by Nikki Young
When the train continued on its journey, chugging steadily away, Jess and Ash stared at each other in surprise. Looking towards the train, they saw it had moved beyond where the crumpled body of Theresa had been lying, leaving nothing in its wake.
“He didn’t stop,” Jess cried in surprise. Fear gripped her once more. “Oh my God, did he drag over her body?” She tried to run but her leg was in so much pain, it was impossible.
“I’ve got her,” they heard a voice cry out in the distance. It was Tomma.
In deep shock, neither Jess nor Ash could reply.
“Jess, talk to me—are you there?” Tomma’s voice sounded desperate. “Please say something.”
“I’m here with Ash,” she shouted back. “Is Theresa safe?”
The words hung in the air as she said them, her breath held tight.
“She’s alive,” Tomma said. “Only just.”
Jess gasped and turned to Ash.
“I’ll go and help him,” Ash said. He rushed towards the light of Tomma’s lamp and Jess waited for a few anxious moments until she saw them reappear, walking back along the track towards her.
Tomma carried Theresa in his arms. When they reached her, Tomma gave Theresa to Ash and took off his coat to wrap around her. Then he turned to Jess.
“You’re hurt,” he said, noticing how she was stood with one leg suspended off the floor.
“I’m fine,” she said, groaning with pain as she tried to put her foot down and pretend it was all right. “What happened?” She grabbed Tomma’s arm so she could use him for support.
“I heard screams and tried to follow the sound but then I saw the train and realised Theresa was there. I pulled her away just in time.”
Jess flung her arms around him. “Tomma, thank God you did! I thought she was going to be killed.”
Tomma held her tight.
“We need to get her home. She’s freezing,” Ash said.
Quickly Jess pulled away from Tomma and attempted to walk on her own, but her knee and ankle hurt so much, she almost stumbled again before Tomma caught her. Then her eyes landed on Theresa and her pale little face, eyes closed.
“Oh God, please let her be okay,” she said.
Tomma wrapped Theresa tighter still in his jacket as Ash pulled her closer to his chest. Her tiny feet poked out from the end of the jacket.
“Oh, Theresa, what were you doing coming out here all alone?” Jess said, stroking her hair. Her hands moved to touch her feet. “Tomma she’s freezing. Let me get my socks for her.” Jess began to move but it was slow, painful and awkward. She winced.
“We haven’t got time for that,” Tomma said.
“Reach into my pockets and get out my gloves,” Ash instructed. “They should cover her feet.”
Jess did as he asked, tucking Theresa’s gloved feet into the coat as much as possible before bending down to pick up the lamp.
“We should go this way,” she said, pointing down the track. “If we follow the track it leads us to the road. It will be quicker to go back that way and easier than carrying her through all that bramble and across the fields.”
Ash set off ahead and ignoring the searing pain, Jess held on to Tomma. His arm was wrapped around her waist, holding her up. He stopped and turned to face her, pulling her close in a tight hug.
“I don’t know what I would have done if anything had happened to you,” he said into her ear.
Jess held on tightly to him. They stayed there for a few seconds until she gently pulled away.
“Come on, we need to get back,” she said softly.
Moving as quickly as she could, Jess tried to focus on getting Theresa home to warmth and safety. She prayed they wouldn’t be too late.
Chapter 21
No Good Nurses?
When they arrived back at Martha’s house, Jess could see Martha and Nadia in the front room, illuminated by the soft lighting from the oil lamps. On spotting them, the girls rushed out to let them in. Jess felt the warmth of the house envelope her as she stepped inside. Ash took Theresa straight into the living room and laid her down on his sleeping bag in front of the fire, now roaring away once more. Then he dashed out of the room and Jess could hear the thundering of his heavy boots going up the stairs.
Martha collapsed in front of her sister, tears streaming down her face. “My poor baby sister, what happened to you?”
“We found her down by the railway line,” Tomma said. “Jess thinks she may have been sleepwalking.”
