CHAPTER 13
5 films (The Gruffalo, The Smurfs, Beauty and the Beast, Tintin and Lady and the Tramp) and a packet of Liquorice Allsorts later and there was a knock at the door. Oskar immediately started barking. Cleo froze, thinking about staying there and pretending no one was in, but she thought Oskar had probably given her position away. And besides, she doubted a locked door would keep a kid of the FAYZ away, it was either answer it or wait for a forced entry. So, nervously, she got up from the sofa and crept down the hall. The person was still knocking. She slowly turned the door handle and opened it a crack to see…little Benny Andrews standing there.
"Corr, sure took ya time." He said. "I 'ad to walk all the way 'ere from the plaza, you'da thought I'd actually be let in when I arrived." He shook his head at Cleo who raised an eyebrow.
"So…um…you seem kinda casual, I thought there was a battle going on?" Benny nodded.
"Oh yeah, that's why I'm 'ere, Sam said I should tell ya, it's over. We won." Then he nodded at her and walked back off up the drive.
"Wait!" Cleo called and he turned back around. "Are-are you for real?" Benny nodded at her as if it was a stupid question.
"Anyway, you better get ya butt back over there, there's people dyin' and stuff." Then he pulled a cigarette and a lighter out of his pocket and lit it as he walked off. Cleo stood there stunned for a minute, and then ran back inside, turning the telly off and crouching in front of the sofa for Pippa to climb onto her back. Then with Oskar they ran off back to the plaza.
It was horrific. Buildings blown apart, bodies everywhere, blood splattered over the pavement. Their house was luckily one of the surviving ones, but that didn't make up for the shock of the rest of the once beautiful plaza. Cleo put Pippa down, taking her hand instead, and went over to the first casualty, glad to be able to help out at last. Soon there was a line of people waiting to be healed, some who had managed to get there themselves, others who had been carried or dragged over to her. Cleo wished her power would work quicker but she knew she would just have to heal the worst off first and hope for the best. As they waited, the injured stroked Oskar for comfort, and Pippa went over to them and held their hands as well. Cleo smiled at her little family, but it was a grim smile as she was faced with horrible sights, wounds that had been caused by other kids! Kids that Cleo had once helped. One of them that she had fancied. She tried to remember what Sam had said to her about forgetting the past, but with Caine's damage visible in front of her it was hard. But she just kept healing, hoping it would somehow right her wrongs. She kept healing as the sky darkened, as Mary came to put Pippa to bed, right through to when the morning light spilt across the black slate of the sky. Yawning, she carried on, refusing to stop until everyone was better. Finally Sam appeared and placed his hand on her shoulder.
"Cleo…take a rest…" Cleo shook her head, rubbing her eyes, stifling yawns.
"No…need to…finish…" Sam looked her right in the eyes.
"Cleo, you've healed the worst off, these kids can wait." Cleo shook her head but this time as her eyes drifted closed she couldn't manage to open them again and the last thing she was aware of was Sam picking her up as she drifted off.