Chapter 36 - Drop of Smoke
It is 26 June 1999 and their parents are in Cardiff, as their respective fathers have VIP rugby tickets. They are all at the shiny, new Millenium Stadium watching the All Blacks. The kids have gone awol but no one has even noticed.
Colin, Belinda, his own girlfriend Aggie and Stuart have run away. They took the bus to some little shit-hole called 'Barry Island'. Stuart watches the girls play in the sea, kicking the water at each other and laughing wildly as Colin chases them both with seaweed.
Stuart has a chocolate ice-cream in his hand, and an ache in his heart. He has quietly realised that he is in love with Belinda Weaver. It's annoying, as he had tried so hard not to fall in love with her. It's predicatable, everyone he knows would. He had hoped to be different. He always knew she would be the death of him. Now he is convinced. He will die of a broken heart.
"Hello there young man," says the chap on the bench beside him.
Stuart turns to see who he has sat next to.
"Pardon me?" Stuart sneers.
"I said 'hello'. I was being polite." The man is well spoken, but his words are bitter.
The man is foul, lumpy, blonde. He has two small blue eyes pushed piggishly in his unshaven face. There is something of him that reminds Stuart of a corrupted cherub, one that has smoked too many cigarettes, drunk too much sacramental wine, and can now be found sweating outside a strip-club rubbing himself over the thoughts of what bounty is inside.
"Whatever," Stuart spits. He reaches inside his hodded top and finds a bottle of his father's brandy which he had stolen before he was so unceremoniously dragged out of the house to this Godforsaken place.
He and the man watch Stuart's friends play. Aggie bounces like a stupid puppy and waves at him. Stuart ignores her but she is too thick to notice that he hates her, that he is only dating her so he can be near Belinda.
"Pretty girl," oozes the bloke beside Stuart on the bench.
"Yeah," Stuart swigs on the brandy, it stings. He holds it out to the man. The man takes the beverage and takes a drink himself. He savours it. "What's your name young man?" the man asks, almost sweetly.
"Stuart," he responds, "You?"
"People call me Captain," he folds his arms in his lap, searches in his pocket for a ragged, yellowing handkerchief and blows his nose aggressively. He stuffs the damp rag into his sleeve where it hangs.
"You in the army then or what?"
"Or what," the man responds.
Stuart leaves it at that and takes a concentrated mouthful of his ice cream. Belinda comes bounding up the beach with Colin, at one point she stops and kisses him, laughing wildly when he blushes. She doesn't even like Colin, according to Aggie, she's just teasing him. One day she's going to hurt someone. Stuart knows already that it will be him.
The man at his elbow makes a horrible noise, it's a silly little laugh. Stuart turns to look at him again. He realises the man is laughing at him.
"What's so funny, Grandad?"
The man smiles in such a small way it is barely noticeable, it is mostly teeth and sourness. "Want to know a secret?"
Stuart shrugs, "Not really, peado." He swigs the last of the brandy back and stands. He throws the cornetto aside. It lands with a chocolaty slap on the concrete pavement.
Belinda appears behind him on the beach. He looks down over the cold, steel fence at her. "Aggie says your dick is like really tiny, Stu, is that true?" she laughs, "Can we see it, Colin says he'll get his out for a snog!"
Stuart blushes. The man on the bench laughs.
"Who's that?" Belinda giggles, "You've made a friend! Wonders never cease, babes." She skips away. She can be so cruel, but Stuart knows her better. He can see something in her that no one sees. He's seen the girl inside her, the one that is desperate to get out, to do great things. He's seen the woman that he knows she is going to become one day. She is going to be magnificent if only he can give her the opportunity to be. It's down to him, he knows it. She'll need someone to push her in the direction of greatness, a quiet encourager, a guardian angel. He'll be her angel.
"You like her don't you?" the foul man says with amusement.
Stuart turns back, "Yeah, what of it?"
"You can have her you know. You can have anything you want." His little eyes flash with glee.
"How?" Stuart asks, curious about this man. He is one part fetid, one part fierce.
The man's finger beckons Stuart closer, "I'll tell you, come closer."
