The Ice Prince

Chapter 47

Arnold's quarters looked empty, and I couldn't bear to see them that way. I quickly changed into a decent t-shirt and pair of jeans, and tucked in the Glock which I could now handle with ease. With hardly any training, I had managed to get myself used to the cold feel of the gunmetal on my skin and to make it feel like a natural extension of my arm. I managed to eat up some food, willed it to give me strength. Every bite was an ordeal, and I felt sick to my core. I was scared, whatever I bravado I had put up in front of the gangsters was long gone. Struggling to keep down every mouthful, I managed to eat up a meagre serving, because I knew I would need every ounce of my strength, and I really didn't have much to spare, what with the strenuous week. I no longer felt like a high-schooler, and I guessed I didn't look like one anymore either.

For once, I admitted to myself that I really was alone in this. I found myself replaying the 'safe-houses' Hayley might have. Now that she believed me to be dead, she would probably be in my house. Because her own place wouldn't be safe enough, as the gang knew about it. But then again, the best way to outsmart the gangs would be to remain right under their noses, where they would least expect her to be. She could be at the hospital, though, and things could get complicated if she realized that I wasn't quite dead. Alyna, I knew, was in safe hands, so I wasn't too worried about her. Stellan and Slader would be safe too, if my plan worked. I hoped that Carver and Arnold were still at the hospital, when I figured out to myself that Arnold was a loose end. The anaesthetic would have worn out long ago, and he could be anywhere. But he hadn't returned to Jerry's as I hadn't seen him at the counter and he definitely wasn't here.

Finally I decided that the best plan of action would be to get in touch with Hayley by whatever means and to stay out of the way of my other friends. Then I could go ahead and leak the information that I was sure of, and I was reasonably confident that Hayley, too, would add what she knew to my guesses. So I had to choose from Hayley's house and mine, and I guessed going to my place first wouldn't hurt.

Buzz was still right here, so I decided to take my car and drive to my place. Soon enough, I reached my house, only to find it empty. Hayley was playing it dangerously, then. I was almost sure that she was in her house, then. The hospital had seemed farfetched in the first place.

I shrugged to myself and pulled on a jacket. I could feel the fever building up. I didn't know how long I would last in the given state. The fatigue was threatening to catch up, and I didn't have too long before I would have to stop. Putting a kitchen knife flat along the side of my thigh as I had done before, I was confident that I would be able to use the Glock as well as the knife satisfactorily now, if things came to it. I also fetched my old laptop, which was thankfully fully charged and still plugged in, where I'd left it days ago on my study table. Slowly, I pulled out of the driveway, and tried to remember the way to Hayley's house. Thankfully, I only took one wrong turn and was able to figure it out quickly enough.

I parked Buzz and stepped out, and I knew Hayley was home. An intense feeling of relief washed over me, as I figured that so far, she was safe. I didn't know it till then, but I'd been constantly worried and tense about her. All the tension suddenly drained away, leaving my body shaking. All I wanted to do was to take her and run away, never to come back. For the first time, I didn't want to face things, just evade everything and everyone and burrow under a duvet till the nightmares passed. Maybe with Hayley by my side. But then I remembered that we also had Alyna and Carver to look after, and we weren't alone and free to just let things go and preserve ourselves from the mess we were in. No, we had to find a way out with everyone we loved, or had to die trying.

It had sounded so extreme, just hours ago, when I'd promised the gangs that I would bring back Hayley or die trying, but there was some truth in my words. My options were nothing more than to do or to die, and that was the only fact.