you weren't doing anything for him again. Not since last time. Well that was ages ago so...Why would he ask you now?"
"I don't know Amy!" Ste was getting stressed and he didn't really know why. It must have just been the anxiety.
Amy wondered why Ste was getting all bothered with her. "Ste it's not, well it's not too risky, is it?"
Ste sarcastically smirked, "What d'ya mean by too risky? This sort of job's always got some risk in it."
"Don't get all funny with me Ste. And if it is risky then why are you doing it?"
"'Cause we need the money, don't we? Yeah you won't stop me now, will ya?!"
Amy was stunned. Why was he acting like she didn't care?
"Fine Ste! Do what you like." And she walked out of the lounge door, slamming it shut behind her.
Ste heard her getting the kids ready for bed. Once they were in bed, Ste would give them a goodnight kiss, and then he'd have to get going if he wanted to be on time.
About fifteen minutes later, Leah and Lucas were all tucked up, nearly asleep already when Ste went to give them a cuddle.
In the finish, Leah was hanging on to Ste, not wanting him to leave her bedside until she was dreaming sweet dreams.
"Come on Leah, Daddy's gotta go."
"Go where?"
Smart girl was Leah. Very perceptive. Ste would have to lie to her though; otherwise she would have a hard time getting to sleep with not knowing where her dad was, not knowing whether he was safe.
"Nowhere Leah." Ste replied, kissing her on the forehead.
"Then take your shoes off!" She demanded. Nothing got past Leah.
Ste followed her wish, but put them straight back on once he'd left their bedroom. He slipped out of the house quietly, not wanting to disturb anyone. Amy hadn't made an appearance, so he knew she'd probably be worrying about him once she realised he'd gone. Ste really shouldn't have told her.
(((x)))
It didn't take Ste too long to reach the other side of the village, where the dreaded alleyway was.
From the street it led off, Ste could see a light flickering on the wall which Danny had told Ste to look out for.
It was the right one then.
At this distance though, Ste was unable to see the bin, so he knew he'd have to be having a good search for it. He started going down the dirt-filled alleyway really slowly, ensuring he didn't suddenly walk past this bin. For starters, he wasn't even aware of how big it was, so he could have been looking for any sized thing.
When Ste was about a quarter of the way in, something small hit the side of one building and fell to the ground beneath, but it made Ste jump out of his skin. He checked over his shoulder to see if anyone was there. No one was, but he wasn't taking any chances. Someone could have thrown something to startle Ste- meaning it may not have been part of the building breaking like Ste's initial, somewhat naïve, thought.
The quicker he got out of there, the better.
Yet again though, Ste ended up jumping in fright when he heard a whirring and felt a ripple from helicopter blades quite close to ground level. He looked up and watched the contraption fly out of sight, past the entrance of the alley.
That was when he saw it. Or rather... Him.
Someone Ste had never seen before. But Ste could feel it in his bones that this man was going to have some negative influence in the immediate future of Ste's life; considering he was in an alleyway that was in a dodgy area, where nobody else was and he didn't really look like he wanted a friendly chat.
Oddly, the man's expression changed as soon as he lowered his face to look at Ste- he too had been watching the helicopter.
He may not have had such a terrifying expression upon his face when his eyes met Ste's; however in this circumstance Ste was still petrified.
The poor light didn't help matters for Ste as he was struggling to see the man's face, but he did pick up on the fact the man was edging closer. In response, Ste moved unconsciously backwards.
Ste's frightened eyes were fixed upon this man and Ste's eye contact didn't once waver as he was most definitely going to follow the man's every move in case there was a chance of danger for Ste.
He didn't move much.
So when he did move, Ste knew it would be a cause for concern.
The man's head did suddenly begin to tilt and Ste gulped, feeling shivers running down his spine.
That was when he knew it. How soon he was going to die. He would never see his kids again, see them grow up. And Amy would miss him.
There was a feeling he was having; a little niggle at the back of his mind telling him to move, otherwise there was no chance he would make it back out of that alley alive.
And Ste was trying to listen to it, but it seemed to be that he was having a bit of an odd experience. It was as though he could see everything as a blur, but at the same time everything was as clear as crystal.
And everything was moving really gradually. His fingers, when he attempted to move them, took forever to curl. They just wouldn't make a fist and Ste needed to be ready to put up a fight, if necessary. He wasn't one to just let anything happen to him; he would offer resistance, however feeble it may be, facing this man.
The man that still appeared to be staring at him.
At least he was, until a distinctive sound startled both him and Ste.
It was that helicopter again; it had made a return and the loud reverberating sounds somewhat knocked Ste out of his daze and survival kicked in for him.
His legs moved and he ran; faster than he'd ever done before.
Thank you for reading :).
I have plans for this story and hope to continue if you enjoyed it. Also, I've started writing this story from Brendan's POV and will be posting up the first chapter sometime next week, as a different story. I recommend reading it as well because it'll give lots more information and also you can see from early on how captivated Brendan is by Ste...Yum. :)
Feel free to leave any comments and/or questions and I'll answer them for you.
Bye for now xxx
-SwearByStendan-