yes after a long break to deal with health and other things i am back writing as of today. My style may of changed a bit and i hope you like it

A Different Angel,

A story by Allie Elle,

Synopsis: A young teen finds themselves and a purpose in a rather unusual way.

Chapter one: perceptions.

The final period bell rings and the group of 14 year old children rush out of the classroom, well most of them as usual there is one that holds back. The uniform is crumpled and the shoulders slumped as this loner makes their way out of the class the form tutor watching always concerned.

“Richard,” The teacher says quietly, “ are you doing okay?”

“I'm fine Miss Timonds, there's no problems” The loner Richard Simms replies quietly.

Sarah Timonds was in her 2nd year teaching at Honeys Hall comprehensive and had seen Richard around the school for two years. She had never seen him mixing with his peers and the rest of the school treated him as a nobody. It was almost as if he was hidden in the shadows, he was a quiet boy and his parents also seemed to take no interest in what he was doing. She had never met them even at teacher student conferences. He also appeared a lot of the time uncared for, his clothes weren't overly scruffy it was more a case of just uncared for. Shaking her head she watched as he walked out in his usual shuffling way.

Richard sighed as he made his way out, all he wanted was to be left alone by the teachers. He also wanted to be left alone by the supposed alpha's in the school. Yes he was a loner, that was partly by choice but also by the way the other students treated him. He was on the chunky side but his actions and other things didn't match his body. The biggest target was he cared, not in a protective way more a case of if he saw a younger student being targetted he would gently step in. that made him a target to the bullies and the girls avoided him also as he wasn't a macho type.

He carried on down the main school corridor shaking off the thoughts in his head and made his way past the usual teen groupings. Today he avoided being targetted and he was happy about that and a small smile managed to tweak the corners of his mouth. Getting out of the school building he felt the warmth of the summer sunshine striking his skin and the smile widened. He looked up and the surrounding hills and lower foothills of the peak district met his gaze.

It was Friday that meant the weekend stretched ahead, it also meant he could get out of the suburbs during the day and indulge his hobby. He loved getting into the crags as it was called locally and free climb. He could lose himself concentrating on hand and foot holds making his way up a face and also submerge himself in the surrounding nature. There was a freedom in the countryside a lack of people who judged him or wanted something from him. Lifting his shoulders he started the walk home lost in his mind as he plodded along in no real rush.

A short while later lifting his gaze he looked at the slightly rundown modern council house tha housed his family and himself and took a deep breath. Letting himself in through the front door as usual the only people home was his older brother. David sneered as Richard walked in the older boy was just 2 years older but tended to dress as though he was 18 years old and a street thug. There was little affection between the two David was a mean personality and a macho idiot. Richard didn't say anything but hustled past making his way upstairs giving his older brother less of a reason to start anything. He breathed a sigh of relief when the houses front door opened and a short while closed as that meant David had gone to go and meet up with his cronies and probably get up to no good.

Reaching the small room he called his own he got changed out of his school uniform and quickly went down to the kitchen after sorting the weeks laundry started it washing. He didn't mind taking care of his own laundry but refused to do his parents or his brothers, To outsiders it would seem that his parents were indifferent but the truth was they were just buried in their work. His mother worked 2 jobs as a morning and afternoon cleaner for the local schools and his father was a machinist at the local heavy engineering company. As he was paid piece work he had to work long hours to get a decent wage. This meant from the age of 12 Richard had been a latch key kid, it also meant that because of his nature he would start on the evening meal. As he worked on preparing a chicken to go with a salad he switched on the radio to the local news station.

Tuned out slightly he didn't hear the front door open and was shocked when his father walked up and placed a hand on his shoulder. The squeeze was firm but tired and his dad's sigh was heavy. Richard reached up and squeezed the hand and went back to preparing the evening meal motioning with his head for his father to go and sit and relax. With a gentle chuckle his dad followed the unspoken command and sat down at the family table. As Richard worked his dad took care of the days post whilst they waited for mum to get in and see if David actually showed up for dinner.

The two spent an hour in companionable silence each engrossed in what they were doing, their introspection interrupted by the sound of the front door opening and mum walking in through the small hallway into the kitchen as she sat down the radio talk show that way playing was stopped by the sounds of a newsflash bulletin.

“The police are getting concerned for the welfare of a young girl Ginny Harris aged 8 she ran away from home this lunch time and was last seen heading up the hayfield road towards new mills road. She was dressed in her school uniform.” the radio described the young girl and all three in the kitchen stopped to listen.

Mum's face went white as she was the cleaner for the local primary school in the morning and helped with the school dinners before going to the secondary to clean in the afternoons. The surnamed was familiar to Richard and his dad too as the Harris family lived 2 doors down, Richard had the image in his mind of a sweet little girl that was a little annoying but happy. He seemed to go into auto pilot and turned off the heat on the potatoes and chicken and went upstairs to his room and pulled down his daysack from his wardrobe and started to dress in his climbing clothes. He went down to the kitchen and made up 3 water bottles and from the hallway picked up his climbing gear as well as the basic first aid kit he always carried when climbing. His parents watched with a knowing look at their youngest child as he sat and tied a pair of stout walking boots onto his feet. His dad handed him a large torch, Richard nodded and clipped the helmet to the straps of his daysack.

The three of them left the house Richard turning to head up the road and his parents heading to the neighbours. Richard settled the pack and made sure that the torch worked, happy with his equipment he started up the road out of the town towards the last place little Ginny had been reported working out in his head which way she would probably of gone and where she may of got lost or had fallen. As he walked he managed to locate the small hand held radio that he carried when climbing and moved it from its pocket and clipped it to the belt on his shorts. He was happy last years when he got his hams license and call sign as he had a natural be prepared attitude and being without a mobile phone or coverage a 2 way radio was better locally. He set it to the local repeater frequency and the chatter was about people heading out to look for Ginny. He registered his intent to the group and where he was heading and got a reply that those that were a home would listen out for his reports.

Making his way up the road keeping an eye on the traffic and the hedges and an ear out he called out as he walked and could hear others nearby doing the same. It was starting to turn to evening and the searchers were giving negative reports and also liaising with the emergency services and filling in other individuals and groups on what they were finding. Richard was still walking and heading towards a couple of faces and cliffs he knew that local livestock farmers would lose lambs and other young stock now and then. He carried on calling out every few minutes still keeping his ears open as he reached the top of the rock faces he slowed down and stopped to listen. He started to really concentrate as he came to an area of open fence that surrounded the local quarry, he radioed in his location and was told there was a group of police searchers coming up to the quarry via the road. He could hear them shouting out and he waited to hear if there was a response, time seemed to stretch as the shouts became clearer and then a scream of a young girl and Richard took off in that direction reaching the side of the quarry and looked down.

As he looked down he saw a scrap of cloth from the hem of a school uniform summer dres and he knew he had suceeded and radioed his position and then the scream got louder and desperate. ….............

TBC..........