Sorry for the long wait. A combination of Writer's block and a lack of motivation to write kept me from finishing it.
In the line of work that the Rescue Heroes and other first responders do daily, there are always people who are emotionally worked up. They have seen people be happy, sad, and angry. They have also seen those who were filled with rage in some instances.
This incident was something completely different. To Wendy and Ariel, they knew that they had to get Lacy out as soon as possible. They were disgusted at the rage and hatred that this grown man had for his young teenage daughter. The way he stared down at the young, trembling girl, wanting to hurt her for something that she had no involvement in, made both women begin to see red.
The atmosphere was thick with tension as Wendy took a deep breath, quickly making her way over as Lacy's father was about to hit Lacy again. She grabbed his wrist just in time and maneuvered his arm into an uncomfortable position so that if he moves, he's only causing himself pain.
"You are done hurting your daughter!" Wendy hissed out angrily, wanting to break his arm, but she wasn't about to stoop to his level. "Your anger should be at the one who hit your wife, not your child who you are supposed to love and protect!"
"She deserves neither!" Martin slurred out, trying to free himself from the hold he was in, roaring as pain and anger flared.
Wendy kept an eye on Martin as she spoke to her colleague. "Ariel…we need to get her out of here."
Lacy's hair and face were covered in blood. Lacy's nose was broken if both had to guess, and possibly a couple of teeth were knocked out. The young teenager cried out, curling in on herself as she felt Ariel place a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, Lacy; we're getting you out of here."
Lacy whimpered, giving a slight nod before losing consciousness. "I don't feel comfortable moving her, not without a collar on."
Wendy nodded. "Alright, go get one. Contact Billy to have Jake and Matt meet us here."
As soon as Ariel exited the house, she saw a police car coming up. One of them got out. Ariel vaguely recalls who he is. "Ethan."
"Ariel." He nodded towards her in greeting, his gaze snapping to the house. "We received a call from a neighbor regarding a disturbance at this residence. Do you know what's going on?"
Ariel nodded up towards the house. "I'll answer your questions, but please make sure that…that monster doesn't use his daughter as a punching bag!" She sighed heavily, blinking back tears, "He blames his daughter for the death of his wife. I have to contact Billy and get a few supplies. I'll be inside in a moment."
"Okay."
While Ethan was inside with Wendy, Ariel was busy out in the vehicle, grabbing a stretcher, first aid kit, and a collar while she contacted the Command Centre while trying not to alarm the two children still in the cab. "Billy, we have a situation."
"What's wrong, Ariel?"
"Bringing the children here was a horrible idea! We witnessed the tail end of Lacy's so-called father beating her! I'm certain she was pushed down the stairs."
"Alright. Hang on; I'm sending Jake and Matt to your location."
Just as Jake and Matt arrived at the Ashe home, they watched as the children's drunken father spewed obscenities towards the unconscious fourteen-year-old as Ethan forced him into the back of the patrol car.
"Yeah, I'm sure the judge will love that," Ethan muttered as he shut the door, shaking his head as he nodded to the newcomers and opened the driver's door, placing one foot inside the car, he mentioned to them. "Just keep in mind, folks, Child Protective Services has been notified."
As Matt took over with giving the girl a shot of morphine, and now with her having issues breathing, as a precaution, she had to intubate her and hooking her up to monitors. A collar to immobilize her neck. With a board, they lifted her onto a stretcher and placed her into the medical vehicle. Before Matt closed the door, he called Ariel over.
"Ariel, where are the kids?"
"They're in the back of the vehicle."
Jake, who had heard the conversation, interjected, "uh…no…they're not."
Both Wendy and Ariel gave a "What?!" In unison. "Where did they go? We told them to stay put!"
"Alright, I have to take Lacy back to the Command Centre to begin treating her injuries that were sustained." Matt's voice sounded nervous yet angry as he closed the back of the door with Jake running to the driver's side.
Without waiting for the vehicle to leave, both women practically flew up the steps of the house, slamming the front door open. "Damien! Ellie! Where are you?"
"You check down here, and I'll check upstairs."
"Okay." Ariel nodded and ran to start on the main level while Wendy took the steps two at a time.
As Ariel entered the kitchen, her nose wrinkled in disgust as the smell of rotten food wafted through her nostrils. "Ugh!" She exclaimed, waving her face in a feeble attempt to rid the air of the scent. "Ellie! Damien! Come on, you two! You're safe! We have to go! Lacy is going back to the Command Centre, and we need to meet them there! Ellie! Damien!"
As she walked past the bathroom, that's when Ariel heard the faint sound of whimpering coming to one of the doors. She went over and opened it. Her heart began to break as soon as she looked at the tears that stained their small cheeks. Their eyes were red and puffy as they held onto one another. Ariel called up to Wendy without taking her eyes off the children.
Ariel slowly knelt, "Hey, you are alright."
"You guys promised!" Ellie hiccupped. "You guys promised that nothing bad was going to happen!"
Ariel gave a small sigh, "We did, and we are very sorry for that, but we can deal with that later. We have to go. Do you want to see your sister?"
They both nod, untangling from each other's arms and exiting the small broom closet and towards the front door. Ariel stood up and looked at Wendy. "We lied to them."