Half Life by Heather Atkinson Page B

all he ’ d say.  When he pulled up outside the Charming house I knew I was in serious trouble.  I was in the middle of nowhere with someone who was clearly deranged and it was starting to get dark.  I ’ d never felt fear like it.  We just sat there in the car for ages in silence.  He stared out of the window, gripping the steering wheel tightly.
      “ Alex? ” I said gently, still hoping to reason with him. 
      He reached under his seat and pulled out the biggest knife I ’ d ever seen.  When he looked at me again his eyes had the same dead look and I knew then that this was the real Alex.  The one I ’ d fallen for had been an illusion.
      “ Get out, ” he said in that same creepy monotone. 
      I spotted my chance.  The moment he released the central locking I opened the door and ran but I had my heels on so he caught up with me easily and pushed me over.  I tried to fight him but he put the knife to my throat.
      “ Get up, ” he said quietly.
      There was no anger or even fear in his voice.  In fact there was nothing, which was more frightening than had he shouted.  He marched me up to the house with the knife pressed to my throat so hard I felt a trickle of blood run down my neck.  No one was around, there were no cars.  It was just me and him.
        He shoved me through the door and I fell, hitting the floor hard.
      “ Alex, what are you doing? ”
      He stood over me, staring down at me as though I was nothing.  His eyes were cold and he looked as though he was capable of anything.
      “ I want to see what ’ s inside you, ” he said quietly.
      “ What do you mean? ” I screamed.
      He indicated my stomach with the knife.  “ I want to see what ’ s inside you. ”
      When he raised the knife into the air I kicked him.  I was panicking so I ’ m not sure where I hit him but he fell backwards.  I ran for the front door but he grabbed my legs and the next thing I knew I was back on the floor.  He rolled me onto my back and raised the knife again.  I lashed out with my feet and the heel of my shoe caught him in the face.  Blood burst from his nose and he dropped the knife.  I snatched it up and stabbed him over and over until he stopped moving.  Then I ran outside.  Thank God a car was passing.  They nearly crashed when they saw me run out in front of them covered in blood.  The driver called the police and the rest you know. ”
     
      Her story told, Mercy slumped back in her seat, exhausted.
      There was a long drawn out silence as Paige regarded her thoughtfully across the table.
      “ What do you think he meant when he said he wanted to know what ’ s inside you? ”
      “ Who knows?  He ’ s a lunatic. ”
      “ You stabbed him thirteen times and not one of those blows hit anything vital.  Did you do that on purpose? ”
      “ I ’ d like to say yes but I can ’ t.  It ’ s all mixed up in my head.  All I can remember thinking when I was stabbing him was that I never wanted him to get up again. ”
      “ He lost a lot of blood.  If the ambulance had taken any longer you might have got your wish and you ’ d be facing a murder charge. ”
      “ Murder? ” she exclaimed incredulously.  “ I ’ m the victim here. ”
      “ So far we ’ ve only your word for that.  There were no witnesses and Alex isn ’ t well enough to make a statement yet.  In fact everyone we ’ ve spoken to says what a nice normal man he was before he met you. ”
      Mercy was on her dignity.  “ And who is everyone? ”
      “ His mum. ”
      “ Well she would say that, wouldn ’ t she? ”
      “ His friends, other relatives, they all say the same thing.  He was fine then he met you and he started to go downhill.  Missing days at work, becoming withdrawn and moody.  His mum suspected you ’ d got him into drugs, although the urine samples you both provided prove that ’ s not true. ”
      “ I don ’ t believe this.  He was acting