Fic: The Days We Break
Title: The Days We Break
Fandom: Skins
Pairings: Rich/Grace, Mini/Franky, some Matty/Liv, some Nick/Katie, Emily/Naomi
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: AU where the oppressive government causes the Gen3 gang to form an underground resistance movement.
Artwork: Fanmix: Bare Your Teeth, Spit Out Sparks and amazing trailer/fanvid Darkest Hours.
A/N: Warning for heavy torture, some angst. Thank you so much to lazarus_girl for the amazing artwork and fanmix, and for all the encouragement along the way. And of course to shan_3414, who was not only my beta but also organised this whole thing. :)
Diagrams for the bunker and the tunnels can be found here.
"This is bullshit!"
Mini pulled a sympathetic expression as Franky slammed her hands down on the bench. “You heard about the new curfew then?”
“Obviously,” Franky snapped, swinging her legs over the seat to sit next to Alo, who ruffled her hair.
“Come on, you knew it was coming.”
“It shouldn’t’ve come at all.” Franky scowled, pulling the newspaper out of her bag. “‘Curfew in place to deter violence.’ What fucking violence?”
“Seriously?” Nick laughed. Mini rolled her eyes and shoved him, but he shook his head and leaned in closer. “Franks, I think they’re talking about us.”
“Shut up!” Mini hissed, elbowing him hard in the side.
“Ow!” He shifted away from her. “Alright, alright. Just because I wasn’t involved.”
“Involved in what?” Rich, Liv and Grace arrived and Rich raised an eyebrow at Nick, who shrugged.
“You know. At the weekend.”
“Oh.” Rich nodded and went to sit next to Grace on the table. She smiled at him and swung her legs over his before frowning at Nick.
“I thought we weren’t talking about that?”
“We aren’t.” Mini glared at him pointedly, and Nick raised his hands in defeat.
“Alright! Fucking hell, calm down.”
“We could get arrested for pulling shit like we did last week,” Mini argued, and Franky leaned forward to touch her arm.
“Chill, Mini. Okay?”
Mini pursed her lips, but nodded obligingly. “Yeah. Okay.” She turned to Liv. “How was Psychology?”
“Which you skipped again, you cow.” Liv snorted and nudged her with her foot. “Thompson’s out for blood. I’d hide if I were you.”
“Whatever.” Mini rolled her eyes, supremely unconcerned. “I’m ill. Got a note and everything. Did you do anything important?”
“Started a new case study.” Liv shrugged, and Mini groaned.
“Oh my god, not another one. What’s the freaky name this time?”
“Skinner.” Liv stretched and smiled as she saw something over Mini’s shoulder. “Did shit with rats. Oi! Over here!” She waved, and Mini and Nick turned to see Matty approaching. “Get expelled then?” Liv hopped off the table and grinned as he came within hugging distance.
“Nah.” Matty smiled and shook his head. “I only told the truth, didn’t I?”
“Dad’s going to be so pissed with you when he gets that letter,” Nick told him seriously, and Matty shrugged.
“You can back me up. It wasn’t my fault.”
“Matty!” Nick groaned, turning to keep looking at his brother as he and Liv walked round to stand next to Franky. “You can’t keep putting me in the middle like that! It isn’t fair.”
“You’re brothers, aren’t you?” Liv raised a challenging eyebrow. “It’s what you do.”
“Yeah, but the old man’s still our dad,” Nick snapped. “It’s a bit more complicated than that.”
“Guys!” Franky cut through the potential argument with a frown. “Forget it, okay? This is more important.” She held up the newspaper, and Matty grinned.
“We were noticed then.”
“What tipped you off?” Mini said acidly. “The police sirens or the ban on loud music?”
Matty widened his eyes mockingly. “There was a ban on loud music?” Mini gave him a look that would have sent most grown men scurrying away, but Matty just smiled.
“Does it matter?” Rich shrugged, pulling a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. “It’s not like we could do anything about it anyway.”
“Here, light?” Alo pulled a pre-rolled spliff from behind his ear and held it between his lips. Rich rolled his eyes and lit the tip as Alo cupped his hands around it, waiting till it was glowing before bringing the flame to his own fag and inhaling deeply. Grace pulled a slight face but didn’t comment. She didn’t mind Rich smoking as long as he didn’t exhale right in her face.
“Of course it matters.” Franky sighed, frustrated. “They’ve been tightening the noose since the election.”
“Yeah,” Liv laughed and held up her fingers to make quotation marks. “Election.”
“Like it was fair.” Rich blew smoke up into the air above the bench, Alo joining him a second later. “Like a shit tonne of votes didn’t go missing and were recounted in favour of Carver.”
“Cuntver, more like.” Matty curled his lip and Rich grunted in agreement.
“Whatever.” Liv smirked and bent down to pull up her long socks. The weather was only just getting warm enough for t-shirts and bare legs. Mini and Franky sighed in unison and then smiled at each other, united in despair at Liv’s fuck-it attitude to politics.
The bell shrilled from inside the college and Alo groaned. “Ah, come on! I’m not done yet!”
“Pub?” Rich asked, closing his eyes lazily. Grace swung her legs off his lap and poked him gently.
“Which one? Fishponds is under new management now, remember? They’re all cracking down.”
“Which is shit.” Alo scowled. “We’re gonna keep drinking, so what’s so bad about doing it in a pub?”
“They’re all being taken over.” Nick shrugged, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Corporate shit and government crap.”
“Poo all round, and fuck all we can do about it,” Alo agreed miserably, stubbing out his joint on the bench with a sigh. “Fine. Van?”
“Don’t you guys actually have a lesson now?” Grace asked with a smile as they all began to walk inside.
“History.” Rich draped an arm around her shoulders and shrugged. “Load of bollocks.”
“You’ll have to go,” Franky chipped in. “Remember assembly last week?”
“Didn’t go,” Rich said promptly. “Me and Alo were skiving.”
The others laughed, and Franky shook her head good-naturedly. “You twat. It was all about skiving.”
“I’m sure I told you.” Grace frowned, and Rich shrugged.
“I don’t remember if you did, sorry. What about skiving?”
“New marking system’s being put in,” Franky told him. “If you skive without an excuse note, the teachers have to notify your tutor and if you do it something like three times in one week, they notify Blood, and your life is over.”
“How?” Alo frowned.
Franky shrugged and looked at Grace, who sighed. “He doesn’t tell me about these things, I don’t know why you think he does.”
“Well he is your dad,” Liv reminded her as Matty nuzzled her ear. Franky looked away and Mini put an arm around her, shooting a glare at Matty, who ignored her.
“We don’t talk about school at home.” Grace looked down.
“They make you do service or something,” Matty told Alo, who pulled a face.
“Remember when it used to be community service?” Rich asked. Nick laughed grimly.
“Yeah, but that was how long ago? Since before the election before this. Besides, it’s okay - you’re under eighteen, so they can’t put your name on the lottery for the serious shit, can they?”
“I won’t be under eighteen forever.” Rich looked down at Matty. The height difference between them was almost as striking as it was between him and Grace. “And you’re in trouble if they catch you - you’re over eighteen.”
Matty laughed, but Nick frowned. “Matty, he’s right. You’ve got to be more careful.”
“Come on!” Matty shoved Nick playfully. “I’m not being that bad. You should’ve come at the weekend - it was fucking awesome.”
“I had a game,” Nick reminded him.
“It was fucking awesome,” Matty repeated, treating Nick to a full-blast intense stare. “Tell him, Franky.”
Nick raised an eyebrow at Franky and she grinned. “It was fun, Nick. You should’ve come.”
“Well at least this way I wasn’t the only one left behind,” Alo interrupted. “Besides, knowing my luck, I’d’ve probably been caught. Come on, mate.” He punched Rich’s arm as they passed the corridor the History classroom was on. Rich rolled his eyes but peeled away from Grace and followed his best friend away from the rest of the group.
“Seriously though,” Franky said. “This is total bullshit. What’re they going to do about the clubs? Karaoke nights? Shit like that. That’s loud music.”
“They’ll probably have to restrict the volume.” Nick shrugged. “Not that big a deal.”
“It’s the principle of the thing,” Franky argued. “They’ve been pushing down on stuff like this since the election. It’s such bollocks, and no one does anything about it. Dove’s fucking useless, and his Democratic Liberation party isn’t any better.”
“I spy the future prime minister,” Mini joked, nudging Franky. The shorter girl didn’t smile.
“We’ll never get another woman prime minister.” She frowned. “Last time that happened, the royal family were assassinated.”
“Pfft.” Mini waved a hand. “Small fry. You just need good PR.”
“PR?” Franky raised an eyebrow.
“Public relations,” Liv whispered loudly and grinned. “Holding hands with dying children and shit like that.”
“It works,” Mini argued. “In moderation. Just enough to show you care, not too much in case it starts to look fake and gimmicky.”
The bell rang again, the last chance warning, and Grace frowned as she followed Mini, Liv and Franky into the girl’s changing rooms. Since the joining of the two friendship groups she had straddled - Rich, Alo and Franky and Mini, Liv and Nick - everything had started getting better. Matty’s sudden appearance had rattled a few cages, but it was all smoothing out.
He and Franky were just so passionate about the regime though. Grace suspected that Matty was really only in it for the anarchy, but Franky genuinely cared. That stunt at the weekend had been a little too dangerous for her. At the time, drunk and a little high, scrawling ‘FACIST CUNTS’ in ten foot high letters on the wall of the Bristol Regime Building had sounded like a great idea. She had realised as Matty, swaying on top of Rich’s shoulders, started work on the letter ‘I’ that perhaps it wasn’t such a brilliant idea. When Liv produced speakers and flares and they popped them on the wall as music played at top volume, a part of Grace’s common sense that was intact at the back of her mind sighed and covered its face with its hands. And when the sirens had started to wail and they’d run for what felt like miles though it couldn’t have been more than a few roads, the common sense had integrated into Grace’s conscious brain and she had breathlessly told the others that they were all complete idiots.
Remembering the laughter and adrenaline rush in the changing room however, Grace couldn’t bring herself to truly regret a moment. And when Rich had spun her round in a circle under a lamppost and she had thrown her head back, it had been wonderful. And the kiss he had given her right after that had been even better.
Liv noticed Grace’s half-smile and nudged Mini with a wink. “What?” Mini snorted.
“She’s totally remembering an orgasm,” Liv whispered and giggled when Grace looked at her.
