The Limit - Part One.

THE LIMIT (Alan's Story)

Chapter One

As I lay there in the darkness with the rain pounding down upon me , a dark substance which I soon realised was my blood trickling from the gashes in my arm, I promised revenge would be exacted on the ones who had done this, no matter what it took. Even if it killed me or possibly them... My name is Alan Johnson and this is my story.

At the age of fifteen I stood at roughly about 5ft 10. I was a thin scraggly kind of guy with light brown hair and brown eyes. I had already been through a hell of a lot in my fairly short time. I was an only child and had never really had that many friends only one of two at a time I would always feel alone in this world and was left out of all the social groups at school and always the last picked for football and other sports. Tragedy had also struck me at the young age of seven when my mum finally gave into her cancer. I still of course has my dad but he wasn't ever there for me.
He had always abused my mum and to be honest when she died I felt like he was pleased inside though he would never show it i knew he was. I got the impression he cared more about the bottle and his stupid drugs than he ever did or would about me, considering all this , my life wasn't really what you would call wonderful.
When I was younger going to school seemed a refuge , my safe haven, despite my lack of friends , at least I could just sit alone at break and just think to myself. I saw it as a shelter from my father and his constant abuse, but when I moved up to the local high school it all changed.

As I walked into school through the gate that dominated the main road, some big kid pushed past me and shouted for me to watch where I was going. He just carried on walking down toward the school until he met up with a group of his mates. I thought what he did was pretty rude and I was quite annoying by what he did but after the day I had, that would seem like a warm welcoming.

I walked around the school for a while trying to find out where my form room was (I had forgotten from my induction days) I saw the guy who had pushed past me he was talking to a group of lads you know the kind the ones who looked like they could break your leg with their little finger. The group was standing in the middle of the corridor so I tried 2 edge round them but ended up knocking into one of them. He turned round and I saw it was the lad from earlier on at the gate.
"I thought I told you to watch where you were going you little idiot" he shouted at me.
"I'm really sorry I was just trying to get to my class" I replied
The guy pushed me into the lockers and laughed he and his friends walked off . I found my classroom ten minutes later just as the bell rang. My lessons went quite well , well as well as double maths and R.E can be.
At lunch I wandered towards the dinner hall. Suddenly I fell over and I realised I had been tripped. I looked up and saw a couple of bigger kids nearby. After I had picked my bag up I ran off towards the hall and the safety of the other kids.
To make matters worse now my dad was drunk out of his mind almost constantly. Everyday when I would come home from school he would be there waiting for me. If I was lucky he would just roar at me for a while but most of the time I wasn't that lucky and he would beat me until I could run up to my room and lock the door or until he passed out because of how much he had drunk. I didn't think my awful life could get any worse... I was wrong.

Chapter Two

These kind of things now happened to me daily I would be kicked and pushed and thrown around every day at school and a lot of time at home but I got used to it and did my best to avoid the worst people at school. Though I couldn't really avoid my dad could I.

Anyway I'm sure your all wondering how I found myself in the drenching rain which a large gash me my arm , well it was about five months into the school year and there was a huge party that everyone was invited to (even me!). The party was this Saturday. The only thing was I didn't know how to get there but my dad for once encouraged me to go to try and make some friends. I took his advice and asked around school if any1 could tell me where it was. Eventually I found someone who would pick me up with a group of his friends and drive me to the party with them (There names were John, Mickey, Jordan and Greg). Thinking back on this I probably should have realised that going with a group of strangers was a bad idea but I was young and was thrilled I could go to the party so I didn't really mind.

The guys picked me up at around eight just as it was getting dark it had been an awful evening anyway with all the rain. We drove for about 20 minutes but suddenly we stopped on a lonely road.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"Shut up and get out of the car now!" one shouted.
I did as he said and all four of them were surrounding me one pulled out a knife I think it was Jordan. They all moved in towards me and that's all I remembered.
After I got completely to my senses I tried to work out where I was. This wasn't easy seeing as though it was a dark lonely road with no street lights surrounded by that woods that is from every horror story. I just started to stumble along the road in the direction I thought we came in. As I almost fell over the top of a slight hill I saw a small cottage with a flickering light shining out of a small window. I made it to the door and as it opened I fell through it and passed out again.
When I awoke for the second time I found a young man and woman staring at me.
"Are you OK?" asked the woman who looked about 30 with long blonde hair.
"I've been better" I managed to say I could taste blood in my mouth.
Once I could think straight again the man said I could go and have a bath if I wanted which I took without hesitation. As the bubbles floated round me I was thinking how I could get back at all these people who had caused me so much pain and upset. When I finished my bath I had decided on what I would do.

