Halloween Happenstance
by Robert Symes
Chapter 2
This story is set in an unidentified English town, mostly now. The cultural references are English so I hope that references to cars, TV shows or music won't spoil the story for those who don't know them. Follow the links provided for more information or just ignore them. (And yes, I know you can use a search engine just as well as I can. The links are for convenience, not to insult anyone.)
The sci-fi/supernatural elements and the criminality are there to make the story work (I hope!) and don't necessarily reflect my own opinions or experience. There is, so far as I can discover, no such place as Appleyard.
It is this author's policy to have no opinions about anything, or at least not to state them. Any opinions you see on these pages are those of the characters or the site owner respectively and I neither endorse nor oppose them.
A New Identity
In the morning they got dressed and had breakfast. "Ready then?" asked Carl. "Let's see where that bus has got to." He pulled out his phone and checked the app. "Right on time. 10:08 at the bus stop on the main road."
Tom watched as Carl pulled a shiny black object about six inches by three by a quarter inch thick from his pocket and casually started tapping and stroking it, then said the bus was on time. He'd seen it last night but been too stressed to take much notice. Now he said "What is that thing? I thought it was some kind of phone. Now it knows where the bus is? What else does it do?"
Carl suddenly realised how strange and confusing it must be. "It is a phone" he explained. "But it does a lot of other things as well. I can't explain now, we need to get going. Look, you're probably going to see a lot of things you won't understand. Just stick with me and don't ask any weird questions in public, okay?"
Tom let Carl lead him to the bus stop which was still in its usual place. Lots of strange looking cars went by. They all looked the same, anonymous hatchbacks and estates in really drab colours, mostly black, white or grey. At least the bus looked like a bus, until Carl said "Return to Appleyard please" and put a plastic card on a sort of glass square and a ticket appeared. "That's for him, mine's on here" he added, presenting another card. They rode the bus to Appleyard, which looked reassuringly normal apart from the strange cars, and walked to a modern building on a side road. There were picnic tables in a roofed-over area outside the entrance. "Wait here and don't talk to anyone" said Carl. "I'll go and get Gran."
He returned a few minutes later pushing a wheelchair occupied by a sick old woman with no hair. When they got close she suddenly shouted "Tom! Oh my God you really have come back after all this time. Granny said you had. But you don't look a day older. Have you made a pact with the devil?"
"Sue? Is that really you?" Tom looked away, blinked a couple of times, wiped his eyes with his hands and muttered "Jesus wept" under his breath. He turned back to her as Carl put a cigarette in her mouth and held a lighter flame to it. She inhaled and coughed violently. "I'm exactly a day older" explained Tom. "You may not believe it but yesterday that plain clothes bastard pretended to be a punter, then nicked [arrested] me when I took his money. I ran but when I got home Carl was there and the kitchen door was some kind of gateway to the future. Then it stopped working and I'm stuck here. That's why I never contacted you, from that day to yesterday I didn't exist in the world. I'd never leave my little sister you believe that don't you? Is Granny still alive? And if you're that ill should you be smoking?"
"I believe you, Tommy. I have to, I'm seeing you. I always knew you'd come back to me if you could. God, I've missed you so much. And I'm not ill , I'm dying and there's nothing they can do for me. It makes sod all difference if I smoke or not any more. And Granny passed in 1982, but the veil between this world and the next is getting very thin now and I see her sometimes when I'm half asleep."
Tom blinked some more. "I knew she had to be dead by now, of course, but it hurts to hear it. Our Granny would be your great great grandmother of course" he explained to Carl. "She always was a bit fey. She said our house was built on a ley line and she would know. She was born in a peasant village in Hungary in 1905 but she was Jewish and got out in the early thirties when she saw the writing on the wall and married an Englishman, my grandfather. They bought that house in 1937 and it's been in the family ever since. Anyway, she said the peasants knew the truth of things we scoff at."
"What's a ley line?" asked Carl.
"I don't know exactly" replied Gran. "But it's something to do with supernatural energy flows. Granny came to me last night when I was dozing. She's my... It's hard to explain, it's like a cross between an ambassador and a tour guide, only not really. It's her job to help me when I pass. Sorry, I know you don't like to hear it but we have to face facts and I've seen enough to not be afraid any more.
"That's how I knew Tom was back and he's staying with you. I desperately wanted to see Tom again and my longing, plus Friday being the eve of the real Sabbath, and All Hallows Eve as well opened some kind of portal I think. So sorry, Tommy, I'm probably the reason you're here. Now I want to talk to Mark please."