“I’m what?”
“Nothing, babe, don’t worry.” Liv grinned. Mini rolled her eyes.
“Ignore her, Gracie. Ready for some rounders?”
Grace sighed and pulled her sports shirt on. “I’m never ready for rounders.” It was the only school sport she had ever been bad at. She was hopeless whether she was batting or fielding.
Alo and Rich met the others outside, where they were crowded around Nick. Everyone except Matty was there. Shooting Rich a frown, Alo sped up to see what was going on. Nick was leaning against the wall and dragging heavily on a spliff in between taking hasty gulps from a can in his other hand. “What’s up with you?” Alo asked him bluntly as Nick wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. It was shaking.
“He just got kicked off the rugby team.” Franky told him in a low voice.
“What?” Alo exclaimed disbelievingly. “I thought you were like, their star player or something? Aren’t you the captain?”
“I was.” Nick’s voice was hoarse and he didn’t meet anyone’s gaze as he took another swig, finishing off the contents of the can. “Fuck. I need more beer.”
“The last thing you need is more beer.” Mini would have sounded bossy to anyone who didn’t know her, but Alo could hear the concerned undertone to her voice.
“No,” Nick shook his head. “No, I really need to get smashed right now.”
“What the fuck happened?” Alo threw his hands up in the air.
There was a long pause while they waited to see if Nick would answer the question, then Grace spoke up hesitantly. “Um…one of the other guys on the team said something about Matty, I think. And then Nick beat him up.”
“Shit.” Alo raised his eyebrows. “Where’s Matty now?”
Nick’s head snapped up and he looked around. “He should be here by now.”
“Did you tell him?” Liv asked urgently, and Nick nodded.
“Texted him.”
“Shit,” Liv swore. “You know he’ll’ve gone to do something stupid!”
Nick stared at her for a second and then pulled out his phone. Matty was on speed dial. “Pick up, you wanker,” he muttered. Alo turned to Rich, who shrugged. “Matty!” Nick broke out of their circle and walked away a few steps. “Fucking hell, where are you? Matty…oh fuck. Why the…you fucking idiot! Where…oh, Matty!” He snarled angrily. “Fucksake. Stay where you are, okay? I’ll be right there.” He hung up and handed the remains of his joint to Alo. “You were right,” he told Liv. “He went and attacked Rider. Fucking twat.” He turned and started jogging away.
“Well shit,” Mini said into the silence Nick left behind. She turned to the others. “What now then?”
“It’s the end of the day.” Rich shrugged. “I’m going home.” He nodded once to Alo before walking away, Grace with him.
“I’m going to wait around,” Liv said. “See what’s happening.”
“Homeward bound for me.” Alo finished off the spliff Nick had given him and crushed the end under his boot. “Anyone want a lift?”
Franky shook her head and pulled her headphones from her bag. “I’m going to walk. See you guys later.” She lifted her hand in a half-hearted wave and turned to leave, pulling her headphones over her ears to drown out the noise.
“I’ll have the lift, Farmboy, if you’re still offering.” Mini smiled brightly at him, and Alo grinned back.
“No problemo, Minerva McGuiness. This way.” He gestured grandly and she rolled her eyes, the effect softened by her smile. “See you later,” he told Liv, who nodded.
“Later.”
“Is Nick being kicked off the team really bad then?” Alo asked Mini as they walked to his van. She shrugged.
“Why are you asking me?”
“Well you were going out with him.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” she said evenly, and Alo dropped the subject.
“Fine, cool. Wanna choose the music?” He opened the passenger door for her as they reached the van, and she smiled.
“Sure. Thanks.”
He grinned up at her and slammed the door. “Y’know,” he said as he hauled himself up into the driver’s seat, “it’s good that we’re all mates now.”
“Never had mates before, Farmboy?” Mini teased as she rifled through his tapes. “Fucking hell, what is all this?”
“Rich’s stuff, mostly.” Alo stuck his head out of the window to make sure he wouldn’t back into anyone before shifting into reverse and driving out. “There’s some non-metal music in there though. And apart from Rich, no, I haven’t really had mates before.”
“Sucks for you.” Mini snorted, picking a tape and pushing it into the player. Bowling For Soup started blaring out and she reclined in her chair.
“Don’t you like Rich?” Alo frowned as they pulled out onto the main road.
“He’s alright, I suppose.” Mini shrugged. “Grace likes him, which is what really matters. But…well, I don’t know him very well. And I don’t think he likes me much.”
“Course he likes you,” Alo protested.
Mini laughed. “Farmboy, I treated you both like shit for ages. I wouldn’t like me.”
“You’re better now though,” Alo told her nicely. “I mean, you haven’t called him a smelly Viking for weeks.”
Mini laughed. “I guess not. You’re still Farmboy though.”
Alo shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
“Oh, here’s fine,” Mini told him, and Alo parked on the side of the road. “Thanks,” she said as she opened the door and slid out. “Alo.”
He beamed at her. “My pleasure. See you later.”
“Sure.” She smiled back and waited until he had turned the corner before starting to walk home.
“I’m back,” Franky called as she opened the door.
“Franky?” Geoff sounded like he was in the living room, and Franky pulled her headphones down around her neck.
“Who else?”
“D’you want some cake?” Jeff poked his head out of the kitchen and Franky nodded.
“Alright.”
“Tea?” Jeff asked as she sat at the table, and she smiled.
“Yeah, cheers.”
“No problem.” He puttered around happily, then frowned as he turned back to her, the kettle beginning to boil behind him. “Did you hear about Queen’s Square?”
“No.” Franky took a slice of cake and frowned. “What about it?”
“They’re building something there.” Jeff didn’t look happy. “Some sort of platform. They’ve taken the statue of that man with the horse away and this weird stage is going up in its place.”
Franky stared at him for a second, realisation dawning. “It’s a zapper platform. It has to be.”
“No,” Jeff shook his head, though the look in his eyes told Franky that he knew it was the truth. “They only put those in prisons and stuff.”
“There are four in London,” Franky told him. “And a few other cities have them as well. Public ones, I mean. Manchester got one last week.”
“Oh my god.” Jeff sat down, not noticing the kettle behind him as it boiled. “They can’t do that, it’s…it’s inhuman.”
“It hasn’t stopped them before.” Franky scowled. “As long as the end result is good, it justifies the means.”
“Electrocution though…” Jeff shook his head and looked up as Geoff walked in. “Geoff, did you hear about this? Franky thinks the platform going up in Queen’s Square will be a PCP platform.” PCP stood for Public Correctional Punishment, Franky remembered. She was so used to people calling them zapper platforms, so named because of the electric prods and whips used in the procedure. For years they had only been allowed in prisons, but Carver’s party had used them as an example of corporal punishment yielding good results in crime rates and he had started introducing public ones to deter against public disorder and violence.
Geoff sighed. “I thought as much. I hope not, though there’s nothing we can do about it now, is there?”
“The people running them are sick.” Franky got up to pour her own tea. “I read an article a couple of days ago about a man who was zapped for like, ten minutes straight. His muscles are all fucked up now - he has to use a wheelchair.”
“What was he pulled up there for?” Geoff asked, and Franky shrugged.
“Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth losing use of his legs for.” She took her tea up to her room and logged onto the video site she used to show her films on. At least her mannequins lived sheltered lives.
“Dad, he didn’t mean it!” Nick pleaded as Leon Levan bellowed and threw a mug at Matty, who ducked and let it smash against the wall behind him.
“Like fuck he didn’t!” Leon fumed. “I had to sit there and let that fucking tosser Blood tell me what a fucking embarrassment you were! You fucking arsehole! You hear me, you little prick?” He stalked around the table and Matty slipped out of the kitchen. “You fucking hear me?”
“Dad!” Nick ran after him and tried to reason with him. “It was my fault, honest, he didn’t mean it -”
“He’s brainwashed you again, son!” Leon shouted, following Matty as he backed down the hall.
“He’s stronger than that,” Matty told his father quietly, looking right into his eyes. Somehow, that only incensed Leon further, because he turned abruptly and went to Matty’s room. When he found the door locked, he stood back. His sons realised what he was about to do just as he raised his foot to kick.
“Dad, don’t!” Nick yelled.
“Hey!” Matty jumped forward, too late as the door crashed off its hinges and Leon walked into the little room and started to tear the posters off the walls.
“You’re out, you hear me?” he roared, turning furiously on Matty as he came to a halt in the doorway. “You get out, and never step foot in my house ever again!”
“Dad, no,” Nick could feel himself tearing in two, half to Matty and half to his father. “Matty didn’t mean it, he didn’t -”
“Don’t bother, Nick,” Matty cut him off, staring at their father condescendingly. “He won’t listen. He’s just a sad, old little man who makes himself out to be more important than he is because he hasn’t got the balls to change.”
“Balls?” Leon dropped the shredded posters and clenched his fists. “I’ll show you balls, my boy.” With a roar he lunged forward, hands outstretched. Matty jumped backwards as Nick ran forwards, grabbing his father round the shoulders.
“Dad! Stop, please, don’t -”
“Get off me!” Leon snarled, shoving Nick into the wall with a hard thud and going after Matty, who ducked the first punch and slipped under his father’s arm to run to Nick’s side.
“You alright?” he asked urgently, and Nick nodded, pushing Matty out of the way as their father swung another punch.
“Stop!” he shouted, grabbing his father’s arm before he could attack again. “Dad, stop!” The tearing stopped as his father tried to push him away again, but Nick held on and then shoved back. “Stop it!” he shouted, louder than any of them. “Leave him alone!”
“Nick, you’re siding with him?” Leon spat, gesturing to Matty like he was filth. Nick looked at Matty, then back at his father.
“Yeah, I am.” He squared his shoulders, preparing for his father to start on him. “He didn’t do anything wrong,” he told Leon. “Okay? It was my fault. Matty was trying to help. So just back off, yeah?”
Leon was panting slightly, his face flushed with anger. “So you’re ganging up on me, is that it?”
“Yeah.” Nick looked over his shoulder at Matty. “We are.” When he looked back at his father, he seemed to have shrunk. Matty was right, Nick realised - he looked old. Old and worn and a bit deflated. The power had shifted palpably, and Nick realised as Leon grunted and turned on his heel furiously that this had been coming for a long time. And even more importantly, as Matty stepped up next to him and looked up at him with a small smile, it was a good thing.
