[Sticks]

Episode I – Unfortunate Beginnings

It had been a strange day for Rebecca and a disconcerting one, but now she was getting tired as the plane on which she was flying on levelled off at its cruising altitude, and she could hardly keep her eyes open.

Beside her sat a woman in her late twenties or early thirties, the others on the plane referred to her as corporal McCaskey, although she had told Rebecca her first name was Tania and had told her it was ok for her to call her that, but Rebecca had been brought up not to use the first names of adults, so always referred to her with the prefix Miss or corporal. Tania let it slide as clearly that was what the child was most comfortable with and part of her job was to keep Rebecca as happy as possible, and to accompany her until she could deliver her to her Uncle and his family.

Rebecca looked out at the top of the clouds, then around at the rest of the cabin. There was the odd man here or there, but apart from her, Tania and the flight attendants, they were the only females on the flight.

Rebecca was very much in awe of what was going on around her.

All this empty space on the aircraft?

Just for her?

Just to take her to live with her uncle Matthew, his wife Susan and their son Frank in New Hampshire?

It was so incredible how her fortunes seemed to have turned around.

“This must be your first flight in an aeroplane” Corporal McCaskey told her
“Yes Miss McCaskey” Rebecca nodded, and then tried to stifle a yawn
“I’ve flown loads of times Rebecca, but never in such a nice plane as this one”
“Yes Miss McCaskey” Rebecca replied, then yawned again; fatigue was setting in, “Sorry Miss McCaskey” she apologised
“That’s ok Rebecca” the corporal told her, “it was quite late when we brought you in to the Facility and I understand the helicopter woke you up”
Rebecca just nodded, these Americans were being nice to her, so she did not want to come across as being ungrateful, and continued to try and stay awake, watching the clouds pass underneath, looking around the cabin, anything, but it was getting harder,

The corporal could see that Rebecca was fighting a loosing battle, so she suggested to Rebecca that it would be alright if she wanted to catch up on sleep and then called over the flight attendant and asked for a blanket for Rebecca. Once the blanket was duly delivered she then helped adjust Rebecca’s seat, so she could be in a better position for sleeping and then placed the blanket over her and wished her sweet dreams.

Rebecca then drifted off to sleep, still not believing how her luck had changed in the space of two days from the rock bottom she felt she had crashed to….

…..oo0Ooo….

Rebecca had lived what seemed a standard normal life until she was four, when her father left, never to be seen again. She could hardly remember him and secretly she had felt she must have been so naughty that he had walked out on her and her mother. Since then, she always afraid of not doing as she was told, because she did not want her mother walking out on her as well.

Also she had never known her grandparents on either her father’s side or her mother’s side. When she once asked when she was eight why she never saw them, her mother just told her that she had once had an argument with them, but she did not say over what, and that was the reason Rebecca never heard from them. From then on, Rebecca was afraid to argue with anyone, and usually caved in first or removed herself from the field of conflict.

The only person she heard from was her uncle Matthew in America, and he even wrote letters to her personally and she would write back, until her mother’s boyfriend, Jim put a stop to it.

Rebecca did not like Jim, as he made her feel uncomfortable, but they had been forced to live with him for quite a long time. One day Rebecca and her mother were living in their own council flat in Slough and someone came round and took their furniture away and also her toys, her mother just told her it was because she owed someone a lot of money, again Rebecca kept thinking it was all her fault, and cried herself to sleep on the one mattress they were left with. Then her mother told her that they were being evicted and after that, they moved in with Jim.

Jim was always telling her mother what to do, and would demand that she go and visit some of his friends. Her mother never told her what it was for. Sometimes Jim would hit her mother, and also threaten to hit her as well, if she did not do as she was told or did not bring Jim enough money, again where her mother was getting it, she never said. Her mother would never leave him. When Rebecca was nine, she asked why they could not get away from Jim, but her mother in her sad voice just asked Rebecca, “Where else could we go? We don’t have anything” and then begged Rebecca never to raise that idea, especially in Jim’s presence.

Rebecca had once noticed that Jim did have a computer and lots of camera equipment. Often she would see other men come in to the house, sometimes with other children, but then her mother would drag her away into a bedroom and just hold her crying. Rebecca hated to see her mother cry and could not understand why; she usually ended up telling her mother that what ever she did, she was sorry, but her mother would tell her that it was not her. Rebecca was very confused and like her mother afraid of Jim, but what could they do. Jim owned them.

