Free Novel Read

Left Hand Page 2

11.2.

  a) Pick up the receiver and cradle it with your shoulder.

  b) Unravel a note you found with some numbers on it.

  c) Taste numbers in your mouth as you press corresponding buttons.

  d) Feel the receiver slip from your shoulder and drop down.

  e) Hit the phone with the receiver and lose your credit.

  11.3.

  a) See yourself asking Billy if the all-day breakfast is available.

  b) Dig out some cutlery by the bottles of dried sauce.

  c) Grab a newspaper off a vacant table and sit down.

  d) Prod your knife at the crust on a sauce bottle.

  e) Slip your fork under some beans and spike the rest.

  11.4.

  a) Move through page after page of theater and cinema adverts.

  b) Sip your tea and burn the roof of your mouth.

  c) Look at Billy saying you have not been around lately.

  d) Hear a story about a schoolgirl in a car crash.

  e) Take the newspaper with you and go to the toilet.

  11.5.

  a) Watch plates being dropped and chairs stacked up on tables.

  b) Smell mold in your coat and turn up the collar.

  c) Listen to Billy asking you what happened to your arm.

  d) See yourself saying you lost it in a car crash.

  e) Kiss the air near Billy’s cheek as she turns around.

  12.1.

  a) Smell the previous person who has used this phone box.

  b) Hear yourself say numbers while you press the wrong buttons.

  c) Pay attention when the tone turns into a computerized voice.

  d) See your credit run out as you wait for instructions.

  e) Kick the glass around the bottom of the phone box.

  12.2.

  a) Follow a ticket collector’s directions back to the ticket booth.

  b) Look at a list of movies opposite the ticket booth.

  c) Tell the attendant you want to watch whatever starts next.

  d) Sniff a row of candy and soft drink and popcorn.

  e) Take a tub of popcorn and a cup of Coke.

  12.3.

  a) Watch a group of school children file into the cinema.

  b) Flick some popcorn into your mouth and taste the salt.

  c) Lean down and suck some Coke out of your straw.

  d) Rest your head against the seat as the lights fade.

  e) Close your eyes while you listen to various Disney voices.

  12.4.

  a) Walk to the laundry and take off all your clothes.

  b) Throw everything except your coat into a cracked washing machine.

  c) Press some numbers before inserting some coins in the box.

  d) Rush back to your machine and hit the start button.

  e) Look outside until you smell smoke coming from your machine.

  12.5.

  a) Wake up to burnt toast and a fire fading out.

  b) Drop your legs off the couch and pull yourself up.

  c) Notice the phone book on your lap and open it.

  d) Scan page after page after page after page after page.

  e) Remove the disabilities section and put it in your mouth.

  13.1.

  a) See yourself asking a library assistant to use a computer.

  b) Open a browser and run a Google search on disabilities.

  c) Hear a link to a story about London Underground buskers.

  d) Open an application form and then select the print command.

  e) Sign the form and take it to the post office.

  13.2.

  a) Shove your coffee table across your room to the window.

  b) Fill a coffee cup with water and then gargle some.

  c) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  d) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  e) Hear a noise coming from the back of your throat.

  13.3.

  a) Ask the Underground staff where you can get a train.

  b) Follow the Underground map and change lines at Oxford Circus.

  c) Take an exit at Charing Cross up to Trafalgar Square.

  d) Watch tourists chasing the pigeons and climbing over the lions.

  e) Smell the fountain as you look up at Nelson’s Column.

  13.4.

  a) Take a bottle of water from a broken drink dispenser.

  b) Say hello to a nervous guitarist in a brown suit.

  c) Hear a woman calling you to go through a door.

  d) Tell the judges behind the table to call you Robert.

  e) Fill your coffee cup with water and then gargle some.

  13.5.

  a) Spread your coat on the floor and stand on it.

  b) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  c) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  d) Hear a noise coming from the back of your throat.

  e) Catch a judge asking if there are buskers in Australia.

  14.1.

  a) Tell a pharmacist you need sinus sprays and lip balm.

  b) Go into an electronics shop and take a video camera.

  c) Make a video of you opening your mouth and exhaling.

  d) Make a video of you closing your mouth and inhaling.

  e) Make a video of the noise deep in your throat.

  14.2.

  a) Study the video of you opening your mouth and exhaling.

  b) Study the video of you closing your mouth and inhaling.

  c) Study the video of the noise deep in your throat.

  d) Study the video of you opening your mouth and exhaling.

  e) Study the video of you closing your mouth and inhaling.

  14.3.

  a) Hear a judge asking if you have a new act.

  b) Swallow the sinus spray at the back of your throat.

  c) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  d) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  e) Catch a judge asking if you have any criminal convictions.

  14.4.

  a) Ride a train back to Shepherd’s Bush and get off.

  b) Walk along the platform watching the mice on the tracks.

  c) Unbutton your coat and then spread it on the floor.

  d) Dig out some coins and put them in your cup.

  e) Stand to attention by a wall and face the escalators.

