“Up or down?” Jason asked, pointing with his nose in both directions.
“Well, Lottie was upstairs and I didn’t see her mum there, so I suppose we should go down.” The thought filled Val with dread. Cellars rarely had more than one in and out door.
“You lead.” Jason moved in behind Val. She made her way towards the furthest door and turned the handle. It opened first time and quite smoothly. Inside, Val instantly heard a muffled noise.
“She’s here,” Val whispered, looking at Jason. The two drew closer and took one step at a time. Val could feel the sweat dripping down her hand onto the sword. As they reached the bottom step, they saw a faint glow around the end of the staircase.
“Well, he isn’t behind us, and it doesn’t sound as if he is in front, so let’s go,” Jason said.
Turning the corner they emerged into a dimly lit room, in the centre of which was a gagged woman who was tied to a chair. When she saw Val, her eyes filled with tears. She was labouring to breathe with the gag tight around her mouth and getting so emotional didn’t help. Val hurried straight over to pull it off.
“Please, don’t leave me,” the woman sobbed.
“We won’t, I promise. Are you Lottie’s mum?” The woman’s face went pale as she looked at Val.
“He has Charlotte, here?” “Yes, she was tied up upstairs, but she is safe now. We have her outside.” Val spoke to the woman as Jason frantically tried to get the woman’s hands free.
“I was shopping when he grabbed me, but Charlotte was in the car and I thought that he wouldn’t find her.” The woman was shaking and obviously deeply traumatised. “How did you find me?” She looked from Val to Jason with a puzzled expression.
“We heard Lottie from the street and came to investigate,” Val said in such a convincing tone she nearly believed it herself.
“Is it day or night? I can’t remember. I don’t even know how long I’ve been here.” The woman was looking around her as if disorientated by the whole situation.
“Look at me. I’m Val, this is Jason, and it’s Monday the 11th about 5.30 p.m. Now, let’s get you out of here. How’s it going Jason?” Val looked to Jason for support.
“I think this bloke is a sailor. I can’t get these knots undone,” Jason answered without shifting his eyes from the rope.
“Well at least we’re alone.” Val smiled at the woman.
“No we aren’t!” she screamed at Val, but it was too late. The thug had crept up on them as they were talking. He was not only large, but agile as well. Val didn’t have time to turn before she was pulled off the ground, causing her to drop the sword, which instantly retracted. The next she felt was the wall that stopping her flight through the air. The breath left her body as she dropped to the floor.
When she managed to get back on her feet, Jason was hitting the man around the chest area; he couldn’t reach any higher. Val was on the move again. She needed her sword back, but it was on the other side of the room, and between her and it, were two men fighting. It didn’t last long. Val looked on in horror as the thug lifted Jason off the ground and shook him like a puppet, before he throwing him across the room. Jason lay motionless on the ground and the thug was on his way towards her again.
“What now?” Val thought looking around her, frantically searching for an escape route. Spotting a furnace in the corner behind her, she ran to it. Looking through the glass, she could see a small flame burning. Maybe, just maybe, she could use it. She opened the door and placed her hand into the flames.
Val focused intensely and when she pulled her hand out she had what looked like a tennis ball of fire resting on her palm. She waited for some sort of pain, but nothing happened. If she hadn’t been quite so scared she would probably have thought that this moment was extremely cool, but there was no time for that. Turning towards the moving thug, she raised her hand and smiled at him. He stopped, wary of her, astonished by what she was doing. The woman, who was still on the chair, was now clearly in a state of shock, and Jason hadn’t made the slightest move.
“OK, we can do this the easy way or we can do it the hard way.” Val waved the ball of fire at him. The thug registered what she was saying for a second or two then burst into gut-wrenching laughter.
Val lifted the ball to shoulder height and threw it with all her strength. Watching the ball fly through the air gave her a wonderful sense of satisfaction that she was at last taking some control of her powers. The thug, still laughing, moved very slightly; the ball of fire flew past his head and hit the opposite wall. Val thought she was going to die of embarrassment and the thug could now hardly stand up due to laughing so hard.