When Rebecca had turned ten, Jim turned his attention to her. He would put his hand on her shoulder and tell her, that she would turn a number of his “friends” heads. He even suggested one evening when her mother was out working, what at, again she never said, he suggested playing something called strip poker. When he explained the rules, Rebecca hated the idea, but was frightened to say anything. She was only saved from having to comply with Jim’s sick fantasy when a pair of Jehovah’s witnesses knocked on the door. While he was distracted by them, Rebecca ran to her room and sat against the door and wept. When her mother came home she wanted to tell him, but her mother had been beaten up again so Rebecca said nothing.

Often Jim would take pictures of her, and would ask her to blow kisses at them. Again when her mother was working, he demanded that she change into her swimming costume. Rebecca had a proper decent one piece swimming costume, so she had changed into that in her room, crying as she did so. It did not feel right. But Jim was not happy and presented her with a bikini. Rebecca was about to go to her room to change, when Jim told her to just change in front of him while he tried out a new camera. Rebecca knew that was not right, because all men and all women were separated when they changed at the swimming baths, but Jim was prone to violence. Rebecca had hesitated and Jim then offered to help, just then some Mormons came round.

It seemed miraculous, just when Jim was about to make her do something unpleasant, random strangers would call, and Rebecca could make her escape. This time she did tell her mother, and her mother said she would speak to Jim, and asked her not to anger him. After that, Jim was not that blatant about his actions towards Rebecca, but made plenty of innuendos and from time to time would touch her shoulder or her leg. Rebecca would just try and hide in her room. She even wanted to stay with friends, just to get away from Jim, but her friend’s parents would tell their children to have nothing to do with Rebecca, because of what her mother did for a living, what ever that was. So Rebecca was trapped.

Just when she thought it could not get any worse, her mother was assaulted by one of Jim’s so called friends and had to go into hospital. Rebecca went to the hospital straight after school, but the nurse would not let her see her mother as she had to have an adult with her, and the thought of being on her own in Jim’s car terrified her. Then she heard news she had not even contemplated, her mother had fallen ill with something called MRSA, and even though she prayed, her mother got sicker and died. Rebecca wanted to tell her uncle, but again Jim vetoed it.

Rebecca hid herself in her room crying; mercifully Jim did not bother her that week, besides he had quite a number of friends who chose to visit him in the run up to the funeral.

Rebecca then wanted to tell her school teacher about Jim, but her normal teacher was down with the flu and the substitute was irritable and of the old school of “Children should be seen and not heard”, so Rebecca felt even more isolated and desperate. Again her requests to let her uncle know about his sister’s death before the funeral so that he could come across were angrily refused; possibly because her uncle would have taken her back with him. Jim now had Rebecca where he wanted her it seemed, in his clutches to be made to do the things he wanted her to do, with his friends or on camera

Then it was the day of the funeral.

The service was held at a local crematorium which Rebecca attended alongside Jim and some of his Friends. It was moving and Rebecca was crying through out the service. Then they were to go to the wake, and while they were waiting to get there, Jim sidled up to Rebecca and told her, that if she was under his roof, she had to start doing some of the things he wanted her to do or else. Rebecca was terrified, and to think, he had said this to her, just after her mother’s funeral.

As she rode to the wake, Rebecca sat in stunned silence, not believing how things had gone so terribly wrong for her, everyone else thought she was just grieving her dead mother and were telling her that Jim had promised to “look after her” now and not to worry. Then they came to the venue, a pub near to a railway station. Rebecca had been there once before, and as far as she remembered there was no ticket barrier, so she waited for Jim to be distracted, and quietly slipped around the corner of the pub.

Then she made a dash for it, and got to the entrance to the station entrance, and looked back. Jim was still surrounded by his friends commiserating with him. They had not noticed that she had gone.

Rebecca heard an announcement on the station public address system about the arrival of a train bound for London Paddington, so quickly, she jumped aboard.

The train was busy, so Rebecca managed to hide in the toilets, to keep away from the guard. It was one of the most terrifying rides of her life, she half expected to be arrested by the police, but she never was. Finally she reached London Paddington and got off the train and wandered to the exit, but for some reason, she was allowed through. No one questioned her.

It was now mid afternoon, and Rebecca was hungry, and she had no money and no place to stay. She was just one of the hundreds of children who run away each year to London. So Rebecca just walked and walked, deeper in to London, still feeling hungry, looking nervously at any police officer or police car, just in case they picked her up and sent her straight back to Jim.