"You can't be" Tom pointed out. "That would mean the reason I'm here is because I'm here. It must be something else." Carl pulled his phone out. "Will it work this far from the house?" asked Tom.
"It works everywhere. But Uncle Mark may not answer, he's driving down here this morning."
"He's got one of them hands-free kits in his car to make work calls while he's driving" said Gran.
The phone rang a couple of times then a voice said "Hey Carl, what's up? I'm just on the motorway now, should be there about lunchtime. Just so you know Julia and the girls are with me so no swearing okay?"
"Okay, Gran and my friend Tom are with me and you're on speaker just so you know. Gran wants to talk to you. I don't know what about."
"Hi Mum. What's the problem? I'll see you this afternoon."
"I know but I wanted to talk to you before it slips my mind. Carl's friend Tom is staying with him at the house. Maybe it's the name, maybe it's the meds, I don't know but he really reminds me of my brother." She winked at Tom, they both understood that Mark would never believe the truth. "Anyway, when I go everything's left to you and Carl equally, you know that. But as your mother I'm asking you. Please make sure Carl and Tommy are taken care of. Don't be in a big hurry to sell up."
One could almost feel the hurt and anger radiating from the phone. "So that's what you think of me" said Mark in a taut, brittle voice.
The next voice heard was Julia's. "Oh my GOD ! Mark! For Christ's sake slow down! I can see you're upset but my kids are in here! Do you know how bloody dangerous that is? If you're going to drive like that pull over and I'll drive."
"Sorry, love" said Mark's voice. "I was hurt and angry and I took it out on that dickhead but I'm over it now, I promise. Everyone, in case you're wondering, there was this prat driving in the fast lane at 70 and he wouldn't pull over so I passed him on the inside, that's what frightened Julia. I don't know what came over me, I've never done that before."
"A coffin lid will come over you if you do things like that" said Julia angrily. "Just don't take me and the kids with you."
"I said I'm sorry. Mum, I'm going to blame that on the meds and assume you didn't really mean it. Do you really think I'd throw my own nephew out in the street when he's grieving the Gran he cared for? Just to get a few grand I don't even need? Please tell me you don't."
Sue looked visibly upset. "I'm sorry, love. I didn't mean to insult you. I'm just worried what will happen to these boys when I'm gone and I wanted it settled."
"Okay" Mark's voice came from the phone. "Apology accepted. I don't want to believe you meant that so I'm not going to. We'll talk more when I get there but if it puts your mind at ease I've given it some thought since you told me your diagnosis and what's in the Will. I have to be fair to my girls and they'll need money when they're older but that's years away." (The girls were currently seven and five.) "I'll take care of Carl and see him right until he's finished college and settled in a job. Then he can either sell up but I'd rather he buy me out if he can. It would be nice to keep the old place in the family, it's my childhood home after all. But I'd rather talk face to face than on the phone so I'll see you later okay?"
"That's a weight off my mind. Thank you. I'll see you later then. Bye love."
"About one o'clock at the house then Uncle Mark" said Carl. "We'll have lunch and come back for the afternoon visit. See you later." He finished the call.
"So, Tommy, what happened that day? The police came looking for you, said you'd been hanging around the public loos [toilets] having sex with men for money and they've got the evidence. But you'd cleared out your stuff and gone and then we never heard nothing ever again. And give me another ciggie please."
Tom put his hand in his pocket but Carl shook his head, pulled out a pack with the ugly warnings and tapped it meaningfully. Not a good idea to be seen in public with a 1975 pack of Embassy Regal. He gave Sue and Tom cigarettes and lit them with his lighter.
Tom took a deep drag and blew out a cloud of smoke. "Well it's like I told you. I had this punter, turned out to be old bill [police] and nicked [arrested] me. He got on the radio for backup and I just legged it." He smiled. "I kept the bastard's money and all. But somehow he knew who I was and shouted 'Bolton, get back here' so I knew I was fu... sorry, done for. I don't know how he knew."
"You were fucked Tommy" said Sue. "I'm not the Queen Mother; I know the words. And that's how they operate, one that knows you points you out to one from out of town that you've never seen. Then that one says a friend recommended you. It's entrapment but you'll never prove it. And I lost my brother. Bastards!"
"Yeah, that's what happened. He said he was a friend of Jimmy's and I couldn't think who Jimmy was but I thought it must be a punter. So anyway I ran home and I thought I've got at least half an hour before they can get a warrant to grab a sandwich and pack a bag and get to a mate's house to lie low for a while. Then Carl turned up and I got stuck here like I told you. Or now. Whatever. But what happened after I left? I can't help wondering. How did Mum and Dad take it?"
