Andy already knew David’s fate even before he had entered the living room. David was sprawled over the carpet. He had suffered a blow to the head. Andy didn’t panic; he didn’t scream; he didn’t even run for help. He just stood there completely silent and motionless. It was as if time had stood still.
Andy was a firm believer of the domino effect. Each life decision affected another. But what was the single moment that had started this mess? What was the first domino? This is what was occupying Andy’s mind as he stood frozen staring into David’s soulless eyes.
He tried to search his mind for any key decision he had made that could have been responsible for this, and if there was any way he could have stopped it. Was it when he decided to marry his pregnant girlfriend Heather? When he decided to take a job working for David? That could be it! If he hadn’t taken the job, he would have never got involved with David, and he would never have met his younger sister Heather.
Andy knew this wasn’t it. He knew to get to the truth; he had to go further back. Much further. To truly understand how this mess had started, Andy’s mind needed to go back twenty years. Back to February 16th 1986 to be precise. The day Andy first met Paul Daley.
Andy suddenly remembered the incident very vividly. He was sitting on a school bench nursing a black eye, which he had been kindly given from the school bully. Just as he was wiping the blood away from his nose, a lanky figure appeared in front of him. “Alright Mate, do you fancy a bit of fun?”