"Fuck it, fine whatever." Stuart leans close to hear what the man has to say. He feels a clammy hand on his neck drawing him near. He feels the lips at his ear and feels the warmth of the old tramp's breath, it stinks like an unflushed toilet. His words bounce up and around in Stuart's ear like a persistent turd.
The message the man gives is like smoke, black, almost viscous. It drops into his ear like tar. It swims into him, and wraps around his brain, his lungs, his soul. It spreads inside him like poison. It washes around his blood, knocking the parts of him into a new shape. It opens up the paths in his brain and makes him see...everything.
When it's done Stuart stands. He stares at the old man in horror. He feels the terror and realisation that everything is...different. Including himself. He shakes his head, knowing now who this man is, "No, it's not true."
The little man smiles.
"You?"
Then he is overwhelmed by it, a feeling of comfort. It's all going to be okay. He grins. His soul burns with enlightenment. He feels...blessed. He catches a glimpse of himself in the shop window behind the bench. His eyes are as red as blood, "cool!"
"Come on Stu, hunny!" Aggie calls from the beach. Stuart ignores her, she is nothing, so...inconsequential.
"What did you do?"
The little man shrugs. "Always have a Plan B," he explains.
"You're right." Stuart suddenly realises, so much knowledge swims around in his head. It is as if he can see all the intricacies of the world, and how to tie them together to do anything, "I can have her, can't I?"
The little man nods.
"I just need to be patient, don't I?"
The little man stays perfectly still.
"What...what do you want from me?" he asks, aware that the gift he has been given, the sheer magnitude of realisation and depth of power is something that must have a price. His soul, certainly, but even that will never be enough.
The little man shrugs. "You know what I want. Run along now," he says with boredom.
Stuart nods obediently. He can see the rest of his life ahead of him. He can rule the world! He can be greater than Belinda will ever know. He just needs two things; one werewolf, one vampire.
I can't watch but I have to. I have to for her sake. It hurts more than I will ever be able to say, to watch her burn like that. Milo holds me back well. We fight briefly but only until I realise that it is futile. Tom has a tear in his eye. Even Alex, who can't seem to work out whether she can help or whether it is best not to. Belinda screams in agony and it takes my insides and wraps them in knots. I can do nothing but weep for her.
I am not sure how close her demise is when I see the door appear behind her. It is white, expensive, with a cherub for a knocker. Alex sees it too, and Tom, and Milo. "That's Stuart's door," Milo grunts, looking about himself for the man in question.
Stuart passes by us. Something is different. Something falls from him, it is dark, black smoke. It drifts from his cuffs in a mucilaginous carpet. Yet, as he walks, it is as if he becomes lighter from the exertion. Until he reaches Belinda and takes her up in his arms. He does not scold from the flames. He is just a ghost now, that is clear, whatever has poisoned him is falling away. I cannot say why, but wonder if it was the sight of Belinda's sacrifice is all it took? Something that truly did love her has overcome him. Something is giving him a chance to be a better man, something human. I've said it all along, love is human, to feel it makes us overcome any monsters inside. Whatever made him into the man he had been, he has discarded, in favour of doing something better. Being better. Being Human.
Stuart's door opens. The light is pure, nothing like the darkness of the purgatory through which we traveled. Stuart looks at me as he pulls my burning beauty into his arms with concern.
"Be careful," he says to me. "Remember what I said. It's not safe here, he will rise, Hal."
I nod.
Then they are gone. He rushes her into the light and the door closes behind them. I hold out in hope that Stuart was not too late, in the end all he needed to do was to save her from herself. I only hope he has achieved it. Maybe, if he has, I might see her again one day.
Tom takes his phone, he scrolls down the list until he sees the word 'Snow' and hits dial with a smile.
We turn, behind us the explosions ricochet through the old structure. It begins to crumble. In the last moments I think I see the Collector, perfectly fine, wave from one window. Of course, it would be too much to hope that even attack from a thousand vampires would destroy such a thing. In the end, evil survives I suppose? The trick is to get out of its way.
"Let's go home," Alex says with a sigh. "If we're quick we'll get home in time for Bargain Hunt." She smiles at me, and though my heart is broken, I know everything will be okay.
"Back to Plan A?" Tom asks me.
I hang my head, hurting from the hunger and loss inside, "I think it might be necessary, yes."