No Place For Heroes

Chapter 5 - Injecting Chaos

It took just five minutes to walk to Ben’s.  His house was a few streets from mine, located on the outer edge of Bimbimbie, closest to the bridge. 

Like every house in town, it looked eerily deserted due to the blackout.  Only when I was standing by the front door did I notice a dim light shimmering behind the window curtains. 

I knocked once and the door immediately swung open.  It was Ben, his silhouette lit from behind by an assortment of flickering candles.  

“Oh … hey,” Ben said distractedly.  “What’s up?”

“Can I stay the night?  Mum’s … well, you know.”

Ben shrugged and stood aside, and I entered the house.  He didn’t ask any questions; this had happened too often for Ben to wonder what was going on at home.  So often, in fact, that he now just assumed Mum was crazy. 

“So yeh want the couch, then?” Ben asked.  Without waiting for an answer, he said, “Kate, Adam needs the couch.  Move it.”

With the room so dimly lit, I hadn’t noticed Ben’s younger sister curled up on the couch, a book raised close to her face.  My conversations with Kate could be counted on one hand; Ben didn’t allow Kate to hang with him, which meant I rarely saw her.  She was a tiny kid, even for a twelve-year-old.  Two blond pigtails poked out either side of her head, and her large round eyes gave her a permanently quizzical look.

“Hi Adam,” Kate said brightly, peering over the top of her Marsden novel.  

“Hey.”

“Kate, did yeh hear me?” Ben asked loudly.  “Adam needs the couch.”

“It’s okay,” I said quickly.  “I don’t feel like sleeping yet.  Where’s your dad?”

Ben sniffed.  “Over at Gary’s place havin’ a few drinks, I thi – whoa!  What happened to yer eye?”

I waved a hand dismissively.  Kate peeked over the top of her book.

“Nothing.  Blake and Connor came into the store today.”

“An’ they punched yeh?” Ben asked furiously.  “Those fat bastards!  What’d yeh do?”

“I shoved them and then smashed a bottle.”  It sounded much more heroic when I explained it like that.  “But I got rid of them, anyway.  I don’t think they’ll bother me again.”

“Are yeh kiddin’ me?” Ben scoffed.  “They put yer brother in a friggin wheelchair an’ they’re still hasslin’ yer family.  They’re a pair o’ brainless idiots, mate.  I’d love to crush their heads together meself – not that it’d make much of a mess, mind yeh, ’cause there ain’t much in them – but they’re still dangerous.”

“Well, to be fair, they didn’t put Tyler in a wheelchair.  That was Tyler –”

“Doesn’t matter how it flippin’ happened … the point is he wouldn’ be in one if it weren’t fer those two.” 

He had a point.  Besides, who was I to defend Blake and Connor?  Even if they hadn’t been directly responsible for Tyler’s accident, they were as good as guilty in my mind. 

I sat on the floor and leaned against the couch.  The room was stuffy and hot; even though the windows were open, there was no breeze to cool the air.

“Have you been to see the bridge yet?” I asked.

“Nope.  Weird though, innit?” Ben said darkly.  “An’ no power or water … could jus’ be a coincidence…”