I'm sorry this took so long to update, but I'm back at school, I'm doing other work and…I just can't update too quickly, ok? I will as much as I can. Thank you all!
How to save a life
Chapter 2
Maria Hampton stumbled as she climbed over her window ledge. She could have used the front door, but didn't, just for the sake of it.
Her dress had been ripped on the bushes in the garden. She didn't care. She rarely cared about things like that anymore. Not since she first fell.
She'd fallen just now, too. To a bad place. Where the air screamed and everything and nothing were at once. She'd tried to tell her mother about the noise, and the voices that she sometimes heard, but she didn't listen to her anymore. Not since the first time.
Maria didn't want to be different. She hadn't meant to change. She'd tried to be like she used to be. She used to be happy. But now it was all different. She never knew what was real anymore. She heard things that weren't there. Tried to speak to people that didn't exist. The doctor's said she wasn't in the right mind. But it wasn't her fault.
And sometimes she went to that bad place.
She didn't mean to shout at the girl with the pretty face and the long brown hair. That was right before she went back to the noise. She'd scared her, that was all. Maria sat down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. She lived in a big room. And a big house. It wasn't a mansion, but it was quite big and old and it had a garden and a big, big wall to keep people out and Andy, her brother, said they should take the wall down, because it was intimidating. When Maria had fallen, so had Andy. But he was alright. Maria liked the wall. It made her feel safe.
From here she could see right out the window, over the wall. She could see the girl and the man she was with outside her house. They'd chased her all the way back here, but she was a fast runner. They looked out of breath, but they were talking. He looked like he was suggesting something, and she was pointing at the house. Maybe they'd seen her climbing in through the window.
She was so busy watching them; she didn't notice Andy until he was sitting beside her on the bed. "You ripped your dress," he said, fingering the long tear in the green fabric.
"There's a girl outside. And a man," she replied, putting her head on one side. "I like her. She's pretty. She looks like a lady I once knew. Only she had blonde hair".
Andrew smiled, almost a little sadly. He was used to his sister talking like this by now. She hadn't been right for a while. He smoothed her long blonde hair back from her face. "Where did you see this woman, then? Did she have blonde hair, just like yours?"
Maria giggled and shook her head. "I don't know, I never met her," she told him, as though in some way of explanation. "Her hair was dyed blonde, though. They can help," at the last part, she'd turned to look at him and began speaking quickly in a hushed voice. "They can help me, and they know stuff, I saw it. They can help me stay away from the bad place with all the noise".
"Who can? Help you with what? Slow down," Andy tried his best to calm her, but he knew, from experience, that nothing would work when she got into a state like this. In a ditch attempt, he wrapped his arms around her, though it rarely made her feel safe, as was intended, placed a kiss to the top of her head, and carefully clasped one of her wrists in each hand, in case of her becoming violent. She snatched her wrists away and stood up, abruptly.
"The girl and the man outside," she sighed, looking down at him and pointing out the window. Andrew looked, but saw nothing. "She's coming anyway," she informed him, matter of factly. "She wants to see me. She'll keep asking about me. And he's not coming, just her. Look".
"I don't see anyone," Andy said. He looked again, just for good measure, but there was no one. Maria fixed him with a sharp look, then rolled her eyes, and, with unfailing style, tossed her hair back in an unmistakably impatient gesture that always made him feel about two inches tall.
"That's because she's climbing over the wall".
We skidded to a halt just outside a grand house. I knew it was grand because it had a wall round it. A big wall. I didn't like it.
"She went – in - there" I nodded up to the open window where, a moment before, I'd seen her disappearing inside, whilst trying to get my breath back at the same time.
"I know, I saw her," he said, standing beside me with his hands in his pockets, frowning, as though he wasn't even slightly out of breath. "She scaled this wall easily enough," he observed, placing a hand on its rough, grey side. He turned to raise an eyebrow. "We could climb that…"
"We could," I agreed, nodding. It wasn't so high, but he sighed even so.
"I know I'm getting older when people are suddenly willing to go along with my suggestions".
"Maybe you're losing your touch".
"Or maybe you're just too criminally minded," he said, prodding my arm.
"Probably. Anyway, that's almost a good plan. Except that, having just seen what we just saw, I'd say there's a hell of a lot more going on than you saw with your quick scan back on the TARDIS. One of us should go back and check for problems in the timeline".
He eyed be carefully. "If you want to go back…"
I shook my head. "You go back".
"Excuse me?"
