Mosi's War Page 9

Chapter 36

  Patrick tossed and turned all night. Couldn’t sleep. In a way, he didn’t want to. Sleep brought dreams, nightmares. Vampires wandering the estate, waiting for him in the underpass. In the darkness, clinging to the roof, ready to drop on to him. In the snatches of sleep he did manage, he was wandering the dark streets alone, heading home. He heard the swish of wings behind him and he swivelled round, and there looming above him was Papa Blood, arms wide, bared teeth a flash of steel. And he couldn’t get away. No matter how he ran.

  Finally, Patrick was too afraid to close his eyes at all. He got out of bed and picked up his laptop. He had to find out about this man.

  Papa Blood. He was easy to find. Stories of him were legendary. All Mosi had told him was true. And there was more. The cruelty Mosi couldn’t bear to speak of was all there to be read about. Patrick had to put the laptop aside, open his bedroom window for air, sure he was going to be sick. How did Mosi bear it?

  And when justice had moved in, Papa Blood had disappeared. No one knew where he had gone. But Mosi knew, and so did Patrick.

  He was here.

  Patrick stood at his window and looked down over the deserted estate. No one was about. The rain had turned to an eerie mist, early morning light beginning to tinge the edges of the sky.

  He was out there somewhere, this Papa Blood. He thought he was safe.

  They couldn’t let him get away. There had to be a way to get him.

  Chapter 37

  Mosi watched for Patrick coming through the school gates. He had told him a dangerous secret, and all night he had worried that he had done the wrong thing. The circle must not be broken, his father had told him. Once it was broken, breached, it would be like a dam bursting. All their secrets would spill out, gush out, and then . . .

  Had he made a mistake telling Patrick? Perhaps, first chance he got, he would have phoned his friends, told them all. So Mosi waited next morning, expecting Patrick to stride in with Cody and the others, all of them knowing the truth about him. Cody would believe it. After all, he had beaten Cody’s brother.

  Patrick walked in alone. His eyes were searching for Mosi and when he saw him he hurried across to him. ‘I read about him last night . . . on the internet . . . your Papa Blood. I couldn’t believe the things he’d done. It made me feel sick.’

  Mosi’s eyes flashed to the school gates. Cody was just coming in. Cody glanced at Mosi and looked away quickly, embarrassed.

  ‘Did his brother tell him what happened?’

  ‘Told you he wouldn’t say a word, Mosi. He probably told Cody they just scared you a bit and let you go. But Cody’ll be dead embarrassed because he was there and ran away.’

  He had hardly finished saying it when Cody called across to Patrick, ‘I’ve got something really weird to tell you.’ He called out louder, so everyone would hear, ‘I’ve got something really weird to tell the lot of you.’

  Mosi held his breath. He was going to tell them all about him. Patrick had been wrong. Cody was going to tell the whole school how he, Mosi, could fight, could use a machete, and they would all ask how he came to learn such things. He wanted to run then, out through the school gates, but where could he go?

  ‘I’m telling you, Mosi, JD would never tell Cody you beat him. Never.’ But Patrick’s voice trembled and Mosi knew now he wasn’t so sure.

  They all began to gather round Cody. Even Hakim and his friends. Cody took a deep breath.

  ‘Something happened to my bro last night,’ Cody began.

  Mosi heard Patrick’s quick intake of breath.

  ‘He was coming home in the middle of the night . . . he’d been out with his mates.’ For a second, his guilty glance fell on Mosi, then just as quickly moved away. ‘And he heard something coming after him . . . he began to run, and it ran as well. Something was chasing him.’

  Hakim asked. ‘Some . . . thing?’

  Cody nodded. ‘He says at first he thought it was whoever killed Grady comin’ after him. The cops had told them they better be careful. But . . . and this is the weird bit . . . he couldn’t see anybody. He could hear them, hear them breathing, he saw this shadow, but he couldn’t see anybody.’

  Bliss shouted out. ‘It was his imagination.’

  ‘No way,’ Cody shouted back. ‘JD’s no’ easily scared. He woke me up when he came in, he woke the whole house, and I’ve never seen my bro like that. He was scared. Really scared. Sweating and shaking. He says whatever it was followed him right into the flats. Just a giant black shadow, he never saw anything else . . . He says he thought it was going to get into the lift wi’ him. He could hear it coming closer . . . but the doors shut just in time. He didn’t see anything, but he knows what it was.’

