Chapter 4

When Jamie reached home he was surprised to see Lewis perched on the wall outside, dangling his legs and whistling to a tune he'd heard on the radio earlier. He was surprised, because as Rachel had left before him he had expected her to be at home already. Evidently, she wasn't.

"Hey Lewis," he addressed his friend as he approached the house. "Where's Rachel?" he asked.

"How should I know?" Lewis replied. "I've been waiting here for over half an hour, she hasn't been back in that time." Jamie looked at him, his expression becoming panicked, then glanced around up and down the street as if he expected her to be walking down it. However, she wasn't.

"I'm going to find her," Jamie announced eventually.

"Come on mate," Lewis commented. "You promised you'd tell me what your secret mission was."

"I'll tell you when I get back," he answered, and with that, headed back in the direction he had just come in.

"Rachel," he shouted as he wandered along the road where she had disappeared a while before; he couldn't remember when, it seemed an age ago. There was no answer to his shouting and this worried him further. He didn't know for sure that she was here somewhere, but he got the feeling she was, and if she wasn't answering then she must be in trouble.

"Rachel," he shouted again, slightly quieter - he had run all the way and he was now exhausted. There was still no answer. He was about to give up when he noticed something lying on the ground on the pavement; Rachel's school bag.

"Rachel, where are you?" he shouted once more. There was still no answer and Jamie raced towards the school bag. It was then that he saw her. Lying in a stretch of grass past the pavement, battered and bruised, she laid on the floor unconscious. Jamie wasted no time in getting to her and he kneeled by her side and checked her pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief when he felt one, but knew he had to get help, fast.

"Help!" he shouted in hope that someone nearby would be able to help. He was lucky, just as soon as he shouted it; a passer-by ran up to greet him. The man who had stopped felt no need to ask what was wrong; he could see it clearly in front of his eyes, and after fishing about in his pocket for a couple of seconds, which felt like hours to Jamie, he took out a mobile phone and dialled 999.

Jamie paced up and down the hospital reception area. It was as if he'd been there days, not hours, waiting for news on his sisters' condition. Every time someone flowed past him, he beckoned to them but it seemed as though they either couldn't or didn't want to tell him. By the time a doctor came out of Rachel's room and approached him he was almost fuming with anger, however, his worry for Rachel meant he immediately calmed down as he spoke to the doctor.

"Is she OK?" Jamie asked frantically.

"She's awake and stable," the doctor smiled.

"So… She's going to be OK?" he asked, relief flowing through him.

"She'll be fine. We'll keep her in over-night just to make sure she's OK and then she can go home… Have you called your parents?"

"Yeah I have. Thank you so much," Jamie smiled. "Can I see her?"

"Sure go ahead," the doctor replied before wandering off to see another patient.

Jamie peered round the door. Rachel was sitting in bed, stitches holding together a cut on her cheek. She smiled as he walked in and sat down.

"Thanks," she said. "Thanks for coming to look for me."

"It's OK, I wasn't going to leave you was I? I knew as soon as I got home that Athena had been back again."

"Athena?" she asked. "What makes you think it was her?"

"Oh come off it! I'm not stupid you know. I know it was her. I'm right aren't I?!" Rachel nodded slowly, confirming what he had said.

"I knew it!" I'm going to call the police, right now!" he exclaimed.

"No!" she objected. "It's more trouble than it's worth."

"I don't care!" he announced. "I'm not going to let them get away with it." With his last statement, he stormed out of the room, not waiting to hear any more of Rachel's complaints.