Price opened the door as warm air hit them like a space heater, the warm morning sunshine already burning through their clothes
Price stepped out still holding and carrying Kyle's schoolbag as Kyle followed close behind him, they were now both standing in the front porch of their house in the middle of the street
Price passed the bag to Kyle as Kyle took it
"Hold this for a minute. I got to lock the door"
Kyle nodded wordlessly as he took his bag before placing it on his shoulders
Price turned around as he pulled the handle before reaching into his pocket for the house keys, he twisted it turning it around until it made a click sound
Satisfied that it was locked properly, he faced Kyle who was standing there expectantly waiting for him
"We can go now Kid. Follow me"
"On it Dad"
Price smiled as he interlocked his hands with Kyle's, the contrast of their skin tones world's apart
Even though Kyle was now nine and pretty much too old to be doing this kind of thing, Price still enjoyed taking and holding Kyle's hand even if he was a few years too old for it.
Kyle didn't mind either. In fact he enjoyed it.
It brought him a strange sense of comfort after losing his Mum to cancer two years before that
They walked down the wide streets of King's Cross as cars passed next to them, people roamed the streets making their way to work. It was busy and full of life
The sun shone brightly above them as it burned into their faces and backs.
Price started to sweat, sweat dripping down his brow as he wiped it with his free hand
Cor it's only 8 in the morning and it's already so hot. The July heatwave is a real thing. I guess this is what happens when your stationed in the UK instead of Iraq. You start forgetting how to deal with hot weather after getting so used to the cold.
Maybe I should have thought twice about wearing a black denim jacket. Even Kyle knows better than you because at least he ditched the school jumper! God what are you like Price.
Some days I'm even surprised that I passed all the checks when adopting Kyle. I can't even dress appropriately and can barely look after myself let alone a nine year old child. I do wonder how I passed the final test. Anyway, it's too late to turn back now. We're there
They stopped by the Pedestrain light.
Cars continued to drive and pass in front of them as Kyle and Price stood hand in hand, Father and son by the lights waiting for the green man to appear
On the other side of the road was the entrance of the tube station next to a Newsagent.
A homeless man was standing as he shouted out "Free papers! Free papers! Come and get your free papers!" while people pushed past ignoring him
The light switched to green as the green man appeared and the "Beep Beep Beep" was heard
"We can go now Kyle" Price said softly as he gently tugged Kyle and they both moved together, crossing the road quickly
They entered the tube station as big white letters on a background of blue read in capital letters: "KING'S CROSS STATION"
Hot and dusty air blew towards Price and Kyle hitting them at full force as a train departed the platform below them the air turning thick and musty
Price stopped briefly for a second as he fished into his jeans pocket for his wallet, briefly letting go of Kyle's hand as Kyle watched him fumble around
He opened the wallet, taking out the blue Oyster card before closing it and putting it back in his pocket again
Once the wallet was safely back in his pocket, he turned to Kyle taking his small hands onto his large ones once more
He walked over to the ticket barrier that was closed shut in front of him, he placed the Oyster on the yellow card reader that was on the barrier in front of him
The grey narrow gates opened swiftly
"Quickly Kyle" Price urged as he pulled him across, Kyle followed as fast as he could before the barriers shut on him as he nervously gulped
I don't want to get stuck again. That time I was too slow and it shut on me and I got stuck on it as my backpack got trapped and the staff had to rescue me. It hurt as well being hit by those doors. I learnt my lesson to be quicker next time as they shut quickly.
They passed the barriers as seconds later the gate door slammed harshly behind Kyle as he heard the thumping of it being slammed shut, ready to be opened by the next commuter
They walked across to the escalator hand in hand before Price stopped releasing Kyle's hand
"Single file now Kyle. We have to stand on the right and let the others pass us. Stay behind me" He instructed sternly
"Alright Dad. I'll be right behind you" Kyle nodded
"Good Son. Follow me"
Price walked forward stepping on the escalator step as Kyle stood right behind him on the step behind
They stood still on the escalator as the steps descended downwards, as hurried commuters rushed past them practically running down the steps as they murmured an apologetic "Sorry" or "Excuse me" every now and then
Small adverts of movies were seen on the walls as they descended lower, getting close to the bottom of the station leading to the platforms
Price could see the familiar signs of the Picadilly line map showing the route in the middle along with two branching corridors leading to the Eastbound and the Westbound Platform
Commuters continued to mill out having just left the trains as they walked up to board the escalators.
Price saw them coming up the other way.
The escalator continued lowering as Price felt himself getting lower on the ground and the Piccadilly line map getting larger and closer as it sped up in speed
In front of him people stepped out before walking forward.
Price felt his feet level on the ground as the escalator stopped abruptly.
He reached over to grab Kyle's hand who was behind him and placed it onto his as he gently pulled them both away from the escalator and onto the marble shiny floor of the station
"Let's go" He grunted as they walked the short distance to the end of the corridor
Price turned right going towards the Westbound Platform as he was hit by a warm, thick stuffy air and the faint smell of the smoky tunnels
They reached the Platform, standing still together as they waited.