Chapter Three

It took about a couple of hours for my dad to find the place in the countryside because he kept getting lost. I think this was due to the fact he was drunk out of his mind and he definitely shouldn't have been driving.

When he finally reached the house I found that he was drunk what a surprise. He didn't look very happy at being called out at night for this. I really didn't want to go home with him. When we got back my fears were realised as he beat me again. I ran to my room and thought to myself that this it! I've had enough of life I'm going to get back at all those people who have ruined my life.

That night I took out a piece of paper. It was part of a girl called Jess Hobbs
English homework. I had slipped this into my pocket during the lesson when she went to the bathroom. I knew it had to be hers because I knew John had had his eye on her and they had been passing notes to each other. I rummaged around in my drawers until i found a piece of scrap paper. I studied Jess's handwriting and then wrote upon it "meet me by the woods at around 8 tonight" almost an exact copy not bad! I slipped it into my bedside draw until Monday morning.

When I woke on Monday it was a lovely autumn morning with a gentle mist being illuminated by sun. My window was slightly open so I could hear a bird singing along from the tree that grew near our house. I went and got ready for school as I walked over to my draw I suddenly stopped as a tremor of guilt ran through my body was I sure this is the right thing to do? I ignored this and carried on towards the drawer and picked up the paper and slipped it into my pocket.

When I arrived at school I followed John to his locker and waited for him to walk to class. When I was sure he had gone I slipped the note out of my pocket and into his locker. I felt sure this would work. The only thing that was worrying me Is would he believe it was from jess? I was praying he would and that he would come alone.

The day passed pretty slowly with the usual taunts and jeers from the "cool crowd". When the bell for the end of the day rang I ran over to Johns locker. I got there just before John did. I watched as he opened his locker and read the note and a big smile appeared on his face. The plan had worked! I would soon rub that smile off his face.
On the way home I headed off into town. I needed to go and buy a dead cheap pair of trainers. I couldn't go walking around in the woods in my own shoes. They would get muddy and leave footprints which could be traced back to me. I bought a pair put them in my bag and raced home.

That night I told my dad I was going to go out for a walk, said i needed to clear my head and have some time to myself after my traumatic experience. My dad agreed with me for once so he didn't ask any of those annoying questions such as ; Where about are you going to go and when will you be back. That made my plan run a lot more smoothly. I started out the door and then realised I hadn't put the trainers on! I ran upstairs bunged them on and ran outside.

Another , vital , part to the plan was that i needed to call round for Jess and coerce her into coming out with me for a while. This meant that she wouldn't have an alibi for around the time of the murder. Admit idly neither did I but that was my worry. The key thing though was not to be seen by her parents or anyone else while with her.
This was so later if the police or anyone came around asking questions I could just deny being with her and she would be shown to be lying increasing suspicion on her.

I made the time around 7.15pm as I left. I hopped on my bike and got over to Jess's house in about fifteen minutes. As I arrived at the house I noticed that all the curtains were fully drawn which was very good for me, reducing the risk of her parents seeing me. I slowly approached the door. Moving along the long path that led through the flowery garden but apprehension was creeping into my mind. Was this really the right thing to do?

I gave in and started to turn around and started to move back to the front of the garden when suddenly the front door opened... It was Jess standing in the doorway. What could I do? I turned back to face the door.