  ‘Are you saying what I think you’re saying? Are you trying to tell us this vampire we’ve been hearing about was after your brother?’ Hakim turned to his friends and smirked. ‘His brother tells almost as good a story as he does.’

  Cody leapt towards him. ‘It’s not a story. It’s the truth, butthead.’

  Hakim grabbed him. ‘Who are you calling butthead?’

  Cody began yelling. ‘I’m telling you. The vampire was after my brother last night. It definitely was!’

  There was a murmur of horrified agreement at that.

  ‘I wouldn’t believe anything your brother said.’ Hakim hardly had the words out when Cody jumped at him.

  ‘Don’t you call my brother a liar!’ Hakim fell back, and the two boys were locked together on the ground.

  The rest of the pupils gathered round, cheering them on.

  Mosi and Patrick stayed back.

  ‘I would say it was JD’s imagination, but I don’t think he’s got any,’ Patrick said to Mosi in a soft voice.

  Mosi’s answer was just as quiet. ‘It was Papa Blood after him, making himself invisible. He will go after Grady’s gang one by one . . .’

  ‘Unless we stop him, Mosi,’ Patrick said.

  Chapter 38

  Mrs Telford came charging out of the school entrance as soon as she heard the commotion. They were all ordered into the classroom. Even the boldest of them lowered their eyes away from her steely stare.

  She waited till they were all gathered together before she spoke. ‘I am ashamed of every one of you.’ Her voice was soft, yet firm.

  ‘This school is the one place where there should be no violence, no prejudice. And it will be.’ Her voice did become a roar then. ‘I will have no fighting in this school.’

  Everyone shrank back from her anger. Her eagle eye swept the room. ‘You! Hakim!’

  Mosi saw Hakim jump. ‘I didn’t start it, Mrs Telford.’

  ‘Did I ask you to speak! Don’t you dare say a word. Do you know how shocked your mother and father would be if I told them how you carry on in this school?’

  Hakim gulped. His father was always at the forefront of things, speaking up for the asylum seekers, and both his parents were eager to make a success of living in this country. They wanted Hakim to do well, and were always willing to volunteer for anything that would help the school.

  ‘Sorry, Mrs Telford,’ Hakim muttered.

  ‘And as for you, Cody.’ Her eyes spiked him. Cody had looked smug when her wrath was directed at Hakim. ‘Don’t think I don’t know about you. And all you get up to.’

  ‘It wasn’t me,’ Cody said automatically.

  ‘It’s always you,’ Mrs Telford said. ‘Well, for the next two weeks you two boys will have an extra lesson, together, just with me, on diplomacy, friendship and tolerance.’

  Her eyes again swept the room. And Mosi was invisible. He melted behind the boy in front, kept his eyes downcast. He had learned to become invisible when he was a fighter. The defiant ones who stared back boldly at the soldiers were picked for front-line duty . . . or torture. One as deadly as the other. He had long ago learned to keep his eyes averted. He looked at no one, and no one looked at him. He was invisible. The only way to survive.

  Mrs Telford drew in a deep breath.
‘Don’t think I haven’t heard all the talk about this so-called vampire. There are no such things. I know about the old story. Children whipped up into a frenzy about an imaginary vampire. Well, there was no vampire then, and there isn’t one now.’ She looked again at Cody. ‘Has your brother gone to the police about this incident?’ She didn’t wait for his answer. ‘Because he should. And whatever was after him . . . if anything was . . . it was human and dangerous. Certainly not a vampire. I’ve never heard such a piece of nonsense! You watch too much television, the whole lot of you. Your minds are filled with stories about zombies and monsters and vampires. And that is all they are. Stories.’ Had she finished? They all hoped she had. ‘I would give anything to see you using those wild imaginations of yours to do something together for once.’

  But Mrs Telford even mentioning the vampire only fuelled more stories. In the dinner hall it was all they talked about. Pupils gathered round the tables. Everyone had a story to tell.

  ‘I woke up last night, and there was something scratching at my window,’ one of the boys said.

  ‘If that happened to me, I’d wet myself,’ Patrick laughed. ‘I’m on the thirteenth floor.’

