Chapter 38

(Gwen)

We were stood outside Mandy's workplace, she thrust her coat and bag into my hands and dashed into the building before I could stop her. She might be fireproof but there are other dangers in burning buildings besides fire. I knew I could do nothing but wait and hope she made it out all right. Pretty soon the professionals turned up fire fighters with all their specialist gear, police to control the crowd, and a ambulance, it seemed like they were covering all bases.

It seemed like Mandy was in there forever and worry twisted in my belly, Mandy's boss stood next to me in a similar state worried both for Mandy and her sister who was still inside. The two little girls who had followed Mandy here from school seemed confident that she would make it out okay. They seemed to treat her as their own personal hero, I would have to have a word with Mandy about what she had been getting up to that would inspire such devotion.

All of a sudden the back door down the alleyway practically flew off it's hinges and in blast of smoke Mandy came charging out carrying someone in a kitchen uniform I assumed this was Angela's sister Joan. She made her way down the alleyway I could see her clothes showed some signs of having burns on them, a small part of my mind dedicated to penny pinching started complaining about the expense of replacing her uniforms so often due to fire damage, I squelched it and tried to make my way over to her following Angela, we were stopped by a police man who had established a perimeter.

"I'm sorry ladies for your own safety you need to stay back," he said.

"That's my sister there who's just come out and she's carrying her sister," I said indicating Angela.

He glanced over and saw Mandy who was being mobbed by paramedics, "Alright go through but stay by the ambulance there."

I thanked him and turned to Mandy's two friends to tell them to wait there, but found they had vanished. I wondered if they had already sneaked past while I was negotiating with the policeman. I went over to where the ambulances were one had taken off at speed up the road the other was still there. I heard raised voices and hurried to find out what was up.

"They took her!" shouted the woman dressed in a kitchen uniform.

"Calm down ma'am what do you mean they took her," said a policeman who was talking to her.

"After she carried me out of the building these other lot of paramedics walked her over to their ambulance, while these guys were sorting out my leg the other lot grabbed her and knocked her out."

"I'm sure you were mistaken, you've been in a very traumatic situation the mind can play funny tricks on you."

"No I know what I saw they shoved some rag over her mouth and held her down till she stopped fighting."

I ran over to them I couldn't see Amanda anywhere, "What's going on where's Amanda?"

Angela who was stood by the side of the woman on the stretcher turned to me and said, "The other ambulance took her away, Joan thinks they did it by force."

"I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding she just exited a burning building she could have had bad burns and they need to rush her to hospital," suggested one of the medics.

"She doesn't burn she's a fire elemental," I said.

"Who are you miss?" asked the policeman.

"I'm Gwen, Gwen Wilson, Mandy's sister. If an ambulance took her where was it going?"

The policeman looked uncomfortable, "Well that's the thing we checked with the emergency services to find out and they only dispatched one ambulance they can't find anything on the second one. Though that's nothing to get worried about it could just be a mix up. I'm going to have control call the local hospitals see if your sister turns up there."

I had a horrible feeling of dejavu from the time me and Mandy were grabbed by our parents, I could be wrong but it was worth making sure.

"Can I borrow a phone," I asked, Angela nodded and handed me a very fancy looking mobile. I dialled Amanda's mobile number it rang for a while then abruptly the connection terminated. I tried again but this time I got the message that the phone was switched off.

"I just tried her mobile, she had it on her. It rang for a bit then someone switched it off," I said to the policeman.

"I'm sure it's nothing, battery failed or maybe fire damage," he said looking less sure of it than he had a few moments ago.

"Is it alright if I make another call?" I asked Angela who just nodded.

I dialled a number that Joyce had given me in the event that something like this happened again. I had hoped it never would but it was always good to have contingencies.