Mini was the only one of the gang there when Franky went into the common room for the meeting the next day. The notice had been posted round all the tutor groups that morning, apparently, and now it was five to one and people were trickling in.
“Heya,” Franky said as she flopped down next to Mini, putting her feet up on the table. “Did you hear about Nick?”
“No,” Mini raised her eyebrows. “What about him?”
“Well, Matty too,” Franky added. “He told me this morning - remember how they both ran off last night? Apparently Blood called their dad in to have a massive rant and say how both of them are on their last chances now, and when they got home he fucking exploded and tried to kick Matty out again, but Nick stood up to him and now it’s all sorted.” She grinned.
“Wow.” Mini looked forward. “That must’ve been tough. Nick really looks up to his dad.”
“I know.” Franky nodded. “But have you looked at the guy’s website? He’s really scary.”
“What, the ‘man up’ thing?” Mini giggled. “Yeah, I looked it up when Nick first told me about it, when we were going out.”
“Speaking of that,” Franky sat up and looked Mini in the eye. “Are you two alright now? I mean…you didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.”
“Because he fucked Liv,” Mini said coolly, and tossed her beautiful hair. “And she lied about it right to my face.”
“Yeah.” Franky twisted her fingers in her lap awkwardly. Mini noticed and reached over to hold them still. Franky looked up at her and Mini smiled.
“I’m fine, babes. Don’t worry about it. I’m totally over Nick.” She leaned back and shrugged. “We’ll be okay, I think. I’m not hugely fond of him at the moment, but whatever. It was more about me and Liv, I think.”
“Oh.” Franky had never encountered best friend politics before, and really, she was mostly focused on the way Mini hadn’t let go of her hand yet. Even when Rich, Alo, Grace and Nick came in, she waved with her other hand.
“Ladies.” Alo grinned as he squished himself between them. Mini huffed as she let go of Franky, but Franky felt a little relieved as Nick sat down next to her. She wasn’t sure how she was meant to feel about people holding her hand like that. Rich and Grace sat down on the sofa opposite them, pressed together all down their sides. When Rich rested his boots on the table like Franky, Grace put one of her feet up next to his and grinned.
“Wow, look how huge your feet are compared to mine.”
“You have tiny feet though, Grace.” Mini laughed.
“Mm, I guess. Where’s Liv?” Grace asked, looking round. “And Matty?”
“Probably off fucking somewhere.” Mini rolled her eyes dramatically, just as they walked in.
“Alright?” Liv looked round as she and Matty sat next to Rich and Grace. “Do any of you know what this shit’s about?”
“Nope.” Franky shook her head. “We were just told to be here for one.”
“So he can tell us.” Rich nodded to the door as Professor Blood walked in, the creases in his suit sharp enough to cut. Quiet fell in his wake, and he turned to face them all with steepled fingers.
“Right, I hope you’re all here, because I won’t be repeating myself.” He smiled one of his tight, humourless smiles. “Onto business - I am obligated to inform you of the new music blacklist that has gone up, thanks in part, I believe, to whomever was foolish enough to deface government property and attempt to shatter public eardrums at the same time on Saturday night.” He cast a stern look around the room. “The full list is available on the Bristol Regime website, of course, but those artists and bands that are among those with questionable songs are…” he pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and looked down his nose at it. “Flobots, My Chemical Romance, Cannibal Corpse, Crass, Metallica, The Used, Pillar, Rage Against The Machine and the Sex Pistols.” He ignored the cries of anger and dismay that rose from the students.
“What the fuck!” Rich yelled.
“The full list,” Professor Blood raised his voice and paused till the noise had died down. “As I said, is on the website. The songs in question, or indeed, the bands or artists in their entirety, have been banned from the radios, regime-sanctioned internet and public use. Anyone found listening to the prohibited material in a public area, whether out loud or using headphones, will be subject to a fine and the music in question will be confiscated.”
“You can’t do that!” Franky shouted above the other students who raised their voices in protest. “What if we paid for that music? That’s fucking ridiculous!”
“Silence!” Blood ordered loudly. “There is no point arguing the finer points of the law with me,” he told them all firmly. “I am a professor, not a policeman. But every staff member will be enforcing these laws. We have the right to check what you are listening to and raise the matter with the authorities if we must. This is not an argument, ladies and gentlemen.” He looked around. “This is the law.” As he left, the noise level rose again.
“This is not on!” Franky fumed.
“I’m getting the list up now,” Liv said tersely, fingers moving on the screen of her iPhone.
“They’re just corporate wankers who don’t like what they don’t understand.” Rich looked angrier than Franky had ever seen him. “I bet none of them have even listened to Cannibal Corpse. Fucking bastards.”
“What about Toxic Bob?” Even Grace looked distressed.
“Fuck.” Rich pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re right. You got that list yet?” he asked Liv, and she nodded.
“Yeah, just scroll down.” She handed it over and as Rich read it, his expression grew darker and darker.
“Those pricks,” he hissed. “Those fucking…shit, they’re going to put Toxic Bob out of business, and every other decent music shop in Bristol. Half his stock is on here.”
“They really are cracking down.” Mini was quiet, a little shocked. Some music had always been banned - certain songs that were deemed provocative or too anti-political - but music had never been outlawed in such quantity before.
“Does it say how much the fine is?” Alo asked Liv as she took her phone back from Rich.
“Um…” She scrolled down and sucked in a breath. “Holy shit. Says it can be from fifty to five hundred quid.”
“And if we don’t pay?” Alo asked hopefully. Liv paused as she read her screen.
“Loads of long words I don’t get, but I think it’s basically a zapper job.”
“For listening to music?” Matty raised his eyebrows and leaned closer to read it. “No way, that’s mental.”
“This is why they’ve put up a zapper platform in Queen’s Square,” Franky realised out loud. They all looked at her.
“You’re not serious?” Grace looked shaken. “They can’t do that, can they?”
“Of course they can, Grace.” Mini scowled. “They can do whatever they want. Who’s going to stop them?”
“People should!” Alo slapped his leg. “This is way too harsh! There should be riots in the streets!”
“There won’t be though, will there?” Nick shook his head. “Not if they’ve got a zapper platform.”
“They can’t zap everyone though, can they?” Grace said uncertainly.
“Sure they can.” Matty sat back in disgust. “But they won’t need to. The fear of it’s more than enough.”
Franky felt something in her chest tighten, and she opened her mouth, needing to voice what she felt, though she didn’t know how to put it into words. How to say that she felt the sudden urge to scream and throw something at the faceless figures of the regime? How to tell the others that they needed to do something? To act before they collapsed in on themselves, their muscles of rebellion weakening to the point of atrophy? She closed her mouth and frowned unhappily, not noticing Mini’s concerned look.
“So no one will do anything.” Nick shook his head. “Just like normal.”
“Well what can we do?” Rich sounded defeated and frustrated.
“Nothing!” Franky spat, the tightness in her chest turning into a furious burn. “I’m sick of it! I’m sick to fucking death of people saying there’s nothing we can do.” She got to her feet and grabbed her bag, stalking out angrily. She didn’t want to be followed, and she was grateful when no one tried.
Mini was carefully cutting around a photo of Grace’s face to stick on her newest collage when her phone trilled, alerting her to a new text message. She sighed and put down her scissors, frowning when she saw that it was Matty. She opened it anyway.
RED LION WORRALL RD @ 7.
That was it? She frowned harder and put her phone aside, continuing to cut out Grace’s face. When she was done she set it aside and moved onto a photo of Rich and Alo, grinning drunkenly at the camera. It was only five-thirty; she had plenty of time yet. She wondered whether Matty had only texted her. She hoped not. But of course he wouldn’t have. What would he want to meet her on her own for?
Surely he couldn’t have noticed the way she felt about Franky?
How did she feel about Franky?
Mini sighed and finished cutting out Rich and Alo. Sifting through the pile of pictures she had printed out, she found one of Franky and held it in front of her. Frozen in position forever, the smaller girl was laughing, her hair slightly blurred at the edges as she turned her head. Grace was holding her hand, pulling her forward and the sun was flaring behind her, almost whiting out one side of her face. She looked like an angel. She looked beautiful, but fragile as well. Mini’s feelings towards Franky had done a major about-turn since she first met her. When at first she had felt almost threatened and had reacted aggressively, now she only wanted to protect her.
Did she want more than that though? Was even wanting to keep her safe normal? She had never needed to worry about Liv the way she did about Franky, and Grace’s naivety had been a source of amusement and faint ridicule more than anything else. And besides, Grace had Rich now. Rich may not have been the most affectionate person in public, but from what Mini could see, and from what Grace had told her, he would do anything for her. He kept her safe much better than Liv or Mini ever could.
Mini stroked one perfectly manicured finger down Franky’s face in the photo. She wasn’t sure what she wanted from Franky. Maybe this was what adults talked about when they spouted all that bullshit about puberty and adolescence being a confusing whirl of emotions, of highs and lows and body changes. From Mini’s experience, puberty really hadn’t been a big deal.
At six-thirty, she left the house without telling her mother where she was going, high heels clacking on the pavement. She didn’t mind the walk - it was quite relaxing, listening to her music and setting a steady pace. And the more walking, the better. Burning calories was a serious business.
She arrived at the Red Lion at five past seven, much to her annoyance, as she prided herself on being punctual. As a result, everyone else was already there. Mini sat down heavily next to Grace and sighed. “What’s up then?” Looking round, she noticed a familiar face missing and frowned. “Wait, where’s Franky?”
“She’s why we’re here,” Matty told her, smiling slightly. Mini narrowed her eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” Matty leaned back and smiled wider, “that I’ve had an idea for her birthday.”
“Ooh!” Grace beamed and sat forward. “Are we throwing her a surprise party?”
“Better,” Matty told her. He looked quite pleased with himself, and he shared a smile with Nick. “A party only lasts for that one day, and she needs something that lasts longer than that to cheer her up.” Liv, Mini noticed with some satisfaction, did not look pleased. “Nick and I know a place, not far from here.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Alo asked, clearly confused.
Matty shook his head. “We’ll show you.”
“You’ll love it.” Nick grinned at them, then at Matty. The brothers seemed to have forged a new bond, and Mini felt distantly happy for Nick at least. Even if he was a complete skeez, he deserved something nice for a change.
“How far is it?” Mini asked, worrying a little about the state of her ankles. She could walk in heels for hours, but she knew she would be feeling it on the treadmill in the morning.