"Alan is that you?" Jess shouted down the path.
"Ye its me " I slowly replied.
" What on earth are you doing here!"
It was now or never! Should I just turn and run and forget this whole thing or stay where I was and fulfil my plans...
"Well Jess, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something"
"Err... Sure shall I come out or would you like to come in?"
"I don't feel too great at the moment so I think the fresh air would do me good if you wouldn't mind coming out?"
"Sure that's fine I'll be out in a sec just gotta grab my coat"
I was amazed, my plan was actually working! I just was praying her parents wouldn't walk past the door and see me. This led to me walking back to the end of the path and hiding behind the stone archway.
As I hid I heard the sound of a door shutting behind me. I peeked out from behind the arch and saw Jess walking down the path. She seemed to be looking for me. I gazed towards the windows and saw that no-one was there and that the coast was clear. I stepped out.
"Hi." I said in a shy voice.
"Hey there you are Alan! Why were you hiding down here?"
"No reason just got bored."
"Oh okay then. What is it you wanted to talk about?"
I took a brief glance down at my watch it was 7.20. I was roughly on schedule. I realised I hadn't actually thought of anything to keep Jess's attention for the time I needed to keep her out the house for!
"Alan? I said what did you want to talk about?"
"In a minute, Shall we go for a walk?"
"Ye okay then."
We started to head off down the road. I grabbed my bike and started to walk with it beside me. There was a surprising lack of traffic and people on the the street. I needed to think of something to talk about and fast! The test! How could I have forgotten the test we got in maths! I could ask her for some help on that.
"Well Jess. You know the big maths test that we have coming up?"
"Yes Alan?"
"Well I was wondering if you could explain simultaneous equations? I'm really struggling with them."
"Ye okay then sure!"
Of course I had no real problem with the test and I just nodded and made acceptance noises. Around 7.30 I said that I thought I would be okay for the test and thanked her for her help. Little did she know what was about to happen.

I watched Jess vanish into the distance as she started back toward her house. I hopped back onto my bike and made my way to the main road that led down to the woods.

I arrived at the outskirts of the forest at about 7.40 . The cold white moon shone up in the sky like a beacon of hope. My conscience was really starting to get to me as I stared yonder into the sky. I told myself no... These bastards left me for dead. They did this to themselves . They need to be punished no matter the consequences...

I knew I needed time to set everything up. It took me a while to sort everything out and my doubt was still plaguing the back of my mind. By the time I finished it was around 7.55 and I heard someone getting close. I hid behind a tree how typical... I could now see the outline of a person that resembled Johns build. This was the start of my revenge!

I slipped on 2 pairs of some plastic gloves that I had brought, that's all I needed along with a length of rope I had stolen from design that was now in my pocket . I started to edge closer towards the figure with a large piece of wood in my hand. The figure was circling round in a small clearing so I would have to be very quick as not to be seen.

I was about 10 yards away from the man and I could clearly see it was John. He stopped and leant up against a tree. I heard him sigh and look at his watch. I estimated the time was around ten past by now. This was my only chance I had to act now! I raced forward I made such a racket as I charged . John heard this and turned. All he saw was a piece of wood slamming into the side of his head...

John was quite a big guy but luckily there had been some light rain earlier that day and I was able to drag him quite easily and the fact he was unconscious not resisting was helpful also. I dragged him to where I had been busy setting up earlier between to sturdy tree's. I picked up first piece of rope and started tying his hands together then wrapped them rope round the tree I then did the same to his feet and tied the other to the opposite tree.

John finally came around at about 9.15. He seemed groggy and angry not a good mix. I believe the conversation went like this.
"Let me go!" he shouted
"Not nice is it being hurt is it now John?" I replied
"Wait I recognise that voice. That's you isn't it Alan?"
"Well well you do remember me from that lovely night when you attacked me and left me for dead?"
"Look Alan that wasn't my idea mate! Just please let me go I'm meant to be meeting someone soon"
"Are you really that stupid? It was me who brought you here me! I know all about your little relationship with jess I wrote the note no-one is coming John no-one can help you now and say something was to happen to you...who knows who might get the blame?"
"No Alan! Leave Jess out of this it has nothing to do with her."
"Too late" I said and walked over to my bag.
I picked up a large knife I had taken out of my kitchen earlier that evening. I ran the knife up his shirt and ripped it off and threw it to the floor.
"Please Alan. What are you doing!"
"Shut up!"
I took the knife and started to carve into his back as he lay helpless screaming in pain and blood dripped to the floor. When I was finished and John had no air left in his lungs. I stepped back and looked at what I had done. The letters J H shone in the dying man's blood...

I picked up the knife and started to run. I kept stumbling in the darkness and slipping to the ground and I eventually found where I had left my bike. I got on and started away as fast as I could.