  14.5.

  a) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  b) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  c) Hear my voice coming from the back of your throat.

  d) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  e) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  15.1.

  a) This line has been left blank for no particular reason.

  b) Watch Chris suggest introducing your disability to an empty chair.

  c) Touch the shoulder of a man talking about lost legs.

  d) See a woman saying something about having a breast removed.

  e) Tell the empty chair that you have to leave now.

  15.2.

  a) Smell Chris’s perfume when she says wait for the presentation.

  b) Hug a young girl in a corner reading some notes.

  c) Look at Chris suggesting you stay for coffee at least.

  d) Inspect the gap in Chris’s shirt when she reaches down.

  e) Tell the group sorry but you really have to go.

  15.3.

  a) Hear the sound of drums echoing off abandoned factory walls.

  b) Taste the chemical air coming from a sewerage processing plant.

  c) Find a hole in the fence and step through it.

  d) Walk around the sewerage plant and look at the machines.

  e) Sit on a dirt mound that has been made recently.

  15.4.

  a) Dig out some coins and put them in your cup.

  b) Stand to atten
tion by a wall and face the escalators.

  c) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  d) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  e) Hear my voice coming from the back of your throat.

  15.5.

  a) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  b) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  c) Spot me on the down escalator getting closer to you.

  d) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  e) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  16.1.

  a) Hear a bang and see Chris hurrying through the door.

  b) Kiss a boy in a wheelchair and suggest you begin.

  c) Lean back against the wall and then cross your legs.

  d) Smell the flower pattern around the hem of Chris’s dress.

  e) Tell the group you have to leave at the break.

  16.2.

  a) Watch Chris ask you to say something about your loss.

  b) Say it happened in the Underground bombing at Shepherd’s Bush.

  c) Realize that everyone in the group has just stopped talking.

  d) Hear someone say the bomb at Shepherd’s Bush never exploded.

  e) Explain to the group that the police covered it up.

  16.3.

  a) Climb through the wire fence and walk around the sewer.

  b) Sit on a dirt mound that has been made recently.

  c) Close your eyes and then listen to the pumping machines.

  d) Breathe in the chemical air and feel your heart throbbing.

  e) Dig a hole in the mound and bury some paper.

  16.4.

  a) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  b) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  c) Hear my voice coming from the back of your throat.

  d) Open your mouth and push the air from your lungs.

  e) Close your mouth and suck the air through your nose.

  16.5.

  a) Watch me bend and put some coins into your cup.

  b) Hear me turn away and give commands into a walkie-talkie.

  c) Follow me to the platform getting lost in the crowd.

  d) Run along the platform and then jump onto a train.

  e) Spot me in the crowd thinning out on the platform.

  17.1.

  a) Find a black shirt in Primark and put it on.

  b) Sniff out the only black jeans that are your size.

  c) Kneel in front of a mirror and lick your reflection.

  d) Hear people shouting while you sit at a bus stop.

  e) Watch Victorian terrace houses stretched out burning into the distance.

  17.2.

  a) Inspect the gap of skin between Chris’s boots and skirt.

  b) Hear Chris explaining she was born into the wrong body.

  c) Cough at the air buzzing out of an electric heater.

  d) Hear someone ask if you received compensation for the bombing.

  e) Say to Chris you want to make a presentation tonight.

  17.3.

  a) Notice lines formed where Chris’s skirt clings to her legs.

  b) Hear Chris talk about living with the desire for annihilation.

  c) Run your hand through your hair then unbutton your coat.

  d) Hear a voice ask if your presentation reveals the truth.

  e) Tell the group you are not sure what it means.

  17.4.

  a) Stand up and stack your chair onto an empty one.

  b) Touch Chris’s shoulder and say her presentation was very enlightening.

  c) Listen to Chris say she is looking forward to yours.

  d) Tell the group sorry but you really have to go.

  e) Ask Chris if she wants to get something to eat.

  17.5.

  a) See flashing lights and hear a police car fighting traffic.

  b) Smell some cars on fire near the Askew Road intersection.

  c) Hit your head on the dashboard when Chris brakes suddenly.

  d) Climb out of her Toyota and walk away from it.

  e) Glance back at her feeding coins into a broken meter.

  18.1.

  a) Put down your menu and ask Chris what she wants.

  b) Hear her ask why you keep staring out the window.

  c) Hold her hand and say you cannot explain right now.

  d) Tell her you have only ever been here for breakfast.

  e) Raise a toast and then sip some of your wine.

  18.2.

  a) Tell Chris that you want to tell her something important.

  b) Say to her that you think someone is following you.

  c) Listen to her asking who you think is following you.

  d) Say you think someone very fucked up is following you.

  e) Hear Chris ask if being followed relates to the conspiracy.

