Through Dead Eyes by Chris Priestley

Author:Chris Priestley
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Bloomsbury UK
Published: 2013-03-14T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Alex woke and looked around the room, blearily at first, sleep still clouding his mind. But then the memory of what he had seen through the mask came back and he sat bolt upright, looking over to the chest and to the mask he knew was secreted in the drawer.

He took faltering breaths and his heart thumped. The vision of the world glimpsed through the mask swept back in on him with horrible suddenness, like a smothering black blanket.

The ghostly images punctured the mundane reality of his hotel room with their inky shadows and wash of moon glow: those pale children gathered in the street outside his hotel.

Alex got out of bed and walked to the window, hesitating before pulling back the curtain. The modern world was mercifully restored. All was as it should be.

The shops were already open across the canal. A delivery van was unloading. A cyclist pinged her bell as she rode past, white headphone leads against long black hair.

Alex rubbed his eyes and pulled his fingers down his face, dragging the sides of his mouth down as he did so. He looked at the drawer where he kept the mask, but only briefly. Then he got dressed.

At breakfast, Alex’s father asked him if he was all right, saying that he looked pale. He told him that he hadn’t slept well, that there was an argument in the street outside.

‘Really?’ said his father. ‘Never heard a thing. I was out like a light. You can always go back to bed and have a lie-in. I’m sure Angelien won’t mind.’

‘No,’ said Alex, blinking hard, finding it hard to concentrate surrounded by the noise of breakfast diners. He seemed to hear every scrape of knives on plates, every spoon rattling in a cup, as though it was amplified through giant headphones. ‘I want to see her. There’s something I need to talk to her about.’

Alex’s father smiled and raised his eyebrows.

‘You and she are getting very pally,’ he said.

Alex shrugged.

‘S’pose,’ he said. ‘Is that all right?’

‘Course it is,’ said his father with a chuckle. ‘It’s great that you two have hit it off so well.’

‘We’re just friends,’ said Alex.

His father frowned.

‘I never doubted it,’ he said.

It was Alex’s turn to frown.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ said Alex.

‘There is a bit of an age difference.’

‘Not that much,’ said Alex, blushing.

His father smiled, half closing his eyes. It was a smile Alex knew well and hated.

‘Saskia is older than you,’ said Alex. ‘You don’t seem to mind.’

‘Don’t let Saskia hear you say that! Anyway, that’s a bit different, Alex,’ said his father. ‘We met when we were both adults. What is all this? You haven’t got a crush on Angelien –’

Alex clamped his hands over his ears.

‘No!’ he said. ‘God!’

An elderly couple nearby turned and stared.

‘OK, OK,’ said his father with a frown. ‘That’s enough, Alex.’

Alex chewed on the inside of his bottom lip and said nothing.

‘No one says “crush”, Dad,’ said Alex eventually. ‘And I haven’t got one anyway.’

‘Well that’s all right then,’ said his father.

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