“Not far,” Nick told her, his voice just a little hoarse from too much shouting and smoking. “About ten minutes?”
“Across the Downs,” Matty reminded him, and Mini’s heart sank.
“In these?” She gestured pointedly to her shoes. “You’re fucking joking.”
Matty shrugged. “I didn’t tell you to dress for the catwalk.”
Mini opened her mouth to retort, but Grace intervened.
“Shall we go then?” She stood up quickly, looking around at them. “The curfew’s eleven now, remember? We need time to get home again.”
“Right.” Matty nodded and got to his feet. “Follow us, everyone.” He grinned and Nick bounced after him like an overexcited puppy as he left. They started out okay, following the path through the trees for a while, but then they left it when it curved around and Mini sighed.
“Really?”
“You can get to it on the road.” Matty told her, walking ahead with the others. “But it takes longer.”
“Take them off, Mins,” Liv told her, and Mini pursed her lips, considering the state of the grass for a moment. Her heels would sink into the soil and get ruined if she wore them, she decided.
“Fine.” She was not happy.
“Coming, princess?” Rich called mockingly over his shoulder, and Mini glared at him.
“Watch it, freak.”
“Ooh, haven’t heard that one for a while.” Rich wasn’t fazed as she caught up with them, walking next to Grace. “Got any more venom you need to get out of your system?”
“Believe me,” Mini told him with a dangerous smile. “If I had more venom, you’d know about it, Viking.”
“I appreciate the Vikings.” Rich nodded. “They had style.”
“They were unwashed savages with long hair.” Mini sneered. “Remind you of anyone?”
“Mini!” Grace said, shocked. Mini laughed and patted her shoulder.
“We’re not serious, Gracie. Are we?” She looked challengingly up at Rich, who smiled back tightly.
“Nope. Everyone’s a comedian.”
The thing was, Mini thought as they walked on, cold grass under her bare feet, they actually weren’t serious. Not as serious as they had been, anyway. She knew that she and Rich would never be close friends, but they could get along well enough. It was almost refreshing, having a verbal sparring partner who gave as good as she did. Not many boys stood up to her like that.
“How much further is it?” Alo asked Nick. It was starting to get dark.
“Past the road.” Nick gestured. “Through the trees. It’s pretty well hidden.”
“Don’t spoil it,” Matty told him. Nick snorted and nudged Alo.
“Got any weed?”
Alo sighed, but obligingly got out his tin. “Why don’t you ask someone else for a change?”
“Because you always have weed.” Nick grinned, watching as Alo rolled him a joint, with some difficulty as they kept walking.
“There, you wanker,” Alo said without any real bite. “You’ll have to pay me back one day, you know.”
“Yeah,” Nick agreed amiably. “Got a light?”
“No,” Alo told him. “Fuck off and use someone else’s.”
“Here.” Rich pulled his out of his pocket and handed it to Nick, who took it gratefully.
“Cheers, mate.”
“No problem.”
The road was quite busy, but they ran across in a group during a lull in the traffic and vanished into the trees on the other side. Mini’s feet felt a little tender, but she didn’t dare put her shoes back on. It was worth the pain to spare the heels, after all. Matty continued to lead them into the darkness between the trees and she sighed, frowning at the ground as she tried to pick out the least prickly path. It looked level from the road, but actually the ground beyond the trees sloped down steeply in a long hill that led down to the road next to the river. Some parts were bare rock, but most of it was overgrown with shrubs and twisted trees.
Suddenly, arms went round her back and behind her legs and she was abruptly swung up into a bridal carrying position. “What the fuck!” She shrieked, twisting to see the culprit, who turned out to be Alo. He grinned at her.
“Alright?”
“Put me down, now,” she told him sharply. He didn’t, and she wriggled. “Farmboy! Put me the fuck down!”
“You’ll only get shit all over your feet.” He grunted as he tried to keep hold of her. “Think it through.”
Mini paused, then scowled and looped an arm around his neck. “Fine. Just…warn me next time, okay?”
“Deal.” He beamed. “You’re dead light - how much do you weigh?”
“Honestly, could you be ruder?” she asked him witheringly. At his confused expression, she sighed and explained. “You never ask a lady her weight, or her age.”
“But I know how old you are,” Alo said incredulously. “Why does it matter?”
“It just does,” she told him primly. “Okay?”
“Weird.” He hefted her further up and walked on. “You are really light though - sure you eat enough?”
“I eat plenty, thank you,” Mini said in a tone that said quite clearly that the conversation was over.
“Nearly there,” Matty told them. “It’s round here somewhere.”
“What is?” Grace asked.
“The entrance,” he said mysteriously. “You guys wait here. Nick - come on.”
“Cool.” Nick smiled, blowing out a long plume of smoke. “Back in a sec.”
“I wonder what they’re talking about?” Grace frowned.
“Some sort of building?” Rich suggested.
“I’ve never heard of a building round here,” Alo disagreed. “Or seen one for that matter. It wouldn’t work - it’s way too steep for anything.”
“Gang!” Nick appeared, grinning and gesturing excitedly. “Come on, we found it!”
“You can put me down if you want,” Mini told Alo, who shook his head.
“Nah, I’m fine. I swear, Rags is heavier.”
“Rags?”
“My dog.”
“Oh.” There wasn’t really much she could say to that, so she didn’t say anything.
Matty poked his head out from behind a tree. “Here.” He grinned. As they came round to his side, Mini’s jaw dropped. There was a large round hole in the ground about a metre wide, ringed with the remains of large stone bricks and a heavy metal sheet covered in moss and ivy. Just visible beneath the green was a dirty sign that read - DANGER. KEEP AWAY.
“This is it?” She didn’t bother to disguise the ridicule in her voice, laid on thick to disguise her surprise. “You want to give Franky…a hole in the ground for her birthday? Are you going to dress as a white rabbit and lead her down?”
“It’s more than a hole.” Nick grinned. “It’s a tunnel.”
“Oh right!” Mini said brightly, with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “Well that’s okay then. As long as it fits the criteria of dark, damp and generally disgusting, she’ll love it.”
“What is it?” Rich looked more interested, going to stand in front of it and peering down. “Where does the ladder go?” Mini squinted - there was indeed a ladder leading down into the ground. The gloom had covered it up.
“To the tunnel,” Matty said mysteriously.
“And where does that go?” Grace asked.
Matty grinned and pulled a torch from his pocket. “Let me show you.”
“No way!” Liv backed away. “No fucking way, Matty. It’ll be pitch black down there.”
“It won’t,” Matty said with certainty. “It will be at first, but after the ladder -”
“Seriously, what is it?” Rich asked, squatting down and getting his phone out, shining the light down into the hole.
“You have to come and see for yourselves,” Matty insisted. “Look, it isn’t very wet or cramped after the hole. Trust me. It’s for Franky.”
Liv scowled and shook her head. “Not in a million years. I bet there’s a shit load of spiders down there.”
“There aren’t, actually.” Nick smiled. “I mean, there’re a few, but not as many as you’d think. Go on, Liv.”
“No way.” She planted her feet stubbornly and refused to budge.
“Well I’m interested,” Alo said. “Lead on, my good man.”
“You have to put me down now,” Mini told him, and he nodded.
“Fair play,” he tilted her and set her gently on the ground. “Okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” She smiled at him and he smiled back, pleased.
“You coming or what?” Rich asked, following Matty as he took the first steps into the dark, holding the torch in his mouth by the cord wrapped round its handle.
“Yep.” Alo bounded after him, and Grace let Nick go first before she stepped into the darkness. Shoulder deep in the hole, she looked round at Mini and Liv.
“Come on,” she pleaded. “It might be really cool, you never know. And Matty knows what he’s doing. Don’t you trust him?”
“Not as far as I can throw him,” Mini replied instantly. Liv looked at her and smirked.
“Well he is quite short.” They both snorted, momentarily friends again. Grace smiled happily.
“You trust him, don’t you, Liv?”
“Yeah,” she said reluctantly, then sighed. “Oh fine. Go on, Grace, I’m coming.” She looked at Mini and rolled her eyes before following Grace down the ladder. Someone said something and Liv paused. “Apparently whoever’s last has to pull the thing over the hole because we want it to stay secret.” She looked at Mini. “You coming?”
Mini dithered on the edge, clutching her shoes. “Fuck it.” She decided, walking over and leaving her shoes next to the tree. She needed her hands free. “Go on then.” She jerked her head. Liv smiled and continued down. Mini grimaced as she placed her foot on the top rung. It was made of metal, slimy and damp, but at least it was wide enough for her not to slip. “Gross.” She muttered, wishing she’d worn better shoes. “Ew, ew, ew…” Four rungs down, she grabbed the edge of the metal sheet with one hand and pulled it over slowly, climbing down two more rungs as it closed the distance.
“Lights out,” she heard Matty say further down, and she closed her eyes as the last of the light blinked out, sealing them in darkness. Or almost-darkness. All the others had their phones out and were using them as weak torches, and Mini almost did the same, but decided to keep both her hands on the ladder instead.
“God, I can’t see a fucking thing,” she whispered to Liv, who nodded.
“I don’t like this.”
The ladder was narrow, and Mini trod carefully, scared of losing her grip on the slippery steps and crashing into Liv, or falling into the empty space behind her and dropping who knew how far. They seemed to climb down forever before the phone lights below began to vanish from view. Matty called up, “The bottom’s here. The ladder drops onto a shelf, you’ll see.”
Mini looked down as she climbed and watched as Grace’s feet connected with what sounded like stone and she stepped sideways and vanished. Liv went next. She crouched for a moment and looked up. “Bit of a jump,” she said quickly before hopping sideways. Mini kept her eyes focused below, and as she descended, she saw a chest-high archway that opened into a space where the others were standing.
She looked back up the ladder and wondered how deep they were. As deep as two houses, perhaps. Probably deeper. No one would hear them if they shouted, and she swiftly suppressed the insane fear that Matty had brought them down there to kill them all. Almost laughing, she sat on the edge of the arch and dangled her feet over before dropping slowly, wincing as sharp gravel cut into her feet.
“What the hell is this place?” Liv whispered as they crowded together. Mini shivered, goosebumps rising on her bare arms. It was freezing underground.
Matty grinned and shone his torch behind him. The others gasped. Grace murmured a, “Wow.”