Eventually, Rebecca found a place behind a fast food restaurant, perhaps she could sleep there for the night. She sneaked in to use the toilet, and on her way out, an elderly woman suddenly told her that she looked like she was starving, and insisted on buying her a meal. Rebecca thanked her and ate it, but then she saw a police officer come in to the store, panicked and went and hid in the lavatory, until he had gone. When she came out, the lady who had been nice to her had also gone, and so Rebecca left and went walking until she found another spot to doss down for the night.

As Rebecca started to live on the streets of London, she felt really awful. She only had the clothes she was wearing from the funeral, and they were not warm and were grubby, but what could she do. She had found a pen in the street and on a piece of card she had found, she wrote “Hungry and Homeless” and sat down.

To her surprise, people actually gave her money, all be it loose change, or would buy her food, but she was always on the lookout, lest the police catch her and return her to Jim. She was a runaway after all, and nobody would believe her if she said what Jim was doing. In fact Jim had told her that they would think she was lying and making things up, as that is what children did. The best strategy Rebecca could think of was to keep on the move. If someone helped her, she would politely thank them, and move away sharpish.

Rebecca spent a week and a half living rough in the Streets of London

Then something happened to make her think that her running away had all been for naught.
One evening as she was looking for a place to stay in an alleyway, a man in a long coat approached her and called her out by name, in an American accent.

Jim had sent one of his friends to find her and bring her back, Rebecca thought.

Rebecca turned around, to find a woman in her late twenties or early thirties who also knew her name and was also American.

Rebecca was trapped between the two of them and dropped to her knees in despair, crying, “please no”, but the woman came and gently knelt down and hugged her, and told her that they were not going to hurt her and then lifted her to her feet,

The man then told her she had to come with them. Rebecca had asked if they were taking her back to Slough, and the man said no, they were to take her to a place in North London, called The Facility. The woman then told Rebecca that they were there to help her and promised to give her food, a shower, clean clothes and a safe place to stay. As Rebecca was tired, hungry and desperate for clean clothes, she quietly gave the lady, her hand and meekly went with the couple to a big black car. They even had a child seat fitted to her side. Rebecca sat in it and let the woman strap her in. The man got in the driver’s seat, while the woman sat next to her and held her hand saying what a good girl she was being.

As they drove along, the man introduced himself as Commander Mark Johnston of the US Marine Corps. The woman turned out to be Corporal Tania McCaskey of the US Army. They were both on special assignment, and Rebecca for some reason was part of that assignment. They made no reference to Slough or Jim, but did say that they had been trying to find her for over a week.

The couple were true to their word, and when they got in, Corporal McCaskey took her through a maze of corridors to a place where Rebecca could have a nice hot shower all by herself. She was then given a hospital style gown which was open at the back, and was given a medical exam by another American, who happened to be a lady doctor. Rebecca was then given some clean underwear and a pair of pyjamas and a jumper which she put on. The corporal then brought in a large pizza with two 500ml bottles of diet coke, which they consumed together, although the corporal made sure Rebecca ate most of the pizza, given Rebecca’s hunger a none to difficult job. After Rebecca had finished them up, she was shown a nice warm bed, which after a visit to the bathroom; she climbed into and settled down for the night.

Sleeping in a proper bed after the time she had spent sleeping rough was like heaven, and best of all, No Jim.

During the night, her sleep was disturbed by the sound of a helicopter landing, and some shouting by some men. It lasted an hour, and the rest of the night was quiet, as Rebecca tried to get back to sleep.

+-+-+-+

In the morning, Rebecca was woken up and instructed by the corporal to have another shower, which Rebecca did. After which Rebecca found new clothes, as had been promised, they even had given her a nice warm grey hooded top.

The corporal then took her to a mess hall where they had breakfast together, and then the corporal explained that she had to appear before the acting director of the Facility, one Colonel Samuel Peters. This made Rebecca worried; why “appear before the acting director”, did this mean she had done something wrong? Was she in trouble?

Before they left the mess hall, Commander Mark arrived and joined them. He seemed much nicer and was a lot kinder than Jim.

All of a sudden another man entered with what appeared to be two security guards. This man identified himself as Mr Carvel and told the corporal and the commander that Rebecca had to put on manacles and a blindfold in accordance with some procedure. This man seemed a lot like Jim.

