The Daily Dormouse. (aka Bike, est. 2007) Part 2667 by Angharad Copyright© 2015 Angharad

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This is a work of fiction any mention of real people, places or institutions is purely coincidental and does not imply that they are as suggested in the story.
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She led me through to a back room where lay Ingrid. I barely recognized her, someone had really done a number on her. I said quietly to Veronica to get an ambulance immediately. She left me to speak with Ingrid.

“Where’s Hannah?” I said before she could speak to me.

“Here somewhere,” her voice was husky and barely audible.

“You need a hospital.”

“Can’t you fix me?”

“Not really, I can help but I haven’t done any healing for a long time, besides you may need scans and X-rays.”

“Do what you can—please.”

I could feel the energy coursing from me and into her, but she was so damaged it needed more than I could do to save her. My main aim was to try and boost her enough to keep her alive until the paramedics could get her to hospital.

I took her hand and she swore at me, “Jesus Christ that is hot.” Then she was panting and she looked at me strangely. “Look after Hannah for me—promise me you will.”

What could I say, “Only until you recover enough to take her back.”

She laughed and blood began to run from her mouth. Oh shit, not a good sign. Then she fell back unconscious. I slammed the blue light into her and her breathing which was labored seemed to ease slightly. I knew she had internal bleeding, probably from a tear in the liver. I directed the energy to heal that first or to staunch the bleeding.

I scanned her. Ribs were protruding into the one lung, she had severe bruising on the liver and spleen, plus the tear in the liver. Her head injuries included a concussion with possible bleed in the brain. How the hell had she got here? Sirens sounded in the distance. Veronica returned. “They’ll be here in moments.”

“You should have called them earlier, where’s Hannah?”

“Through here.” I followed down some stairs, she was being cradled by an older woman.

“Hello, Hannah,” I said and she looked round at me then she staggered and fell into my arms.

“Auntie Cathy, where is Mummy?”

“The ambulance is coming to take her to hospital, she’s very poorly.”

“Is she going to die?”

“I sincerely hope not. She asked me to look after you, are you happy to do that?”

“It’s better than a children’s home.”

“I like to think so.”

“D’you know what happened?”

“Two men—it was horrible. I escaped but I heard her screams. It was horrible, Auntie Cathy.”

“You poor lamb,” I hugged her and felt the energy flowing into her.

“You feel nice and warm,” she said before falling asleep in my arms.

“I’m going to take her home with me, if they ask you must tell the police where she is.”

“Have the police got to be informed?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, the woman is nearly beaten to death in front of her daughter. It’s a serious assault and you of all people know that has to go to the police, how else are we going to catch the two thugs who hurt her and this poor child.”

“Okay.”

“Did you hear her ask me to foster Hannah?”

“Yeah, I’ll tell them that.”

“C’mon, sweetheart, let’s go home.” I woke the sleeping child who responded to my instructions like she was in a trance. Slowly we got into my car and I drove away while her mother was being loaded into the ambulance. It passed us a few minutes later with bells and whistles as it rushed her to hospital. The last thing I needed was a traumatized nine year old to care for, but until someone in authority told me different or her mother collected her—that’s exactly what I was going to do.

I called Jacquie and asked her to make up a bed in the spare room. By the time I got home, it was done and borrowing clothes from Livvie and Trish, Jacquie and I changed her and popped her into bed.

David had gone home so I sent Phoebe over to get him, Jacquie was sitting with Hannah. “Was the meal okay? You look serious—look I’m sorry for what I said.”

“I haven’t had my dinner yet. Upstairs I have a nine year old child I just brought back from the refuge. Her mother had been beaten half to death, she’s very ill. She asked me to look after her daughter.”

“It’s Hannah, where is she?” He was about to run out of the kitchen and up the stairs when I called him back.

“David, she’s very traumatized, she may not take kindly to seeing a man, even one she knows, but I needed to tell you because I know you were very close to her.”

He had tears running down his face, “Who hurt them?”

“I don’t know, Ingrid asked me to look after Hannah then collapsed. I got them to send for the ambulance, she’s in hospital.”

“I’m gonna find them and kill them,” he said angrily, tears streaming down his face.

“What good would that do? It would resolve nothing and end with you in prison doing two life sentences. How is that going to help Hannah or her mother.”

“Can I see her, I won’t touch her or say anything.”

“Okay, follow me.” I led him upstairs where Jacquie was sitting by the bed with the sleeping girl. There was a large bruise on the side of her face. David saw it and shook his head.

“I’ll kill them,” he said under his breath.

“You will do no such thing. This child will need us to look after her and hopefully her mother. Vendettas will achieve nothing but more pain, besides it’s only the police who have the resources and expertise to find them and deliver them to the justice system.”

David stood there tears running down his face which still looked angry to me.

“Promise me you’re going to help this child and her mother by helping me care for her and possibly for Ingrid as well and that you aren’t turning into an avenger because there are people better able to do it.”

“All right, for now I will.”

“This child is going to need help for some time, if you’re not in it for the long haul, I’d rather you kept out of it.”

“All right, I’ll help you.”

“Good man,” I patted his shoulder. “Let’s leave her to sleep while I call Stephanie for advice.”

“Don’t forget your dinner.”

“Come and sit with me while I eat it.”

“No, I’m too upset.”

“Please don’t go silly with the booze, will you? She needs you to be in full control of your faculties.”

“Okay.”

“David, I promise that as soon as it’s deemed okay, I’ll involve you with her directly. I know she was fond of you and hopefully we can build on that relationship.”

“Mummy, there’s a cop—a pleeceman at the door,” Trish announced.

“I’ll be there in a moment ask them if they’d like a tea or coffee.”