Part 2
Fandom: Skins
Pairings: Rich/Grace, Mini/Franky, some Matty/Liv, some Nick/Katie, Emily/Naomi
Rating: NC-17
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Summary: AU where the oppressive government causes the Gen3 gang to form an underground resistance movement.
Artwork: Fanmix: Bare Your Teeth, Spit Out Sparks and amazing trailer/fanvid Darkest Hours.
A/N: Warning for heavy torture, some angst. Thank you so much to lazarus_girl for the amazing artwork and fanmix, and for all the encouragement along the way. And of course to shan_3414, who was not only my beta but also organised this whole thing. :)
Diagrams for the bunker and the tunnels can be found here.
"This is bullshit!"
Mini pulled a sympathetic expression as Franky slammed her hands down on the bench. “You heard about the new curfew then?”
“Obviously,” Franky snapped, swinging her legs over the seat to sit next to Alo, who ruffled her hair.
“Come on, you knew it was coming.”
“It shouldn’t’ve come at all.” Franky scowled, pulling the newspaper out of her bag. “‘Curfew in place to deter violence.’ What fucking violence?”
“Seriously?” Nick laughed. Mini rolled her eyes and shoved him, but he shook his head and leaned in closer. “Franks, I think they’re talking about us.”
“Shut up!” Mini hissed, elbowing him hard in the side.
“Ow!” He shifted away from her. “Alright, alright. Just because I wasn’t involved.”
“Involved in what?” Rich, Liv and Grace arrived and Rich raised an eyebrow at Nick, who shrugged.
“You know. At the weekend.”
“Oh.” Rich nodded and went to sit next to Grace on the table. She smiled at him and swung her legs over his before frowning at Nick.
“I thought we weren’t talking about that?”
“We aren’t.” Mini glared at him pointedly, and Nick raised his hands in defeat.
“Alright! Fucking hell, calm down.”
“We could get arrested for pulling shit like we did last week,” Mini argued, and Franky leaned forward to touch her arm.
“Chill, Mini. Okay?”
Mini pursed her lips, but nodded obligingly. “Yeah. Okay.” She turned to Liv. “How was Psychology?”
“Which you skipped again, you cow.” Liv snorted and nudged her with her foot. “Thompson’s out for blood. I’d hide if I were you.”
“Whatever.” Mini rolled her eyes, supremely unconcerned. “I’m ill. Got a note and everything. Did you do anything important?”
“Started a new case study.” Liv shrugged, and Mini groaned.
“Oh my god, not another one. What’s the freaky name this time?”
“Skinner.” Liv stretched and smiled as she saw something over Mini’s shoulder. “Did shit with rats. Oi! Over here!” She waved, and Mini and Nick turned to see Matty approaching. “Get expelled then?” Liv hopped off the table and grinned as he came within hugging distance.
“Nah.” Matty smiled and shook his head. “I only told the truth, didn’t I?”
“Dad’s going to be so pissed with you when he gets that letter,” Nick told him seriously, and Matty shrugged.
“You can back me up. It wasn’t my fault.”
“Matty!” Nick groaned, turning to keep looking at his brother as he and Liv walked round to stand next to Franky. “You can’t keep putting me in the middle like that! It isn’t fair.”
“You’re brothers, aren’t you?” Liv raised a challenging eyebrow. “It’s what you do.”
“Yeah, but the old man’s still our dad,” Nick snapped. “It’s a bit more complicated than that.”
“Guys!” Franky cut through the potential argument with a frown. “Forget it, okay? This is more important.” She held up the newspaper, and Matty grinned.
“We were noticed then.”
“What tipped you off?” Mini said acidly. “The police sirens or the ban on loud music?”
Matty widened his eyes mockingly. “There was a ban on loud music?” Mini gave him a look that would have sent most grown men scurrying away, but Matty just smiled.
“Does it matter?” Rich shrugged, pulling a cigarette and lighter from his pocket. “It’s not like we could do anything about it anyway.”
“Here, light?” Alo pulled a pre-rolled spliff from behind his ear and held it between his lips. Rich rolled his eyes and lit the tip as Alo cupped his hands around it, waiting till it was glowing before bringing the flame to his own fag and inhaling deeply. Grace pulled a slight face but didn’t comment. She didn’t mind Rich smoking as long as he didn’t exhale right in her face.
“Of course it matters.” Franky sighed, frustrated. “They’ve been tightening the noose since the election.”
“Yeah,” Liv laughed and held up her fingers to make quotation marks. “Election.”
“Like it was fair.” Rich blew smoke up into the air above the bench, Alo joining him a second later. “Like a shit tonne of votes didn’t go missing and were recounted in favour of Carver.”
“Cuntver, more like.” Matty curled his lip and Rich grunted in agreement.
“Whatever.” Liv smirked and bent down to pull up her long socks. The weather was only just getting warm enough for t-shirts and bare legs. Mini and Franky sighed in unison and then smiled at each other, united in despair at Liv’s fuck-it attitude to politics.
The bell shrilled from inside the college and Alo groaned. “Ah, come on! I’m not done yet!”
“Pub?” Rich asked, closing his eyes lazily. Grace swung her legs off his lap and poked him gently.
“Which one? Fishponds is under new management now, remember? They’re all cracking down.”
“Which is shit.” Alo scowled. “We’re gonna keep drinking, so what’s so bad about doing it in a pub?”
“They’re all being taken over.” Nick shrugged, slinging his bag over his shoulder. “Corporate shit and government crap.”
“Poo all round, and fuck all we can do about it,” Alo agreed miserably, stubbing out his joint on the bench with a sigh. “Fine. Van?”
“Don’t you guys actually have a lesson now?” Grace asked with a smile as they all began to walk inside.
“History.” Rich draped an arm around her shoulders and shrugged. “Load of bollocks.”
“You’ll have to go,” Franky chipped in. “Remember assembly last week?”
“Didn’t go,” Rich said promptly. “Me and Alo were skiving.”
The others laughed, and Franky shook her head good-naturedly. “You twat. It was all about skiving.”
“I’m sure I told you.” Grace frowned, and Rich shrugged.
“I don’t remember if you did, sorry. What about skiving?”
“New marking system’s being put in,” Franky told him. “If you skive without an excuse note, the teachers have to notify your tutor and if you do it something like three times in one week, they notify Blood, and your life is over.”
“How?” Alo frowned.
Franky shrugged and looked at Grace, who sighed. “He doesn’t tell me about these things, I don’t know why you think he does.”
“Well he is your dad,” Liv reminded her as Matty nuzzled her ear. Franky looked away and Mini put an arm around her, shooting a glare at Matty, who ignored her.
“We don’t talk about school at home.” Grace looked down.
“They make you do service or something,” Matty told Alo, who pulled a face.
“Remember when it used to be community service?” Rich asked. Nick laughed grimly.
“Yeah, but that was how long ago? Since before the election before this. Besides, it’s okay - you’re under eighteen, so they can’t put your name on the lottery for the serious shit, can they?”
“I won’t be under eighteen forever.” Rich looked down at Matty. The height difference between them was almost as striking as it was between him and Grace. “And you’re in trouble if they catch you - you’re over eighteen.”
Matty laughed, but Nick frowned. “Matty, he’s right. You’ve got to be more careful.”
“Come on!” Matty shoved Nick playfully. “I’m not being that bad. You should’ve come at the weekend - it was fucking awesome.”
“I had a game,” Nick reminded him.
“It was fucking awesome,” Matty repeated, treating Nick to a full-blast intense stare. “Tell him, Franky.”
Nick raised an eyebrow at Franky and she grinned. “It was fun, Nick. You should’ve come.”
“Well at least this way I wasn’t the only one left behind,” Alo interrupted. “Besides, knowing my luck, I’d’ve probably been caught. Come on, mate.” He punched Rich’s arm as they passed the corridor the History classroom was on. Rich rolled his eyes but peeled away from Grace and followed his best friend away from the rest of the group.
“Seriously though,” Franky said. “This is total bullshit. What’re they going to do about the clubs? Karaoke nights? Shit like that. That’s loud music.”
“They’ll probably have to restrict the volume.” Nick shrugged. “Not that big a deal.”
“It’s the principle of the thing,” Franky argued. “They’ve been pushing down on stuff like this since the election. It’s such bollocks, and no one does anything about it. Dove’s fucking useless, and his Democratic Liberation party isn’t any better.”
“I spy the future prime minister,” Mini joked, nudging Franky. The shorter girl didn’t smile.
“We’ll never get another woman prime minister.” She frowned. “Last time that happened, the royal family were assassinated.”
“Pfft.” Mini waved a hand. “Small fry. You just need good PR.”
“PR?” Franky raised an eyebrow.
“Public relations,” Liv whispered loudly and grinned. “Holding hands with dying children and shit like that.”
“It works,” Mini argued. “In moderation. Just enough to show you care, not too much in case it starts to look fake and gimmicky.”
The bell rang again, the last chance warning, and Grace frowned as she followed Mini, Liv and Franky into the girl’s changing rooms. Since the joining of the two friendship groups she had straddled - Rich, Alo and Franky and Mini, Liv and Nick - everything had started getting better. Matty’s sudden appearance had rattled a few cages, but it was all smoothing out.
He and Franky were just so passionate about the regime though. Grace suspected that Matty was really only in it for the anarchy, but Franky genuinely cared. That stunt at the weekend had been a little too dangerous for her. At the time, drunk and a little high, scrawling ‘FACIST CUNTS’ in ten foot high letters on the wall of the Bristol Regime Building had sounded like a great idea. She had realised as Matty, swaying on top of Rich’s shoulders, started work on the letter ‘I’ that perhaps it wasn’t such a brilliant idea. When Liv produced speakers and flares and they popped them on the wall as music played at top volume, a part of Grace’s common sense that was intact at the back of her mind sighed and covered its face with its hands. And when the sirens had started to wail and they’d run for what felt like miles though it couldn’t have been more than a few roads, the common sense had integrated into Grace’s conscious brain and she had breathlessly told the others that they were all complete idiots.
Remembering the laughter and adrenaline rush in the changing room however, Grace couldn’t bring herself to truly regret a moment. And when Rich had spun her round in a circle under a lamppost and she had thrown her head back, it had been wonderful. And the kiss he had given her right after that had been even better.
Liv noticed Grace’s half-smile and nudged Mini with a wink. “What?” Mini snorted.
“She’s totally remembering an orgasm,” Liv whispered and giggled when Grace looked at her.
“I’m what?”