"I'm sorry Tommy. You know what they were like. Mum said you'd brought shame on the family and Dad said you'd best keep running if you know what's good for you. Afterwards they wouldn't have your name mentioned again. And they left everything to me, changed their Wills. I went out looking to see if anyone had seen you but no-one had. Except Mr Collins at Number 15 thought he did but it was this weirdo who looked a bit like you wearing this weird red top like a cross between a sweater and a jacket with a hood who said his two year old Maxi was an old banger. You know how proud he was of that car, he'd only just got it."
Everyone looked at Carl's red hoodie. "Sorry, I didn't know" he said guiltily.
"Well that was it. It was like you vanished off the face of the earth. We never heard a word. And I thought I liked Paul but then he said I shouldn't worry, he won't hold your shame against me but it's good that you've gone. I could never forgive him for that. We split up and I ended up marrying Les Fox. You remember Les?"
"Of course I do. It's ancient history to you but in my memory I had a few pints with Les and the lads last Saturday. They're not too fussy about age at The Bell. But you know what this means?"
"No. What?"
"It means that even if we could reopen that porthole you was on about we shouldn't. I can't go back; it's too dangerous. Think about it. I go back. I can't tell you where I've been you'd never believe it. And it changes things. We don't know how. Maybe you marry Paul not Les. Or somebody else. And then Mark don't exist and Carl don't exist. Do you want to erase their lives? And your granddaughters? And if you did then I've got memories of people who never existed. And so does Mr Collins, which is a contradiction. And contradictions can't exist so what then? I don't know but it can't be anything good.
"And even if I don't vanish or blow up the universe or something I've still got Dad and the cops to worry about. You can ask Granny's ghost or whatever it is you've been talking to but I reckon that porthole needed to close and I need to stay here. I'm going to miss my little sister the way you've missed your brother but that's over for you now and you know what happened."
"But how can you live here?" asked Sue. "You don't exist here, and no-one will believe a birth certificate that says you were born in 1958."
"Well, I know how to get easy money, no questions asked, don't I?"
"And look what happened the last time you tried that" said Carl. "Anyway, they closed those toilets years ago. If you stay here you should get a job. You can use my name and National Insurance [Social Security] number while I'm at college."
"And when you finish?" asked Sue. "What then? You can't have two full time jobs, and the tax would kill you." She thought for a moment. "When you get my ciggies tell Ron I said to get you to see Mr J. He owes me a favour. Mr J can sort Tommy a new identity. I'll talk to Mark and tell him to give you the money but not why, he'll do it if I ask. When you see Mr J pay cash and don't ask any questions. He can be dangerous so don't make him suspicious."
"Who's Mr J?" Carl wanted to know.
"Dear God I've brought up an imbecile" said Sue, irritated. "Mr J is the man who will hurt you bad if you ask questions like that. Change of plan. When you come back this afternoon bring me writing paper and an envelope and I'll give you a note to give Ron. Forget Mr J, you never heard of him."
"Wait there" said Carl. He went into the building and returned shortly with some paper. "I scrounged this from Reception. Write your note and I'll see Ron on the way home. I was going to anyway, we need more ciggies. The less I see of this Mr J the better, he sounds like bad news."
Sue wrote her note and they chatted until the end of visiting hour. "Leave me out here" she requested. "They'll come and get me at lunch time. Take Tommy with you to Ron's and give him the note and you won't have to get involved in anything else."
They took the bus back, staying on it two stops beyond their own, and Carl led Tom to a non-descript terraced house in a side street. The man who answered the door looked at Tom suspiciously. "This is Tom" said Carl hastily. "This note from Gran will explain. Can we come in?"
Ron let them into the front room and read the note. "Wait here" he told Carl. "You, come with me." He led Tom away, returning a few minutes later alone. "He won't be long. Did you want anything while you're here?"
Carl exchanged cash for an opaque carrier bag containing three cartons of cigarettes. Soon Tom came back carrying a cordless phone. "All sorted" he announced. "He wants to talk to you."
Ron took the phone and listened. "Okay, if that's what you want... No problem... They will? That'll help. Does Jack know? You will? Okay then, bye for now." He gave Tom another bag with two more cartons and looked at him. "There's some 'walking about' money in there for you. It's on account. The boss says you can be trusted. He'd better be right. Don't fuck us over or you won't like what happens, got it?"
