Chapter 1

The  sound of the car horn blaring sounded once again, as a boy called Elliot Woods rushes around his untidy bedroom yanking on his football kit together. He was thirteen years old and tall for his age, his slightly too long brown hair was a constant pain as he had to continue to brush it out of his eyes every few minutes.

The reason for the mad dash to get his things together was simple, his alarm had that morning apparently decided to break. And of course, it had done this on the worst of all days, the one time in this football season that he actually stood a chance at playing more than five minutes.

The fact of this potential opportunity was due to the injury and strange disappearance of one of their teammates. Danny had broken it when a bad tackle had taken him out during practice. And nobody had seen him since he’d been discharged from hospital the same night.

The horn blared again as the door opened and his twin, his older twin as she constantly reminded him on a daily basis walked into his room.

“Hey Knobhead. Your ride’s outside.” Isla Woods said, leaning herself against his wardrobe, clearly enjoying the way he was rushing about at the last minute.

“Yeah. Thanks.” Elliot said as he picked up his football boots and slung them into a rucksack along with his shin pads. Now all he needed was his shirt.

The horn blared again.

“Fare’s goin’ up.” Isla said smirking.

“Look if you’re not going to help me, then piss off.” Elliot said, throwing open the wardrobe and taking out the only football shirt that was clean and putting it on. Then he barged past his sister and rushed headlong down the stairs.

What Elliot would tell his friend about living in a hostel was the joys of no longer having to share a room with Isla. What he wouldn’t tell them, was everything else. He hated it here. Not only because he felt like he was living with a bunch of random strangers on the very few times their family business had customers. But the fact that he was old enough to know how bad that fact was.

His Mum had bought the hostel right after his Grandad had died three years ago. Saying that it would be a great investment. What she hadn’t said, was that it meant uprooting him from everything and everyone he’d ever known and dragging him to this backwater down that nothing ever happened in. And more importantly, no one ever visited.

The lack of customers was the biggest problem for his Mum, Elliot knew. He’d seen her walking around the empty corridors at night, mumbling to herself about the bills, and the loans she’d taken out to buy this place.

It meant that despite the fact that they owned a business, they were still worse than broke-ass poor. One failed summer away from bankruptcy. He’d seen the letters piling up, the ones from the bank and the loan companies calling in their money. And he knew that was what caused his Mum the sleepless nights.

But he put that to one side. The horn was blaring again, and this time it wasn’t stopping. So, he re-shouldered his rucksack, and rushed out the front doors. Taking the last few steps in one jump.

His ride was waiting for him. The impatient Mrs Lloyd, and her son Owen. He and Owen had been friends since he’d moved here three years ago, when he’d broken all school traditions and stood up to the local bully. He’d come out of the fight with broken nose and a cracked rib. But the act of defiance had made him at least some friends.

“Elliot wait a moment.” Elliot turned to see his Mum jogging down the stairs. Though she did not take the last few steps in a jump.

The horn blared again.

“Oh, you can wait, you dozy cow!” Amanda Woods shouted at the waiting car. Elliot smiled at the return of his old Mum. The person that took shit from nothing and nobody. Not the woman that walked around her failing business mumbling like an escaped lunatic.

“Hey sweetie. I’m not going to be able to make it to your game.” His Mum said as she watched him descend the stairs. As she reached him, he noticed that he must have had a growth spurt, as he was now at her eye level.

“It’s alright Mum.” Elliot replied, choosing to leave out the second part about how he wasn’t surprised by the fact.

Ever since his Mum had taken ownership of the hostel that was their new home, all her waking moments had been dedicated to fixing the place up, no matter how many problems she encountered. It was, as she had happily declared when she’d brought him and his sister to see their new home three years ago, “A good old, fixer upper.” Which as far as Elliot could make out, meant nothing more than the fact that his Mum had been scammed out of all her life savings.

Despite the fact that his Mum was always confident that the next summer would they’d finally break even on the hostel. The fact remained that every year she was proven wrong. And the letters from the banks kept on piling up.

“Anyway. Good luck.” His Mum said and rushed back into the foyer. Leaving Elliot to swing his rucksack onto his shoulder and rush over to the waiting car.

“What kept you boy?” Mrs Lloyd said as Elliot threw himself onto the back seat. ‘Boy,’ was how she always addressed him, like he was a whole social class beneath her. He was, but that didn’t mean he liked it anyway.

“Alarm didn’t go off, miss.” Elliot said as he put his rucksack on the floor, he knew better than to put it on the seat of Mrs Dolores Lloyd with her permanent look of having swallowed a lemon. And her attitude that her mere existence made her practically royal.

“Humph.” Mrs Lloyd said, clearly not believing a word he’d just spoken.

“Think you’ll get a shot today?” Owen said and taking the conversation away from his mother.

“Dunno.” Elliot replied, ignoring the scowl from Mrs Lloyd for daring to use anything other than the Queen’s English in her presence. “Can’t see why, specially now that Danny’s missing.”

That whole training session had been weird. For starters it had rained pretty much the entire time, and it was the middle of July. Secondly, their Coach had been unusually nice to them the entire time. And most importantly, all of the team had agreed the following day at school, that it had felt like they were being watched. All except for Danny, who had gone missing the previous night.

“I probs still won’t be playing. I’m right footed.” Elliot said as he looked out of the window, watching the streets flashing past them on their way to the match. “If it was Tommy. Then I’d probs be playing.”

“Nah. Coach will probs put me in Danny’s position and have you play in mine.” Owen said.