“Nothing, babe, don’t worry.” Liv grinned. Mini rolled her eyes.
“Ignore her, Gracie. Ready for some rounders?”
Grace sighed and pulled her sports shirt on. “I’m never ready for rounders.” It was the only school sport she had ever been bad at. She was hopeless whether she was batting or fielding.
Alo and Rich met the others outside, where they were crowded around Nick. Everyone except Matty was there. Shooting Rich a frown, Alo sped up to see what was going on. Nick was leaning against the wall and dragging heavily on a spliff in between taking hasty gulps from a can in his other hand. “What’s up with you?” Alo asked him bluntly as Nick wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. It was shaking.
“He just got kicked off the rugby team.” Franky told him in a low voice.
“What?” Alo exclaimed disbelievingly. “I thought you were like, their star player or something? Aren’t you the captain?”
“I was.” Nick’s voice was hoarse and he didn’t meet anyone’s gaze as he took another swig, finishing off the contents of the can. “Fuck. I need more beer.”
“The last thing you need is more beer.” Mini would have sounded bossy to anyone who didn’t know her, but Alo could hear the concerned undertone to her voice.
“No,” Nick shook his head. “No, I really need to get smashed right now.”
“What the fuck happened?” Alo threw his hands up in the air.
There was a long pause while they waited to see if Nick would answer the question, then Grace spoke up hesitantly. “Um…one of the other guys on the team said something about Matty, I think. And then Nick beat him up.”
“Shit.” Alo raised his eyebrows. “Where’s Matty now?”
Nick’s head snapped up and he looked around. “He should be here by now.”
“Did you tell him?” Liv asked urgently, and Nick nodded.
“Texted him.”
“Shit,” Liv swore. “You know he’ll’ve gone to do something stupid!”
Nick stared at her for a second and then pulled out his phone. Matty was on speed dial. “Pick up, you wanker,” he muttered. Alo turned to Rich, who shrugged. “Matty!” Nick broke out of their circle and walked away a few steps. “Fucking hell, where are you? Matty…oh fuck. Why the…you fucking idiot! Where…oh, Matty!” He snarled angrily. “Fucksake. Stay where you are, okay? I’ll be right there.” He hung up and handed the remains of his joint to Alo. “You were right,” he told Liv. “He went and attacked Rider. Fucking twat.” He turned and started jogging away.
“Well shit,” Mini said into the silence Nick left behind. She turned to the others. “What now then?”
“It’s the end of the day.” Rich shrugged. “I’m going home.” He nodded once to Alo before walking away, Grace with him.
“I’m going to wait around,” Liv said. “See what’s happening.”
“Homeward bound for me.” Alo finished off the spliff Nick had given him and crushed the end under his boot. “Anyone want a lift?”
Franky shook her head and pulled her headphones from her bag. “I’m going to walk. See you guys later.” She lifted her hand in a half-hearted wave and turned to leave, pulling her headphones over her ears to drown out the noise.
“I’ll have the lift, Farmboy, if you’re still offering.” Mini smiled brightly at him, and Alo grinned back.
“No problemo, Minerva McGuiness. This way.” He gestured grandly and she rolled her eyes, the effect softened by her smile. “See you later,” he told Liv, who nodded.
“Later.”
“Is Nick being kicked off the team really bad then?” Alo asked Mini as they walked to his van. She shrugged.
“Why are you asking me?”
“Well you were going out with him.”
“That doesn’t mean anything,” she said evenly, and Alo dropped the subject.
“Fine, cool. Wanna choose the music?” He opened the passenger door for her as they reached the van, and she smiled.
“Sure. Thanks.”
He grinned up at her and slammed the door. “Y’know,” he said as he hauled himself up into the driver’s seat, “it’s good that we’re all mates now.”
“Never had mates before, Farmboy?” Mini teased as she rifled through his tapes. “Fucking hell, what is all this?”
“Rich’s stuff, mostly.” Alo stuck his head out of the window to make sure he wouldn’t back into anyone before shifting into reverse and driving out. “There’s some non-metal music in there though. And apart from Rich, no, I haven’t really had mates before.”
“Sucks for you.” Mini snorted, picking a tape and pushing it into the player. Bowling For Soup started blaring out and she reclined in her chair.
“Don’t you like Rich?” Alo frowned as they pulled out onto the main road.
“He’s alright, I suppose.” Mini shrugged. “Grace likes him, which is what really matters. But…well, I don’t know him very well. And I don’t think he likes me much.”
“Course he likes you,” Alo protested.
Mini laughed. “Farmboy, I treated you both like shit for ages. I wouldn’t like me.”
“You’re better now though,” Alo told her nicely. “I mean, you haven’t called him a smelly Viking for weeks.”
Mini laughed. “I guess not. You’re still Farmboy though.”
Alo shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
“Oh, here’s fine,” Mini told him, and Alo parked on the side of the road. “Thanks,” she said as she opened the door and slid out. “Alo.”
He beamed at her. “My pleasure. See you later.”
“Sure.” She smiled back and waited until he had turned the corner before starting to walk home.
“I’m back,” Franky called as she opened the door.
“Franky?” Geoff sounded like he was in the living room, and Franky pulled her headphones down around her neck.
“Who else?”
“D’you want some cake?” Jeff poked his head out of the kitchen and Franky nodded.
“Alright.”
“Tea?” Jeff asked as she sat at the table, and she smiled.
“Yeah, cheers.”
“No problem.” He puttered around happily, then frowned as he turned back to her, the kettle beginning to boil behind him. “Did you hear about Queen’s Square?”
“No.” Franky took a slice of cake and frowned. “What about it?”
“They’re building something there.” Jeff didn’t look happy. “Some sort of platform. They’ve taken the statue of that man with the horse away and this weird stage is going up in its place.”
Franky stared at him for a second, realisation dawning. “It’s a zapper platform. It has to be.”
“No,” Jeff shook his head, though the look in his eyes told Franky that he knew it was the truth. “They only put those in prisons and stuff.”
“There are four in London,” Franky told him. “And a few other cities have them as well. Public ones, I mean. Manchester got one last week.”
“Oh my god.” Jeff sat down, not noticing the kettle behind him as it boiled. “They can’t do that, it’s…it’s inhuman.”
“It hasn’t stopped them before.” Franky scowled. “As long as the end result is good, it justifies the means.”
“Electrocution though…” Jeff shook his head and looked up as Geoff walked in. “Geoff, did you hear about this? Franky thinks the platform going up in Queen’s Square will be a PCP platform.” PCP stood for Public Correctional Punishment, Franky remembered. She was so used to people calling them zapper platforms, so named because of the electric prods and whips used in the procedure. For years they had only been allowed in prisons, but Carver’s party had used them as an example of corporal punishment yielding good results in crime rates and he had started introducing public ones to deter against public disorder and violence.
Geoff sighed. “I thought as much. I hope not, though there’s nothing we can do about it now, is there?”
“The people running them are sick.” Franky got up to pour her own tea. “I read an article a couple of days ago about a man who was zapped for like, ten minutes straight. His muscles are all fucked up now - he has to use a wheelchair.”
“What was he pulled up there for?” Geoff asked, and Franky shrugged.
“Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth losing use of his legs for.” She took her tea up to her room and logged onto the video site she used to show her films on. At least her mannequins lived sheltered lives.
“Dad, he didn’t mean it!” Nick pleaded as Leon Levan bellowed and threw a mug at Matty, who ducked and let it smash against the wall behind him.
“Like fuck he didn’t!” Leon fumed. “I had to sit there and let that fucking tosser Blood tell me what a fucking embarrassment you were! You fucking arsehole! You hear me, you little prick?” He stalked around the table and Matty slipped out of the kitchen. “You fucking hear me?”
“Dad!” Nick ran after him and tried to reason with him. “It was my fault, honest, he didn’t mean it -”
“He’s brainwashed you again, son!” Leon shouted, following Matty as he backed down the hall.
“He’s stronger than that,” Matty told his father quietly, looking right into his eyes. Somehow, that only incensed Leon further, because he turned abruptly and went to Matty’s room. When he found the door locked, he stood back. His sons realised what he was about to do just as he raised his foot to kick.
“Dad, don’t!” Nick yelled.
“Hey!” Matty jumped forward, too late as the door crashed off its hinges and Leon walked into the little room and started to tear the posters off the walls.
“You’re out, you hear me?” he roared, turning furiously on Matty as he came to a halt in the doorway. “You get out, and never step foot in my house ever again!”
“Dad, no,” Nick could feel himself tearing in two, half to Matty and half to his father. “Matty didn’t mean it, he didn’t -”
“Don’t bother, Nick,” Matty cut him off, staring at their father condescendingly. “He won’t listen. He’s just a sad, old little man who makes himself out to be more important than he is because he hasn’t got the balls to change.”
“Balls?” Leon dropped the shredded posters and clenched his fists. “I’ll show you balls, my boy.” With a roar he lunged forward, hands outstretched. Matty jumped backwards as Nick ran forwards, grabbing his father round the shoulders.
“Dad! Stop, please, don’t -”
“Get off me!” Leon snarled, shoving Nick into the wall with a hard thud and going after Matty, who ducked the first punch and slipped under his father’s arm to run to Nick’s side.
“You alright?” he asked urgently, and Nick nodded, pushing Matty out of the way as their father swung another punch.
“Stop!” he shouted, grabbing his father’s arm before he could attack again. “Dad, stop!” The tearing stopped as his father tried to push him away again, but Nick held on and then shoved back. “Stop it!” he shouted, louder than any of them. “Leave him alone!”
“Nick, you’re siding with him?” Leon spat, gesturing to Matty like he was filth. Nick looked at Matty, then back at his father.
“Yeah, I am.” He squared his shoulders, preparing for his father to start on him. “He didn’t do anything wrong,” he told Leon. “Okay? It was my fault. Matty was trying to help. So just back off, yeah?”
Leon was panting slightly, his face flushed with anger. “So you’re ganging up on me, is that it?”
“Yeah.” Nick looked over his shoulder at Matty. “We are.” When he looked back at his father, he seemed to have shrunk. Matty was right, Nick realised - he looked old. Old and worn and a bit deflated. The power had shifted palpably, and Nick realised as Leon grunted and turned on his heel furiously that this had been coming for a long time. And even more importantly, as Matty stepped up next to him and looked up at him with a small smile, it was a good thing.