“Oh no” Rebecca uttered
“Oh no your not” The corporal told Carvel and put a protective arm around Rebecca.
“It is policy” Insisted Carvel
“It’s not US policy Carvel” The commander insisted, “and guess who is running the show at the moment”
“You are, of course” Carvel admitted
“Now take those things away and get lost” the Commander told him
“As you wish” Carvel replied and then left

Commander Mark then informed the corporal that the colonel was busy with another interrogation, and asked, as McCaskey had been a family liaison officer and had looked after army cadets, could she keep Rebecca occupied for a while. Corporal was only too happy to agree, and then the commander left them.

For the next hour or so, the two talked about their respective upbringings, and for much of the time, the corporal held her arm around Rebecca as Rebecca tearfully recounted her life story. The last part was a justification about running away and how Jim had made her feel uncomfortable and how she did not want to go back to him because she was frightened of him.

Then it was time for the colonel to speak to Rebecca and Corporal McCaskey lead Rebecca to the lift, then up in the lift to a series of rooms, and then to a brightly lit interview room.

There was a table with three chairs by a big mirror. The single chair had its back to the mirror; the other two chairs faced the mirror across the table. Corporal McCaskey sat down on the chair on the right and Rebecca sat on the other one, nervously swinging her legs forward and back.

Just then the door to the interview room opened and a fifty or so year old man with a close cut haircut entered the room. This had to be Colonel Samuel Peters. Corporal McCaskey stood to attention and saluted; Rebecca nervously looked at her and stood up as well.
“At ease McCaskey and you Rebecca” the Colonel said
Colonel Peters sat down, but the corporal and Rebecca stayed standing, Rebecca thought it was best to follow McCaskey’s lead as she thought she was in enough trouble already.
The colonel looked up at them “Sorry, you can sit down as well”
McCaskey then sat down, closely followed by Rebecca
“Am I in trouble sir?” Asked Rebecca, her voice touched with fear of this very important man
“Why do you think that Rebecca?” asked the Colonel. He seemed to be trying to be as kind as possible
“Because the lady here and the man said I had to come with them” Rebecca replied, “and because I had run away from my mum’s boyfriend”
“Why did you run away Rebecca?”
“My mum got sick and died and he wanted me to do things that didn’t feel right. He tried to get me to do those things before my mum got sick, but I did not want to say anything because he was the only man she had since my dad deserted us, and we had nowhere else to stay” Then Rebecca got scared that perhaps they were going to send her back to Jim after all, after all Jim in the run up to the funeral had told the neighbours that he would “Look after Rebecca”
Rebecca thought that this was the only chance she had to plead her case, that she did not want to go back to the man that had so frightened her and had hurt her mother on a number of times. So wound up did she become that she broke down as she pleaded “Please don’t make me go back to him, please”

Rebecca then felt the corporal’s arm, lovingly put around her and she allowed the corporal to hug her. Somehow she felt safe with her.
“It’s ok Rebecca” the corporal reassured her, “you are not going to be sent back to that man, with what we know, we won’t allow it”, she then handed a tissue to Rebecca to wipe her eyes.

When Rebecca had recovered Colonel Peters continued “Rebecca, that man will never hurt you again” the colonel reassured her, “In fact he is going to go to jail for a very long time with what we got on him”
“Thank you sir” Rebecca responded. “What is going to happen to me now sir?”
“That depends on the answers you give me” Colonel Peters answered
“Sir?” Rebecca replied, still terrified that she might still be in trouble
“Why did you not go to the police, if you were having to sleep rough?”
“I thought because I had run away, they might make me go back to my mum’s boyfriend sir”
“When you were on the streets, how did you find food to eat”
“I just sat on the pavement with a sign saying hungry and homeless and people just gave me money or they brought me food”
“Really Rebecca, was anyone ever mean to you, told you to get lost or accused you of being a thief”
“No sir?”
“So Rebecca everyone was naturally kind to you?”
“Yes sir”
“Does that not seem odd to you Rebecca, after all not everyone is kind”
“But sir they were. I never had any trouble sir” Rebecca insisted
“Rebecca, have you ever seen one of these before” Colonel Peters asked and produced what looked like a small silver hand held mirror with some kind of gothic design.
“No sir” she answered
“It is what we call a mirror of detection” Colonel Peters explained and handed it to Rebecca, and as she took it, the mirror suddenly glowed with an orange light, “Now hand it to the corporal” the colonel instructed her.
As the corporal took the mirror and Rebecca let go of it, the mirror returned to being silver. The corporal then handed it to Colonel Peters who put it down on the table in front of him.
“Rebecca, it was only when you touched it, that it reacted, do you know what that means”
“No sir, is it magic?” Rebecca asked
“That’s one way of putting it Rebecca” Colonel Peters explained, “This device reacts if the person handling it is not really human”
“I don’t understand, I’m just a girl” Rebecca replied, now confused
“Pick it up and examine the mirror, see if you can find any wires, hidden batteries or chemicals or anything else that will make it glow”

Rebecca felt very upset, what was going on?