I sighed. "Like I said, one of us needs to go back. You've always been better at getting the TARDIS to work than me, and," I pressed on, before he could interrupt, "I think it may seems just that bit less suspicious if I happen to be found in the house, climbing through her bedroom window. If you see what I mean".
"You've got this all figured out, haven't you?" He asked, turning his head to one side and jamming his hands deep into his coat pockets, like a child trying to make a decision.
"Go on," I said, teasingly. "You know I'm right".
He hesitated for a second, sighed, and then nodded. He reached into his coat and handed me my Screwdriver. "You'll need it more that me," he reasoned. "I'll see you out here at nine tonight, ok? Find out as much as you can-and don't get into trouble."
"You know I will!"
"True, but that's what I'm supposed to say, and it wouldn't feel right if I didn't". He nodded to himself, as though he'd just said something terribly thought provoking. "Have fun," he smiled, turning away from me.
"Hope I do," I called back. I watched him until he had disappeared around the corner before turning to the wall.
I didn't climb things often. Ropes were necessary; I'd been starting to get the hang of ropes. And ladders. And Rope ladders. But walls were a new thing. Walls I hadn't done before.
"Well, let's see if it's as easy as she made it look". I muttered to myself, touching the wall gingerly, checking it was secure. It seemed strong enough. There were lots of holes and uneven bits in it, which made it easier to find hand holds. After finding two suitably strong ones, I hoisted myself up, digging my feet into two dents near the bottom. "Well, this isn't so hard," I reasoned, reaching up for another hold, I pushed myself up with my left leg and began to climb.
The wall turned out to be every bit as easy to scale as it had seemed, and it wasn't hard to get into a natural rhythm. The hard part, as I discovered on reaching the top, was to be getting down again. I frowned at the considerable depth between me and the ground, and it occurred to me that I should be developing a case of vertigo as any moment now.
I couldn't climb down; this side of the wall was decidedly flat. So that left jumping. I wasn't keen on jumping, but it seemed to be the only way. Taking a deep breath, I twisted myself round so I was facing the wall, holding myself up with my arms, and my legs dangling down. I closed my eyes, counted to three and…
"Ah!" I landed awkwardly, on my feet, almost, but somehow I managed to end up at my back, staring up at the sky, the sun and…
Two of the most piercing blue eyes I'd ever seen in my life.
"Hullo!" I smiled up at the boy, who looked about 17, before getting to my feet, brushing myself off as I did so. I was still looking up at him after I stood, because he was a good few inches taller than me. His eyes were an icy blue that I'd never encountered before, he had had short blond hair that was slightly messed up, and he was smiling. It was a nice smile.
He was…well, striking.
"Hullo," he replied. I didn't say anything to this, so he went on, looking at me curiously. "I, uh, well girls don't usually appear at my feet. Care to…" he gestured to the wall, raising an eyebrow. "Explain?"
Followed his hand with my eyes, trying to work out what he meant. "Oh!" I said, realising that I had just fallen from the top of his garden wall. "I, uh, I….a girl…" there wasn't much point in lying, but I didn't need to tell the whole truth. "She seemed a bit…odd. And I saw her climbing over the wall, and I followed her. A blonde girl? I wanted to see if she was ok".
"You do realise that this is trespassing, right?"
I blinked at him. "Who is she?"
He sighed, and ran a hand through his hair. "She did say you'd keep asking about her…" he muttered, almost to himself.
"Who?" I pressed him.
"My sister," he finished, looking up at me. I realised his face reminded me of hers, though his eyes were an amazing shade of blue, whilst I remembered that hers were green. "I'm Andrew," he added, as though an after thought.
I smiled, in spite of myself. "I'm Jenny. But your sister…" I turned my head on one side, observing him carefully. "She's not….has anything…odd happened to her lately?"
He shrugged, but looked away. "Do you think you can help her?"
"Let me see her". He looked doubtful. "Andrew, please. I promise you, we can help".
His face suddenly flashed with confusion, then suspicion. "Who's 'we'?" he asked, his eyebrows rising. I very nearly blushed, and for a second I was stuck for anything to say. "Maybe you should go".
"Just let me see her," I insisted, choosing to ignore my previous blunder. He opened his mouth to interrupt, but I cut him off. "Trust me".
He stopped for a moment, staring at me hard. And then he sort of…collapsed in on himself. An older brother giving in for his sister. "Alright," he said, sighing. "Alright, I will. You can see her," he turned away, and headed towards the door to the house. "She's in her room…"
"Thanks," I said, quietly, so I'm not sure he heard it. Then I followed. "Thank you, Andy".