“Sleepwalking!” Martha shook her head in disbelief and leaned over to give Theresa a light kiss on the forehead. “She’s freezing cold.” She gently picked her up and held her close to her chest.
Ash came charging down the stairs and into the living room. “Blankets,” he said, dumping them on the floor.
Nadia grabbed one and wrapped it around Theresa’s little frame. “What can we do to help?”
“Boil some water to make some tea,” Martha said, through sobs. “We need to make her warm again.”
Martha rocked Theresa back and forth as she sat on the floor in front of the fire, singing a lullaby in a soft voice. She stayed like that until Nadia returned with the drink.
“I didn’t know what to put it in, so I hope this will do,” she said, handing an enamel mug to Martha.
Martha pulled Theresa up to a sitting position and carefully dripped some of the warm liquid on to her lips. After a few attempts, Theresa began to cough and for the first time, opened her eyes. She looked all around her, not registering where she was or why everyone was staring at her.
“Martha?” she said in a tiny voice. “Why are you crying? Is it Papa?”
“Sweet little sister,” Martha said, choking on both laughter and tears. “Have you really no idea what you have just put us all through?”
Theresa’s confused face had everyone laughing, the sense of relief so strong it made the moment seem much funnier than it was.
“I don’t know what Mama will say about this when she comes home,” Martha said, as she turned away from Theresa, lowering her voice and becoming serious once more. “Theresa could have died and if—” She choked on the words. “If you hadn’t been here, I don’t know what I would have done.”
Martha wiped the tears from her eyes with her nightshirt sleeve and looked at her sister, smoothing a hand across Theresa’s cheek. “I think we should lock the doors from now on, don’t you?”
*
As a chink of daylight filtered in through the thick material of the lounge curtains, Jess heard the front door slam and the sound of voices. Her ears followed the noise of the chatting as it moved to the other side of the lounge wall, into the kitchen. She sat up, feeling stiff and sore all over.
Wincing as she pulled her legs out of the sleeping bag, Jess realised she hadn’t even washed the wound on her knee. The material of her jeans was integrated into the newly formed scab and it was going to hurt, a lot, to prise them apart.
The others around her stirred and began to sit up one at a time.
“Urgh, I’m shattered,” Ash said. “That was like the most stressful night ever, and I hardly got any sleep, being on the floor.”
“Aww, poor Ash. You’re used to sleeping on luxury sprung mattresses with silk sheets, are you?” Nadia said, sticking out her bottom lip as she looked at him.
“Ha, you got me. I’m no boy scout, that’s for sure,” he said. “But neither are you, to be fair.”
“No, that’s true. But strangely, I slept like a log. After everything that happened last night, I think I just passed out,” Nadia said.
Tomma was looking at Jess’s knee and frowning. “You’re going to have to get that sorted out when we get home,” he said. “I doubt they’ll be able to do much here.”
“Isn’t Martha’s mum a nurse?” Nadia said.
“Yeah, but she’s a nurse in 1918. They can’t have been that good back then, can they?” Tomma said.
“Who said nurses in 1918 are no good, then?” a voic
e boomed. “And who the devil are you? Should I be sending for the police right now?”
Chapter 22
Saying Goodbye
The children froze as they realised Martha’s mum was standing at the door with an older girl, who must have been Martha’s sister. They each turned to look her way, offering a sheepish smile.
Tomma stood first and walked towards her offering his hand for her to shake. She looked a little surprised and amused, but took it anyway.
“Mrs Stenchion, sorry, my name is Tomma Handley. These are my friends: Ash Mundair, Jess Chadwick and Nadia Kaminski.” He pointed to the others as he spoke. “We’re friends of Martha’s and we had a bit of trouble getting home yesterday, what with the trains being cancelled and everything, so Martha offered to put us up here.”
