Gemma Gibbins-Smythe

by Brian Taylor.

Chapter 3.

Gemma and her parents sat quietly in the lounge watching the phone, waiting for it to ring. No one spoke. When at last the phone did ring, it took them by surprise. They leaned forward in their seats and looked at each other before Gemma's dad got to his feet. "I'll answer it." When he got to the phone, he paused, took a deep breath, then picked it up. "Hello! George Gibbins-Smythe …… Ah yes! Mr Downs, we were expecting a call … … He has? Good! …… Yes! Hardly surprising. …… Oh dear, that doesn't sound good ………Oh, well let's hope so ………Thanks for letting us know."
Unable to hear the other half of the conversation, Gemma and her mum had no idea what the situation was. "Hurry up, dad. What's the news?"
"The Turner boy's come round. He's had a thorough check and, as far as they can tell, he's twisted his knee and bruised his back … quite badly too. He's got a minor cut on his head but no sign of any breaks or fractures ..."
"But George, you said something didn't sound good." interrupted his wife.
"Yes! I did. There is one problem - he can't see at the moment."
"How awful." muttered Gemma.
"Hold on." continued her dad, "It may just be something to do with the crack on the head. What I mean is, there's no sign of damage to the eyes so it may be temporary. The hospital is going to run more tests in the next few days but at moment only time will tell if the loss of sight is permanent."
The family went to bed that night mentally exhausted, but relieved that the results of the accident weren't as bad as they might have been.

By the time the students arrived at school on Monday morning, most knew about the accident and were talking about it. Gemma, however, had other priorities. She searched the playground for Neil. She found him by the gymnasium surrounded by a group of boys. Undeterred, she pushed through the group, grabbed Neil by the arm "Come with me." she ordered, and dragged him along behind her until they were on their own.
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to be rude. I just want to know how you are."
"I'm okay." said Neil, "It's Tug I’m concerned about."
"Why?" she queried, "He's a bully. He deserves everything he got."
"That's a bit harsh. He's never blinded anyone."
"I know. But if he hadn't gate-crashed my party this would never have happened."
"Look, I went to see him in hospital yesterday. He's very frightened and right now could do with someone taking an interest in him. I know you're right, but I'm prepared to forgive him for what he's done to me in the past."
"How can you do that?" demanded Gemma.
"Quite easily." replied Neil. "God's forgiven me for all the wrong things I've done. Every Sunday in church I say the Lord's Prayer. You know, 'Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.’ How can I say it and mean it if I don't forgive Tug?"
"Have it your own way." said Gemma, "Don't blame me if it doesn't do you any good." With that she turned and stormed off.

Several weeks later, Tug returned to school. Though he'd regained some of his sight, he still couldn't see well enough to read or get around on his own. Neil looked after him. Unfortunately, there was an incident just after school. A group of pupils found Tug on his own and took the opportunity to give him a bit of his own medicine. Tug resolved there and then not to go to school again until he could see properly.
At registration the following morning, Neil was in a particularly good mood. "I had a phone call from Tug this morning." he announced to the class, "And guess what? … His sight's back to normal."
A collective groan rose from the rest of the pupils and someone commented "It won't be long before he's up to his old tricks again, will it?" This was not quite the response Neil had expected. He sat down saddened. It was clear that his classmates felt much happier with a Tug who couldn't see properly and, therefore, couldn't bully them.

Tug was back in class immediately after half-term. But this wasn't the old Tug. 9NM was amazed when he stood up and apologised to the class for his past behaviour and promised to try hard to be a model pupil. Moreover, when Neil told them how Tug had helped him down Moel Winion, a mountain in Snowdonia, when he, Neil, had fallen and sprained his ankle badly and couldn't walk, the class was prepared to give Tug the benefit of the doubt …at least for the time being.

The rest of the term went surprisingly well. Tug behaved himself and his classmates began to respond and included him in things. He and Neil were now firm friends. They were inseparable at school and went to church together.

At last, Thursday the 22nd of July arrived. It was the last day of term and school finished at noon. Gemma left school with Neil and Tug. As they wandered along they chatted about their holiday plans. They hadn't gone far when a black Mercedes pulled up just ahead of them and a man and a woman got out. "Excuse me," said the woman, "Could you tell us where Spurthorpe High is? We seem to have missed it."
"You have, but it's not far. It's just about 200 metres around that corner." explained Tug half-turning to point.
At that moment, the woman grabbed Gemma, put her hand over her mouth and dragged her to the car. The man rushed at Tug and Neil and pushed them violently to the ground then ran back to the car and jumped into the front passenger seat. It was all over in a seconds. As the boys scrambled to their feet, the car accelerated away.
"We’re not having that." said Tug. He ran into the middle of the road and stopped the first car that came along. It happened to be Miss Holroyd, a Geography teacher from the school.
"Follow that black car!" yelled Tug as he opened the back door and climbed in. Copying Tug, Neil slid into the seat beside her.
"What do you think you're doing?" demanded Miss Holroyd.
"A man and a woman have kidnapped Gemma. They're in that car … V 507 W something. I didn't get the …." Neil was cut short.
"Never mind that. Follow it." urged Tug, "But don't get too close. Have you got a mobile Miss, so we can phone the police?"
"Yes. But it's in my briefcase in the boot."
"Never mind then. Just keep the car in sight."
At first, that wasn't a problem. The Mercedes kept more or less to the speed limit through town. "I don't think they know we're on their tail." said Neil. Once they were out of town and in the countryside it was a different matter. The black car picked up speed and was out of sight more often than not. After about 10 minutes the Mercedes was nowhere to be seen. When they came to a junction Miss Holroyd asked, "Which way now?"
"‘Try straight ahead." said Neil.
As they crossed the junction, Tug shouted "Stop! I've just seen it. It turned right."
Miss Holroyd braked sharply, reversed at speed then took the road Tug had indicated. They must have travelled 3 miles or more along this road with no sign of the Mercedes before Neil said in a dejected tone "‘I reckon we've lost it. Or maybe not." He suddenly sounded excited. "Look! To the left. Do you see that cloud of dust over that hedge? Could that be it?"
Miss Holroyd slowed the car and as they passed the end of what appeared to be a farm track it was clear that a vehicle had just driven down it. A little cloud of dust was settling back to earth. "Looks as if there's a farm down there." said Tug, "We could be wrong about the car, but it's our only hope now."
Miss Holroyd stopped the car about 100 metres beyond the track. "I'll ring the police." she said, "If it is the people who've got Gemma, they could be dangerous." She left the car engine ticking over and went to the boot to retrieve her mobile. When she got back in her seat, she switched it on, "Oh rats." she said after a few seconds, "There's no signal here. It just keeps saying ‘Searching for a network’."
"Right!" said Tug taking command, "This is what we'll do. Me and Neil …".
"Neil and I." said Miss Holroyd, ever the teacher.
"Whatever." said Tug, "Me and Neil, we'll get out here and go and have a look at the farm. See if we can see the Merc. You go back until you get a signal then ring the cops. C'mon Neil."
"I'm not sure that's a good …" But it was too late. Tug and Neil were out of the car and running into the wood at the side of the road.

Miss Holroyd drove on until she found somewhere to turn and then headed back to town. Every minute or so she would take her mobile from the passenger seat and peer at it to see if there was a signal. On the fourth occasion, as she turned her attention back to the road ahead, a small deer bounded out of a wood on her left into the path of the car. She instinctively turned the wheel to avoid hitting it but the car hit the verge and careered off the road into the trees. When it came to rest, nothing moved and all that could be heard was the continuous blare of the car's horn.

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