“Maybe.” Elliot agreed, though he doubted it. Unlike him, Owen always played the matches, he didn’t mind that. But Coach never swapped positions around for any reason. The starting eleven was the starting eleven. He’d be less surprised if Coach played a ten-man squad due to his refusal to adapt.

The houses and other rundown businesses passing them began to disappear, being replaced by trees and hedges that allowed small glimpses of farmland behind them. And the conversation continued between Elliot and Owen as they turned up a long lane that led to the football field.

“Well boys. Here we are.” Mrs Lloyd said as she pulled the car into the only disabled spot that the football field had.

“Thanks Mum.” Owen said, opening the passenger side door and bolted out of the car.

“Thanks Mrs Lloyd.” Elliot said as he got out of the car.

But Mrs Lloyd called him back.

“Boy. The offer I made to your mother for that crummy hotel.” Mrs Lloyd said as she gazed over her nose at him. “It still stands despite your mother’s rudeness to me, make sure she gets back to me about it.”

“Okay.” Elliot replied. He didn’t know about any offer. And he wondered why his Mum didn’t accept it.

“Let her know I will have that hostel. Whether she sells, or if I take it in bankruptcy court.” Mrs Lloyd finished, and before Elliot could say or do anything, she pulled the window back up, and drove off back down the tight lane.

“What was that about?” Owen said as he walked up to where Elliot was still standing as the other members of the team filed into the clubhouse.

“No idea.” Elliot lied.

“Well come on. If we wanna play, we can’t be late, even with Danny injured.” Owen said as he hurried to follow the rest of the team. And after a moment, where Elliot thought about everything that had been said, followed suit.

As Elliot filed into the locker room, he saw the rest of the team sitting down on the benches, nervously looking up at the coach, tapping their feet on the ground.

“Woods. Where were you?” The Coach exclaimed as Elliot took his seat next to Owen. He was a big man, with an inferiority complex like nothing else, having failed to make it in the national leagues, he found himself here, coaching a team with no wish to play the possession-based game that he envision. As such, his little mind took out his own frustrations on the team. Two players had already quit this season, and with Danny’s injury, that meant that the usually bench warmers of Elliot and Owen were now serious starting eleven contention. “If you want to play in my team I expect you here on time.”

“Sorry Coach.” Elliot said as he began taking off his trainers and putting on his football boots. Suppressing all the while the urge to make a comment about how nobody wanted to play for this man. But that would at the minimum get him benched, or at worst get him kicked off the team.

“Now that Woods has finally managed to arrive. I want to talk to you all about attitude.” Coach Jones said.

And thus started a long conversation about how crap they were, and how they would never amount to anything in this league without him. For his part Elliot started to drift off. It wasn’t that the Coach would talk to them like this, he’d seen enough sports films to know that managers and that lot were usually morons anyway. No, it was the fact that Coach Jones thought he was Ferguson come again.

“Alright. Woods.” Elliot shot back awake at the mention of his name. “You’ll be playing Danny’s left winger position.”

“But I’m right footed.” Elliot interrupted.

Big mistake, as his fellow teammates snickered at this.

“Woods. You’re not even that.” The Goalkeeper, Jamie Kross said. Though the keeper, a big, stupid lump that had never got a clean sheet for the whole season stopped at the look that Coach Jones gave him.

“Then cut back in for all I care.” Coach said then turned around. “Honestly, I have to do everything here.” These last words came as more of a grumble to himself rather than to the team. But the words still travelled.

Two hours later, after a two-one loss and Elliot slumped onto one of the smaller sofas in the clubhouse bar area. Normally kids weren’t allowed inside, but that rule went out the window when the elderly Ms Winter was on duty as she was today as well as most game days. She was a plump, elderly woman, that always made sure that everyone, including the players got what they needed. As far as everyone knew, she’d been here ever since the clubhouse had been built, staying on well past retirement age to continue her cheerful demeanour with them all. She was such a familiar face in fact, that when the ambulance had taken Danny to the Hospital, it had been Ms Winter that had gone with them.

As Owen sat down next to him. Ms Winter trotted over to them.

“A very good game Elliot.” Ms Winter said, her voice croaking somewhat.

“We lost.” Elliot said that point had been drummed into them all at the end of the match by Coach Jones, even with the conciliatory goal that Owen had managed to get for them in the eightieth minute.

“Oh well. We do a lot of that round here.” Ms Winter said in her cheerful voice. “Now what drink can I get you my dear?”

“I don’t have any money.” That was another thing that he hated about it here. His lack of any kind of money. All the money his family had was tied up in the hostel, and that wasn’t making anything, and probably, Elliot thought, never would. Thus, him being broke ass poor.

“No matter. First full game, first drink on the house.” Ms Winter said bustling away.

Elliot had forgotten about that rule, and with it, he slumped back into the sofa.

After a few minutes, Ms Winter returned with a can of Coke and a glass.

“Thanks.” Elliot said, taking the free drink and began pouring it into the glass.

“It’s no problem my dear.” Ms Winter replied smiling.

That was when he asked her.

“Have you seen Danny at all since the accident?” Elliot said. And then, not wanting to accuse the elderly lady who’d given him a free drink of foul play, he continued. “I mean, I haven’t seen him since he went to hospital.”

“I’m afraid not.” Ms Winter replied, and sighed deeply. “I left him with his parents about half an hour after we arrived. But I’m sure he’s alright.”

Elliot didn’t know if he was being lied to or not. The last part had come across as odd. Like the elderly woman was running through a script.

But he couldn’t accuse her of anything, so he only nodded and took a deep gulp of his free drink. Knowing that he’d never get another one again.