1| WAKE UP LITTLE ONE ( zalfie)

Chapter 14

When the police left, Caspar, Poppy and I just hung out in my room until, all of a sudden, the lights went out, leaving us in pitch black.

I didn't worry too much, the power sometimes cut in my flat. Caspar got up, looking nervous, and flicked the light switch a few times, but the room got no lighter. He went to open the curtains, but it was pitch black outside. We were left in darkness and couldn't see a thing.

Using my phone for light, I tried to turn on TV's, computers, but the power was completely cut. I lit some candles and Caspar decided to go and see if he could fix the power.

"No, Caspar-" I said. "You heard what the officers said. Don't go outside at night, or alone."

"Relax Zoe, it's just your house. I'll be fine," Caspar reassured me, and left the room before I could protest more.

Anxious, I sat next to Poppy on my bed. We heard a crash downstairs and both jumped a mile, springing to our feet.

"It's OK," I reassured Poppy and myself. "I'm sure Caspar just knocked something over."

Poppy grasped my hand for comfort, and I squeezed it tight. Seconds later, we heard banging and a loud scream.

I screamed with Caspar, frightened for my life, and grabbed my phone ready to dial police.

"We should investigate first," Poppy spoke up. "Just in case this is all a coincidence, and Caspar just...slipped or something."

The last thing I wanted to do was go downstairs at night with the house in darkness after hearing screaming and banging, but Poppy was right. Maybe all was well.

Clutching onto Poppy's hand, we crept out the door.

"If we can make it to the kitchen we can grab some knives," I whispered to Poppy. "And my bigger torch."

"Don't use the light until we get the knives in case it attracts...Whatever hurt Caspar," Poppy advised.

In silence, Poppy and I tiptoed to the kitchen. Sighing in relief, we both grabbed big butcher's knives, and a baseball bat Joe used to play with.

We crept in the direction we heard the screaming, and just as we entered the living room, the lights all came back on. I gasped to see Caspar lying on the floor, bleeding from his head, looking dazed.

I screamed in a panic and brandished the weapons.

"Who did this to you, Caspar?" I yelled. "Where are they?"

Caspar tried to speak. Blood trickled out his mouth. "L-Left. W-Window," he croaked.

I turned around to face the window. The glass was smashed and shards of it lay all over the sofa and floor. Blood clearly stained the remains of the glass.

I was still shaking, scared. Poppy bravely ran to the window, shining the torch out of it. Nothing. Whoever had attacked Caspar was gone.

I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and dialled the police with shaky hands.

Twenty minutes later, three police cars and an ambulance were parked outside my house. A helicopter hovered above us in the sky, and several other police cars were driving around Brighton looking for the culprit.

The ambulance men carried an unconscious Caspar into the ambulance on a stretcher. Police officers were using magnifying glasses, sprays and tubes to examine my shattered window, and a couple accompanied Caspar to the hospital to get evidence off of him.

Poppy and I were wrapped in blankets, sipping green tea to try and calm us down. We sat close together, shaking, more frightened than we'd ever been before.

The officers were questioned us. I noticed it was Elliot and Aaron again. We recited our whole story and answered a ton of questions which were apparently important.

Finally, when the police collected their evidence, a few helped board up my window with planks until we could get it repaired tomorrow, and then left. Elliot and Aaron stayed the night in case they returned, the police cars continued roaming Brighton and the helicopter continued flying above us. Full protection. But would it be enough?

The report was all over the TV and newspaper, and people were asked to look out for Alfie. Caspar still hadn't been questioned, so the police were looking forward to getting a lot more information out of him.

Poppy and I wanted to visit him but the officers wouldn't allow it until the morning. When it was light it was a lot safer to be travelling.

Poppy and I shared my bed, and hardly slept a wink out of worry. The officers set up camp on my sofas, and in the morning Poppy and I set off straight away for the hospital to see Caspar. Dom came with us, acting as a bodyguard.

Reaching the hospital, Poppy and I were brought straight up to see Caspar. Two officers we didn't recognise were sitting outside, waiting for him to recover some more to question him.

Poppy and I went straight in, and saw Caspar lying on the bed, a bandage around his head and a couple of tubes attached to him, presumably because he'd lost a lot of blood last night. He had dark bags under his eyes, which were bloodshot.

"Caspar!" I cried, running to sit beside him. "Are you alright?"

"That's a great thing to ask a guy who just got attacked, Zoe," Caspar said sarcastically.

At least he still had his sense of humour, I thought.

"Can you tell us what happened last night, Cas?" I asked, stroking his hair which was plastered to his face with blood and sweat.

"I'll tell you all I know, but it won't be much help," Caspar sighed. "I went downstairs to try and fix the power when this guy jumped out at me. He was tall and was definitely a man. He wore all black and he had blonde hair. It was strange, it was almost white. He attacked me with his fists, got me down and then cut my head with a knife. He used the knife to cut the power, too. He was punching me in the face when he heard someone coming downstairs and ran to he window, smashed it with his knife and jumped out the other side. He ran over those bushes..."

"That leads to the town where Jack and Finn live," I said, eyes wide.

"Don't forget my attacker had white blonde hair. Call me crazy but Tyler and Troye are staying near where Jack and Finn are. You could've got to their hotel from where my attacker ran to."

"Interesting," I said.

I told him about what Tyler had said about my car. How he'd known which one was mine when he'd never met me before.

"I think Tyler is our number one suspect," Caspar said.

"I'll go tell the police waiting outside," Poppy said, and ran out to tell them our new information.

"I'm sorry you got hurt, Cas," I sighed. "I'm so scared."

"Me too Zo," Caspar sighed.

I leant into his chest and gave him a gentle hug, careful not to touch the wound on his head.

"Everything will work out," I said, trying to stay positive. "The police will find the culprit and Alfie will be fine."