Hey, Nukia here!
This fanfiction is a side story to Beyond This Love.
I don't know if any of my old readers are reading my rewrites anymore, but I'm going to keep going. Sorry for the delay, I've been busy like I said in my author's note in my last chapter. This chapter feels rushed even it took me a few days to write, but now I can spend more time writing and get this fanfiction finished. I know I make mistakes in my chapters, I've not had time to go through them like I normally would when I'm not busy.
But thank you for the reviews, favorites and the alerts! Also to the unknown people who read my fanfictions, I promise it will pick up at some point! If you don't like it, then don't read it.
Chapter 33!
We had been walking for over two hours now and it was getting colder. I'm actually not sure where we are going or where we are for that matter. But Backup reassured me a few times that he knew where we were going and it wouldn't be long until we found somewhere to rest for a while, we just had to keep following the stream until then. I wrapped my arms around myself as shivered, I quickened my walking pace to catch up with him and sighed. He looked down at me as he walked for a moment with a blank expression on his face, I often wondered what was going on in his head sometimes. He gently took hold of my arm and slowly led be down a steep embankment which led down to the stream, I wonder where we are going? I quickly grabbed hold of his arm as I slipped on some mud, I heard him chuckle under his breath as he told me to mind my step. He let go of my arm when we got to the bottom of the embankment, he pointed over to a wooden bridge and pulled down his hood on his black hoody.
" We can rest soon, but first I would like to show you something before we leave English soil..." He said with a smirk as he put his hands in his hoody pockets. " It's a place from your past with many happy memories for you, I thought it would be nice for you to say goodbye to it. I know you will be forever in my debt after you see it, maybe this will teach you that I'm not all bad. Why don't you walk ahead and tell me what you see..."
I gave him a quick nod as I walked past him and made my way over to the bridge. I glanced over my shoulder at Backup, he was still standing near the stream with a smirk on his face. I placed my hand on the bridge's banister and slowly walked across it as I looked over the side of the bridge. I opened a gate at the other end of the bridge, there was a pathway leading across a field. I heard footsteps on the bridge behind me, I looked up at Backup as he stopped besides me and put his hood back up on his hoody.
" Don't you remember this place?" He asked. " This is where we first meet years ago, I'm surprised you have not recognized where you are yet. But it is dark, things always look different under the light of the moon..."
" Is this the field behind my Aunt Thora's cottage?" I asked.
" The very same, I thought the perfect place for us to shelter for a while would be a place familiar to you..." He replied as he looked up at the night sky. " But I suggest we hurry, it looks like it will rain soon. We can stay here for about 3 hours and no longer unless you would like us to miss our train to London, do you understand?"
" Oh course, let's go!" I replied.
We walked along the pathway that led to my old home, I looked up at the sky when I heard a rumble of thunder and begin to quicken my walking pace to catch up with Backup. I watched him run ahead of me, he disappeared through the old gate of the back of the cottage and I heard him yelling to me to hurry up before it starts to rain. I began to slow down as I got to the wooden fence of the cottage, I opened the gate and quietly panted as I took a look around the garden. To my surprise the garden was well-kept, that must mean someone comes to the cottage still and takes care of it like Rose promised me long ago. I closed the gate behind me, I walked along the pathway as I looked around the garden and smiled to myself. It felt strange being back in my childhood home, so many lovely memories I have in this garden with my Aunt Thora and Rose well I was growing up. I looked along the pathway and saw Backup couched in front of the back door of the cottage, I wonder what he's up to? I stopped behind him, I watched him fiddling with the lock of the door and blew my fringe away from my eyes.
" What are you doing?" I asked.
" Picking the door's lock..." He replied.
" What?!" I gasped as I slightly frowned at him. " Please stop that right away!"
" Do you have a problem with me breaking into your cottage?" He asked. " We need shelter for the night or would you prefer we rested outside in the rain and cold night air which could lead to a chill?"
" Oh course I have a problem with it, you can't go around breaking into people's cottages!" I replied as I bent forward slightly and placed my hand on his right shoulder. " It's a crime, do you know how much trouble you could get into if you're caught? The police would be called and they would contact Watari, we would most probably end up in isolation until we turn 18 then!"
" Alright, may I break into your cottage then?" He asked as he continued to pick the lock of the door. " Seeing as this property will be yours one day, I am doing the polite thing and asking for your permission. But you forget that your cottage is in the middle of nowhere, so it's high unlikely that we will be caught or be seen by any by passers..."