Rebecca prodded the small mirror and as soon as she touched it, it instantly glowed with an orange light again. “What am I, I thought I was just a girl” she whined
“Rebecca, do you remember your father?” Colonel Peters asked
“Only vaguely sir, he deserted us when I was four. I always kept wondering if it was my fault”
“Rebecca it was not your fault, your father was not really human either, he was what we call a major spirit of virtue, he just appeared in human form when he met and fell in love with your mother and when she had you. Your father was made to return to where he originally came from and later was murdered. He did not desert you; he left because he had no choice”

Rebecca shook her head in bewilderment and then put her head in her hands and started to sob again. Corporal McCaskey again put her arm around her and Rebecca leaned against her. “I kept hoping I would find him again some day that was the other reason I ran away” Rebecca sobbed.

After about a minute Colonel Peters spoke to Rebecca again as she was still leaning against the corporal “Rebecca, you asked what you were, if not a girl”
“Yes” Rebecca tearfully replied
“Well as your farther was this major spirit of virtue and your mother was just a normal human woman like the corporal here, so you are what is called a minor spirit of virtue. The reason people were kind to you because you are the Spirit of Kindness, or to put it another way, the embodiment of kindness in human form. You were putting out a field that made people show kindness to you whether they wanted to or not. Do you think it’s right to control people’s minds like that Rebecca?”
“No sir, Sorry sir, I never meant to hurt anyone, I just want to be human I just want to be a normal girl” Rebecca tearfully replied.

Rebecca now felt really guilty, she never meant to harm anyone and now this man was telling her that she was some kind of strange spirit being that controlled people’s mind. She wanted no part of it, it was wrong. What were they going to do with her? Were they going to punish her some how for what she did, just to survive. She had been right all along, she was in trouble.

The Colonel fished in his pocket for some item, it looked like a small disc of obsidian with markings



“Rebecca if you want to be human and just a normal girl, maybe we can help you with that, assuming, you really want that” Colonel Peters told Rebecca, as he handed her the obsidian disc.

Rebecca sat up straight and leaned forward and automatically took the talisman without thinking about it, in her left hand from the colonel, then she whined “But I do sir, I don’t want to be some kind of spirit thing, I don’t want to hurt anyone, I just want to be human, I just want to be a girl”

At that plea ball of yellow light erupt from the talisman in Rebecca’s hand. As the ball of yellow light expanded to engulf the chid at the table, the corporal jumped off of her chair to keep clear, but Colonel Peters just sat there

“What’s happening” Rebecca cried out in alarm
“It’s ok Rebecca, it’s perfectly safe” the colonel told her.

Rebecca froze in terror as this yellow light engulfed her, and she felt a tingling through her whole body. Then the ball of light turned into a ring of yellow light and started to rise to the ceiling as Rebecca gazed up at it.

Suddenly the ring shattered, and Rebecca spotted a ball of white light floating down towards her. Rebecca then noticed the door open and another young women in the now open doorway with the commander behind her, but then the ball of whit light hit her and every thing went black.

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Rebecca started to come round and she felt woozy, there was also some feeling of completeness that she had never felt before.
“What happened?” Rebecca whimpered, and then noticed that the other young women was holding her and had obviously prevented her from falling out of the chair. As Rebecca sat up the woman came around behind her and then sat next to her, as the corporal was now standing up, and then the woman put a comforting arm across her shoulders. Instinctively Rebecca sensed that she was a nice lady, and they smiled at each other.

The colonel interrupted, “Rebecca, sorry I did not get a chance to warn you that would happen”, then he explained, “that talisman I passed you helped you become human and just a normal girl like you wanted, because it sensed that it was what you truly desired”
Rebecca looked at her left hand, there was just ash, then at Colonel Peters, and in a terrified panic told Colonel Peters “Sorry sir, I did not mean to break it” Rebecca was on the brink of tears, fearing once again she was in trouble for breaking it.
“Rebecca, that ok, it’s meant to do that when it’s done its job, and you didn’t break it” Colonel Peters reassured her

Rebecca looked back at the woman sitting next to her
The woman introduced her self, “hi Rebecca, my name is Jenny Green”, the woman said in a clear Geordie accent
“Hello Miss Green” Rebecca replied nervously,
Jenny told Rebecca “Please call me Jenny” Then Jenny turned to the Colonel, I know a few people who could take Rebecca in, please let me take her home back north.