Mini was the only one of the gang there when Franky went into the common room for the meeting the next day. The notice had been posted round all the tutor groups that morning, apparently, and now it was five to one and people were trickling in.
“Heya,” Franky said as she flopped down next to Mini, putting her feet up on the table. “Did you hear about Nick?”
“No,” Mini raised her eyebrows. “What about him?”
“Well, Matty too,” Franky added. “He told me this morning - remember how they both ran off last night? Apparently Blood called their dad in to have a massive rant and say how both of them are on their last chances now, and when they got home he fucking exploded and tried to kick Matty out again, but Nick stood up to him and now it’s all sorted.” She grinned.
“Wow.” Mini looked forward. “That must’ve been tough. Nick really looks up to his dad.”
“I know.” Franky nodded. “But have you looked at the guy’s website? He’s really scary.”
“What, the ‘man up’ thing?” Mini giggled. “Yeah, I looked it up when Nick first told me about it, when we were going out.”
“Speaking of that,” Franky sat up and looked Mini in the eye. “Are you two alright now? I mean…you didn’t exactly part on the best of terms.”
“Because he fucked Liv,” Mini said coolly, and tossed her beautiful hair. “And she lied about it right to my face.”
“Yeah.” Franky twisted her fingers in her lap awkwardly. Mini noticed and reached over to hold them still. Franky looked up at her and Mini smiled.
“I’m fine, babes. Don’t worry about it. I’m totally over Nick.” She leaned back and shrugged. “We’ll be okay, I think. I’m not hugely fond of him at the moment, but whatever. It was more about me and Liv, I think.”
“Oh.” Franky had never encountered best friend politics before, and really, she was mostly focused on the way Mini hadn’t let go of her hand yet. Even when Rich, Alo, Grace and Nick came in, she waved with her other hand.
“Ladies.” Alo grinned as he squished himself between them. Mini huffed as she let go of Franky, but Franky felt a little relieved as Nick sat down next to her. She wasn’t sure how she was meant to feel about people holding her hand like that. Rich and Grace sat down on the sofa opposite them, pressed together all down their sides. When Rich rested his boots on the table like Franky, Grace put one of her feet up next to his and grinned.
“Wow, look how huge your feet are compared to mine.”
“You have tiny feet though, Grace.” Mini laughed.
“Mm, I guess. Where’s Liv?” Grace asked, looking round. “And Matty?”
“Probably off fucking somewhere.” Mini rolled her eyes dramatically, just as they walked in.
“Alright?” Liv looked round as she and Matty sat next to Rich and Grace. “Do any of you know what this shit’s about?”
“Nope.” Franky shook her head. “We were just told to be here for one.”
“So he can tell us.” Rich nodded to the door as Professor Blood walked in, the creases in his suit sharp enough to cut. Quiet fell in his wake, and he turned to face them all with steepled fingers.
“Right, I hope you’re all here, because I won’t be repeating myself.” He smiled one of his tight, humourless smiles. “Onto business - I am obligated to inform you of the new music blacklist that has gone up, thanks in part, I believe, to whomever was foolish enough to deface government property and attempt to shatter public eardrums at the same time on Saturday night.” He cast a stern look around the room. “The full list is available on the Bristol Regime website, of course, but those artists and bands that are among those with questionable songs are…” he pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and looked down his nose at it. “Flobots, My Chemical Romance, Cannibal Corpse, Crass, Metallica, The Used, Pillar, Rage Against The Machine and the Sex Pistols.” He ignored the cries of anger and dismay that rose from the students.
“What the fuck!” Rich yelled.
“The full list,” Professor Blood raised his voice and paused till the noise had died down. “As I said, is on the website. The songs in question, or indeed, the bands or artists in their entirety, have been banned from the radios, regime-sanctioned internet and public use. Anyone found listening to the prohibited material in a public area, whether out loud or using headphones, will be subject to a fine and the music in question will be confiscated.”
“You can’t do that!” Franky shouted above the other students who raised their voices in protest. “What if we paid for that music? That’s fucking ridiculous!”
“Silence!” Blood ordered loudly. “There is no point arguing the finer points of the law with me,” he told them all firmly. “I am a professor, not a policeman. But every staff member will be enforcing these laws. We have the right to check what you are listening to and raise the matter with the authorities if we must. This is not an argument, ladies and gentlemen.” He looked around. “This is the law.” As he left, the noise level rose again.
“This is not on!” Franky fumed.
“I’m getting the list up now,” Liv said tersely, fingers moving on the screen of her iPhone.
“They’re just corporate wankers who don’t like what they don’t understand.” Rich looked angrier than Franky had ever seen him. “I bet none of them have even listened to Cannibal Corpse. Fucking bastards.”
“What about Toxic Bob?” Even Grace looked distressed.
“Fuck.” Rich pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re right. You got that list yet?” he asked Liv, and she nodded.
“Yeah, just scroll down.” She handed it over and as Rich read it, his expression grew darker and darker.
“Those pricks,” he hissed. “Those fucking…shit, they’re going to put Toxic Bob out of business, and every other decent music shop in Bristol. Half his stock is on here.”
“They really are cracking down.” Mini was quiet, a little shocked. Some music had always been banned - certain songs that were deemed provocative or too anti-political - but music had never been outlawed in such quantity before.
“Does it say how much the fine is?” Alo asked Liv as she took her phone back from Rich.
“Um…” She scrolled down and sucked in a breath. “Holy shit. Says it can be from fifty to five hundred quid.”
“And if we don’t pay?” Alo asked hopefully. Liv paused as she read her screen.
“Loads of long words I don’t get, but I think it’s basically a zapper job.”
“For listening to music?” Matty raised his eyebrows and leaned closer to read it. “No way, that’s mental.”
“This is why they’ve put up a zapper platform in Queen’s Square,” Franky realised out loud. They all looked at her.
“You’re not serious?” Grace looked shaken. “They can’t do that, can they?”
“Of course they can, Grace.” Mini scowled. “They can do whatever they want. Who’s going to stop them?”
“People should!” Alo slapped his leg. “This is way too harsh! There should be riots in the streets!”
“There won’t be though, will there?” Nick shook his head. “Not if they’ve got a zapper platform.”
“They can’t zap everyone though, can they?” Grace said uncertainly.
“Sure they can.” Matty sat back in disgust. “But they won’t need to. The fear of it’s more than enough.”
Franky felt something in her chest tighten, and she opened her mouth, needing to voice what she felt, though she didn’t know how to put it into words. How to say that she felt the sudden urge to scream and throw something at the faceless figures of the regime? How to tell the others that they needed to do something? To act before they collapsed in on themselves, their muscles of rebellion weakening to the point of atrophy? She closed her mouth and frowned unhappily, not noticing Mini’s concerned look.
“So no one will do anything.” Nick shook his head. “Just like normal.”
“Well what can we do?” Rich sounded defeated and frustrated.
“Nothing!” Franky spat, the tightness in her chest turning into a furious burn. “I’m sick of it! I’m sick to fucking death of people saying there’s nothing we can do.” She got to her feet and grabbed her bag, stalking out angrily. She didn’t want to be followed, and she was grateful when no one tried.
Mini was carefully cutting around a photo of Grace’s face to stick on her newest collage when her phone trilled, alerting her to a new text message. She sighed and put down her scissors, frowning when she saw that it was Matty. She opened it anyway.
RED LION WORRALL RD @ 7.
That was it? She frowned harder and put her phone aside, continuing to cut out Grace’s face. When she was done she set it aside and moved onto a photo of Rich and Alo, grinning drunkenly at the camera. It was only five-thirty; she had plenty of time yet. She wondered whether Matty had only texted her. She hoped not. But of course he wouldn’t have. What would he want to meet her on her own for?
Surely he couldn’t have noticed the way she felt about Franky?
How did she feel about Franky?
Mini sighed and finished cutting out Rich and Alo. Sifting through the pile of pictures she had printed out, she found one of Franky and held it in front of her. Frozen in position forever, the smaller girl was laughing, her hair slightly blurred at the edges as she turned her head. Grace was holding her hand, pulling her forward and the sun was flaring behind her, almost whiting out one side of her face. She looked like an angel. She looked beautiful, but fragile as well. Mini’s feelings towards Franky had done a major about-turn since she first met her. When at first she had felt almost threatened and had reacted aggressively, now she only wanted to protect her.
Did she want more than that though? Was even wanting to keep her safe normal? She had never needed to worry about Liv the way she did about Franky, and Grace’s naivety had been a source of amusement and faint ridicule more than anything else. And besides, Grace had Rich now. Rich may not have been the most affectionate person in public, but from what Mini could see, and from what Grace had told her, he would do anything for her. He kept her safe much better than Liv or Mini ever could.
Mini stroked one perfectly manicured finger down Franky’s face in the photo. She wasn’t sure what she wanted from Franky. Maybe this was what adults talked about when they spouted all that bullshit about puberty and adolescence being a confusing whirl of emotions, of highs and lows and body changes. From Mini’s experience, puberty really hadn’t been a big deal.
At six-thirty, she left the house without telling her mother where she was going, high heels clacking on the pavement. She didn’t mind the walk - it was quite relaxing, listening to her music and setting a steady pace. And the more walking, the better. Burning calories was a serious business.
She arrived at the Red Lion at five past seven, much to her annoyance, as she prided herself on being punctual. As a result, everyone else was already there. Mini sat down heavily next to Grace and sighed. “What’s up then?” Looking round, she noticed a familiar face missing and frowned. “Wait, where’s Franky?”
“She’s why we’re here,” Matty told her, smiling slightly. Mini narrowed her eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” Matty leaned back and smiled wider, “that I’ve had an idea for her birthday.”
“Ooh!” Grace beamed and sat forward. “Are we throwing her a surprise party?”
“Better,” Matty told her. He looked quite pleased with himself, and he shared a smile with Nick. “A party only lasts for that one day, and she needs something that lasts longer than that to cheer her up.” Liv, Mini noticed with some satisfaction, did not look pleased. “Nick and I know a place, not far from here.”
“What’s that got to do with anything?” Alo asked, clearly confused.
Matty shook his head. “We’ll show you.”
“You’ll love it.” Nick grinned at them, then at Matty. The brothers seemed to have forged a new bond, and Mini felt distantly happy for Nick at least. Even if he was a complete skeez, he deserved something nice for a change.