" Yes, right after you began to pick the lock!" I replied with a sigh. " Fine then! I give you my permission to break into my future home just so we can get out of the cold for a while. But it will be nice to see the inside of my old home again, it's been so long since I've been allowed to step foot inside of it..."
I removed my hand from his shoulder, he continued to pick the door's lock and mumbled something about trespassing. I'm not sure what he was talking about, so I just left him picking the door's lock well I took a quick look through the kitchen's window. I couldn't see much because it was dark inside of the cottage, but I swear I could see the outline of a table in the kitchen. It wasn't long before Backup had picked the lock, he put his lock picking kit away and opened the door. I followed him through the doorway of the back door, I took hold of his hoody's sleeve and quietly closed the door behind me. We walked into the kitchen, I heard a clicking sound and the lights of the kitchen switched on. I felt Backup quickly jump and switched the kitchen's light off, the cottage must still have a electricity connection.
" Don't touch anything, we may not be alone..." I heard him whisper to me. " I shall search the cottage and make sure we're alone before we rest for a while, I want you to stay here well I take a quick look around..."
" No one should be here, Rose said nothing about tenants..." I whispered.
" And how sure can you be?" He asked. " She may have lied to you, adults sometimes lie to children to keep them happy. But to be on the safe side I shall explore the cottage to make sure we are alone first, do you understand?"
" Fine, just be careful..." I replied.
Backup handed me his sports bag, he carefully opened the door to the hallway and disappeared through the doorway. I placed his bag down on the kitchen table, I took my duffel bag off and hung it on the back of a chair at the table. I took a look around the room as I walked over to the kitchen counter, I opened the door of the cupboard above the stove and took a look inside of it. To my surprise there was a packet of biscuits in the cupboard, I rummaged around the cupboard and found a box of tea bags. Maybe he was right, what if someone was in the cottage with us. I looked over my shoulder when I heard the door creak, I saw Backup standing in the doorway with his hands in his hoody pockets.
" The cottage is empty, but I have my suppositions that someone may visit now and again for maintenance reasons..." He said quietly." But we should be safe for now, we shall stay for 3 hours like I said before and I guess we could help ourselves to some of the food in the cupboard. I neglected to mention that I did not bring any food with me, we shall go through each cupboard and see what we can find for snacks..."
" You maybe right, I've found tea and biscuits in the cupboard above the stove..." I smiled as I showed him the box of tea bags. " We can make some tea if the water is still turned on, I think I spotted a bag of sugar too and a tin of pineapple rings in the back of the cupboard. We should check the fridge also, maybe there's some milk or other kinds of foods we can cook and take with us for our train journey..."
" Alright, you can check the rest of the cupboards and I will check the fridge..." He smirked.
I gave him nod as I placed the box of tea bags down on the counter, I quickly looked through the rest of cupboards and found a few more food items. Backup had found some milk and ham in the fridge, I guess we will be having a feast because I found a loaf of bread in one of the cupboards. Also the water was still switched on, so we can have something hot to drink and a wash before we leave. I quickly made us some hot tea and a pile of ham sandwiches, we decided to take the biscuits with us on our train journey. We decided to stay in my old bedroom, it still had its lock on the door and would be the safest place to hide in case this mystery lodger comes back.
Backup had taken our bags to my old bedroom, I placed the sandwiches and hot drinks on a tray. I had a quick tidy around the kitchen and made sure everything we had used was back in its right place. I took the tray of food to my old bedroom, I placed it down on the floor of the room and went for a quick wash in the bathroom. When I returned to my old bedroom there were blankets on the floor with pillows, I wonder where he found those blankets? He left the room for a while to use the bathroom, I quickly got changed into a baggy blue t-shirt and wrapped a blanket around myself. It wasn't long before he returned, he locked the door behind him and lit a single candle so we didn't have to eat in the dark.
I took a small bite out of my sandwich as I watched Backup standing next to the room's window, he seemed lost in his own world well he ate his sandwich in silence. I pulled my knees to my chest as I looked around my old bedroom, it felt strange being back here. The walls were bare, there was no carpet down on the floor and the room seemed smaller for some reason. I heard Backup clear his throat, I turned my full attention to him and watched him sit down on the floor. He leant back against the wall and stretched his legs out in front of him as he put his hands behind his head.