Rebecca liked this woman, and after all she had nothing left in Slough, so a new life in the north did not seem so bad, but then Colonel Peters looked at Rebecca and then at Jenny, “That’s very kind of you Jenny, but we have something slightly better in mind for Rebecca” Then he turned to Rebecca, “Rebecca, did you know you had an uncle”
Rebecca nodded, “Mum told me about him, but my uncle lives with his wife and son in New Hampshire, when Mum was sick her boyfriend would not allow me to contact him, and he would not allow me to speak to him until after the funeral so my uncle never came across. I don’t know if he sent for me because I ran away to get away from mum’s boy friend as soon as I could after the funeral. I would liked to have gone and stayed with my uncle but there is no way I could get there now”

Rebecca looked at the table wistfully, living with her uncle, was just the impossible dream, the North East of England would have to suffice.

Colonel Peters leaned back in his chair, “I would not be too sure about that Rebecca, Mark have you got the other item”
“Sure Sam” Commander Mark replied and pulled from his jacket, a small book and handed it to Rebecca. Rebecca was amazed, it was a US passport, with all her details and a photo of her they had got from somewhere.
The colonel then went on “Because your mother had dual British and US citizenship, and uncle has now applied to be your legal guardian, we managed to persuade certain branches of the US government to grant you full US citizenship as well”
“Thank you sir” Rebecca replied, “but I don’t have the money to get over there”
“Rebecca, Corporal McCaskey will be escorting you on a special US Air Force flight to the US today leaving from Luton airport” Colonel Peters told her, smiling as he did so, “Us marines do not leave our own behind”
“Thank you Colonel Sir” Rebecca said to Colonel Peters, and then Rebecca turned to Jenny, “Thank you for thinking of me Miss Jenny”

The Corporal came round to Rebecca’s left and held out her hand, Rebecca took it and stood up to go with the corporal.
“Mark, could you drive McCaskey and Rebecca to the airport please I have other matters to attend to with Captain Strang” Colonel Peters asked, then added, “and take Jenny with you, maybe you can have that dinner you spoke of after you have made sure McCaskey and Rebecca have got away safely”
“It would be a pleasure Sam, but first of all I have something else for Jenny” Then the Commander handed Jenny a visitors badge, “just to annoy that Mr Carvel”
Jenny took it, thanked the commander and attached it to the top left pocket on the suit jacket she was wearing.

Commander Mark lead Corporal McCaskey, Rebecca and Jenny out of the room, down one corridor and then another until they reached a lift. Then after calling it, they got in and went down five levels and exited into the car park.

There to meet them was Mr Carvel, “I still think we should be treating these two” he opened with, pointing at Jenny and Rebecca, “as class A prisoners”
“I still think you are a jerk” Commander Mark responded, “Now give me the keys to the Galaxy, and there better not be any nasty surprises.
“Don’t worry Johnston” Mr Carvel sneered, “We know better than wreck one of our own vehicles, it messes up the budget” then Mr Carvel handed Commander Mark the car keys, “or upset our American overlords”. he added in a sarcastic tone.



The Ford Galaxy was black and non-descript, just like the one they had collected Rebecca in the previous day. The corporal and Rebecca got in the back and Jenny got to ride up front with Commander Mark.

They then drove out of the car park and drove to Luton Airport. Rebecca just could not believe this was happening, was she really going to see her Uncle? Was Jim really going to get his just deserts?

As Rebecca only had the clothes she stood up in, and so did the corporal, checking in was pretty swift, and as it was a special US Air Force flight, Jenny and the Commander were allowed to accompany them to Air-side. Rebecca was a mixture of excited at going to start a new life in America with her uncle’s family but apprehensive about flying and whether she would fit in over there. The corporal reassured her that her uncle and his American wife and son were eager to meet her and take her in and they were so glad she had got away from her late mother’s boyfriend.

