Ellen Blake Destined To Return

65 - Willis on tour

6th August

'Ellen!'

'Ellen!'

All Ellen could feel was a throbbing in the back of her head. She tried to open her eyes, but had to close them from the intensity of the light.

'Ellen!'

'Is she alright?' asked a disembodied female voice, that was strangely familiar. It was not the voice of Marianne or Brook.

Trying again, Ellen pulled herself up onto her elbows and squinted. She couldn't work out why the dimly-lit chapel was now bathed in some form of heavenly light. Moreover she couldn't understand why Sebastien or one of the other Temporal Enforcers hadn't manhandled her, held her in a vice-like grip and was directing Victor's frightful syringe into her upper arm.

'Where are they?'

'They've gone ... they're not here,' replied Aaron, excitedly.

Only seconds earlier the ginger-bearded man was mere feet away from her, but she couldn't see or sense his huge frame close by. Although Ellen's vision was slowly returning, everything still remained blurred. There was a dark mass before her that she assumed was Aaron, considering it was the direction of his voice, but everything was still a cloudy pea soup.

'I don't get it. Why did he disappear?' said a groggy Ellen.

'Ellen, don't you get it? We're home.'

'Home?'

Ellen blinked, she was trying to see detail and get some definition on the world around her.

Aaron's voice was a mix of excitement and relief. It was understandable as less than a minute earlier he had been desperately trying to find the correct pipes, but couldn't fail to fear the presence of Sebastien charging towards them like a demented rhinoceros.

'Yes, well not home, home. But we did it. We've made it back to 2014.'

'Seriously? Are you sure? We're really home?'

'Yes, we must be,' smiled Aaron. 'There are no Enforcers, no Billy, no Marianne ... but there is someone, well a couple of people here instead.'

Rubbing her eyes, Ellen's vision started to make sense. She could now confirm what Aaron was saying, there was no Sebastien nearby and she tried to make out the shape of the two Aaron spoke of.

'Mum ... Dad?'

'No dear.'

'Nan! Nan, you're alright ... you're alive.'

Ellen was a little shaky, but she got to her feet and flung her arms around her Grandmother.

'I didn't realise I was anything but alive,' squeaked the old woman, under the pressure of Ellen's delighted embrace. 'If you want me to keep that way ... you might want to ease off a little.'

'Sorry,' apologised Ellen, releasing her grandmother and giving her a kiss on the cheek instead. 'It's so good to see you again. You will not believe where we've been for the last three days and what has happened to us.'

'I have more of an idea than you realise, but yes I'm looking forward to hearing all about it.'

'Oh and guess what? We saw Billy ... Granddad, can you believe that? He was a boy, younger than us, he was thirteen. He was brilliant ... and Marianne, she was absolutely lovely.'

'I know you met Granddad. He told me all about it. But I'd love to hear your side of the story, as you know it's been a few years since I've heard it from him.'