Val wasn’t going to have this. The woman needs to be rescued and reunited with her daughter, and Jason needed an ambulance. She had grown tired of this man. She turned once more and reached into the furnace. With the anger now raging through her body, she pulled out another ball of fire
“What now?” The thug taunted her. “Remember, three strikes and you are out.”
As Val started walking, it became very apparent that her temper was directly linked to her powers. The flames began to caress her, skipping up and down her clothes as she made her way towards the now not-so-cheerful thug. By the time she reached him, her whole body was on fire.
“Stop!” he screamed.
“Did Lottie say stop? Did her mum say stop?” Val asked, pointing a flaming arm at the woman who was sitting very still in the chair. “I told you once and I won’t tell you again: pick on someone your own size.” Val smashed both her flaming hands onto the thug’s pounding chest, and he was on fire. He turned to run. She struck him again from behind. His look was beginning to resemble Val’s, although he wasn’t flameproof.
The thug pulled away from Val’s flaming grip and ran from the cellar leaving Val with the woman still tied up, and Jason out cold on the floor. Val ran to Jason’s side, picking up her sword on the way.
“Jason, Jason, wake up,” Val cried. As she reached out to touch him, the flames petered out and she was once again back to normal.
“What?” Jason said shaking his head and starting to lift himself up.
“Are you OK?” Val grabbed his arm and started to pull him to his feet.
“Where is the man?” Jason looked around.
“He’s gone and you need to get out of here too, with her.” Val pointed to the woman who was still sitting open-mouthed.
“What about you?” Jason grabbed Val’s hand. “What happens to you?”
“I need to go back the way I came.” Val smiled as she held her hand out to the woman. “This will definitely freak you out, although I think the damage is already done,” “Give my love to Lottie.” The spark flashed and she was gone.
Val landed back at the shop in time to hear the clock chime six. “Wow, that was quick. I must be getting good at this.” Val grinned as she walked towards the front of the shop. Making her way to the counter, she grabbed her handbag and pulled out her phone, switched it on and started to dial.
“Hello Shane,” Val said, unsure of his reaction after last night’s episode.
“Hello! How did it go, did the others find you?” Shane obviously hadn’t heard from Delta and Jason yet. Teleporting was the quickest form of travel.
“They did find me, and we are all OK. Jason may need a few bandages, but between us we saved a little girl and her mum.” Val felt a lump form in her throat. It had been quite an emotional hour and although she was glad they were all OK, she still had issues to resolve with the others. “I will come over in a few minutes; I just have to finish off here.” Val closed her phone and slipped it back into her bag.
Glancing down at the necklace, she realised she had forgotten that this was what they had used to find her. Maybe she wasn’t supposed to be alone. Maybe they were a team and, as much as Val wanted to run from them, they were going to keep on following her. She had to admit that she like that idea and Jason, Shane, Delta and Sam were big enough to make choices for themselves.
Val prepared to close the shop for a second time. Locking up behind her, she turned to walk down the steps and was greeted by Delta who was sitting on the bonnet of her mini and smiling.
“How did you get here so fast?” Val looked surprised.
“Well, while you and Jason were doing Starsky and Hutch, I got Lottie to call the cops. They arrived just as the crazy man came running out of the house covered in flames. Good job by the way,” Delta gave Val a thumbs up. “They raided the house and found Jason and Lottie’s mum making their way out of the cellar.” Delta jumped off the bonnet and opened the door for Val. “Val, stuff happens and we all make mistakes. This has been a learning curve for us all and I want to say the ‘S’ word for how I behaved last night, but I can’t.” Delta stood back and opened her arm to invite Val to get in.
“Do you mean sorry?” Val smiled as she jumped in.
“No, it was ‘S’ for shopping, but if you want to say sorry, then thanks.” Delta started the car and pulled away in a screech of tyres. “We need to get to the hospital.”
