Stewart Hotston
Well-Known Member
Chapter 1
10 years ago.
A man’s voice woke her up. At first she thought she’d dreamed it. Rebecca couldn’t stop herself from hoping it was her father come home. Without thinking she swung her legs from the bed onto the floor, his name on her lips. The splintered crack of glass breaking made her stop, hold her breath in the darkness, waiting for the next sound. Small fingers grasped bedding.
“Mummy?”
There was the kind of silence that came when people were listening hard.
Her heart beat faster, pulled the rest of her inwards so that all she was echoed in her burning centre.
Heavy feet thumped up the stairs. The door to the bathroom at the top of the landing smashed open. Rebecca jumped. She lifted her feet off the floor. A sudden desire to be as small as possible.
Her bedroom door opened. Rebecca watched with wide eyes as a man entered.
As their gazes met she knew something bad was happening. “Mummy!” Her voice rose high, screaming through the house.
She was swept up into a grasp that allowed her no thought of escape although she kicked and kicked and kicked.
They came down into the kitchen.
“Tell her to be quiet,” said another man’s voice. He was shorter than the one who held her so tightly. It didn’t matter to her, she saw her mum. Ella was stood, hands palm down on the counter, face blank, eyes full of tears.
“Becca,”
“Mummy!” She struggled with renewed energy, desperate to be on the other side of the room, in her mother’s arms.
“Becca.” Ella’s eyes flicked to a third man. He nodded. “Becca!” She shouted.
Rebecca stopped just long enough to see that her mum was as scared as she was. The sight of such terror coming right back at her stilled her legs. She had to tense to stop from wetting herself.
“Good girl,” her mother managed, her voice quavering as she spoke. She didn’t raise her hands from the worktop, she didn’t move at all.
She didn’t want to be held in the air like a doll but her mother’s voice drained her will, left her feeling lost. Without hope.
“These people want you to go live with them.” Ella’s voice was thread through with chords of anguish. All Rebecca could hear was fear. “They’re going to look after you. They’re,” she paused, voice coming to a slow emptiness, her eyes straying towards the man nearest her.
Rebecca couldn’t see his face but watched as he and her mother exchanged a long slow regard for one another.
“They’re good people and want to help you.”
“I don’t want to go,” said Rebecca. “Why are you sending me away? I’m sorry. Whatever it was I’m sorry!” She wished she’d brushed her teeth like she was supposed to instead of just wetting the brush with water.
“It’s not your fault Eccse. I’m not sending you away, Eccse, I’m not. I love you but you’ve got to go with them.”
Rebecca started to cry, her whole body felt as if the world was prodding her from all angles, refusing to let her be, to have a moment to be herself. “Please, don’t cry.”
The man nearest her mother spoke. “Get her a tissue, for God’s sake.”
Rebecca was put tenderly to the ground. She felt like falling over, or running to her mother. Her legs refused to move, so she stood there watching as the bear of a man who’d burst into her bedroom pulled a sheet of kitchen towel from the roll. He held out a huge hand towards her, two sheets dwarfed in his grasp.
“Let me,” said Ella but a hand was placed on her chest when she went to move.
“Rebecca,” said the man who’d stopped her mother from moving. “You’re a big girl now. We’re going to teach you to become a strong woman, to be everything you can be.” His eyes glimmered like onyx under the warm yellow lamp in the middle of the kitchen table. Rebecca felt the weight of his certainty and couldn’t draw her gaze away. “So be a good girl and take the first step for me. Take the tissues and wipe your face. There’s a time for tears but this isn’t it. Dark days are coming when in the dead of night you might be all that stands between us and the monsters. If you cry when a man offers you comfort how will you defeat monsters?”
A sob gulped out of her mother’s throat like a frog leaping clumsily into the air. He ignored her.
Rebecca looked up at the giant before her. She didn’t feel much like crying anymore. So she took the tissue and folded it up as small as she could. “I don’t want to fight monsters. I just want to go to bed. I want cuddles.”
“Why are we wasting time?” Asked one of the others.
Rebecca felt uncertainty edge back into the small bubble of space she’d begun to build around herself. She’d watched TV. She knew her daddy should have been there to keep the bad men away.
“My daddy wouldn’t let you take me away.” She started to cry again. She didn’t understand why.
“Your daddy is why we’re here.” The leader spoke calmly, still looking directly at her, as if she were the only thing in the whole world that mattered right then. “If he’d not left we wouldn’t need to show you how to be a warrior queen.”
“What about my mummy?”
“She’s got to stay here, in case he comes back for you. He won’t know where you are if she comes too.”
Rebecca thought about it. Something didn’t make sense. Why were they wearing masks if they weren’t bad men? Were they friends of her daddy?
“Are you his friends?”
Ella’s face looked like it did when Rebecca had said something funny while being told off.
“We know him really well.”
‘Have you seen him?”
“Not for a very long time. Just like you we want to see him again as soon as possible.”
“He’ll come now,” said Ella.
“He won’t. You’re going to carry on as if all of this is for the best.”
“Why would I do that?” Asked Ella.
The leader shrugged. “It’s irrelevant. You’ve no idea where he is or how to get in contact with him.” He turned away from her, action written across his body. “We’ve spent long enough on this. Time to go.”
10 years ago.
