The rain was getting heavier, but I didn’t run because I didn’t want to slip in the mud, and I had to be careful of the nasty tree roots trying to trip me up. At one point I imagined they were human hands pulling me down.
(I’m good at scaring myself silly.)
I never normally go out on the cliffs at night, it’s really just too creepy, and I got so freaked out that I pulled down my hood just to make sure I could see and hear better. And even though I didn’t hear anything I was worried there was someone behind me. My heart was going clappety-clap and I lumbered along as fast as I could. I thought about climbing off the path and into the bushes but I worried what was in the bushes. The wind was whipping through the trees and making funny shadows. I kept slipping in the mud and nearly fell twice, and then, I promise you, I heard someone call out. I’m sure I did.
I was thinking the Nazi Zombies were going to come and eat me alive, or the lost souls of poor slave workers were going to chase me off the cliff. But on I went, through the cold and the wet, looking straight ahead. Thank God it wasn’t much further to the Batterie. I saw the big white sign with the red exclamation mark that warned visitors about the cliffs. Then the undergrowth thinned out – there were no more spooky trees or mud slides, and everything was flat and familiar. I stopped, breathed, and tried to calm down. Then I stood up straight and looked around at the benches and the bunkers, and out at the big, wide open sea.
I’d never been down to the Batterie at night before and it was almost romantic. I could just make out the lights on Herm and the floodlit ramparts of Castle Cornet down in Town. I want to take Michael there to show him how beautiful it looks. I was probably even thinking about him as I leaned against the middle bench. I felt so much better, despite the rain, and I forgot everything for a second. Then I turned back around, looking for some shelter.
She came straight at me out of the darkness. I saw the bottle first, then her face. I don’t know why I was surprised. Of course it was Nic.
‘You going to jump?’
She hit me first in the stomach but I lifted my arm to protect myself, then I reversed around the bench so that it blocked her.
‘You followed me.’
‘I thought you were following me. I saw you in the bushes. Ha! I knew you couldn’t resist!’
I glared at her. I was terrified.
‘Why are you doing this?’
She came round the bench and lunged at me. I remember reaching out for the bottle but she was grabbing my wrist and twisting it back.
‘Why not?’
If I’d managed to get away I might’ve run but Nic wasn’t letting go, and she could run faster anyway. We tussled back and forth and I hit my elbow on the edge of the bench. Nic dropped the bottle to get a better hold on me, and I swung about, hoping to shake her off. I was thinking that Jason and Pete would turn up at any minute and I’d be done for. I could hear the sea way down below us.
‘Please!’ I said. ‘Stop!’
I was feeling so helpless, but I pushed her as hard as I could. She fell back and nearly sat down on the bench. That’s when I got my bearings and saw the bottle on the ground. I reached down to grab at it. I remember thinking I should smash it against something hard and then use the jagged bottleneck with proper Deadly Intent. But before I got anywhere near it Nic was up and at me, and we were back to all the shoving and spinning stuff again.
I wasn’t sure what we were fighting for. At one point I know she had her arms wrapped tightly around me and she obviously wanted to knock me off my feet. How I kept myself upright I don’t know. I also don’t know where she got her energy. I was gasping and spluttering. The wind was getting stronger and I had to blink away the rain. I was on a mental cliff edge, but I couldn’t see the real cliff edge. She wanted to throw me off it (I’m sure) so I kept trying