  No one laughed. They were all suddenly serious.

  Others said they had seen strange shadows too, moving along the ground behind them, shadows dancing on walls, or passing windows.

  ‘My flat looks right over the cemetery,’ another of the boys said. ‘And at night when I look down I can see a mist rising, and . . .’ The boy’s voice became soft. They all held their breaths to listen. ‘I can see shadows moving in there. As if the dead have come to life. There’s nobody there, but I can see these shadows moving.’

  Bliss tutted, determined to be the voice of common sense. ‘Come on, that was in a film you saw.’

  Cody whispered to his friends. ‘What was done to Grady, nobody human could have done that.’

  Hakim, at the next table, stopped eating for a second. He turned to Cody. ‘What was done to Grady? We’ve heard so many stories. Do you think any of those rumours are true? My father says people make things up.’

  ‘That’s because the truth is too awful even for the papers to report.’ Cody paused dramatically. ‘Mutilated.’

  Hakim nodded. ‘Yes, I heard that.’

  Cody swung his legs over his bench so he was facing Hakim. ‘But no blood. He was completely drained of blood.’

  There was a communal gasp. ‘I heard that too,’ Hakim said, and there was a murmur of agreement. ‘So . . . how would you know these things?’ Hakim asked Cody.

  Cody had a ready answer. ‘My dad knows some of the police that were there at the scene.’

  That was probably true, Patrick thought. Cody’s dad had been arrested by most of them.

  ‘What happened to JD was really weird,’ Cody said.

  ‘My mum won’t even let me out at night any more,’ one of the girls said. ‘She reckons there’s definitely something out there . . . not someone . . . something . . . and until it’s caught, I’m grounded.’

  Cody turned to the others, stared at them. ‘Did I tell you my granda actually saw it . . . the vampire . . . all those years ago?’

  ‘Yeah, you said.’

  Patrick looked around. They were all listening intently, gripped by the story. For once, they weren’t blaming each other. They had found something else to blame for all that was happening.

  ‘My dad says that when the vampire was here before it was trying to get people to rise from their graves,’ one of the boys said.

  Bliss tutted. ‘All that was just rumour.’

  Cody was shaking his head. ‘Naw, naw, that’s true. My granda says the last time, him and some of the other boys were going to paint crosses on the gravestones, but the police came and they didnae get the chance.’

  Patrick moved forward. ‘Crosses on the gravestones? You mean like graffiti?’

  Cody stared at him as if he was daft. ‘Naw, no’ graffiti. Crosses on the gravestones, it’s a well-known fact that stops the dead from rising.’

  Patrick stepped back from the crowd. He imagined the sound had been turned off in the canteen. He was thinking, thinking hard, and Patrick didn’t do that very often.

  In that moment he saw how he could tell the world about Papa Blood.

  Chapter 39

  Once the idea took hold of him, he knew there was no time to waste. He pulled Cody aside as they left the dinner hall. ‘That was a really good idea your granda had, you know, about painting the crosses on the gravestones. Your granda didn’t get the chance, but we could . . . we could go to the cemetery tonight.’

  He wanted to make Cody think it was his own idea, not Patrick’s, and they were just finishing the job Cody’s granda had started.

  ‘You mean . . . just you and me?’

  Patrick shook his head, drew Cody closer. ‘And the other boys in the gang. We’ll all paint crosses on the gravestones.’

  Cody’s eyes lit up and Patrick knew he had him. The thought was exciting Cody. ‘I’ve got a better idea,’ Cody said. ‘I’ll get everybody to go. Just like before. And there’ll be that many of us there that nobody’ll know it was us painting the crosses. We won’t get the blame.’ He gave a little laugh as if he had come up with a brilliant plan.

  ‘Do you think they’ll all go?’ Patrick said softly.

  ‘I’ll get them to go,’ Cody said with assurance. He grabbed at Hakim as he passed. ‘Are you up for going to the cemetery tonight, Hakim?’

  Hakim didn’t look too sure. ‘The cemetery?’

  ‘You’re not scared, are you?’

  Hakim snapped back, ‘I’m not scared. I bet you are.’

  The worst thing to say to Cody. ‘Me? You know all that vandalism that goes on at the cemetery? Who do you think helps his brother push them gravestones over? Me! I’ve been in that cemetery loads of times at night. I’m not scared.’