“What’s wrong?” Val tensed up. “Is it Lottie?” “No, Lottie and her mum will be fine. It’s Jason. He was having problems breathing when he came out, so the police were dropping him off at the hospital and Shane was going to meet him there. I thought maybe you would like to see him.”
“Delta, what do you think Jason thinks of me?” Val asked, not looking at Delta. She kept her eyes firmly on the view out of the window of the car.
“Do you want my opinion?”
“Yes.”
“OK, when he called me about you, he was in a really bad way. He couldn’t get to you quick enough and I could tell it was more than just a friendly ‘let’s all go to the pub together’.” Delta looked at Val and smiled. “I think he likes you. Why don’t you ask him and find out?”
“What if he doesn’t like me? Maybe he just feels sorry for me. I couldn’t cope and then I would lose a friend who means a lot to me.”
“Val, you need to make that decision for yourself. I can’t answer that one.” Delta changed gear as they slipped onto the motorway. “Now tell me all about your lovely blue cheeks, Alien.”
Val let out a laugh. She could never have left Delta; there was no-one quite like her for making the biggest problems feel silly.
As they sped along, Val’s mobile started to ring. It was her mother.
“Hi Mum,” Val answered. “No, I won’t be home for tea. Me and the Yank are spending some quality time together if that’s OK?” She smiled at Delta. “Yes, I will be home, but not till later. Love you too.” Val flipped the phone shut and sat back to think exactly how she was going to tell Jason just how she felt.
“Jason Walker please?” Val said to the woman behind the desk at Accident and Emergency.
“Take a seat. He is being seen to now,” she said, not even lifting her eyes from the screen in front of her.
“Thanks.” Val grabbed Delta and they went to sit down.
“Maybe you could get them to look at your face while we are here. You know, a bit of foundation would cover that up.” Delta kindly offered Val a pot of brown liquid from her bag, which Val tactfully turned down.
“Coffee?” Val asked, pointing to a vending machine in the corner of the waiting room.
“No, it’s not.” Delta shook her head and they both giggled together.
Val sat on her plastic chair, working through in her mind what she was going to say. She went through a few scenarios and decided that she would wait until everyone had left and they could be alone, so she could tell him exactly how she felt.
“Hey girls.” Val looked up to see Shane standing over them. Jumping to her feet, she grabbed him. Shane led them into the ward area, peeling Val off. “Jason has a few broken ribs and I think a bruised ego because he wasn’t awake while you beat up the big guy, so don’t be too hard on him.” Shane smiled at Val.
She was starting to get a deep churning feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her nerves were going to get the better of her.
“He’s in here, just don’t make too much of a fuss, OK?”
The girls found Jason sitting on a bed with a bandage around his chest.
“Hello Jason.” Val walked over, so she was closest to him.
“I’m so sorry I wasn’t more help, Val.” Jason looked at the floor.
“Hey, you kept him busy while I set myself on fire,” Val said playfully, hoping this would make him feel a little better.
“Hi Jason. Hope you feel better soon. I need to get a drink.” Delta turned, winked at Val and walked out of the room.
“Bye Delta, thanks for visiting, I think,” Jason said, looking up just in time to watch Delta exiting.
Val could feel the heat of embarrassment starting to burn her cheeks so she decided to go for it before she passed out.
“Jason,” Val said gently.
“Yes Val?”
“I need to talk to you about something important.” Val’s heart was now lodged in her throat.
“Is everything OK?” Jason said.
“Yes fine, I just need to tell you something.” Val took a step towards Jason and then she heard a noise. The toilet in the room was being flushed. Shane and Delta were outside so who was in there?
“Val, what do you want to talk about?” Jason didn’t seem bothered that the toilet door was opening and so the bells started to ring in Val’s head.
“Jason, when can we go home, baby?” said a female voice from behind the toilet door.
“In a minute, Fran. Just talking to my mate Val,” Jason replied.
