The Short Cut
We were twenty minutes into the walk when I realise we couldn't have possible gone the right way. I didn't know how to get where we going, but we had just walked pasted something that only took five minutes to walk to. Yet I didn't say anything, I wasn't that enthusiastic about where we were going so getting hopelessly lost sounded more fun. I finally said something due to Bert wanting to go through a graveyard and it was now dark.
"It's too late now," I protest, as he jumps the wall instead of using the gate. I followed him glumly through the gate. "It was meant to start at five."
"We still have ten minutes," he says rushing forward. I half run to keep up with him. The graveyard is unkempt and full of leaves from the trees that frame it so I'm having to watch where I'm walking.
"Bert, lets just go home."
"That is where we going," he shouts stopping. I stood shocked, trying to grasping what he was saying.
"They left us," I said finally. He turns around ignoring me.
"We can still make it," he says and starts running through graves.
I run after him, but lose sight of him quickly. Damn his long legs. I stop and decide to go home. He can go where he ever damn wants.
Home. I can't believe he thinks of them as anything like a home.
I scan around the graveyard, trying to find my way out of there, realising I'm not sure which way we came. Damn Bert, who runs into a graveyard at night? Why the fuck did I follow him?
Family. I had enough of family. I pull my phone, hoping it magically has a signal. Nope. The GPS is too crappy to tell me where I am on a good day. I start walking, we can't have got to far from where we entered.
I'm getting a new phone and a new brother tomorrow. I sigh as neither is possible. Though, I could save up for a new mobile if I really wanted. Brothers on the other hand are something you're stuck with. But I didn't need to speak to him. Nor did I have to speak tor our grandparents. They had proved that in the last twenty years.
He was younger than me. Maybe that's why he was more forgiving. Four years was long time at his age. We still had each other, we didn't need them. I stop walking and look around again. It's getting darker and I can't see the wall yet. I probably shouldn't have left a fifteen year old running into darkness.
I try to follow the disturbed leaves. It's hard to see and I'm probably going the wrong way. I struggle to hear the traffic from the road, but despite it being rush hour, all I can hear is the sounds of birds. The hoot of a owl is a distinct sound. I'm fight my urge to freak out and just to run wildly.
"VEDA!"
I jump at my name being shouted, without thinking run towards it blindly. I run straight into a gravestone flip over it on to my back. I can't breath. The stars tingling in my eyes. I breath in and out breathes gently. I roll on to my stomach and push myself up.
I look around, hoping to see Bert. It's too dark to see farer than the headstone I ran into. I rub my hip that took the blunt of the force.
"Bert," I shout as loud as I can, which is not. I dragged myself in the direction of where I think my name had.
I keep calling Bert's name as I wander through the headstones. There is no way that this is a short cut. We should have just too the damn taxi they offered to pay for. Or better yet just refuse to go.
"BERT" I shout desperately.
"Veda?" Bert says from behind me. I must have got really turned around, to see him standing there. I dragged myself towards him. "What happen?" he meets.
"I ran into a gravestone," I say, trying to down play. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he says looking around. He's lost too.
"Why did you shout my name like that then?" He looks confused.
"I never said your name till I heard you shout mine."
"Now, is not the time to be messing with me," I say angrily.
"I'm not, I thought you left." I look hard at him, he must be lying, but I can't be arsed to fight him on it.
"I was trying to. Do you know the way out of here?" He nods at first, before shaking his head. I groaned.
"Why did you think this was short cut?"
"They said they were staying at the north-side of the graveyard." I stare at him blankly.
"There's only woods to the north of here." They either confused or messing with us. He looks awkwardly off to the centre.
"Let's just get out of here," I say no longer wanting to get out of this creepy arse place.
"We're walk straight till we find a wall or a path," I say, feeling a lot calmer, now that I have Bert with me. We don't say anything and just listen to the sounds of the Owls hooting to each other. Bert stops suddenly.
"What's the matter?"
"There's a house," he says, looking to the right of us. I squirt my eyes but see nothing.
"You're weren't meant to bring her," a male voice says from our left. I swing my head around to see, who I recognize as my uncle from old pictures. He's obviously older, but still young looking. A lot like mum before she got ill.
"You never said that," Bert says insolently
.
.
"You have been raised wrong, so you don't know that girls are useless..."
"Don't fill his head with that nonsense,"I interrupt. Mum had warned me about the family attitudes that one of the major reasons I didn't want to meet them as proud feminist. I grab Bert's hand. Uncle Win smiles at us.
"You have been raised wrong too." I fill with rage. How dare he insult my dead mother, his sister like that.
"I'm certain I was raised better than you." His parents threw out a fifteen year for being pregnant. I pull Bert along, deciding that I have should have went with the parent role left with me, more than the supportive sister.
"He's need to be introduced to his powers," he shouted behind me. I stop and smiled. I turn around slowly and decide to break mum's rules just this one time. I push into myself, feeling my pain vanish, pull out the light I keep hidden most of the time.
"I'm working on it," I say, walking into the direction of the exit. I'm so used to life without my powers than I never even thought to use them to find my way out of here.
I'm just glad that it was just our creepy uncle waiting in the dark and maybe voice of someone too feminine to be either Bert or Uncle Vin.
"My mother still missed you at the end," I say hoping those words stab him. None of the came with news she was dying and that should have been enough for Bert to stay away. Still, I feel slight resistant from him.
"Next time you can visit us," I say finally.
***
Yeah, that didn't go where I thought it was going. Maybe werewolves. Oh, well, I'm now off to do the writing I should be doing for class.
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