" The weather is changing, there is a fog creeping across the field which puzzles me..." He sighed. " I'm sure it was meant to rain this night, maybe my weatherology skills are getting rusty with age. It as been a while since I took any interest in weather cycles, maybe I will read up on it at some point when we're settled in Los Angeles..."
" What are you talking about?" I asked.
" Nothing important, I'm discussing pointless topics with myself..." He replied. " But if you would like to begin a conversation before you fell asleep, then I would be grateful for the change of topic and maybe my mind would become silent for a few moments..."
" Okay then, may I ask where you found these blankets and pillows?" I asked as I popped my last piece of sandwich into my mouth. " Would you like some of the blankets in case you get chilly?"
" I found them in the room across from this one, I thought borrowing them for a few hours would not hurt the owner of them..." He replied. " I will return them to where I found them before we leave, but for now I suggest you get some sleep while I keep watch..."
" That's not fair, you need to sleep too..." I sighed.
" I will sleep when we're in London, but for now hush yourself and dream of a better life..." He chuckled. " I will not be lonely well you're sleeping, I have a friend to keep me company. I should tell you now that I've placed a baseball bat under the pile of blankets near to you, I believe we should take precautions when we're in the middle of the countryside because you never know who is lurking out there in the darkness..."
" You've seen Dawn of the Dead to many times or some other crazy horror film, I'm going to sleep now..." I said with a slight giggle. " But in the mean time if anyone knocks on the door remember not to answer it, there could be ghost sailors on the other side of the door here to claim their treasure..."
" Your humor amuses me as always, now get some sleep before I change my mind about keeping watch..." He smirked. " I will wake you in 3 hours time, enjoy your sleep well you can my dear..."
" Okay, goodnight..." I said.
I grabbed one of the pillow as I curled up on my side, I placed the pillow under my head and snuggled my face into it. I slightly peeped from the pillow at Backup and watch him for a while, he kept looking up at the ceiling for some reason. I sighed to myself as I pulled a few blankets from the pile near me, I covered myself with them and closed my eyes. I better get some sleep well I can, something tells me it's going to be a tiring day.
I quickly sat up when I heard a loud crash come from downstairs, I looked over at the door and noticed it was wide open. I got up from the floor and grabbed the baseball bat from underneath the pile of blankets, Backup was nowhere to be seen. I hurried out of the room and made my way downstairs. I called out for him a few times until he answered me back, it sounds like he's in the kitchen. I hurried to the kitchen, I gasped when I saw a middle-aged man lying on the kitchen floor and saw Backup washing his hands in the sink. I dropped the baseball bat to the floor and rushed over to the man's side, I hope he's okay. I crouched down next to him, I noticed a cut on the back of his head and grabbed a tea towel from the table.
" What have you done?!" I yelled as I put pressure on the man's cut on the back of his head with the tea towel and then spoke gently to him. " Hello sir, can you heard me?"
" He'll be fine, I only hit him with a frying pan..." He calmly replied. " By hitting him on the back of the cranium it will temporary knock him out, this will giving us the perfect change to escape without him knowing our identities. So I suggest you quickly get changed and pack your belongings, I have also made us both some sandwiches to take with us. I have even left this gentleman some money to replace the food we ate last night, so please stop fussing over him..."
" Backup, we can't just leave him like this..." I said quietly. " We need to call him an ambulance in case he is seriously hurt, we can call an ambulance from the phone box down the lane from here. I can run there and be back in moments, please let me help him!"
" You forget that the police would be called, we would end up being questioned by them because this situation is peculiar seeing that there is an injured man lying on the kitchen floor. Then Watari would be contacted by the police which means our efforts would be wasted when we have come so far already, do you now understand what I am saying?" He asked. " Be quick and gather your belongings, then I will think about you helping him before we leave. I will even dress his wound if that would ease your mind, but I do suggest your hurry before I change my mind all together..."
I removed the tea towel from the back of the man's head, I placed it down on the floor and got up from next to the man. I watched Backup fill the sink up with hot water, he told me to hurry again before he poured bleach into the water. I quickly left the kitchen and made my way upstairs. I got changed into the clothes I had worn yesterday, I packed my duffel bag and hung it over my shoulder. I picked the plates and mugs we had used a few hours ago, I guess I should wash them before we leave. I made my way back to the kitchen, I placed them in the sink with the other dirty dishes and watched Backup washing them. I placed my bag down on the kitchen table, I looked at the man lying on the floor and noticed he had a pillow under his head.
