The night the world changed... Part 2
It was three years later. The world had certainly changed, although so far we had managed to remain physically unscathed. My French teacher, a pleasant woman approaching 80, was found bound and gagged in her house, murdered for no reason. The 7 year old nephew of a close friend ran terrified through the neighbourhood, after 4 armed men walked into their house and held a gun to his mothers head. He managed to escape unnoticed through the bedroom window and was looking for help.
We listened at night to the barking dogs, learning with chilling accuracy to speak their language. There was a certain tone warning of danger. From the tiny cracks in the curtains we watched as shadows prowled the night, the backyard no longer a place for playtime. On some nights a gunshot would shatter the silence, waking one from the deepest of slumber and sending a chill through even the hottest of blood. Night was no longer a time of rest. It was a time when the senses were most active and the mind most alert.
By day our old High School was still functioning in much the same way that it had when we had wandered its halls, clad in our blue and white uniform with our freshly polished shoes and gleaming white socks. By night it was now tranformed into our 'Uni', a place where a few of us gathered in the evenings, after a full day at work, to carry on our studies for the various degrees we had chosen to undertake. There were no lecturers, simply a few cassette tapes and an endless pile of books which we were left to wade through ourselves should we want to further our education.
A guard was stationed at the large, steel framed entrance doors. He would watch over the cars and take patrols around the grounds, sometimes joining us for a bleary eyed break from the words swimming in our minds, washing out of the ocean of text books.
On this night there was no moon. The group decided we should have an early night, all tired from preparations for the upcoming exams. Under my feet the gravel crunched as I made my way to the car, the last thing I noticed was the school emblem lit up in the headlights on the gate - Our Hope is constant in Thee. Six words I will never forget, for that night the Angels watched over us closely.
'Why do you bother with him? He is such an asshole.' The back wheels skidded slightly as my friend Jay started to reverse the car, watching the young man she openly despised get into his car.
'Yeah, can we not do this tonight? I have formulae swirling around in my head and have just finished a set of lectures, I really don`t need to start on some new ones.' I had felt irritated and on edge the whole day and could no longer contain it. Turning the music up I watched the dark landscape whizz by outside, suddenly blinded by the flash of the lighter reflecting off the glass as I lit a cigarette. 'Do you want one?'
The world around us was tucked tightly behind their burglar barred windows, ten foot stone walls and security alarmed houses. Life must carry on - it wasn`t that we shouldn`t have been out, we just needed to be extra cautious. After 9pm it was legal to go through red traffic lights, with obvious care for oncoming traffic, as waiting for them to change was risky business. We drove on in silence for a while, each consumed by our own private thoughts. I noticed Jay constantly checking the rear view mirror, her eyes lingering for longer than seemed necessary. 'Is something wrong?'
My breath caught in my chest.
'There is this car that seems to be following us, but it might just be coincidence.' Her fingers held the steering wheel in a vice like grip as her furrowed frown continued to stare into the rectangular mirror.
I looked back over my shoulder. The trees hugged the side of the road, forming a tunnel around us. In the distance were two lights from the other car, like pupilless eyes watching us from the dark.
We listened at night to the barking dogs, learning with chilling accuracy to speak their language. There was a certain tone warning of danger. From the tiny cracks in the curtains we watched as shadows prowled the night, the backyard no longer a place for playtime. On some nights a gunshot would shatter the silence, waking one from the deepest of slumber and sending a chill through even the hottest of blood. Night was no longer a time of rest. It was a time when the senses were most active and the mind most alert.
By day our old High School was still functioning in much the same way that it had when we had wandered its halls, clad in our blue and white uniform with our freshly polished shoes and gleaming white socks. By night it was now tranformed into our 'Uni', a place where a few of us gathered in the evenings, after a full day at work, to carry on our studies for the various degrees we had chosen to undertake. There were no lecturers, simply a few cassette tapes and an endless pile of books which we were left to wade through ourselves should we want to further our education.
A guard was stationed at the large, steel framed entrance doors. He would watch over the cars and take patrols around the grounds, sometimes joining us for a bleary eyed break from the words swimming in our minds, washing out of the ocean of text books.
On this night there was no moon. The group decided we should have an early night, all tired from preparations for the upcoming exams. Under my feet the gravel crunched as I made my way to the car, the last thing I noticed was the school emblem lit up in the headlights on the gate - Our Hope is constant in Thee. Six words I will never forget, for that night the Angels watched over us closely.