I biked and biked for what felt like forever until I saw the familiar sight of street lamps. I recognised the road that me and jess had walked down merely hours before. I was covered in mud and sweat and biking at this speed really didn't help. I pulled up outside of jess's house took off the first pair of gloves and opened the bin while wearing the pair underneath. I flung the bloody gloves into the bin and biked off home.

I biked on a little further until I saw what I was looking for an open bin. I took off the mud covered trainers and pushed them down to the bottom of the rubbish. My plan was complete. All I could do now was sit and wait and see if the police came knocking.

My dad was crashed out on the sofa as I came in, bottle of spirits in his hand across his chest. There was a small puddle on the floor where the alcohol had dripped down. He loudly snored as I moved towards the kitchen , knife in hand. I knew I had to do something with the knife. I had seen enough police drama's to have a rough idea what to do. I got to the sink and found some bleach. I rinsed the knife and the scrubbed bleach onto the handle and blade using a dishcloth. When I was satisfied that the knife was clean I put it back in the drawer and crept upstairs to my room. When I got up to my room I took all my clothes off and put them inside one of them big plastic charity bags you get posted through the door. I put the bag inside my wardrobe. I climbed into my bed and reflected.

My dreams disturbed me during the night. I kept imagining John getting up from inside of the forest and shouting my name. I woke with a start sweat pouring out of me , I glanced to my bedside clock and saw it was still a few hours before I needed to get up to go to school. I went to my wardrobe and opened it up. The horror of last night hit me as I saw the bag stuffed in the bottom. I grabbed some clothes and picked up the bag , put it by my door and got dressed.

I picked up the bag and crept downstairs. Not to my surprise my dad was still laid out cold on the sofa, bottle still on his chest. There was a small pool of alcohol to the side where it had dripped down. I opened the door and crept out making sure not to wake him.

The local tip was around half a mile away. If I ran I could probably make it there before anyway turned up for work. It didn't take long before I began to smell and see the dump. I knew there was a hole in the fence around the back because I used to sneak in there when I was little.
I found the part of the fence and thankfully the council hadn't found the hole yet, or knowing the council they had and just couldn't be bothered to fix it. I crawled through , looked around and saw that there was no-one around yet. I moved forward slowly surveying the office block that stood about 10m to my left. Suddenly the office door opened. There was someone in there and they were coming out! I ran to the nearest skip threw the bag and ran back to the gap.

I heard someone shouting at me as I ran but i didn't turn round I just kept running. As I crawled back through the hole my top got caught on it ripping the side. I really should have seen that coming. I risked a look round and saw a man running after me. Knowing there was a man right on my tail. I had to leave part of my torn shirt behind. I really hoped that I wouldn't live to regret that.

I got back to my house opened the door and slammed it shut. I heard a bottle smash in the lounge and with this my dad woke. He was shouting and balling. That was the worst noise in my life. I knew if i didn't run upstairs and hide in my room I would be getting a severe beating because he would blame me for waking him up from his deep alcoholic sleep. I had had enough of him. The way he treated me was just wrong. It was just simply wrong... I went into my room and pushed my table in front of the door and sat on my bed and wept. The emotion of the last two days had finally caught up with me and my dad he just tipped me over the edge. I cried for about thirty minutes
and he eventually went back downstairs to probably drink.

I wandered alone to school as always. The cold wind hit me like a brick wall. Knocking me back. I braved on. I really didn't want to face everyone at school today but I knew it would look suspicious if i wasn't there. My first lesson of the day was maths. I was really dreading going to this class as I sat in my tutor room, as John was in my maths class. My tutor came in and announced we had an assembly this morning. This was unusual because we normally only had assembly on Thursdays.