A man’s voice woke her up. At first she thought she’d dreamed it. Rebecca couldn’t stop herself from hoping it was her father come home. Without thinking she swung her legs from the bed onto the floor, his name on her lips. The splintered crack of glass breaking made her stop, hold her breath in the darkness, waiting for the next sound. Small fingers grasped bedding.
“Mummy?”
There was the kind of silence that came when people were listening hard.
Her heart beat faster, pulled the rest of her inwards so that all she was echoed in her burning centre.
Heavy feet thumped up the stairs. The door to the bathroom at the top of the landing smashed open. Rebecca jumped. She lifted her feet off the floor. A sudden desire to be as small as possible.
Her bedroom door opened. Rebecca watched with wide eyes as a man entered.
As their gazes met she knew something bad was happening. “Mummy!” Her voice rose high, screaming through the house.
She was swept up into a grasp that allowed her no thought of escape although she kicked and kicked and kicked.
They came down into the kitchen.
“Tell her to be quiet,” said another man’s voice. He was shorter than the one who held her so tightly. It didn’t matter to her, she saw her mum. Ella was stood, hands palm down on the counter, face blank, eyes full of tears.
“Becca,”
“Mummy!” She struggled with renewed energy, desperate to be on the other side of the room, in her mother’s arms.
“Becca.” Ella’s eyes flicked to a third man. He nodded. “Becca!” She shouted.
Rebecca stopped just long enough to see that her mum was as scared as she was. The sight of such terror coming right back at her stilled her legs. She had to tense to stop from wetting herself.
“Good girl,” her mother managed, her voice quavering as she spoke. She didn’t raise her hands from the worktop, she didn’t move at all.
She didn’t want to be held in the air like a doll but her mother’s voice drained her will, left her feeling lost. Without hope.
“These people want you to go live with them.” Ella’s voice was thread through with chords of anguish. All Rebecca could hear was fear. “They’re going to look after you. They’re,” she paused, voice coming to a slow emptiness, her eyes straying towards the man nearest her.
Rebecca couldn’t see his face but watched as he and her mother exchanged a long slow regard for one another.
“They’re good people and want to help you.”
“I don’t want to go,” said Rebecca. “Why are you sending me away? I’m sorry. Whatever it was I’m sorry!” She wished she’d brushed her teeth like she was supposed to instead of just wetting the brush with water.
“It’s not your fault Eccse. I’m not sending you away, Eccse, I’m not. I love you but you’ve got to go with them.”
Rebecca started to cry, her whole body felt as if the world was prodding her from all angles, refusing to let her be, to have a moment to be herself. “Please, don’t cry.”
The man nearest her mother spoke. “Get her a tissue, for God’s sake.”
Rebecca was put tenderly to the ground. She felt like falling over, or running to her mother. Her legs refused to move, so she stood there watching as the bear of a man who’d burst into her bedroom pulled a sheet of kitchen towel from the roll. He held out a huge hand towards her, two sheets dwarfed in his grasp.
“Let me,” said Ella but a hand was placed on her chest when she went to move.
“Rebecca,” said the man who’d stopped her mother from moving. “You’re a big girl now. We’re going to teach you to become a strong woman, to be everything you can be.” His eyes glimmered like onyx under the warm yellow lamp in the middle of the kitchen table. Rebecca felt the weight of his certainty and couldn’t draw her gaze away. “So be a good girl and take the first step for me. Take the tissues and wipe your face. There’s a time for tears but this isn’t it. Dark days are coming when in the dead of night you might be all that stands between us and the monsters. If you cry when a man offers you comfort how will you defeat monsters?”
A sob gulped out of her mother’s throat like a frog leaping clumsily into the air. He ignored her.
Rebecca looked up at the giant before her. She didn’t feel much like crying anymore. So she took the tissue and folded it up as small as she could. “I don’t want to fight monsters. I just want to go to bed. I want cuddles.”
“Why are we wasting time?” Asked one of the others.
Rebecca felt uncertainty edge back into the small bubble of space she’d begun to build around herself. She’d watched TV. She knew her daddy should have been there to keep the bad men away.
“My daddy wouldn’t let you take me away.” She started to cry again. She didn’t understand why.
“Your daddy is why we’re here.” The leader spoke calmly, still looking directly at her, as if she were the only thing in the whole world that mattered right then. “If he’d not left we wouldn’t need to show you how to be a warrior queen.”
“What about my mummy?”
“She’s got to stay here, in case he comes back for you. He won’t know where you are if she comes too.”
Rebecca thought about it. Something didn’t make sense. Why were they wearing masks if they weren’t bad men? Were they friends of her daddy?
“Are you his friends?”
Ella’s face looked like it did when Rebecca had said something funny while being told off.
“We know him really well.”
‘Have you seen him?”
“Not for a very long time. Just like you we want to see him again as soon as possible.”
“He’ll come now,” said Ella.
“He won’t. You’re going to carry on as if all of this is for the best.”
“Why would I do that?” Asked Ella.
The leader shrugged. “It’s irrelevant. You’ve no idea where he is or how to get in contact with him.” He turned away from her, action written across his body. “We’ve spent long enough on this. Time to go.”
Rebecca couldn’t stop herself from hoping it was her father come home. Without thinking but she was just thinking in the last sentence she swung her legs from the bed onto the floor, his name on her lips. The splintered crack of glass breaking a bit of a mouthful - tidy up a little? made her stop, hold her breath in the darkness, waiting for the next sound. Small fingers grasped bedding.Hers - if so this is a little distant, maybe show the action, or tell us how the bedding feels? 