“Yes, we’re really sorry to take up your living room. We’ll be out of your way as soon as possible. We don’t want to be any trouble,” Jess said.
“That’s quite all right. You gave me a shock, that’s all. Now, what is this you’ve done to your knee, young lady?”
Jess cringed and felt her face burning. She tried to stand up straighter but the pain was too great. “I had a fall last night,” she said, looking down at the floor.
“Last night. What were you doing to injure yourself so badly?” Mrs Stenchion asked.
“It’s a long story,” Jess said.
“And one that you might need to sit down to hear, Mama,” Martha said, as she appeared behind her mother. Martha looked close to tears again.
“My dear, whatever is the matter? You look awful,” Mrs Stenchion said. She took her daughter in her arms and led her to the sofa. Martha sat down and told her all about the previous evening. Jess watched as Martha’s mum grew pale.
“I’m okay though Mama,” Theresa said, running into the living room and throwing her arms around her mother. She was dressed now and her cheeks had some colour back in them. Her blond curls were tied back in a half ponytail, the loose ends trailing across her shoulders like a golden mane.
“Thank the Lord,” Mrs Stenchion said, enveloping Theresa in her arms and kissing the top of her head. Then she pulled away and began turning her daughter this way and that to examine her. Theresa smiled at Martha and went to sit on her knee.
Jess felt like they were intruding on a private moment. She nudged Nadia and whispered in her ear. “We should go.”
The girls started to pack away their things. Jess wincing as she tried to put weight on her foot. The boys took the hint and began putting on their coats too until Mrs Stenchion raised her hand to stop them.
“Where do you think you are going?” she asked.
Mouths opened and closed as the children stared at each other, before turning back towards Martha and her family. Martha put a hand over her mouth to stifle a giggle.
“You’re not going anywhere until I’ve taken a look at your ankle and that wound on your knee and I haven’t even had a chance to thank you all for saving my daughter. Come into the kitchen where it’s warm. I’ve some eggs old Nancy at the hospital gave me. I’m sure you’re all hungry, aren’t you?”
The children put down their things, their expressions softening, as they relaxed. They followed Mrs Stenchion into the kitchen, Jess leaning once again on Tomma for support.
“It was Jess who realised Theresa must have been sleep-walking,” Tomma said, looking proudly at her. “We might not have found her in time if she hadn’t.”
Jess raised her eyebrows and shook her head as Tomma looked at her with a goofy smile on his face. She wished he’d not put her on the spot like that. It was so embarrassing.
“It was such quick thinking, Jess. We’re so grateful to you,” Mrs Stenchion said.
“She said her mum used to do the same when she was little,” Tomma said.
“Oh, I see. Who is your mother, Jess, would I know her?”
Tomma’s mouth snapped shut and he looked at the floor as Jess glared at him.
“Probably not. We’re not from here, but we’re living in Kirkshaw at the moment,” Jess said, finding the confidence to speak up for once. “We really should get back to the station as soon as we can. We couldn’t get home yesterday because there were no trains and our parents will probably be worrying about us.”
“Yes, of course, we mustn’t keep you. Please allow me to feed you first before you get on your way. It’s the least I can do. Plus, I have a pair of crutches in the out-house. You are welcome to take those too. I’m sure you will need them.”
After toast, eggs and cups of weak, sugary tea, the children picked up their things ready to leave. They said goodbye to Theresa, Mrs Stenchion and Martha’s older sister, Elsie. Martha decided to walk them to the end of the road. Jess couldn’t help but give an extra-long cuddle to Theresa, saying her own little silent prayer that she was safe and well. Ash made Theresa laugh by tickling her. Having a younger sister of a similar age, he was used to dealing with little ones.
“There won’t be any school today, because of the big announcement yesterday. You do know there is only one train a day to Kirkshaw don’t you?” Martha said.
“Yeah, we found that out yesterday,” Nadia said. “But don’t worry about us. We’ll just hang out at the station and chill.”