Mate! Did he just call me, mate?’ Val could feel the anger in her heart as a super model came from behind the door.
“Val, I have heard so many nice things about you, I’m Francesca,” she said offering Val her hand.
“I have never heard anything about you,” Val retorted. Fran uncomfortably pulled her hand back. Val watched aghast as this girl, with her perfect auburn hair and amazing good looks, sat down on the bed next to Jason. For a split second, Val imagined setting her on fire and then blowing her up.
“Val, this is my girlfriend, Francesca. She is here on holiday.”
Val just looked at them.
“She arrived as a surprise today,” Jason explained.
Who was he trying to convince that he didn’t know she was coming? Val thought.
“Well, I will leave you two love birds to it then.” Val turned to walk out of the room.
“I thought you wanted to talk to me?” Jason called after her.
“It can wait,” Val replied despondently. As she reached the door, the tears were already welling in her eyes.
“Bye Val. I hope we meet again soon,” Francesca called. Val carried on without responding. She knew it would have shown in her voice that she was crying.
Delta was waiting at reception with Shane. Val could see straight away that Delta had been informed of ‘its‘ arrival.
Val composed herself and said to Delta, “I think I would like to go home now.”
Delta nodded.
“Will I see you tomorrow, Val?” Shane asked.
“Yes, we need to do some translating. I found some information I think will help and I need you to pass on a message to Sam for me,” Val said in a more businesslike tone.
“See you in the morning then.” Shane went back towards his son’s room.
As Val left the hospital, she thought it ironic that she had arrived with a healthy heart yet was leaving with a broken one.
Delta grabbed Val’s hand and squeezed it hard as they left the building. They only released each other as they reached the car. The journey home was in silence as Val stared out of the car window watching the world pass her by.
“Here we are Val. I’m so sorry about what happened. If it’s any consolation, I think you are way cooler than whoever she is.” Delta leaned over and looked up at Val as she exited the car silently.
“It’s OK, Delta. He never said he liked me and he neve
r said he didn’t have a girlfriend. It’s just my luck.” Val turned away, shutting the car door before Delta could make any more attempts at making her feel better. “Hi Mum!” Val shouted up the hall.
“Hi honey. How are you feeling?” Susan called back from the kitchen.
“Great. Where’s Dad?”
“He has had to work late. This new client of his wants his house building double time. Your father reckons it’s a bit odd, but he has paid cash so who would say no?” Susan had made her way to greet Val at the front door. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, just my face is a bit sore.” Val looked at her mum as the tears slowly started to roll down her cheeks.
“Come on, let’s get some hot chocolate.” Susan put her arm around Val’s shoulder and led her into the kitchen. Five minutes later Val was served a piping hot chocolate with whipped cream, marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles, while her mum told her all the church gossip.
It was nice just to listen to the inane goings on of the local women. It distracted Val from the pain in her heart for a while.
“Well, your dad is obviously going to be very late, so I’m going to retire,” Susan said. Val nodded in agreement and they said their goodnights as they walked upstairs.
“Val was relieved to be in her own familiar environment. Taking off her clothes, she slipped on her pyjamas. Had she really been that close to making a total fool of herself, of letting someone who called her ‘mate’ break her heart? “Stupid idiot,” Val hissed at herself as she climbed into bed. As she pushed the button to set her alarm, she wasn’t sure what her sleep would bring, but she had a tight hold on her sword. If she was getting beaten up in her dreams, maybe she could try and take her weapon with her. Val closed her eyes and after a long day, she was fast asleep within seconds.
She woke with the bleating tones of the alarm and, for a change, she felt completely rested. It was a glorious morning and even though the previous day’s events were pretty hideous, she was prepared to let it go and get on with her weird and wonderful life as ‘Val the defender of something’.
She was pleasantly surprised at how quickly her face was healing. As she headed out of the house and made her way to the bus stop, her mobile started to ring. It was Delta. Val didn’t feel like talking just yet, so she let it go to answer machine.
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