In front of them a small roundel on the curved wall read "King's Cross St Pancras"
Mice scattered on the track grounds as they chirped around running around with bits of rubbish
Kyle stared at the mice running around the track as he found it fascinating, his eyes glued to the tracks
Several other commuters stood next to them scattered all along the platform as Price turned to the small display screen and clock that was in front of them, scrutnising as he tried to see when the next train was coming
He squinted, struggling to see the small orange writing
Wanting to get closer so that he could see it, he walked forward tugging Kyle along as Kyle looked up abruptly
"Sorry one second mate. Just trying to figure out when the next train is coming" He murmured apologetically
He stopped close to the front end of the platform as he craned his neck above to read the display sign.
He could see it better now. Several departures were listed on the screen in bright orange writing
Heathrow Terminals 1,3 - 2 mins
Northfields - 5 mins
Rayners Lane - 10 mins
Price looked down from the departure board before he turned to look at the digital clock that was right next to the tunnel entrance where the red signal lights were
8.48.
Price turned to face Kyle who was looking at him with a quiet expression
"We'll get the Heathrow one. That should get us to South Ken where your school is. Hopefully the teachers will understand and you won't be in too much trouble. That's the best we can do for now Kyle. Let's hope there won't be any more delays"
Kyle just nodded as he turned back to face forward
Suddenly a low roar and rumble was heard coming from the distance as faint lights started to approach, coming closer by the minute
Warm air blew as Kyle and Price were hit by the strong wind, blowing in their faces
Seconds later the train arrived rumbling loudly as it entered the station
Price could see that it was fairly packed in some of the carriages, nothing unusual for a Thursday morning especially at this time
The train pulled to a standstill as it stopped at the platform.
The doors opened as people milled out and stepped out.
Price gave Kyle's hand a gentle squeeze as the pair of them stood patiently waiting for their turn to board the train.
That was when he saw it from the window of the Carriage in front of him.
A young Asian man wearing a white baseball cap stared nervously right at Price and Kyle as he shifted in his seat, picking at the strap of the large backpack that was by his feet
For several seconds they just stared at each other as the world fell silent.
Price swallowed as he had a bad feeling in his gut.
Every instinct was screaming at him to take Kyle and run out of the station and to get the hell out of there. Something wasn't quite right.
Finally the man broke the gaze as he shifted his eyes downward to the backpack and his feet as he looked down solemnly.
Still Price wasn't taking any chances.
"I don't like, I don't like this at all. Something's not right about that guy. I just know it. I can feel it in my bones. He ain't acting right" He murmured to himself quietly not caring if Kyle heard
Tugging at Kyle's hand roughly he pulled him away and turned away walking quickly across the platform as Kyle frowned at him, following him
What's wrong with Dad? Why is he talking to himself? Why is he saying that there is something wrong with the man in the white hat? Is he a bad person? What did he do? Also why was that man staring at us?
"Ow! Why are we going this way Dad?! I thought we were going to sit at the front" He whined
Price stopped marching abruptly to turn and face Kyle who was pouting at him.
He fought the urge to roll his eyes as he briefly stopped to face Kyle who had stopped on the platform.
He let go of his son's hands as it fell, breaking the chain that they had.
"Not today Son. We can sit at the front on a different day, just not today"
"But.. But we always sit at the front! You know I like it there. Please Dad" Kyle continued to whine some more
"I said no ok Kyle! Unless you want to sit with a nutjob in there because that's the reason why we're not sitting at the front. That, That man that we just saw, he ain't right in the head. Unless you want to sit with a bloody nutjob, it's your choice!" Price snapped raising his voice
Price froze as several commuters who were getting on the train stared at them before getting on
Kyle looked down as he bowed his head in shame
"No I don't want to sit with a nutjob. I'm sorry Dad. I didn't realise that he was a nutjob"
Price walked over to Kyle before stopping in front of him as his face softened, he placed a hand on Kyle's chin as he tilted it upwards gently so that Kyle would look at him
"Hey I'm sorry kid. I didn't mean to yell at you. I was just scared. I love you, you know that. It's just in this world there are some nasty, horrible people. I just didn't want you to get hurt that's all"
"It's alright Dad. It's not your fault. I should have just listened. I understand you were trying to look out for me. I love you too Dad"
Price gave a soft smile as he moved his hand away, placing it in front of Kyle.
Kyle took it as they shared a look together
"Alright let's get on the train before we miss it" Price sighed as he walked over to the nearest door in the middle carriage that was open stepping inside with Kyle
Little did he know that he was right and that quick decision would save their lives in the hours to come.
A/N: Ok I admit, I have no idea what the destination for the King's Cross train was that day. I tried my best to try and find it out where it was actually going on that day and couldn't find anything. Those depatures that you see are current ones that depart from King's Cross today.
What I do know was the part where Price tells Kyle to not sit in that carriage because there is a nutjob (or crazy person if you don't understand English slang) is not far from the truth. It wasn't the bomber but there was actually a autistic man who was on the same carriage at the front as the bomber on the Edgware Road train and there were several people who actually ended up sitting in a different carriage because they felt so uncomfortable by his prescence, they would rather avoid him. The move saved their lives ironically.