Darker London

Kenzie had never been a hero.

( ... )

A doctor tried to shine a light into her eyes as Kenzie was trying to get to Joss. "I'm fine," she insisted. "I don't need help, I don't need lights, just let me go and see Joss."

He was not the first person to shine lights into her face. The paramedics had done it when the ambulance arrived, and they'd put a neck brace on her too, which was really irritating. Kenzie was aware of an echo of Teagan's pain in her neck - all over her body, really, but to Kenzie it was just an annoying echo and not something that was going to stop her getting to Joss.

( ... )

When mid-morning arrived in Liverpool, it bought Matt with it, pulling up in the hospital carpark on his bike. He'd driven all night, eager to get back into the action after two weeks of nothing major happening in Aberdeen.

There'd been some odd stories come out of Aberdeen in the last few years, and Matt had been up there a couple of times before to deal with things. There'd been a highland werewolf pack, really feral, about six years back that the Grenadiers had managed to get rid of, and of course there were the usual number of hauntings for a city that size and age. Still, the last fortnight he hadn't had much to do except catch up with his Scottish Anabella, which was not a hardship.

( ... )

Merry strode across the hospital carpark flanked by Ellie and Geordie and feeling like she was striding into battle. She had it all planned out; what she would say, how she would feel; all her plans riding on the momentum she’d felt start to build last night, when they left Aberdeen.

The momentum had been killed a little when they’d stopped half way to Liverpool so that everyone could sleep, eat, and brace themselves for the next day. It died a little more when they hit roadworks outside of the city, and even further as they wound their way through the midday traffic.

Then once they arrived at the hospital, the head nurse on duty said that Joss was sleeping, and Teagan was having some tests, but if they’d like to wait they were welcome to see them a little bit later.

So the momentum died for good in the waiting room.

( ... )

Geordie walked into Teagan’s room. She was lying on her back, watching the ceiling. “Hello,” he said, from the doorway. “My name’s Geordie.”

The girl moved her eyes to look over at him. She was still in her neck brace. “Are you Teagan? Or Kenzie?” he asked.

She moved her mouth. Her lip was split, it looked painful. “Both,” she said faintly.

( ... )