They waited for about three quarters of an hour before the corporal and Rebecca boarded the plane, just before that Jenny and Rebecca hugged each other and Jenny told her to take care of her self and that even though they had not known each other for that long Jenny would always have a special place in her heart for the ex Spirit of Kindness. Rebecca promised she would send her a post card as soon as she got to her uncle’s home and Jenny wrote her address on a piece of paper which Rebecca put in her pocket

The Commander and the corporal saluted one another and the commander told the corporal how much he would miss working with her, then those two embraced and so Rebecca and the corporal boarded the plane.

And so here she was, sleeping next to Corporal Tania McCaskey on a US Airforce aeroplane flying to Portsmouth international Airport in New Hampshire.

…..oo0Ooo….

Rebecca started to wake up from her sleep, and felt the warm blanket over the top of her.
The corporal noticed her stirring, “Did you have a nice sleep Rebecca?” she asked smiling at her.
“Yes Miss Tania” Rebecca replied, then on feeling a certain urge asked, “May I go to the toilet please”
“Of course you can” Corporal McCaskey told her and took her to show her where the VIP facilities were.

After they had finished, they came back to their seats, luckily, Rebecca thought, they had not taken the blanket away, so she wrapped it over herself, as she was feeling cold. Outside the sun was still over the top of the clouds as they chased it on their westward flight over the Atlantic.

“Are you cold?” Corporal McCaskey asked Rebecca
Rebecca nodded and answered “A little bit”
The corporal called over one of the flight attendants and ordered a hot chocolate for Rebecca and a coffee for herself. The flight attendants also took the opportunity to serve the in-flight meal, which Rebecca found absolutely delicious. The US Air Force certainly knew how to cook.

About an hour later, a flight attendant came and spoke to the corporal, “Bad news I’m afraid” he told her
“What?” Corporal McCaskey asked, with concern in her voice.

Rebecca started to grow worried, what was going wrong with the wonderful new and better life she had been promised.

“The airport at Portsmouth is closed due to a severe weather system, so we are going to have to land at JFK in New York. The pilot says we have the fuel to make it”
“Right” McCaskey told him, “Can you contact Mr Matthew Sands and let him know”
“OK” replied the flight attendant and left to make the appropriate call.

Rebecca was still worried and the Corporal could sense it, so she put her arm around Rebecca’s shoulders, as best she could in the aeroplane seating to reassure her, “Don’t worry Rebecca, all this means is that we either stay in a hotel to wait the storm out or we take the bus or train”
“OK Miss Tania” Rebecca replied, then thought for a moment and then asked, “Does my uncle know that I was this Spirit of Kindness thing”
“Yes Rebecca, the colonel believes in full disclosure, and we also got word to him that you were a good girl and gave it up of your own free will and you became fully human with a human soul”
“And the still want me?”
“Absolutely, as I told you at the airport, your uncle is absolutely thrilled to bits, along with his wife and son that you are coming to live with them”

Rebecca took this news in silence, it was quite a relief to know that people close to her knew this as she did not want to lie or keep secrets from them, but still her past as some kind of spirit bothered her, and the guilt kept welling up inside of her
“I didn’t mean to hurt those people like the colonel said I did, Miss Tania” then Rebecca burst into tears, “I’m sorry I did not mean to hurt them”

Corporal McCaskey gave Rebecca a hug with her arm, “Rebecca, we know you would never harm anyone and the fact is you didn’t hurt any of them, you just got them to be kind to you. You did what you had to, to survive and I’m sure that if they were told about you they would be upset that they could not have helped you more than they did”
“But the colonel” Rebecca interrupted
“Rebecca the colonel was testing you, he had to, and you passed with flying colours. He and his deputy Commander Mark Johnston are two of the kindest people I have ever had the privilege to serve under”

The corporal looked at the time and then told Rebecca that it was ok if she wanted to sleep some more, which Rebecca tried to do with the comforting arm of the corporal around her.

+-+-+

Rebecca was woken up again. The flight attendant needed to collect the blanket and they needed to make sure their seatbelts were done up, as they were on the landing approach to JFK airport. The aircraft was also going through turbulence as the weather front was affecting the whole of the North Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Rebecca felt frightened and clung on to Corporal McCaskey’s hand tightly.

Soon the aircraft was down and taxiing to an especially reserved terminal. The two of them were instructed to deplane for the moment and then they would call the corporal to see if they would wait and fly up to Portsmouth in New Hampshire, get the Uncle to come down to collect Rebecca or have the corporal accompany Rebecca up north. The corporal told them in that case she would have to take Rebecca shopping, as she only had the clothes she was standing up in and would need a change of clothing. McCaskey was told that would be fine, but to keep the receipts if she wanted to claim back expenses.