'Why do you bother with him? He is such an asshole.' The back wheels skidded slightly as my friend Jay started to reverse the car, watching the young man she openly despised get into his car.
'Yeah, can we not do this tonight? I have formulae swirling around in my head and have just finished a set of lectures, I really don`t need to start on some new ones.' I had felt irritated and on edge the whole day and could no longer contain it. Turning the music up I watched the dark landscape whizz by outside, suddenly blinded by the flash of the lighter reflecting off the glass as I lit a cigarette. 'Do you want one?'
The world around us was tucked tightly behind their burglar barred windows, ten foot stone walls and security alarmed houses. Life must carry on - it wasn`t that we shouldn`t have been out, we just needed to be extra cautious. After 9pm it was legal to go through red traffic lights, with obvious care for oncoming traffic, as waiting for them to change was risky business. We drove on in silence for a while, each consumed by our own private thoughts. I noticed Jay constantly checking the rear view mirror, her eyes lingering for longer than seemed necessary. 'Is something wrong?'
My breath caught in my chest.
'There is this car that seems to be following us, but it might just be coincidence.' Her fingers held the steering wheel in a vice like grip as her furrowed frown continued to stare into the rectangular mirror.
I looked back over my shoulder. The trees hugged the side of the road, forming a tunnel around us. In the distance were two lights from the other car, like pupilless eyes watching us from the dark.
Postmodern Critic
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Padsoc
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A Global Citizen
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Alaska Chronicle
Movies and Life
Oh gosh, I had goose bumps as I read this. What a scary world you lived in there. Do you have nightmares from it all? I think I would. How many more years did you live there?
Tracy
PS I love your new banner.
Kalikapsychosis
First of all, great banner!
Your stories are so visceral, I cant believe they actually happened to you! I suppose people say that about mine sometimes....
It has always been that way for me - maybe we were born into the wrong families! I used to walk the streets alone every night, wired, blood running like fire, unable to believe the stupid, dumb sheep around me were sleeping through this magesty.....
Celebrity Obsession
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Don`t fall off now ;0)
Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
yep.... tis the time to have my name in lights
Thanks for reading
Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Yeah I sometimes have flashbacks and can be watching an innocent movie and get really freaked out.
The worst is at night and when I`m in a place where I'm not used to the sounds. I often wonder if deaf people find it the same - when you can`t see something you can often 'hear' what it is when you listen properly but there are some sounds which remain a mystery and with a vivid imagination can become anything.
I lived there for about a year after whilst I organised my papers to leave. In that time we were mugged and I drove into a full on riot with tear gas and police bashing people who were just running here there and everywhere across this busy road. Fun times!
Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Yes I try to keep talking about them to a minimum because people just don`t understand. I find that there are very few who have had any similar experience and without having had that I suppose they find it difficult to believe. C'est la vie.
oooh I can`t even walk the streets here at night. I see people walking at night and my blood runs cold. There is a huge difference between imagining the monsters lurking in the shadows and them actually jumping out. We were lucky, very, very lucky!
Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
you and me both! Thanks for reading.
Ash
Killer Beats
Ramble On
Hipnotherapy
Love the banner. Love the intrigue. Can't wait for more!
Mis
Movies and Life
I’m not surprised that you still get flashbacks, I would image it would be hard for those memories to subside peacefully.
I really can’t imagine living in that environment. I hope that all your family are safe now.
Tracy
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
Thanks Mis - I have discovered how to take photos using llight. We were watching a fire twirler the other night and I fiddles around with the buttons. Now we are trying all sorts of things!
Thanks for reading
Ash
Australian Traveller
Flashes of memories
I think it`s more the emotion of the whole period as opposed to just one incident. I watched 'I am Legend' the other night and it freaked me out something chronic - having people live in the shadows and just waiting for night to prowl.
Obvioulsy it wasn`t THAT bad, I make it sound a million times worse than it was, but the imagination runs wild on a moonless night when a new sound crunches not far away from where you are sleeping! Stand back Steven King hahahaha!
We`re all in good ol' Aus and learning to sleep soundly now so it`s all good thanks. Will certainly make for some great storied for the grandkids hey? hahaha they will thing grandma grew up in da hood!
Ash