Free The Memory Game by Sharon Sant

dies in her throat as she
stops dead and stares up at the dark shape.
    ‘Who’re you
talking to?’ the boy asks.  I recognise the voice, but I can’t place it.
    Bethany
shakes her head but doesn’t speak. ‘Who’s with you?’ he says.  His voice
is steady but it sounds like he’s losing his temper beneath the steel in it.
    ‘Tell him you were
talking to yourself,’ I say.
    She throws me a
sideways glance.  I can’t see her expression, it’s too dark, but I’m
guessing she’s really scared. 
    ‘Nobody,’ she
says in a small voice. ‘I was just messing around, talking to myself.’
    She says it and
I suddenly realise that it’s a bad idea.  
    The guy steps
towards her. ‘You sure?’
    She nods.
    ‘So you’re on
your own?’
    This time she
just stares up at him.  I think she’s realised the mistake too. He grabs
her arm. She starts to pull against his grip, trying to wrench free, but he
takes hold of her with both hands and starts to drag her towards the cover of
the alleyway behind the science block.
    ‘Bethany!’
I shout.
    She squeals but
it’s a high pitched half of nothing and nobody would be able to hear it, even if
they were in the next room. ‘No… please…. let me go,’ she whimpers.
    I run after
them; my brain’s working like crazy to try and think of something to help,
something I can actually do.  Suddenly, a name comes to me.
    ‘It’s Gary,’
I shout to Bethany. ‘Gary
James.  Call him Gary.  If he thinks you know him he might think
twice about doing anything to you.’ I don’t know if she’s heard me or not,
she’s crying so much.
    ‘Gary,
please, don’t hurt me,’ she manages to squeak out. ‘I
won’t tell anyone you were here if you let me go.’
    He slows his
stride, just for a second, as though he’s surprised to hear his name.
    ‘How do you know
who I am?’
    ‘Tell him
everyone knows him,’ I say.
    ‘Everyone knows
you around here,’ she says. ‘But I won’t tell anyone about you.’
    ‘You won’t tell
anyone anyway,’ he says. ‘Because little sluts that tell get what’s coming to
them. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun before you go home, does it?’
    He drags her
down the alleyway and shoves her against the wall.  She just manages to keep
her balance but I can see that her legs are shaking so much she’s barely
staying upright. He gets close and pushes his whole self up against her. I
stand at the opening not knowing what to do.  I want to scream with
frustration for being so helpless.  She’s in bits, just sobbing. 
It’s dark down there and I can’t see what’s going on properly but my mind is
playing all sorts of sick images to me. 
    ‘For God’s sake,
Beth, just knee him in the nuts or something!’ I shout, but she carries on
crying. 
    I have to get in
closer.  I’d take a deep breath if I had any, but I steel myself and make
my way to them.  He’s slobbering all over her face as she turns it away
from him. I get right close to Bethany’s
ear.
    ‘Listen to me,’
I say in the calmest voice I can manage. ‘Stop crying and listen to me.’ 
    Her sobs start
to break up into sort of stuttering gasps. His hands are making their way down
her body and I have to stay calm myself because I feel like I could gag.
    ‘Get your
finger,’ I tell her, ‘find the place at the bottom of his windpipe… there’s
sort of a hollow, at the bottom of his neck before you get to his collarbone,
just under his Adam’s apple – put your finger in there and press as hard as you
can and don’t stop no matter what he does.’
    She lifts her
hand and starts to trail her finger down his neck.  When she gets to the
place I tell her. ‘That’s it.  Now push!’ 
    She shoves her
finger in hard and the shock makes him back off, grabbing for his throat. 
He goes to smack her face but she has enough room now to bring her knee up
between his legs. It’s only a puny kick but it’s enough to make him fall away
with a howl and she