Corporal McCaskey took out her passport, as did Rebecca and they proceeded to immigration.

The corporal presented both passports and explained that she was accompanying Rebecca to her uncle, but the official seemed more interested in McCaskey’s passport and something on her terminal. Then the official waved at a police officer who came over and spoke with the official. Rebecca could not make out what was being said. Then the police officer took out some handcuffs and grabbed the corporal’s arm and cuffed her hands behind her back

“Tania McCaskey” he intoned, “I’m arresting you on suspicion of cheque fraud”
“What?” McCaskey said, “I’ve been in England for the eight months”
“Sorry Mam you are wanted for a cheque fraud in Miami last month on an extradition warrant from Florida” replied the police officer, who then signalled other colleagues to assist.
“This is crazy, I have been in England for the last” McCaskey insisted, but another police officer produced a stun gun
“Don’t make me use this” he told her
Corporal McCaskey looked at it, there was no use arguing and she was lead away.

Rebecca felt another hand on her shoulder, it was another police officer and he looked big and mean, and Rebecca was afraid of him.
“You missy are coming with me”, the police officer told her before cuffing her hands behind her back too.

The policeman was oblivious to her tears as he force marched the eleven year old girl through the airport, with everyone staring at her. She was then shoved into the back of a police squad car and driven to a down town police station and held in a hallway where other people were being processed.

They then interviewed her, still with the handcuffs on in a cold interrogation room about how long she had known Tania McCaskey, had she been with her to Florida, had she been helping her in cheque fraud, (whatever that was)

Rebecca tried to tell the truth, as much of it as she could, but it seemed like that they did not believe her. They then accused her of being part of some passport scam as she was carrying a US passport and clearly had a British accent, and again they refused to believe her.

Come hell or high water they were going to get her to confess to every unsolved crime on the books, so it seemed.

Then the interview was terminated as yet another official, a black woman, came in, angry at the police officer and ordered them to remove the handcuffs. She muttered something about the legalities of interviewing minors and that they had no evidence to charge her.

The police officer grudgingly released Rebecca and turned her over to the black woman, who introduced herself as Mrs Tomlinson from the New York Administration of Children’s Services, who then took Rebecca roughly by the hand and walked out of the police station to another awaiting car dragging her along.

Rebecca was then driven to a large imposing building, which she was told was a group home and ushered inside. To Rebecca, Mrs Tomlinson was more interested in a turf war with the New York Police department than her welfare, Rebecca thought it was best to keep quiet as she was frightened and confused and fearful now that she would never see her uncle after all.

Inside Rebecca was frisked by a security guard, but Rebecca only had the clothes she was wearing,

Rebecca was then asked a number of questions by members of staff

“Have you ever had any homicidal tendencies?”

“Are you a member of any street gang?”

“What drugs are you on?”

Rebecca did not have a clue what they were talking about and just kept saying “no” in a quiet and worried voice, just on the brink of crying.

Then they came to the question, “Have you ever been raped”

Rebecca was confused and asked “What’s rape”, to which they gave a full and frank explanation. Rebecca shook her head then thought for a moment and said, “That’s what my mum’s boyfriend wanted to do to me and wanted his friends to do to me as well”, and then she burst into tears, but nobody comforted her.
“So is that a yes or a no?” the worker just asked, immune to her tears and distress
With eyes streaming with tears, Rebecca just shook her head and mouthed “no”
“I can’t hear you, YES OR NO?” insisted the unsympathetic worker.
“No Miss” Rebecca replied

Rebecca was then ordered to remove all her clothes, including underwear and was given a plain white T-Shirt and set of elasticated jeans to put on instead.

Next they took Rebecca to have criminal mug shots taken, and then a medic of some description did a medical examination of her, then she was given a wash pack and ordered to shower in front of members of staff. After which Rebecca was frog marched to a dormitory with glass walls, with members of staff constantly watching her.

Rebecca sat on a bed and looked at the other girls, they were bigger than her, as Rebecca was a bit small for eleven, and the room she was in was for twelve to fifteen year olds

Rebecca felt alone and frightened as she sat on the mattress and clasped her knees with her hands, started rocking back and forth, and just wept uncontrollably.

Her new life with her uncle had been cut short and now it seemed like she would never get to see him, and worse, they seemed to consider her some kind of criminal guilty of some crime she knew not what. Maybe she thought, this was punishment for not doing what Jim wanted her to do…

To be continued