Backup told me that the man's name was James Burton and he was the keeper of the cottage. This would explain why there was food in the cupboards, over night stuff in the bathroom and why the garden was well-kept. After he had finished cleaning the kitchen, he went back upstairs and put everything back from where he found it. He wiped all the door handles downs on the doors, he told me to go and wait outside while he finished getting rid of our finger prints. I did what he said and went to wait in the front garden. It was still dark outside, I'm not sure what time it is right now. I noticed a blue car parked near the gate, it must belong to Mr Burton. The front garden of the cottage was just the way I remembered it, the faerie statues were still circle around the bottom of the tree and many Autumn flowers were in bloom. I heard the front door of the cottage close, I looked over my shoulder and watch him wipe the door hand with a rag. He hurried down the pathway towards me, he grabbed hold of my wrist and led me through the gateway.
" Let's go, we need to hurry..." He said.
" Why are we going this way?" I asked as he stopped me by the car. " I mean we could get spotted if anyone decides to search for us, this country lane is the main way into the town. What if Mr Ruvie or Watari decide to use this road, what will we do then?"
" We will not be spotted, I plan to drive us to the train station..." He replied.
" You can't be serious!" I frowned.
" I'm deadly serious my dear, you should never doubt my ideas..." He chuckled and took set of car keys from his hoody pocket. " But you do not have to threat, I can drive which may surprise you with me just being the tender age of 16. I learnt to drive when I was 14 for reasons, it's a priority that the successor of L should be able to drive in case of emergencies..."
" But what if we get pulled over?" I asked. " You're underage for a start, do you even own a driving licence?"
" It's 6:15am, I doubt many people will be on the road at this hour..." He replied. " But I will be careful and park just outside of the town, you can trust me. No one will notice us if that's what you're worried about my dear, I plan to tread carefully on our journey to London..."
" Fine, let's just go before I change my mind!" I sighed.
I watched Backup walk over to the driver's side of the car, he unlocked the door and got into the car. He unlocked the passagers side's door and told me to get in, why am doing this? I got into the car, I placed my bag on my lap and closed the door. He gave me his sports bag to hold, he started the car up and switched the car's headlights on. I quickly put my seat-belt on, I bit at my bottom lip as slowly pulled away from the cottage and began to drive down the country lane. To my surprise he actually wasn't a bad driver, he was very careful and stayed to the road's speed limits.
It wasn't long before we got to the town, the streets were still dark and empty. We parked up outside of a clothes shop, Backup told me to get out of the car and wait for him near the shop. I got out of the car, I carried our bags over to the shop and looked at the clothes shop's window display. I glanced over my shoulder a few times and saw him wiping parts of the car down with a rag, he was really careful not to leave any of our finger prints behind. I hung my bag over my shoulder when I heard Backup call my name, I walked over to him and handed him his sports bag. We then walked together along the high street, it's been a long time since I've been allowed to walk so freely in the open. We stopped when we got to the end of the street and I looked over at a church across the road while Backup discussed directions with himself, it's the church where my Great Aunt Thora was buried. I heard Backup tell me to follow him, I took one last look at the church before I followed him down another street.
" Do you know where we're going?" I asked.
" Indeed, I mapped the route out in my head to the train station several times before we left the orphanage..." He replied and stopped me next to a red post box. " It shouldn't take us long to get to our destination, if we're lucky we'll have time to buy something warm to drink before we get on the train. But before that I will allow you to call for an ambulance for James Burton seeing as you know the address off my heart for your cottage, will that please you?"
" It will put my mind at ease if that's what you mean, but thank you for letting me help him..." I replied with a small smile. " So let's hurry up and find a phone box then!"
We continued walking along the street, I listened to him talking to himself as he looked at street signs and shop names. It wasn't long until we got to the train station, I left Backup at a café near the train's platform and went to use the pay phone near a newspaper stand to call for an ambulance for Mr Burton. I spoke to the lady on the other end of the phone at the emergency department, I left a fake name and told her the address to the cottage. I quickly hung the phone up and walked back to the café where Backup was waiting for me, I just hope the train will arrive soon for London.