Circle of Arms (The Shades of Northwood 2)

by Wendy Maddocks

  Getting the X-rays took a lot longer than she had expected even though she was taken straight in. None of the waiting around she had done with Dan, and it didn’t take half as long really as her little sisters’ fractured ankle. It just felt like longer when it was happening to you. When she was out of the room and told just to sit tight until the X-rays came back, Katie excused herself from the hawk-like nurse to go to the bathroom and made her way back to the treatment rooms. Room 4. Dina was awake, sitting up and giggling with her dad over some stupid television show they had found. There was a beeping monitor attached to her thumb and a drip of clear fluid n her arm, but none of the other machines. Apart from clean bandages in her wrists, there seemed to be nothing wrong with Dina. Katie probably needed the bed more than she did. Just as Katie was beginning to slink away, Dina caught her eye and mouthed let them fight.

  What? Were her lip reading skills that bad? Dr de Rossa came up behind her at that moment and touched her shoulder, motioning her back to the waiting area. He then brought Adam into their merry little group and they headed into Room £ where Lainy was waiting outside. Room 3 was the first room she had seen of the medical centre, not too long ago, when she had near as dammit gouged her uncles eye out. At least she knew there was nothing to be scared of in this clean, sterile, but somehow friendly room. He stuck something in her arm which she didn’t feel, showed her pictures of her bones which she didn’t see, said words that she didn’t hear and then got to work preparing plaster. Maybe it was the wicked strength painkillers she had been given. Lainy held her wrist steady and wet plaster and cotton wool packing wrapped her from elbow to fingers. She ate the cheese, lettuce, mayo and crushed crisp sandwich Adam had made without really tasting it. It was probably good.

  “You’ll probably feel a little light headed for a while. I advise you to stay off your feet for an hour or so.” Dr de Rossa flicked the brakes on a wheelchair and Lainy held her arm out to help Katie into it. She just looked from her friend to the chair. “As you saw, your friend is awake now so I’ll put you together while you rest. I’m sure you two have lots to catch up on.”

  “I’m fine. I can walk next door.”

  “With morphine in your system? I might as well run a book on whether you’d get there,” Adam said. “I’m putting fifty on the floor.”

  “Hospital policy I’m afraid, Miss Cartwright.”

  “Yes, Alejandro,” Katie sighed, resigned. The drugs were making her want to giggle at that. Using the doctors’ first name seemed like the ultimate in bucking authority right then. She took the offered arm and lowered herself into the chair, feeling suddenly like a victim again. It was not a pleasant feeling and one she hoped would never return. Letting Lainy wheel her into Room 4 and then on to the bed next to Dina was humiliating. She felt defenceless, useless, dependant on others. And the worst bit? Katie felt absolutely fine. She didn’t need all this attention.

  “Elaine, I think we should have that word now.” Dr de Rossa swept out of the room. Lainy squeezed Adams hand, grinned nervously at him and turned to follow him.

  “We’ll see you at home Katie. Come on, let’s see what he’s got for me.”

  She raised one hand to wave. The sling tied around her neck was a little itchy next to her skin, folded over the top of her t-shirt and pulled to the side Katie found she could lie back and rest her head on the pillow. Much more comfortable. Mr Bayliss had left the hospital at some point during her plastering session, so all that disturbed the peace was the steady beep beep beep of a monitor and the inane chatter of some talk show on television. It was so soothing and unthought-provoking, and combined with the drugs making their way though her veins, that Katie was in real danger of falling to sleep when Dina started speaking.

  “There’s nothing more you can do, you know.”

  “Huh? Oh, hey, D. Feeling better?” Which struck Katie immediately as a stupid question but her brain was feeling a bit fuzzy.

  “Tons. But you’ve done enough now.”

  “Oh, that’s good. I’m kind of tired.”

  “I’m not sure what you actually did for me, but I know it’s you I have to thank.”

  “I’m not sure what I did either. Can’t think straight.”

  “They probably gave you something to help you sleep. I heard them talking. You look tired, Katie.”

  “I’ll be okay in a minute. I just need to rest.”