"I got it years ago" replied Tom calmly. "And I ain't going to fuck anyone over. You can relax, mate, I'm cushty with the gavvers if it comes to it. D'you think Sue would trust me otherwise?"
"You sound like my Grandpa" scoffed Ron. "Who talks like that now? But if Sue trusts you that's good enough for me. Well, sounds like I'll be seeing you around."
They walked home, had lunch with Mark and his family and returned to the hospice for the afternoon visit. Julia and the girls said hello, then went off to the shop for sweets. Sue talked quietly to Mark, who clearly didn't like what he was hearing. "Are you serious, Mum?" he protested. "I don't know who this kid is, how he got his feet under your table or what hold he's got on you but do you really think I'm going to give him a load of cash and not even ask what it's for?"
"You won't need to" said Tom. "I always fall on my feet Sue, you know that, so thanks for the offer and the introduction but it's sorted. Your friend we won't name said you really saved his bacon and he owes you. So I get what I need and I can pay for it later with a couple of driving jobs. And I got jobs for me and Carl as well."
"Not with..." Sue sounded worried.
"No don't worry little sist... little Sister Fretful" he corrected just in time. "They're legit jobs with a legit firm delivering furniture and such at weekends. I'll drive the van and I'll need a mate to help with heavy stuff. The job's Carl's if he wants it and it'll pay him enough to be independent if he's not paying rent. He doesn't need to worry what else I do with the van overnight, he's not involved."
"And I suppose you'll be living in the house rent free as well will you?" Mark was suspicious and hostile, he didn't know he was talking to his uncle. "I don't know who you are but there's something iffy about you. I don't think I want you around my family."
"That's their choice, not yours or mine" replied Tom. "And it's really none of your business, is it? But I just turned down a chance to get a load of cash off you, so think on. Sue trusts me and that should be good enough."
"Yes, it should" agreed Sue. "I've got cancer, I'm not senile. And it's still my house as long as I'm breathing. And if Carl wants to be with Tommy it's their business not yours. But I don't want us to fall out about it, let's talk about something else. How's work?"
Julia and the girls returned soon and they talked of inconsequential things until Mark took his family to their hotel. They'd been invited to stay at the house but preferred the local Travelodge. Sleeping in his dying mother's bed just didn't 'sit right' with Mark.
Once they'd left Carl couldn't contain himself. "Thank you for making my decisions for me" he began sarcastically. "I'm not sure I want to work for criminals. And I don't like Tom getting in with them either, it seems dangerous to me. I didn't know you had connections like that, Gran."
"Nobody's making decisions for you" replied Tom, after looking around to make sure they weren't overheard. "But you're going to have to make them soon enough. I said the job's yours if you want it, if not it's your choice. But have you got a better idea? What are you going to live on when your Gran's pension stops? Pocket money with strings from Uncle Mark? Or wages you earned from a legit firm? Who owns it isn't your concern, you won't be doing anything wrong. And it's twelve noon til eight or ten Saturday and Sunday so it won't affect college and you can visit here in the mornings. And it's just above NMW, whatever that is, but £12.50 for a twenty hour week is bloody good money. And..."
Tom stopped, confused, as Carl burst out laughing. "I'm sorry" said Carl. "I shouldn't laugh but you've got a lot to learn. NMW is National Minimum Wage and for adults it's twelve pound something per hour , not per week. It's illegal to pay people any less. You'll find prices are a bit higher now than you're used to."
"Okay. Whatever. So, £200 - £250 a week, can you live on that? Me, I've got no choice, it's the only way I can survive. I need an identity and I can't be Tom Bolton, born in 1958. This is how I get one. I'll be moving stock around at night. You don't ask questions but I said I won't touch drugs and they said you're damn right you won't if you want to stay healthy, ask Sue about that. So I'm just guessing here but how many cartons of cigs do you think will go in a wardrobe or a chest freezer? A few of them at the front of the van, empty stuff behind and it's very low risk. So, moving dodgy fags [cigarettes] about. Remember what you were doing a few hours ago before you preach."
"But you never took your driving test Tommy" Sue pointed out.
"Don't matter. I took enough lessons that I know how to drive and I'll get a full licence as part of the deal. I drove Dougie Baron's Transit a few times, the man says I'll be driving something called a Renault Master and it's just the same. But what am I supposed to ask you about drugs? That's not you, surely?"
