fifteen minutes to drive and that was at full speed. I’d just run the distance in less than five. But no matter how many times I blinked, the red bricked semi with the white window frames and leaking drainpipe was still there.
I didn't know what to think. First waking up in the park in someone else’s clothes. Then the car wreck. Now this. It was too much. I felt like I was going insane.
I needed to see my family, see something normal.
Rushing up the driveway, I noticed that Mum and John’s car was missing. I prayed that someone was in.
As I neared the door, my strength began to fade again. The dull throb started back up and the ache swept through my body. It felt like I was wading through water.
“What is going on?” I screamed. No one answered. A dog barked from somewhere down the road.
I slapped my hand against the wall, and then used it to steady myself as I stretched up to the hidden ledge above the front door and felt around for the spare key. My fingers were shaking as I jiggled the lock open and half fell through the door.
“Hello?” I croaked. “Anyone?”
Silence.
I swiped the door closed too hard, jumping at the sound. I called out again as I shuffled to the lounge, using my hands to keep me upright as my legs dissolved into water. On the far left was the couch. It looked soft and inviting. I was confused and terrified, but nothing could have stopped me from resting on it.
I fell into it and sighed as its welcoming overstuffed cushions wrapped around me.
After a few seconds I was sound asleep.
The sound of the front door closing woke me. My eyes snapped open, alert and clear. The light from the window had been replaced by the unnatural glow of the streetlamps outside. I swung myself upright and rubbed the sleep from my eyes. A few seconds later Mikey walked into the lounge. He caught sight of me and swore loudly. “Alex is that you?” He moved over to me and peered close, like I was a caged animal. I swatted him away, not in the mood for games. “Of course it’s me idiot. Who did you think?” He drew back and raised his eyebrows. “But you look…different.”
Fear rocketed through me. What does he mean different? Has the accident done more damage than I realised? I swallowed and pointed a shaking finger towards a flamboyant mirror that sat on top of a side table.
“Pass me that” I said.
Mikey grabbed the mirror and handed it to me. I breathed in deep, expecting the worst. Then I looked and gasped. Staring back from the glass was me, but a superior version.
My spots had gone. Instead my skin was smooth and no longer anaemic white. My jaw line looked stronger and my eyes gleamed as if they had been scrubbed. Even my hair had lost its coarseness, looking more like Mikey’s now than my own.
As I opened my mouth in shock, I noticed that my teeth were whiter and less uneven than they had been before. As I prodded and poked at my face, Mikey asked a question which sent a shiver down my spine. “Alex, where the hell have you been?” I lowered the mirror to my lap and stared up at him, eyebrows knitting together. “What do you mean?” He put a hand on my shoulder and crouched down so he was level with me. “You’ve been missing for three days.” “No,” I breathed, suddenly feeling very dizzy. I shook my head. “No. That can’t be right.” He stood up again and picked up the television remote. “What day do you think it is today?”
I thought about the night before. It hurt my head to try and remember, but I managed to catch fleeting images of us all watching a film together. That had been the day that I’d confided in Gabriella. I thought about the lessons I’d had before lunch. That had been a Wednesday. Therefore today must be:
“Thursday,” I said with confidence.
Mikey shook his head, looking concerned. He flicked the television onto Satellite. The blue bar popped up below the program and my eyes went wide as I read the date.
Sunday November 18th
“No…” I whispered.
Mikey switched the television off and threw the remote onto the couch next to me, before sinking down into the adjacent chair. He was wearing tracksuit bottoms. They crinkled against the seat as he settled in.
“So where have you been?” he repeated.
I buried my head in my hands. “I don’t know.”
Mikey leaned forward, raising his voice. “What do you mean you don’t know? How in Christ’s name can you not know? Do you think this is a joke? Mum and Dad have been going out of their minds. Especially Mum, she has been acting mental. Calling up anyone she could think of who may’ve known where you were. She even called the Police. She was convinced something terrible had happened to you! Dad thinks you ran away. You didn’t even take your phone! You — argghh!” He threw up his hands in exasperation.
Tears of frustration were spilling onto my hands. I wiped them away and looked up at my half-brother. When I spoke, my voice sounded thick and throaty.
“I really don’t know Mikey. You need to listen to me. Something weird is going on.”
I told him everything I knew. About waking up in Providence Park in strange clothes, about the accident and running home way too fast. When I had finished, he folded his arms across his chest. “Bollocks.” “Mikey I’m telling you the truth. I mean look at me. How do you explain my extreme makeover?” He nodded, thinking. “Okay, prove it.” “How?” Mikey jumped up and headed for the door. “Put something on your feet and meet me outside.”
I ran upstairs into my room. Everything was as I remembered it. Nothing had changed, except that my normally neat bedcovers were screwed in a heap at the end of the mattress. Also someone had cleaned out the bin.
Stopping at the mirror, I had another look at myself. My full length reflection showed that the subtle changes hadn’t been limited to my face. For one, I seemed taller, even though I was sure I hadn’t grown. It was like I carried myself better. Taking off the top showed the rest. I was still slim, but underneath my skin were the faint definitions of muscles. I tensed a bicep and was shocked to see a respectable sized lump appear. Overall, the changes weren’t drastic but still noticeable. Like I’d become an alternate version of myself, who’d spent his life dedicated to health and fitness. Not knowing what to think, all I could do was shake my head in wonder.
I threw the grass stained vest in the wash basket and changed into an old hoodie and a pair of trainers. As I headed for the door, I noticed my phone lying on the desk.
I’ll check it later.
A few minutes later we were standing on the street, illuminated by the overhead glow of a streetlamp. They continued all the way down the road at even distances, casting little pools of orange onto the pavement. Mikey pointed into the distance. “Run down to the fifth light and back and I’ll see how fast you are.” I couldn’t see any reason to object, so I turned and faced the gloom, waiting for his signal. “GO!” he shouted and I sprang forward as he was still finishing the word.
My trainers slapped mercilessly against the pavement as I sprinted forward. For some reason, it didn’t feel fast enough; I was still moving at a normal pace. “Come on!” I shouted at myself.
Then something happened, a mental switch flicked inside my brain. Everything went into overdrive. I could hear the steady thumping of my heart and the pounding of the blood swimming around my temples. The thuds of my soles hitting the concrete sounded like echoing booms. The Streetlights flashed past and I had to remind myself to stop as I rocketed past the fifth. Hopping around on one foot, I turned and charged back. Mikey was just a little blob in the distance, but as I rushed forward, slipping in and out of the light, he grew until he was a full size teenager. I could see his face, frozen in shock. Then I was past him, skidding to a halt about twenty yards further up the road. The strange sensation stopped as fast as it had started. I was barely out of breath as I reached my half-brother.
He stared at me and blinked.
“So how did I do?” I asked, anxiously rubbing the back of my neck.
He made a spluttering noise and backed away from me. “I–I don’t know what to say. That was impossible! No one can run that fast!” He pointed to the spot next to him. “When you passed me you were a blur. I mean seriously, you were a blur Alex!”