  “Me too. We’ll sleep while our friends go to war.”

  “War?” Katie settled her head back on the raised pillows. She had a vague idea that the word was a bad one. Her eyelids started to slide shut.

  Shortly before midday, Katie woke up and found herself staring up at bare light bulbs and a clinical, white ceiling. It was suspiciously clean and there were no cracks, so it definitely wasn’t her bedroom ceiling. There was a soft snoring coming from a few feet to her left. There was a thin girl lying asleep in the next bed. It was artificially warm in the room, and she couldn’t move her right arm, it being strapped to her chest. But nevertheless, she tried, and as a strange tingling invaded her wrist memory came seeping back. She had broken her wrist in a fire drill, the girl next to her was Dina and she was sharing her hospital room. That was all. But there was somewhere she had to be; something she had to do. Knowing exactly what that was seemed unimportant. Her itchy feet seemed to know where they were taking her and somehow Katie was certain that knowledge would make the journey to her brain in good time. She swung herself off the bed – it was higher than anticipated – and she clung to the edge of the mattress for a minute trying to get her balance. Then she eased her bandaged arm out of the sling to pull her jacket on and reslung it inside, after a panicked moment of wondering how to zip up one-handed. She brushed hands with Dina as she passed, letting her gaze linger on the girls’ own bandages.

  We match.

  Then Katie was out of the quiet, echoey hospital and jogging down the street. The sequence of turns and changes in ground style told her where she was going more than landmarks. It was her athlete’s brain taking over again. Shimma. That’s where she was heading. The plan for when she got there? Well, whatever might be waiting for her when she got to the club was unknown – it could be literally anything. So the plan… no, she didn’t have one of those. Unless seeing what was on offer and deciding whether to fight or flee counted. And what if it was all over by the time she got there? Something terrible would happen if that was true, Katie was sure of it.

  And then she was outside the heavy doors. She knocked on the glass, pulled on the handles even though one pull told her they were locked, and banged the door, shouting for somebody to come let her in. No-one came. Finally, frustrated, she gave the door one last yank and kicked it, sending her foot into shock and hopping backwards on the other and hoping she didn’t have a broken toe as well. “OW! Oh, for the love of – shit!” And then a spark of inspiration hit and it was so obvious, she should have tried it first. Katie slotted herself into the shadowed recess beside the main doors and felt for the round hole which served as a handle in the wooden door – the staff entrance she thought. The door opened and Katie snuck in. Closing it behind her would keep the cold out but it would also mean sealing her in here if anything went wrong. So she left it open just a crack. Then through the slanted door to her right which led to the main room. She opened that next, half expecting the chaos she had walked into the first time – music, bright lights – but there was only darkness and silence and cold. She took a few steps forward, jumping about a foot when the door slammed shut behind her. There were some switches on the wall and she found on with a LIGHTS sticker on it – red stars – and flipped it. The only light it threw out was those cute blue and green fairy lights. Not brilliant. And not exactly threatening if she needed to be fearsome.

  Come let’s fight by fairy light.

  It wasn’t even funny in her head.

  Katie was hunting all around for a weapon and was currently behind the bar – she had discarded the idea of strangling She with a yar
d of found electrical flex – when a hand rapped it’s knuckles on the wooden bar. Shimma was standing there, his peroxide hair glowing like an angel on acid.

  “Either you’re really dedicated or –“

  “It’s an emergency.”

  “Or that. What’s going on, girl?”

  “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you. Have my friends been here? Have you seen them?”

  “You look like you’re out for blood.” He was closer to the truth than she wanted to tell him. “Guessing it’s revenge on who-ever did that?” Shimma gestured to her wrist.

  “I’ll be fine for work. No worries about that. Have –“

  “I never worry. Well, sometimes I do but not ‘bout you. You’s not the quitting type.”

  “Much as I’d like to - I haven’t got time for a chat, Shimma.” Every second he kept speaking to her, he was keeping her from… something. Something that definitely wasn’t good, at any rate. “Have you seen anything of my friends? Heard any noises? I think they might be in trouble?”