"Not unless you count booze and fags, no, but I know the story. 'The man' has a son who overdosed. He didn't die but it was close, and then the man sent him to rehab. The dealer ran for his life when he realised who he'd poisoned, best decision he ever made and he won't be fool enough to come back. Since then there's no drugs sold in this town. Anyone tries it they get one warning. Second time it's more than a warning. Then they leave town. There's never been a third time. They get told what will happen and they believe it. Don't go there Tommy. It looks like easy money but it's not."
"I already told you. I won't touch that shit. I know what it does to people. I'm glad my new boss agrees so I won't have to worry about being asked to. There's other ways to get easy money."
"Like Carl said, they're not always so easy, as you just found out. But you really have fallen on your feet there. That's a good deal. Don't blow it, and don't attract attention from the police, they really won't like that. Stick to what you've got and if you want more ask the man. Don't go freelance."
Sue turned to Carl. "That sounds like a good deal for you too. I hadn't thought of it but Tom's right, my pension dies with me even if I live to get one. So does my sick pay and the cash in the bank will just about cover the funeral if you're lucky. You don't want to be forced out of college do you? But it's up to you of course. And I want you to look after Tommy for me. Is that okay with you?"
"It'll have to be" replied Carl. "He's family and he'll need it. But I'm glad to. I hate living alone since you came here and well... You should know... Remember Matthew? And you know why Tom left home. You can join the dots. Maybe it's kind of like incest but it doesn't feel like it and it's not like anybody's getting pregnant. Tom will have a new name soon and Uncle Mark will just have to accept it."
A carer approached. "Sorry, Carl, but we're about to serve dinner so I need to take Mrs Fox back in. It's not a problem but visiting time finished twenty minutes ago. Will we see you tomorrow?"
Carl looked at his watch. "Oh. Sorry. I didn't notice it was so late. Yes, I'll see you tomorrow. Bye, Gran. Have a good night. Come on Tom."
They caught the bus home, stopping at the shop for more beer on the way. As soon as the front door closed behind them Tom slammed Carl up against the wall and started kissing him with a desire that bordered on desperation. Then he dropped to his knees and started unfastening Carl's trousers. "What are you doing?" asked Carl, even though it was obvious.
"Isn't it obvious? After today I need to be needed and wanted. And I'm thanking you for helping me. You know what a blowjob is don't you? Don't you want it?"
"Well, yeah, I suppose. But not in the hallway leaning on the wall! And believe me, you are needed and wanted. Anyway, what about safe sex? I told you last night."
"Be spontaneous, Carl. It's fun, you might even like it! And I don't think I'd like the taste of a condom. Tell me, you only ever had sex with this Matthew, right? And he only ever had you? So how could either of you have any sort of pox? Or HGV or whatever it's called?"
Carl laughed. "HIV, HGV [Heavy Goods Vehicle] is a lorry. And I could be lying for all you know. Or maybe Matthew lied to me. I don't think so but I don't know that. Wait here." He went upstairs, came back and tossed Tom a box. "Assorted flavours of condoms I got from Amazon... well, that doesn't matter, I got them when I was seeing Matthew. When you know the reasons you'll understand why it's important to be safe. So pick a flavour and then let's be spontaneous in the living room, at least I can sit down."
Carl walked into the living room and drew the curtains ("I don't trust the nets"), then sat on the sofa and patted the seat next to him. "Now, where were we?"
"Right about here" said Tom, sitting next to him and resuming the kissing. Soon enough he was kneeling on the floor in front of the sofa yanking Carl's trousers and underwear down. He ripped open the condom and put it on Carl. And then got to work with his mouth, licking, sucking, stimulating the whole length with his tongue, lips, the roof of his mouth, some even going into his throat at times as he arranged his breathing around it. Carl had never felt anything like it. Tom was much better at this than Matthew had been, but then Carl and Matt had been virgins learning from each other and the internet while Tom was experienced.
It didn't take much of this treatment before Carl groaned as he let go and filled the condom. "Thank you. That was incredible" he said as he removed and tied the condom and cleaned himself with a tissue. "Can I do anything for you?"
"You've already done more than you know. I really needed to do that and get that reaction. And I don't want to even think about where I'd be now if you'd taken against me. But I'm still not over seeing Sue like that, so maybe let's have some food and drink and then I might be more in the mood later. You don't mind do you?"
"I'm a bloke, Tom. I don't mind anything when I've just come! But seriously, no. If that's what you want, fine." Carl straightened his clothes, stood up and opened the curtains. "Oh shit, here comes trouble" he said apprehensively.
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