  Patrick could see the thought of a vigil for a vampire excited Hakim as well. ‘Might be a laugh,’ he said.

  ‘Will we do it, then?’ This was Patrick. But he didn’t really need to ask. Cody was already on his mobile, contacting his mates in other schools who would join them. And a moment later, Hakim was in a huddle with his friends.

  Suddenly, the school was buzzing. They were going on a vampire hunt.

  Chapter 40

  ‘There’s something on this estate, and we’re gonny find out what it is!’ Cody stood on the wall in the playground, speaking as if it had all been his idea. Patrick was happy about that.

  Standing beside Cody was Hakim. ‘And if they’re going, so are we.’

  Patrick could feel the excitement build in the crowd. There were shouts and yells. Bliss leapt on the wall.

  ‘This is silly. Going out and looking for a vampire! There’s no such thing.’

  Now it was Cody’s turn to shout. ‘It’s been done before. And this time we could get him.’ He said to Bliss, ‘We could all go out together tonight. And get the vampire. Safety in numbers, Bliss.’

  And though Bliss blinked and looked uncertain, Patrick could see she was intrigued.

  ‘We’re not in any danger, there’s too many of us,’ Hakim assured them all, ‘and we’ll all stick together.’

  Cody shouted, ‘I’ve texted my mates in the other schools. They’re up for it.’

  ‘Mine too,’ Hakim called out, holding up his iPhone. ‘There will be loads of us.’

  There was an excitement among them. And Patrick knew it was like a snowball rolling down a hill. Nothing could stop it now. He felt his heart beat faster. He had started all this, with his talk of a vampire.

  ‘I think we should just leave it be.’ Ameira’s quiet voice could only just be heard.

  Everyone looked at her, surprised. ‘The cemetery,’ she explained. ‘It’ll still be a crime scene. Police everywhere. It’s a waste of time. They won’t let us anywhere near it.’

  There was a reluctant murmur of agreement.

  ‘It’s a big cemetery
, Ameira. Only a wee bit of it is a crime scene.’ Cody sounded annoyed. Ameira was spoiling the adventure. ‘Are you no’ coming?’ Cody snapped at her.

  Patrick could see that Ameira wanted to refuse, to say no . . . I’m not coming. Cody waited for her answer. Patrick felt the whole school wait. Hakim smiled at her.

  ‘We’ll all stick together, Ameira,’ he said.

  Patrick knew what he was really saying. I’ll stick with you, Ameira.

  Ameira smiled back. ‘Of course I’m coming . . . never said I wasn’t.’

  Nothing was going to stop them. The plan was that they would all go home, but meet up again later at the school gates and make their way en masse to the cemetery. There was a buzz in the air Patrick could almost reach out and touch.

  ‘You’re not going there, are you?’ Mosi asked him. He had stayed back, as usual, when they’d all been talking. Patrick didn’t want him to know anything about it. He wasn’t part of the plan. It wasn’t safe for Mosi to know. Patrick didn’t want him involved. Time enough to tell Mosi about it when it was all over.

  Patrick shrugged his shoulders. ‘It’ll be a laugh.’

  Mosi looked puzzled. ‘You’re up to something,’ he said.

  Patrick just smiled. ‘Maybe.’

  ‘Be careful, Patrick.’

  As Mosi moved away, Cody asked, ‘That weirdo’s not coming?’

  And Patrick assured him, ‘No, he’s not coming.’

  ‘Good thing,’ Cody said. ‘I told the boys to bring their cans, OK? We’ll stop that vampire this time.’

  Yes, Patrick thought, and I’ll get Okafor. Because he didn’t intend to spray crosses on the gravestones. He was going to tell the world that Papa Blood was here. He would spray it on the gravestones, he would spray it on the mausoleums and the walls surrounding the cemetery.

  Okafor is Papa Blood.

  War Criminal.

  He’s here.

  With so many others there Papa Blood would never know who it was who had written those words.

  And even if they brought out the workmen to clean it up, just like the last time, they couldn’t do it before the police saw it, before the television cameras captured it, and the message would be relayed to the world, and the world would know. They would investigate Mr Okafor. They would take him in for questioning. They would find out the truth.