  “Three of them?” Shimma nodded and offered his hand to Katie, tiptoeing through the unpacked boxes and crates. “They’ll be fine. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”

  Three? Jaye, Jack and… who? Could he see the ghostly She? Had She taken over another human body. And she still had to mention about the Tazer she had stolen from his desk and that (probably) Jaye had swiped it from her. God, she was so getting fired today.”

  “Them?” He pointed to three people walking out of the gloom, side by side. Jaye, Jack and Leo. Jaye looked pretty much like Katie imagined she did - untidy, exhausted, fierce. Jack - Jack looked like always – gorgeous, heroic, a little bit sad. He was, Katie realised, trying to protect her – trying to keep his beautiful Lady Katie out of his pain, his history. She wasn’t that easy to protect. And then to the surprise member of the group. Leo was the last person Katie had expected to see in the middle of this. One glance at him told her that he was the last person who had expected to be here. On closer inspection she decided that Leo had enjoyed whatever he had been part of. There was a new fire in his eyes. He was a boy who had found something worth fighting for. Whether it was for right and wrong, or for his own life, it was worth it.

  Until now, the three of them had not been the best of friends. Jack had drained energy from Dina, earning Jaye’s hatred, Leo was basically an obnoxious shit whit made everyone turn against him; and Jaye had had the pleasure of being punched – very nearly – in the face by Leo for not believing in God. It was hard thinking of three people less likely to forge a cute little trio who trusted their lives to each other – perhaps Mr Bean, Xena Warrior Princess and Buzz Lightyear. But right now… Walking underneath hundreds of tiny blue and green lights which made the world look nothing less than spectacular. And they suddenly looked perfect.

  “She’s gone.” Leo was the first to break the silence. “We sent that bitch back!”

  “”Are you all okay? She didn’t hurt anyone, did she?” She was looking at Jaye when she said that. She was the one who had been hurt most of all. Having a huge, dark soul squashed into your brain must have been horrid – seeing what She was making her do and being powerless to stop it. It made her shudder just to think of it.

  “I know what She – what I did,” Jaye whispered hoarsely. “I was so horrible to you. I said some stuff, did some stuff, that I wouldn’t have done if I’d been myself. I am sorry for all of that but…”

  “Don’t be sorry. You’ve got nothing to apologise for. We all know none of it was your fault.”

  “I know it’s all true though.”

  But the words got lost in the confusion of voices as the menfolk started talking between themselves and Katie only half-heard Jaye.

  “…couldn’t really see her,” Jack was saying. “But I felt this chilly bit in the air, like a hole in the warmth. So I knew she was there.”

  “Bitch don’t like electricity.”

  “Oh, wait, where’d it go?”

  Leo held a bright yellow thing in one hand. Shimma reached for it and plucked it out of his hand. He didn’t seem to want to give it up but his grip opened when he realised, sharply, that Jack could still elbow him in the ribs and he would feel it.

  “Glad to be of service. I wasn’t completely sure it’d work.”

  As if just noticing her, Jack rushed over to Katie and took her good hand, rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

  “No,” she answered before he asked anything. “I have a broken wrist, bruises from here to God-knows-where, I’ve been shot, I went to another world and watched people throwing themselves off a cliff, my days are an endless cycle of study, sleep, and saving lives-“ and then she ran out of steam. There was much more she could say. “No, I’m not alright.”

  Chapter fifteen

  “Do you really wanna know what happened?” Jack and Katie were walking back to the academy, and had decided to grab a sub and eat lunch in the athletics stadium before afternoon classes began.

  She thought about it. Did she truly want to know? Sometimes it was better to live in ignorance. Whether this was one of those times… she had no idea. It would just make it harder to deny any of this had happened – like that was a possibility now. But Katie had been planning to lock all this knowledge away in a mind-box and not bring it back out until she was legally old enough to know any of it, by the screwed up rules of the town. And now what had she gone and done? She had been in fights she hadn’t even started, tried to rescue lost souls because they had put faith in her, given a girl free reign to kill some-one in exchange for people she loved, had faced an ugly death in a world no-one alive knew about. Katie hadn’t wanted any of it. It was, however, better than festering in Worth, living in a stagnant comfort zone of the college her school-mates were attending, the town where so many people knew her and felt sorry for her; where people treated her with care and caution and censored everything they said and did in case it hurt her feelings. “Not yet.”

