It wasn’t just covering my modesty that I suggested this. I figured that no one would really be around so it would be a good chance for us to talk. But just as I was about to speak, her phone rang. She turned the screen to show me that it was Dominic’s mum. I nodded as encouragement that she should answer it. I stepped into the further cubicle away from her, to give her some privacy, but I could still hear what was being said. Dominic’s mum had phoned to inform Natalie that a funeral had already been arranged for the following week. This felt too soon but I respected that it was their decision. I’d expected that as this was a suspicious death, it’d be longer to wait. Then I heard her phone drop with a clank onto the tiled floor. Flinging open the cubicle door, I saw that she’d collapsed. I knelt down next to her, trying to nudge her awake. I ran out into the corridor and yelled for help. Within moments, Miss Hogg was there.
‘Grace, what happened?’
‘I don’t know miss, one minute she was on the phone to Dominic’s mum then, after the call ended she passed out. I was in the cubicle getting changed.’
Miss Hogg grabbed a sweater I’d dropped and formed it into a cushion to gently place under Natalie’s head, whilst checking for a pulse and whether she was still breathing. She moved her into the recovery position as I phoned for an ambulance.
We didn’t have to wait too long for paramedics to arrive and take her away, Miss Hogg going with her, promising to update me. Perhaps everything had got too much for her. I sat down on the floor of the lady’s toilets, to rest. Out the corner of my eye I noticed a piece of brown cloth. I wondered if Natalie or Miss Hogg had dropped it as it wasn’t mine.. As I knelt down to pick it up, a strong smell infused my nostrils. It was citrus and pine and it was so strong, I got an instant headache and my vision began to go blurry. As I staggered out of the bathroom to get some clearer air, I realised that Natalie must have caught a whiff of this concoction and that’s what caused her to faint. There was no one about to try help me, as I staggered along the corridor. As I made it to the exit, everything went black, again.
Chapter 15
I came to in a room unfamiliar to me. It was pitch dark and the ground underneath me was cold. My phone began to ring and as I reached for it, I realised that my wrists had been tied together in front of me.
‘Hello?’ I cried out. I yelled again, but still no one replied and no one came to my aid. I moved my feet and, luckily, they had not been tied. Moving slowly into a sitting position, I felt the remnants of the headache still lingering. I reached my right foot out to see if there was anything nearby; the strap to my bag was at the bottom by my feet. As best as I could with my wrists bound together, I searched through my bag for the little pocket torch I always carry with me. I found it and switched it on, moving it about to try to work out where I might be. With the awkwardness of moving a beam around with bound hands, I could Just about make out chairs and that there was a high ceiling. I was in the college auditorium. I presumed that it was Daniel who had put me here, but where was he now?
‘Help me!’ I called out as loudly as I could.
This time someone heard me.
I heard a door swing open.
‘Grace? Grace, is that you down there?’ I instantly recognised that voice.
‘Ben! Help me! My wrists have been tied up!’
He ran down the stairs and climbed up to where I was.
‘Oh Grace, I’m sorry I didn’t get to you quick enough – again! I heard what happened to Natalie and had to come and find you.’
His hair lit up, shining light around us. I was right in the centre of the stage. His nails turned to claws and cut the ropes. They turned back into nails as he flung his arms around me.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I reached for it and saw a number flashing across the screen that I didn’t recognise. Then I remembered I was expecting a call from Miss Hogg.
‘Hello?’
‘Grace, it’s Sharon Hogg. I’m calling to let you know Natalie has come around.’
A huge sigh of relief came over me knowing Natalie was going to be okay. I’d worried that she’d got a much stronger whiff from that cloth and what that might have done to her.
‘Did they say what was wrong with her?’ I asked just out of curiosity.
‘The doctor has taken some tests but we’re waiting on the results. She is asking for you, if you could come and see her.’
As soon as I heard that, I told Miss Hogg I would be right there. I wondered if Ben had snuck in to see Natalie and healed her, but this was not the time to ask about all this. I needed to see my friend first and see if she remembered anything. Ben looked right into my eyes as if he was trying to read what was on my mind.
‘I healed her.’
I was thankful and relieved. But then the feeling of vulnerability that had led me to be caught by Daniel, washed over me.
Again, he seemed to read my mind. ‘I’m sorry though, I should have been there for you first.’
‘Oh no, thank you for saving her.’ I had to make him aware that I did appreciate what he’d
