11. Chapter 11
Chapter 11
Sheila
I ’ve been pacing my living room for the last forty minutes, since I ended the call with Nicolas and Peter. I haven’t heard from Josh and Gregory is still not answering his phone. I try to stay rational but the feeling that something has happened won’t go away.
My phone rings and I almost trip in my rush to pick it up.
“Josh,” I call out when I answer it.
“Angel, you need to calm down a little. Take a deep breath for me please.”
“Josh—” I want to object but he interrupts me.
“No, take a deep breath.” There is no arguing with him and I do as I’m told. “And another,” he orders and it feels like I am breathing for the first time in hours.
“Josh, tell me you’ve found him.”
“Maybe. The police had a report about a noise disturbance in the woods behind Nook Farm. But they won’t do anything because it’s quiet now and Gregory being missing for a short time is not enough reason for them to consider him at risk. ”
My breathing starts to speed up again.
“The police are wankers. Listen, the watch manager for tomorrow is coming in to take over from me now, and two of my guys who’ve been off today have offered to help. I’ve also spoken to Tommy, and although emergency services won’t authorise a helicopter search for the same reason as the police, he and his team are meeting us. If they’re up there we’ll find them.”
“I want to come with you!”
“Sheila, no—”
“Yes, Josh. Please. Nicholas and Peter have just pulled in. Take me along. And Nico may want to come too.”
There’s a sigh on the other end of the line.
“Okay, fine. I’ll text Tommy. He lives your end of town so you can come with him.” I nod even if he can’t see me.
“Josh, tell me honestly. Are you worried?” I grasp the phone tightly and hold my breath.
“It’s been quiet up there for over an hour and he hasn’t come home. That's got me a bit worried, but maybe he's just gone to a mate's place or something," he says, trying to keep his tone neutral. For the past half hour, my mind's been racing with all sorts of horrific scenarios. If I hadn't read that text about the drugs, I'd probably be more composed—concerned, yes, but not fearing the worst. Now, though, I'm at a loss.
The car’s headlights illuminate a group of people already assembled at the meeting point. Nicholas and I jump out as soon as Tommy turns the engine off. Peter stayed with Keiran just in case he wakes up or the search takes until the morning.
The dark is only broken by head torches so it’s hard to see everyone clearly but I’m instinctively drawn to Josh. He’s talking to someone wearing a mountain rescue jacket, but the minute I step up to him he pulls me into his arms.
“We’ll find him,” he whispers in my ear. I know he’s trying to reassure me but I can tell that he’s tense and that’s not a good sign. If he’s worried it means something
“Right, listen up. There’s a clearing not far from here and I suggest—” Tommy stops talking as we hear shuffling noises coming in our direction. One of the guys directs a strong torch at the path and we can see a small figure slowly coming down the hill.
The only female mountain rescuer of the group is the first one to move and run towards the person. My instincts take over and I follow.
Someone is calling my name but I ignore it. This could be my son. As we get closer it becomes apparent that it’s a girl, probably around Gregory’s age. She stumbles and looks disorientated.
“I’m Suzie, you’re safe now,” I hear the mountain rescuer tell her. “Are you okay, are you hurt?”
“Help… help the others,” she slurs before her legs give out. Suzie rests the girls head in her lap and talks quietly to her. I want to ask her if Gregory is okay, I want to shake her and ask her what they’ve done. A strong arm slides around me.
“Let them talk to her,” Josh whispers like he’s read my mind. I lean against his chest and try to slow my breathing whilst I watch Suzie and another one of her colleagues calmly talk with the girl.
Tommy, who has been listening close by, steps up to us.
“She said they were on a clearing and there are a few within a thirty-minute walk. I’m calling in the helicopter because now we have a reason to assume life at risk. We can then start the walk up. Hopefully the HELO will pick up their location with the infrared camera.”
Josh nods in agreement. “What about—”
“Did she say what happened? Did she say anything about Gregory?” I cut him off.
“No, she said they took pills…” My heart sinks and I don’t hear the rest of what Tommy says.
“He promised me he wouldn’t take drugs,” I sob.
“Sheila, listen to me; from what this girl described and the state she’s in it doesn’t look like E to me. People on E are usually hyper and she’s the complete opposite.”
I’m sure he’s right but given the state the girl is in I don’t care what they have taken. It’s not good either way.
“Let’s go; the HELO should be here in fifteen minutes so we should use the time to get closer to where the clearings are. Suzie and Chris will stay with the girl until the ambulance gets here,” Tommy rounds up the troops.
We walk up the hill quietly, Josh holding my hand and Nicholas on my other side. I’ve never felt so helpless before. Every fibre in me wants to just run to get to Gregory quicker but I can’t. We don’t even know where he is yet.
I shriek when a call through Tommy’s radio breaks the silence of the night. What I can gather from the message is that the helicopter is moving in. I strain my ears and I think I can hear the distant rotor noise of it approaching but it could just be my imagination .
Tommy acknowledges the radio call before we carry on walking. My mouth is dry and it’s difficult to swallow. I’m not sure if this’s because of the cold night air, the exhaustion of the steep hike, or the anxiety… Or maybe all three.
“Here.” A rescuer holds out a bottle. I think his name is Ryan. I stop and take a sip of water and another before draining almost half the bottle.
“Sorry,” I try to hand it back to him.
“Keep it, I have another one,” he winks before heading off to follow his friends leaving me and Josh behind. This is the first time we’ve had a minute on our own since the start of the search.
“Josh, what if—”
“There is no point in speculating, Sheila, we won’t know what’s happened until we get to them. And whatever it is, I’m here to help.” He pulls me into his arms and I almost wish I could stay there and hide from whatever awaits us in the woods.
“Josh,” a voice calls out. We can see the beams of the headlights and torches ahead of us. The urgency in the voice makes me want to run again. Have they found him? Have they found my boy?
As we approach the group, I can clearly hear the noise of the helicopter now.
“HELO found them in a clearing less than five minutes from us,” Tommy explains.
“Are they okay?” My voice is shaky and I’m not sure I want to hear the answer.
“We don’t know,” is all that Tommy says. We immediately head off towards the location where the helicopter spotted them. After a few minutes, we leave the path and head through the woods. It is difficult not to stumble in the dark but Josh has a firm grip on my hand and pulls me upright whenever my foot gets caught in a root or shrubbery.
The helicopter’s beam provides a bit more light as we step into an opening in the trees the size of a football pitch. There are the smouldering remains of a bonfire in the centre and I can make out two hunched figures near it. Nobody seems to be moving and it feels like a scene from an apocalypse film.
As the helicopter sweeps back over the clearing I notice other people lying on the ground, but it is all too quick to make out how many there are. Tommy organises the rescuers and Josh’s colleagues and sends everyone out around the meadow.
“I need to find him,” I mumble and finally move.
“Sheila, wait!” Josh calls but I start running in the direction of the nearest person I see lying on the grass. A mountain rescuer is already there and talking calmly to the kid. In the beam of the rescuer’s headtorch I can make out that it is a boy, but it is not Gregory.
I leave them to it and run towards the bonfire. I need to find my son.