We filed into the hall and took out seats. The headmaster stood upon the stage with a miserable look on his face.
"Thank you for gathering so quickly here" he spoke to us all.
"I have some terrible news to tell"
My heart began to pound. I began fidgeting in my chair trying to calm down , trying not to draw any unnecessary attention to myself because I knew that a couple of people were starting to look at me.
"The police have given me permission to tell you all because I thought it would be for the best if you all found out at the same time and they agreed with me. Early this morning , John Becket was found dead in the woods."
Girls screamed out and began to cry and boys just sat there in deep shock. Suddenly from the background a policeman stepped forward. He introduced himself at D.C.I Walters. He spoke clearly and loudly out into the hall.
"John is estimated to have died roughly between 7.00 and 11.00 last night. We are treating this as a murder investigation and may speak to any of his friends and anyone that knew him fairly well including the teachers, Do not be worried about this it is all routine."
The cries and sobs of many people began to ring out and the chatter started. I sat there, as if a spotlight was on me, just in shock. My mind was tormented with worry. Had I left anything they could use to identify me? Would they go to the tip and talk to the guy in the office and look at what I left? Or would they find the gloves and the shoes and suspect Jess? What if she didn't come forward and they found out about the note? Found the gloves in the bin outside her house? Maybe they would then search all the bins on that road finding the mud covered trainers matching the prints at the crime scene? I could either get away with this scot free or fall face down in the mud.

The day was as normal as It could be. Many of Johns friends were called down into the offices for questions by D.C.I Walters. I wasn't called in which was very pleasing for me considering how incredibly nervous I had been all day. Luckily I never talked much and tended to act shifty most of the time so people didn't really notice any change in my behaviour.

When I got back home the sheer emotion of what had happened hit me like a brick wall. I got to my room and slammed the door shut. How could I think that I would get away with this? I had to stop myself from going to the police station and turning myself in. I was a smart guy I knew I could win this. Some snobby policeman wasn't going to stop me. I sat down on my bed and started to plan who was going to be next.
I chose Greg...

Greg was going to take a bit longer than John , mainly because I didn't really have a lot on Greg. I would have to find something. It was crucial for my success...
The next day at school, I had English with Greg when suddenly another pupil who I believe to be a year my junior came into the classroom with a note. Mrs Phillips our English teacher read it.
"This is a note from Mr Richards (The P.E Teacher) He says all member of the rugby team must meet him now in the P.E Block."
When No-one Moved Mrs Phillips became restless.
"Come along now boys get to the meeting so you don't disrupt my class any longer"
With that Greg and a few other lads in the class tidied up their belongings and walked out of the room.
That was it! Greg was a member of the rugby team. I had what I needed , That thing I could use to construct my plan around. With John it had been Jess and with Greg It would be his love of rugby.
I began to think of what I could do for the rest of the day, that got me in trouble with a lot of my teachers because they would talk to me and my mind would be off somewhere else lost in a sea of evil thoughts.
I did however pick up during the day that Rugby training was going to be every night for the next fortnight in preparation for the big game against our local rivals that was immanently approaching.

When I got home I still really hadn't thought of a plan. I needed to get this out the way so I could move on and end this torment.
I had decided I would go and hide in the bushes nearby to the rugby pitch at school and wait for the end and follow Greg, see where he went and who he went with, find out his route home and if there was any dark places where he was alone.
I knew the practice was going on right now at school. If I hurried I was confident I could get there before it ended.
I decided not to take my bike because I would need to follow Greg home as quietly as possible and might have to hide at some points and hiding without a bike is a lot easier than with one.
I reached the field just as Mr Richards blew to end the training match. I went and hid in the bushes that ran parallel to the fence that surrounded the school. I waited until the players started to trudge up out the gate and I saw Greg.
He was on his own walking to the right away from most of the other players. This was working out brilliantly, if this happened every night my plan couldn't fail.
I followed Greg from about 20 yards away. After a few minutes there was no other members of the team around and it was just me and him.

It was almost pitch black and a faint rain started to drift down from above and then it came, What I needed the most, Greg took a turn down a dark alley. This was perfect! Maybe my plan could work! I followed him on a bit further until he reached his house then I turned back and started to walk home. The rain had started to come down quite heavily but not even that could dampen my spirits.