“How far is it?” Mini asked, worrying a little about the state of her ankles. She could walk in heels for hours, but she knew she would be feeling it on the treadmill in the morning.
“Not far,” Nick told her, his voice just a little hoarse from too much shouting and smoking. “About ten minutes?”
“Across the Downs,” Matty reminded him, and Mini’s heart sank.
“In these?” She gestured pointedly to her shoes. “You’re fucking joking.”
Matty shrugged. “I didn’t tell you to dress for the catwalk.”
Mini opened her mouth to retort, but Grace intervened.
“Shall we go then?” She stood up quickly, looking around at them. “The curfew’s eleven now, remember? We need time to get home again.”
“Right.” Matty nodded and got to his feet. “Follow us, everyone.” He grinned and Nick bounced after him like an overexcited puppy as he left. They started out okay, following the path through the trees for a while, but then they left it when it curved around and Mini sighed.
“Really?”
“You can get to it on the road.” Matty told her, walking ahead with the others. “But it takes longer.”
“Take them off, Mins,” Liv told her, and Mini pursed her lips, considering the state of the grass for a moment. Her heels would sink into the soil and get ruined if she wore them, she decided.
“Fine.” She was not happy.
“Coming, princess?” Rich called mockingly over his shoulder, and Mini glared at him.
“Watch it, freak.”
“Ooh, haven’t heard that one for a while.” Rich wasn’t fazed as she caught up with them, walking next to Grace. “Got any more venom you need to get out of your system?”
“Believe me,” Mini told him with a dangerous smile. “If I had more venom, you’d know about it, Viking.”
“I appreciate the Vikings.” Rich nodded. “They had style.”
“They were unwashed savages with long hair.” Mini sneered. “Remind you of anyone?”
“Mini!” Grace said, shocked. Mini laughed and patted her shoulder.
“We’re not serious, Gracie. Are we?” She looked challengingly up at Rich, who smiled back tightly.
“Nope. Everyone’s a comedian.”
The thing was, Mini thought as they walked on, cold grass under her bare feet, they actually weren’t serious. Not as serious as they had been, anyway. She knew that she and Rich would never be close friends, but they could get along well enough. It was almost refreshing, having a verbal sparring partner who gave as good as she did. Not many boys stood up to her like that.
“How much further is it?” Alo asked Nick. It was starting to get dark.
“Past the road.” Nick gestured. “Through the trees. It’s pretty well hidden.”
“Don’t spoil it,” Matty told him. Nick snorted and nudged Alo.
“Got any weed?”
Alo sighed, but obligingly got out his tin. “Why don’t you ask someone else for a change?”
“Because you always have weed.” Nick grinned, watching as Alo rolled him a joint, with some difficulty as they kept walking.
“There, you wanker,” Alo said without any real bite. “You’ll have to pay me back one day, you know.”
“Yeah,” Nick agreed amiably. “Got a light?”
“No,” Alo told him. “Fuck off and use someone else’s.”
“Here.” Rich pulled his out of his pocket and handed it to Nick, who took it gratefully.
“Cheers, mate.”
“No problem.”
The road was quite busy, but they ran across in a group during a lull in the traffic and vanished into the trees on the other side. Mini’s feet felt a little tender, but she didn’t dare put her shoes back on. It was worth the pain to spare the heels, after all. Matty continued to lead them into the darkness between the trees and she sighed, frowning at the ground as she tried to pick out the least prickly path. It looked level from the road, but actually the ground beyond the trees sloped down steeply in a long hill that led down to the road next to the river. Some parts were bare rock, but most of it was overgrown with shrubs and twisted trees.
Suddenly, arms went round her back and behind her legs and she was abruptly swung up into a bridal carrying position. “What the fuck!” She shrieked, twisting to see the culprit, who turned out to be Alo. He grinned at her.
“Alright?”
“Put me down, now,” she told him sharply. He didn’t, and she wriggled. “Farmboy! Put me the fuck down!”
“You’ll only get shit all over your feet.” He grunted as he tried to keep hold of her. “Think it through.”
Mini paused, then scowled and looped an arm around his neck. “Fine. Just…warn me next time, okay?”
“Deal.” He beamed. “You’re dead light - how much do you weigh?”
“Honestly, could you be ruder?” she asked him witheringly. At his confused expression, she sighed and explained. “You never ask a lady her weight, or her age.”
“But I know how old you are,” Alo said incredulously. “Why does it matter?”
“It just does,” she told him primly. “Okay?”
“Weird.” He hefted her further up and walked on. “You are really light though - sure you eat enough?”
“I eat plenty, thank you,” Mini said in a tone that said quite clearly that the conversation was over.
“Nearly there,” Matty told them. “It’s round here somewhere.”
“What is?” Grace asked.
“The entrance,” he said mysteriously. “You guys wait here. Nick - come on.”
“Cool.” Nick smiled, blowing out a long plume of smoke. “Back in a sec.”
“I wonder what they’re talking about?” Grace frowned.
“Some sort of building?” Rich suggested.
“I’ve never heard of a building round here,” Alo disagreed. “Or seen one for that matter. It wouldn’t work - it’s way too steep for anything.”
“Gang!” Nick appeared, grinning and gesturing excitedly. “Come on, we found it!”
“You can put me down if you want,” Mini told Alo, who shook his head.
“Nah, I’m fine. I swear, Rags is heavier.”
“Rags?”
“My dog.”
“Oh.” There wasn’t really much she could say to that, so she didn’t say anything.
Matty poked his head out from behind a tree. “Here.” He grinned. As they came round to his side, Mini’s jaw dropped. There was a large round hole in the ground about a metre wide, ringed with the remains of large stone bricks and a heavy metal sheet covered in moss and ivy. Just visible beneath the green was a dirty sign that read - DANGER. KEEP AWAY.
“This is it?” She didn’t bother to disguise the ridicule in her voice, laid on thick to disguise her surprise. “You want to give Franky…a hole in the ground for her birthday? Are you going to dress as a white rabbit and lead her down?”
“It’s more than a hole.” Nick grinned. “It’s a tunnel.”
“Oh right!” Mini said brightly, with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “Well that’s okay then. As long as it fits the criteria of dark, damp and generally disgusting, she’ll love it.”
“What is it?” Rich looked more interested, going to stand in front of it and peering down. “Where does the ladder go?” Mini squinted - there was indeed a ladder leading down into the ground. The gloom had covered it up.
“To the tunnel,” Matty said mysteriously.
“And where does that go?” Grace asked.
Matty grinned and pulled a torch from his pocket. “Let me show you.”
“No way!” Liv backed away. “No fucking way, Matty. It’ll be pitch black down there.”
“It won’t,” Matty said with certainty. “It will be at first, but after the ladder -”
“Seriously, what is it?” Rich asked, squatting down and getting his phone out, shining the light down into the hole.
“You have to come and see for yourselves,” Matty insisted. “Look, it isn’t very wet or cramped after the hole. Trust me. It’s for Franky.”
Liv scowled and shook her head. “Not in a million years. I bet there’s a shit load of spiders down there.”
“There aren’t, actually.” Nick smiled. “I mean, there’re a few, but not as many as you’d think. Go on, Liv.”
“No way.” She planted her feet stubbornly and refused to budge.
“Well I’m interested,” Alo said. “Lead on, my good man.”
“You have to put me down now,” Mini told him, and he nodded.
“Fair play,” he tilted her and set her gently on the ground. “Okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks.” She smiled at him and he smiled back, pleased.
“You coming or what?” Rich asked, following Matty as he took the first steps into the dark, holding the torch in his mouth by the cord wrapped round its handle.
“Yep.” Alo bounded after him, and Grace let Nick go first before she stepped into the darkness. Shoulder deep in the hole, she looked round at Mini and Liv.
“Come on,” she pleaded. “It might be really cool, you never know. And Matty knows what he’s doing. Don’t you trust him?”
“Not as far as I can throw him,” Mini replied instantly. Liv looked at her and smirked.
“Well he is quite short.” They both snorted, momentarily friends again. Grace smiled happily.
“You trust him, don’t you, Liv?”
“Yeah,” she said reluctantly, then sighed. “Oh fine. Go on, Grace, I’m coming.” She looked at Mini and rolled her eyes before following Grace down the ladder. Someone said something and Liv paused. “Apparently whoever’s last has to pull the thing over the hole because we want it to stay secret.” She looked at Mini. “You coming?”
Mini dithered on the edge, clutching her shoes. “Fuck it.” She decided, walking over and leaving her shoes next to the tree. She needed her hands free. “Go on then.” She jerked her head. Liv smiled and continued down. Mini grimaced as she placed her foot on the top rung. It was made of metal, slimy and damp, but at least it was wide enough for her not to slip. “Gross.” She muttered, wishing she’d worn better shoes. “Ew, ew, ew…” Four rungs down, she grabbed the edge of the metal sheet with one hand and pulled it over slowly, climbing down two more rungs as it closed the distance.
“Lights out,” she heard Matty say further down, and she closed her eyes as the last of the light blinked out, sealing them in darkness. Or almost-darkness. All the others had their phones out and were using them as weak torches, and Mini almost did the same, but decided to keep both her hands on the ladder instead.
“God, I can’t see a fucking thing,” she whispered to Liv, who nodded.
“I don’t like this.”
The ladder was narrow, and Mini trod carefully, scared of losing her grip on the slippery steps and crashing into Liv, or falling into the empty space behind her and dropping who knew how far. They seemed to climb down forever before the phone lights below began to vanish from view. Matty called up, “The bottom’s here. The ladder drops onto a shelf, you’ll see.”
Mini looked down as she climbed and watched as Grace’s feet connected with what sounded like stone and she stepped sideways and vanished. Liv went next. She crouched for a moment and looked up. “Bit of a jump,” she said quickly before hopping sideways. Mini kept her eyes focused below, and as she descended, she saw a chest-high archway that opened into a space where the others were standing.
She looked back up the ladder and wondered how deep they were. As deep as two houses, perhaps. Probably deeper. No one would hear them if they shouted, and she swiftly suppressed the insane fear that Matty had brought them down there to kill them all. Almost laughing, she sat on the edge of the arch and dangled her feet over before dropping slowly, wincing as sharp gravel cut into her feet.
“What the hell is this place?” Liv whispered as they crowded together. Mini shivered, goosebumps rising on her bare arms. It was freezing underground.
Matty grinned and shone his torch behind him. The others gasped. Grace murmured a, “Wow.”
Part 2