Tuesday Evening Chase

As I crossed the back street in the shadows, three teenage boys were exiting the mouth of the Trans Pennine Trail behind the houses parallel to Didsbury Road. They languished slightly on the footpath, looking undecided as to whether they would eventually head up to Didsbury Road or not. They hadn’t seen me, at least not until they heard me calling the dog to stay close as I crossed the street to enter the trail from which they came. I went past them, concentrating on ensuring the dog entered the mouth of the trail. It wasn't until they doubled back that my heart sank. I hadn’t gotten a good look at them, I tended to keep my head focussed on where I was going prior to any threat being initiated. I’d say they were mid teens maybe, all dressed in black tracksuits with black hoods. At that age, certain lads in certain circumstances can make the worst kind of decisions, often on a whim. I know I looked an easy target, unsuspecting, drainpipes, over conditioned style-less geek fro. As they rounded the mouth of the trail my nearest exit was now blocked, there were two more exits, the first 200 yards away into a housing estate, the second, 300 yards away, the last 100 yards of which would take me through a lit underground tunnel to the Metro Station. The lead boy was in the middle, and as he crossed into the trail I noticed the glint of something very unfriendly looking slide into his right hand in the last of the light from the backstreet. I reckoned it could either be a knife in a sheaf, a cosh, or worse, it was difficult to tell. Whether these lads were looking for a victim to try out their new toy, were bored and just fancied a fight, were planning to mug somebody, or whether it was some kind of gang initiation I don’t know, the Met can make a lot of places accessible to a lot of people. Whatever was going on and whatever they were packing, I was not sticking around to find out, I have a three year old daughter that I need to look after. So I took to my toes, but unfortunately, so did they. My heart didn’t sink again though, it went off like a firebell, my legs got up to speed so quickly that the G-force my torso pulled as it caught them up strained a few lower back muscles. The cold air was forced upon my lungs as though being drawn to feed a blast furnace, and the adrenalin injected thighs pumped at full tilt for about half a minute. I reckon Usain Bolt would have struggled to stay with me. Although my aggressors did to an extent; stay with me, shouting after me, at least until I tore through the opening into the fantastically lit housing estate. They never came round that corner, unlike the dog thank goodness. I was on edge then until I came back round upon Didsbury Road with burning lungs and a sore back. It was busy on there, lots of cars, shops and takeaways, the buzz hit me then, it was like being a kid again, growing up on a middle class street trapped in the middle of Botcherby.