The rain had left quite a mark on the world I found as I awoke the next morning. It seems there had been a storm , with bins blown over and rubbish everywhere. It symbolised my head at the moment. So many things out of place , still blowing around out of control. I moved slowly to the bathroom making sure not to wake my dad whom I could hear snoring from inside his room. I was amazed he managed to climb the stairs and actually get into his room considering the state he was in last night.
When i got to the bathroom I walked to the sink and gave the cold tap a thump on the side ( that was the only way to get the taps to start working in this hell-hole). I look down and splashed some water onto my face and as I looked up something caught my eye. The bathroom door has just opened! I knew it wasn't my dad because I could still hear him snoring. I looked to the window. Nope , it was fully closed. Someone or something had just opened the door. I took a breath , reached for the handle and pulled. John was standing in the doorway.
"No! I KILLED YOU! YOU CANT BE HERE!"
He didn't answer and began to move forward.
"Leave me ALONE! You are Dead!"
I tried to move back and with that i slipped on some water I had spilt while washing my face, I must have banged my head on the bath. My world ascended into darkness...
I woke to the sound of my dad stumbling out of his room.
"Why aren't you at school" he barked at me as he stumbled into the bathroom.
"I slipped and banged my head what time is it"
"How should I know I've only just got up" he replied.
I got up and felt the back of my head. There was a warm substance which I knew from previous experiences to be my own blood. I grabbed a towel and wrapped it round my head. I got dressed , threw the towel in the bin and started to bike to school.
I got there just as the lunch bell sounded to signal the end of lunch. I knew I had Religious Education after lunch so I just wandered there. My head didn't hurt but I could get the picture of John standing in the doorway arms out reaching for me out of my mind. I battled with the image but to no avail. Throughout the rest of the day it still haunted my mind. Was it real ? It cant have been John is dead I killed him! Its just my mind playing tricks on me early in the morning nothing to worry about I managed to convince myself.
Walking through my front door that afternoon something seemed wrong. My dad was crashed out on the sofa , again but there was something else. There was something that just wasn't normal. I put my bag down and started towards the kitchen when I heard movement behind me I turned and saw my bag had moved. I must have just put it down at an angle nothing to worry about. I was at the kitchen now and noticed the tap was on very gently . I cantered over to the sink and almost threw up at what I saw. The sink was full of dark red blood. And suddenly on the window in front of me appeared the words "I'm coming for you Alan".
My head started to hurt and I closed my eyes in sheer pain , while grabbing the back of my head where I banged it this morning. The pain vanished , I looked up and saw the writing had gone and the sink was now empty.
I walked back down the hallway and noticed my bag was standing upright. Was I losing my mind? I had to be there was no other explanation. John was dead! With all that was going on in my brain I made a decision. I was going to take our Greg and I was going to do it tonight.
I changed into some dark clothes and grabbed a different knife from the kitchen drawer shoved the knife into my jeans pocket put on another pair of plastic gloves and headed out the door.
I arrived a bit late to the training this time and Greg was already on his way up towards the school gate. I jumped into the bushes making quite a noise but luckily for me the team was making quite a noise and therefore I don't think they heard me. Greg again this evening walked off on his own much to my satisfaction. Just like last time I kept my distance making sure he had no idea I was here at all.
This was it. In just a few yards Greg was going to take the turn into the dark alley. I sped up to get closer to him to make sure he didn't leave the alley before I got him. He turned down it. I made my move.
I waited until he was near the middle of the dark passageway.
"Greg!" I shouted
He turned around struggling to see who it was in the pitch black.
"Who's there?" He replied
"Its your good friend Greg, don't you remember me?"
I moved closer and removed the knife from my jeans.
"Give me your wallet and your phone NOW! Or ill knife you!" I barked at him.
"Wow okay here you are" he said as he reached into his pockets.
"Throw them to me"
He did as he was told this was too easy.
"Don't move" I said as I bent down to pick up the wallet and phone.
"Please man don't hurt me you've got my stuff but please just Don't hurt me"
I slipped the stuff into my pockets move forward and stabbed him straight in the stomach. Retracted the knife and penetrated his skin again. He fell and never rose.
I left him there lying in his own blood as I turned and ran. I had done it! It went a lot easier than I had hoped. After about a mile I stopped and checked the wallet. There was £40 in there what a bonus I thought.
You see taking his wallet and phone was a stroke of genius even if i must say myself. I did this to make this tragic even purely look like a mugging gone wrong and therefore it wouldn't be connected to Johns death at all. All that would be the same was a knife was used , but surely a mugging 3 miles away from where John had died couldn't be connected no one could think that. This was perfect. No-one could stop me now...

END OF PART ONE