The winter coldness had come early this year. The autumn period seemed to only last for a month or so as all life on the United Kingdom began to dwindle. Skies turned dark and grey by late afternoons and the silhouette figures of distant trees were now corpses surrounded by barren snowy lands.
Even the infamous M1 carriageway was almost silent in response to the sudden whiteout weather that howled across the mid regions of England. Just before J17, a lone figure stood on a narrow walkway bridge overlooking the almost deserted motorway. The individual wore a long winter coat with fur etchings around his neck. The hood was also raised as to block the majority of the snowfall that came crashing down.
The person stood in silence, slowly taking small inhales to his cigarette, followed by short drags as the ash blew back into his face from the wild winds. Buried beneath all that winter coat and warm dressing was a young man by the name of Josh Patterson, only five hours away from his twenty first birthday; the young man found himself heading north under calamitous circumstances and seemingly very little way out. He clutched to a small carrier bag which carried supplies he’d purchased at the nearby petrol station. Some crisps, drinks, chocolate confectionary, everything he wanted for an entertaining evening in the middle of nowhere to soon celebrate his approaching birthday.
He looked down to his watch, the hands read 8:32pm yet he knew it was five minutes fast. He calculated that he’d been away now for over 30 minutes and knew he’d get shit from his ‘mentor’ if he didn’t’ start making his way back. He flicked the remains of the spent butt into the path of a lone oncoming lorry below and made his way to the other side of the bridge, towards the small hotel.
He passed only a handful of cars in the parking lot and saw only five lit rooms from the outside as he approached the two story building. The weather certainly was hitting the country hard and even barren places like these were starting to feel the effects. Josh imagined this place being booming with worn-out truckers and holiday runners yet only saw the few stragglers in their place.
Josh stepped into the warm reception room; a young girl roughly his own age was sat behind the counter immersed in her own little world as she continued to play away with her mobile phone. Josh pulled away the hood from his coat to reveal his matted chocolate brown hair and recognisable features. A scar was visible from the middle of his nose and ran downwards towards his left cheek, it wasn’t an unsettling scar to look at for most people, but for Josh it was nothing more than a constant reminder, a battle-wound to a war he knew nothing about.
The girl behind the counter looked up from her phone for a moment and smiled at him, it was a brief smile which Josh failed to response too. He began to make his way towards the main door with his key-card when she called out to him.
“Is it still snowing out there mate?” Her accent was thick and strangely not local. Josh pondered a moment to figure it out but instead just wanted the conversation over.
“Yeah,” He walked forward, intent to carry on.
“Did it seem like it was going to ease up soon?”
Josh sighed, he counted around three more steps and he wouldn’t have had to deal with it. Instead he whirled and came back into the girl’s point of view. He studied her for a moment, blonde hair, fake nails, dark green eyes and her name badge said SUSAN spelt with a heart instead of an A.
Cute,
“Can’t say...what did the weather channel mention?” Josh asked; pointing towards the television set behind her as she spun round on her swivel office chair. The BBC news was on but the sound was muted, as the girl spun back towards him.
“They said it was going to stop tonight, but I don’t believe ‘em. The usual BS in my opinion,” Susan muttered as her glare briefly returned to her phone. “My boyfriend was meant to pick me up an hour ago but the prick said it was too dangerous to get here.”
“Smart man,” Josh replied as Susan looked back to him, her eyes curved with a sly angle as she check the man out from head to bottom.
“Whatever, I just wanna go home. I’m bored.”
Josh did not reply. The bait was thrown out and he was fully aware of it. Years ago as a quiet nerd, he would have been oblivious to a direct flirt such as that. Yet in the years since then he managed to learn a thing or two about the human behaviour, especially women. It was at that moment he came to realise that during his life, he had managed to undergo three completely different psychological profiles in the space of twenty years. First was the beaten down ego and crippling neglect of an infant, followed by the attitude inflation and hardened front to protect the softness within and now, this.
“So are you here on holiday or something?” Susan asked; breaking Josh’s thoughts and dragging him back to reality.
“Um, no - Nothing like that; just passing through. Should be gone by morning more I guess.”
“You came with your granddad right?”
Josh smirked and croaked a short laugh. He imagined for a moment the comparison he was making between the man he knew as granddad from his childhood and the man now waiting for him just a few rooms down the hall. The comparison was clearly mismatched.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh. No, he’s not my granddad.”
“Well he can’t be your dad; he’s pretty old if that’s the case.”
“Nah, he’s not my dad either.”
Susan paused; Josh could see the cogs of her brain working away as she suddenly blurted out the first thing that came to her.
“So, what - He’s like your sugar daddy or something? Does that mean you’re gay?”
Josh laughed; it wasn’t a real functional laugh, just a laugh. He shook his head and suddenly was struck with mental images he’d rather had forgotten as soon as he could.
“He’s...like a family friend. And no, I’m not gay.”
“Well that’s good then. Was going to say that was a bit of a waste then if you were.”
The conversation began to sour away, the impact of their discussion ran its cause and Josh was just about ready to bid goodnight when he suddenly began to feel it. The pull...
It was small at first, no more than a lingering feeling or nagging remainder that he had forgotten something, but quickly it grew in strength and intensity. His eyes watered as he wiped them away and sound began to flux in levels and tones. The feelings were only temporary but Josh knew full well that they would return with stronger ambitions if he didn’t do something soon.
The hunger...was growing again, and as he looked back towards Susan. He knew there was no other way.
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