  18.3.

  a) Open the door for Chris and walk down Askew Road.

  b) Go to the Co-op and watch her buying some wine.

  c) Smother a coffee jar and crisp packet with your coat.

  d) Order some Chinese takeaway and wait in the DVD store.

  e) Choose a romantic comedy and then pick up your food.

  18.4.

  a) Listen to rats scratching through walls and along water pipes.

  b) Lean back and then take Chris’s glasses off her face.

  c) Say you were lying about being in the Underground bombing.

  d) Hear Chris asking if you want to get more wine.

  e) Tell her you are probably in love with someone else.

  18.5.

  a) Point to the bloodstain on the linoleum by the sink.

  b) Hear Chris saying she has to go to work tomorrow.

  c) Play the video of you opening your mouth and exhaling.

  d) Play the video of you closing your mouth and inhaling.

  e) Play the video of my voice deep in your throat.

  19.1.

  a) See Chris’s body slumped next to you on the couch.

  b) Take the pieces of broken wine bottle to the sink.

  c) Turn on the tap and soak your face and neck.

  d) Sit on the coffee table so your legs touch Chris’s.

  e) Move her legs apart and then rub inside her thighs.

  19.2.

  a) Loosen the straps on Chris’s shoes before taking them off.

  b) Raise her legs and then angle them onto the couch.

  c) Pull on her legs so that she is lying down.

  d) Feel for a pulse in the side of her head.

  e) Sniff her neck and taste the perfume behind her ear.

  19.3.

  a) Kiss Chris’s cheek and run your tongue along her lips.

  b) Unbutton her blouse until you can see her stomach rising.

  c) Push her bra up and then bite into her nipples.

  d) Take out your cock and rub it against her face.

  e) Stick your stump between her legs until it nudges cotton.

  19.4.

  a) Flick your tongue around Chris’s cunt to make it wet.

  b) Wank your cock with your fist up against her ass.

  c) Twist her legs and stick your stump into her cunt.

  d) Hear her cunt fill up with blood after something tears.

  e) Fuck her as hard as you can with your stump.

  19.5.

  a) Lick Chris’s blood off your stump when you stand up.

  b) See her blood dripping from your stump onto the linoleum.

  c) Hear my voice telling you these are not my instructions.

  d) Tell me you can see blood pumping from your body.

  e) Put your stump against your chest and feel your heart.

  20.1.

  a) Shove the coffee table across the room to the window.

  b) Spread out five black plastic garbage bags on the floor.

  c) Put your bed sheets on top of the garbage bags.

  d) Roll C
hris off the couch and onto the bed sheets.

  e) Stand above Chris and try to wank your cock hard.

  20.2.

  a) Rub your eyes and lie beside Chris on the floor.

  b) Wrap your legs around her body and kiss her lips.

  c) Trace the lines running from her breasts to her abdomen.

  d) Smell the blood congealed and matted in her pubic hair.

  e) Search her cunt for signs of what to do next.

  20.3.

  a) Close your eyes and then hack into her left arm.

  b) Close your eyes and then hack into her right arm.

  c) Saw through what remains connecting her arms to her body.

  d) Wrap both her arms in a black plastic garbage bag.

  e) Store the garbage bag along the wall under your bed.

  20.4.

  a) Close your eyes and then hack into her left leg.

  b) Close your eyes and then hack into her right leg.

  c) Saw through what remains connecting her legs to her body.

  d) Wrap both her legs in a black plastic garbage bag.

  e) Store the garbage bag along the wall under your bed.

  20.5.

  a) Ram your stump into Chris’s mouth and cunt and ass.

  b) Dig out new holes in her body with a screwdriver.

  c) Shove your fingers and then your stump into the holes.

  d) Wrap what remains of her body in your bed sheets.

  e) Store the bed sheets along the wall under your bed.

  21.1.

  a) See a light behind the red curtain of Bar W12.

  b) Notice a short man in a suit smiling at you.

  c) Say to the man that you have absolutely no money.

  d) Glance at some customers drinking wine at a few tables.

  e) Watch the bartender pouring a green cocktail into a glass.

  21.2.

  a) Hear a crack and notice fuzz blaring from a TV.

  b) Listen to a tall woman singing an incoherent karaoke song.

  c) Chew on some peanuts and feel your teeth coming out.

  d) Bump into tables as you walk towards the toilet door.

  e) Feel your stomach cramp and pain shooting up your neck.

  21.3.

  a) Lean against a wall that runs beside the basement stairs.

  b) Move your tongue around the gap where your teeth were.

  c) Flick on a light switch and hear a bulb pop.

  d) Kick something across the concrete and step into a puddle.

  e) Rub your eyes and feel tears build up in them.

  21.4.

  a) Adjust to the light coming from outside at street level.

  b) Notice wardrobes dividing the basement into a set of rooms.

  c) Squeeze between two wardrobes and then choke on some dust.

  d) Look at a stained and burnt mattress on the floor.

  e) See a blanket and coat curled up on the mattress.