Child Without a Voice.

Chapter Five

With still no sign of any form of emergency services attending the harrowing scene, Damian knew that his little Sadie was now losing precious minutes – those which could be the very difference between life and death. Noticing a periodic break in the flow of heavy traffic, Damian quickly made the life-risking decision to make his way to his daughter's side. She was dripping blood from the corner of her mouth and had visible bruising on one arm, from where she had collided with the tarmac. Things were surely looking bleak, and Damian needed to take action fast. Looking up, he could see he wasn't the only one who sat near to little Sadie. Another, rather calm looking man, appeared to be doing his best to still the flow of blood, flowing from her mouth. Judging by the man's appearance, he looked perhaps a year or two younger than Damian himself. Although thankful for his help, Damian couldn't help but wonder what had encouraged such a kind and selfless act, from the man. It was far from what he had truly expected to happen, at this point.

"Tell me what you saw back there, for her sake!"

These were the first words Damian spoke to the man, and even now, sitting opposite him on the darkened, frozen pavement; he still could not be sure whether they were the right ones. He couldn't be sure of anything right now, for everything was a blur to him.

"How could you simply just abandon your own child, like that?"

Such a chilling response was hardly what Damian was expecting, but at the same time, deep down he knew those words to be true. For it was he who had failed to take appropriate care, of his young daughter and to keep an eye on where she was, at all times she was with him. That was his one job, after all, and he felt he had failed to commit to it. His pain was clearly reflected in not only his face, but also the way he carried himself. There was a definite, obvious change that had suddenly come over him.

About six months or so ago now; little Sadie had also been involved in another, not quite as traumatic incident. She had tripped and fallen while outside playing, at school. This had then resulted in her breaking her dominant arm, and being out of school for roughly five – six weeks while she healed. Unfortunate as it was; falling victim to such cruel fate, was something that seemed to actively follow Sadie and her small family around a lot. Surprisingly though, the young girl had adapted rather well to the circumstances. This may have been what had helped the healing process. Sadie had always been a very strong-willed child.

"Please, you have to do something to help my poor child!"

As if the two almost instinctively knew what to do in that moment, the strange man picked Sadie up off of the ground, carefully as he could. He gave Damian a nod, before gesturing for him to follow him. As he did so, the two then quickly made their way back to the safety of the pavement. Once there; Sadie was then gently laid back down again by the man, who still hadn't spoke another word to Damian. He wasn't sure whether this was something he should find odd. At this point, his mind was too busy worrying about his little Sadie. He had no idea what would become of her now, whether she would make it through. In this moment, Damian could only hope and pray that someone would be able to help him.

"Come on now, we can help her!" The young man finally spoke, once more. "If you'll keep a watch over your little girl, I will be more than happy to contact emergency services. Just don't expect a rapid response; they've been busy dealing with a mass shooting, downtown."

Damian's brief look of relief, was rather quickly turned to utter shock and fear at the man's last statement. He spoke of a shooting, but what could have brought on such a tragedy? He was more than used to hearing about such things, on the news. But to be told that this is something which was unfolding within his very town... On top of what his mind was already trying to cope with, things were most definitely getting a little too much for him to handle. He wondered just how he was going to get through it all, the panic could be felt rising in his chest. The man felt almost as if he were going to pass out.

"I'm honestly surprised you haven't heard, talk of the attack has been everywhere. I just hope that the Police will be able to take care of the situation. It's really put the emergency services out, that's for sure."

Trying his hardest to not think too much about what he had just been informed of; Damian made the decision to bravely accept and take the advice of the stranger. He glanced over at him briefly, an air of caution in his eyes as he did so. Damian's gaze then returned to the one thing he cared most for, in this confusing moment of chaos. The fragile-looking, weakened body of his little girl lay still and motionless. The rain continued to fall heavy on the three of them as bright, almost blinding lights from the nearby buildings glittered, in the darkness. Damian gently took hold of young Sadie's hand, trying his utmost just to keep it together. He made no effort to strain himself; to try and hear what was being spoken into the small, hand-held mobile device, belonging to his unknown helper. Though Damian knew, that whatever it was, would soon mean that swarms of emergency service workers would be all over the scene. He himself was still shaking from the whole experience, he hadn't stopped since it had first happened. It was going to be a long, long night...