  He laced his fingers with the bits wiggling over the top of her bandage. “You’re finishin’ the day? Broken bones, perfect excuse for a day off.”

  “Tempting as that sounds, I should at least try to get through the afternoon. Besides, what could we do with the day that wouldn’t get at least one of us in trouble?”

  Jack arched his eyebrows and tried to play the innocent card. It wasn’t working. Both of their minds had leapt to the same conclusion – that they would spend the time snuggled up together, kissing and cuddling until the moon began to rise. Which would be a fine thing if they didn’t know that Katie would lose all memory of Jack and God knew what else if their lips so much as touched. She didn’t believe he wanted to remove things from her head. The way he looked at her – green eyes heavy with shadows and secrets that were too much to carry alone – told her that much. It was just a rule. Another one. There was something about her still being underage that meant she wasn’t supposed to know Shades existed and intimacy was a way of making her forget about them. Totally messed up, if you asked Katie. If people wanted to raid her brain then surely basic ethics would demand she gave permission first.

  So why did she remember being with Jack in the Other Place? She remembered every touch, every smile, every moment they had shared. And now she knew how good, how right, it felt to kiss him, she never wanted to give that up. “Jack? When we were in that place…I remember it all. The good bits and the bad.”

  He looked a bit sad at that. Not surprised, just sad. “Humans were never meant to go there. I can’t take that away. I wish I could, there’s so much you shouldn’t have to know.”

  She could read it in his face. Under the scar and Stetson, he was a teenage boy with 150 years of pain behind him. However much he wanted to make this all better, he couldn’t and Katie wouldn’t have let him. She was dragged into this fight the day she got to Northwood, and she was in it for a reason. So she couldn’t afford to put her clarity of mind at risk. She couldn’t kiss Jack again.

  “I can’
t believe Mom never told me I should have brothers.”

  “Maybe she was tryin’ to protect you. Y’know, so you didn’t get upset.”

  “They were my family! You should be told the truth about family, whether it’s nice or not.”

  “She probably didn’t really want to talk about it either. Parents shouldn’t have to watch their own kids die. Shouldn’t have to go to their funeral.”

  “Sorry, I didn’t think.” Katie chewed her bottom lip and started picking dirt out of her fingernails. For some reason, she felt very guilty. Jack had had a funeral and his mother had had to see her own son buried. “We did something good, didn’t we?”

  “Lady Katie, listen to that.”

  She put her sub down and listened. All she could hear was the buzz of activity from the track and field below her and snatches of conversation from the other al fresco diners. What was she supposed to be hearing? The girls sitting next to them and moaning about the lack of eye candy in their class? The absence of something nice to look at during double maths was a talking point but not exactly important. Was it the group at the bottom of the benches – a teacher congratulating his students on excellent exam results? Maybe it was the tall red-haired boy telling his coach about a talented student who could fill that empty place, right on the other side of the track?

  Wait.

  Why could she hear that? Katie took a breath and opened her mouth to speak. Before a sound could come out, Jack covered her eyes with one hand and out his other hand on the back of her head.

  Stop listening with your ears.

  Well, listening to anything was pretty difficult without ears. Katie clung to that slippery logic.

  Don’t fight me, Lady Katie. Relax. You’re safe now.

  And her grip fell away. Nothing would hurt her. Chill reality was out there, existing for other people. Her thoughts felt sluggish and syrup-thick – the remnants of the pain-killers – and detaching from the real world was hard, harder than it had ever been before. She was numb to pain in her wrist and ribs but dimly aware that it was there and that anchored her to reality. Impending pain and constant fear that somebody was going to come along and rip her world apart. But she was with Jack and nothing would hurt. He wouldn’t let it.