Chelsea Shelby and Finn Shelby ran along the streets of Small Heath, laughter following every turn they took as the two raced each other.
They both came to a halt at the end of a street and faced each other, both breathing heavily, "I so beat you." Finn smirked.
"No!" Chelsea exclaimed, laughing, "I beat you! I'm taller!"
"I'm older!" Finn shouted back.
Finn blinked once and when he opened his eyes, Chelsea had wrestled him to the ground and both landed in a patch of mud.
"What was that for?" Finn shouted.
"He pushed me." Chelsea said quietly, she watched as Danny, the same man from The Garrison the other night, ran through the street, "Come on, follow!"
The two got up, ignored the mud that covered the bottom half's, and sprinted down the road, Chelsea having to grab Finn's hand as he was going to slow.
"It's that crazy one." Finn said, breathing heavily, "The one who still thinks he's in the war. We shouldn't be following him, Chelsea. He's dangerous."
"Don't be silly." Chelsea said, the two came to a halt at the bend and his behind a brick wall, peering round, "He's not. The war was traumatic for everyone, including my father. They just need to know that they're safe."
Chelsea watched closely as the man now tumbled slowly down the road, massaging his head as he whispered multiple words of worry to himself, looking around in panic.
"That looks normal to you?" Finn asked, pressing down on Chelsea's shoulders to get a better view of the man.
"Finn, stop being so mean. Go and get my dad-"
"my brother-"
"-and tell him to come to the bakery."
Danny had now sat down on the floor beneath the bakery window, whimpering and crying, still speaking weird things beneath his breath.
Finn wasted no time in running off back down to Watery Lane to find Tommy and tell him to come down to the bakery just like Chelsea had instructed him to do so.
Chelsea stood up from her hiding place as soon as she saw the bakery owner leave his shop, and sprinted down the lane, her aim was to explain to the bakery that the man meant no harm.
When she got there, the baker was already speaking to Danny, "Hey, what do you do? We're closed!"
"Sir, I'm Che-" Chelsea started but the baker took one look at the child and shushed her.
"Go home!" He ordered as Danny continued to cry, "Go home, crazy man. I said, go home, crazy man!"
Chelsea heard a click from the man's pocket and caught a glimpse of a silver sharp edge, and she immediately got into action.
She jumped in front of Danny and tried to shield him with her small body, stretching her arms as far as she could, "He doesn't mean any harm! Please, listen!"
But he simply wasn't listening, "Go home, crazy man!" he shouted once more, now whipping the pocket knife out of his sleeve and holding it as a weapon.
Danny looked past Chelsea's arms and saw the man's weapon in his hand, "Fix bayonets!" he yelled.
With one swift push, Chelsea was shoved into a collected of stacked chairs and tables, and was sent stumbling to the ground as Danny grabbed the knife of the man and stabbed him directly in the heart, the baker now lying on the floor with blood spilling from his shirt.
Chelsea looked up after her stumble and saw the scene, letting out a horrified scream, tears streaming down her face.
"No!" she bellowed, jumping forwards and pressing down on the man's wounds, "No! Please! Someone call for help! He needs the hospital!"
"Little girl, get off of him." An Italian man said, trying to wrench Chelsea away from the dead man's corpse.
"Hands of my daughter." A stern voice said from the distance, heading toward them in a slow jog, "Do not touch her."
When he reached Chelsea, he pulled her away and let her collapse into his grip, "Princess, it's okay."
"No!" Chelsea sobbed, pulling away from her dad with blood-soaked hands and a muddy teared face, "It isn't okay! A man has died!"
"Chelsea-" Tommy started again but Chelsea stood up and sprinted as fast as she could away from the situation, the only thing that could be heard were her sobs from the distance.
Chelsea had no clue where she was running, her legs seemed to be carrying her wherever they wanted to go and that ended up being The Garrison.
She fell through the doors and saw Grace serving men from behind the counter, "Here, have a good day, sir."
"G-grace." Chelsea sobbed, her hands outstretched, refusing to look at the blood.
Grace looked over and saw the girl standing there, looking more vulnerable than ever before, "My darling." Grace said, walking from behind the counter, "What has happened? Are you hurt?"
Chelsea shook her head, unable to speak.
Grace understood and picked the girl up, balancing her on her hip, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up, ey?"
Chelsea nodded.
The two girls were now in the bathroom, Chelsea sat on the counter beside the sink as Grace washed her hands for her, also washing her face and drying it with a collection of toilet roll.
"Can you tell me what happened, my darling?" Grace said softly, after getting the girl cleaned up, "You can tell me if someone tried to hurt you."
"No-not me." Chelsea said, shaking her head, "A man. Got stabbed. I was only trying to help, but I-I think I made things worse."
"Oh baby." Grace said, smiling sadly at the girl, biting back her own tears, "You did not make things worse, do not blame yourself."
The night had passed by swiftly and Chelsea had not left the warm embrace of Grace, they sat in the snug together with Grace holding Chelsea as she explained the scene she had witnessed.
Grace comforted the upset child and insisted on walking her home but Chelsea managed to sneak away before she could.
She really just wanted to be on her own, and as much as she really did appreciate Grace's words of comfort, she just needed space.
But on her walk, all Chelsea could think about was how loving Grace had just been and how she had truly helped her. Yes, Chelsea was still traumatised, but Grace's words had calmed her down.
Chelsea wondered around once more, not knowing where she was going but she didn't really care, she was finally starting to realise that this was her future. . .this was what her father and family were preparing her for.
She found herself near the canal, looking out onto the river that carried all sorts of trash and dead animals, some even still breathing.
She heard footsteps and men muttering to each other, their voices sounded worried and sad, one almost sounding sorry.
Chelsea recognised the sorry voice immediately, it was her father.
She smiled to herself, happy to see him but her smile dropped as she saw him holding a gun in one hand and the other holding Danny's back, walking him to a boat that had just docked at the side of the canal.
"Dad what are you-"
BANG.
TT-schoop4xhoy