Martha looked at Nadia as though she was speaking in a foreign language.
“Yes, it is very chilly, so you should keep wrapped up, but don’t hurt yourself by doing anything silly. Hanging isn’t recommended you know,” Martha said.
The children laughed.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing, just ignore us,” Jess said, stopping to rest on the wooden crutches and turning to Martha. “Thank you so much for looking out for us and giving us a place to stay. We really would have been lost without you. It’s been so lovely meeting you.” She could feel her eyes burning as they filled with hot tears.
“You’re not coming back, are you?” Martha said.
“I’m afraid not,” Jess said sadly. “And I’ll miss you.”
“I’ll miss you too,” Martha said, hugging Jess.
Jess tried to breathe through the urge to cry. She waved at Martha before she set off with her friends towards the station, albeit at a slow pace in order for her to keep up with them.
“What a strange couple of days this has been,” Nadia said. “I can’t wait to go home and have a shower and do my hair, I feel disgusting.”
“You don’t look it,” Ash said, with a wink.
“Yeah? Well, I feel it and that’s all that counts.”
“Nadia, you’re so funny,” Jess said.
“You don’t know what it’s like having hair that can’t make up its mind if it wants to be curly or straight and ends up being a big frizzy mess instead.”
“I love your hair,” Jess said warmly. “I’d swap it for this any day.” She pulled at the ends of her auburn locks.
“Your hair is gorgeous. It’s just like Martha’s,” Nadia said.
“No, it is not!”
“It is!” Nadia, Ash and Tomma said at the same time.
Jess thought about Martha and her lovely family and thought she might start to cry again. She hobbled along in silence.
“Do you think we’ll get into trouble when we get home?” Jess said after a while.
“Your guess is as good as mine,” said Tomma. “We have to get home first though.”
Chapter 23
Did You Miss Me?
The station guard they had met the previous day was back on duty, and when she confirmed the train to Kirkshaw was operating and would be leaving at four o’clock, she was met with a cheer all around. Clearly confused, but too polite to ask, she merely smiled at the children and asked if they wanted to sit in the waiting room by the fire. Glad of the warmth, they agreed.
With no money to buy any food, the children were hungry as well as cold. It was going to be a long day. The station guard must have felt sorry for them because when she returned from her lunch break, she made them all a cu
p of tea.
“I don’t think I’ve ever drunk so much tea,” Nadia said with a giggle.
*
The station was strangely deserted and when the train arrived, they made their way automatically to the end of the platform, getting on the last carriage. They settled down for the journey, hoping they had done everything they needed in order to make it home.
“I’ll kind of miss this train,” Nadia said. “We aren’t doing this again, right?”
“No way,” Tomma said.
“Absolutely not,” Jess said, shaking her head.
“No!” Ash yelled.
The reply was unanimous and it made Nadia chuckle.
“I know what you mean, though,” Tomma said. “It’s kind of cool travelling like this and being able to sit down for the journey for once.”
“Not standing under someone’s stinky armpit, you mean,” Nadia said, curling her nose.
Ash jumped up. “Yeah and being able to stick your head out of the window like this.”
“Ash! Stop it,” Jess grabbed his coat and pulled him back.
Ash was laughing but she was not impressed. “Just teasing, Jessie.” He ruffled her hair.
“Well, I don’t think it’s funny,” Jess said, smoothing down her hair then folding her arms across her chest.
“Think someone’s tired and grumpy,” Ash said as if he was talking to a toddler.
Jess stuck her tongue out at him.
“Of course she is, Ash, we all are. Leave her alone you big bully,” Nadia said.
Ash sat back down on the bench next to Nadia and opposite Tomma, who moved closer to Jess and put his arm around her. Nadia raised her eyebrows, but Jess ignored her and rested her head on Tomma’s shoulders. The gentle rocking of the train was making her sleepy and she was so tired it was a struggle to stay awake. She felt herself drifting off. . .
