What Makes A Detective.

Chapter 12

"For every bear that ever there was..."

The tinkling song continued, but now there was something else.

"TOBY? TOBY!"

Breathing quickly, Toby instantly recognised his brother's voice. Also, if he strained, he could just about pick up other voices too, all calling for him in the distance.

But which sound was closer?

Toby knew that if he shouted from where he was, he'd attract the attention of everyone else in the woods-essentially salvation and the danger at the same time. He also knew that the longer he waited, the closer they both could get, but they could also get further away...

Toby shook free of his overthinking, apologised to Rosie quietly and shouted.

"QUINNE! I'M HERE! HELP!"

He then moved out into the open, Rosie almost unconscious in his arms, looking around frantically. He saw shadows moving in the distance, he saw shapes moving between the trees. He saw lights. He saw dark spots. He saw little glints of sunlight off metal.

"QUINNE?" Toby yelled again, his voice breaking slightly in desperation. "QUINNE, I'M HERE!"

He backed to where he thought the noise was coming from, looking left and right, everywhere at once.

"TOBY?"

"Quinne!" Toby called out, looking desperately around for his brother. Quinne was running full tilt through the trees towards him, and they met relievedly on both sides.

"Quinne, this is Rosie" Toby gasped, trying to push the little girl off onto his stronger brother. "She's in shock. I can't carry her..."

"Here" Quinne ordered briskly, and Rosie, now sleeping fitfully, was passed between them.

"You're an idiot" Tarquin muttered, grunting under Rosie's weight.

"I'm an idiot" Toby agreed reluctantly, as his legs began to give way and he slowly dropped down to his knees on the muddy ground.

"Is there anyone else?" the younger brother then asked, looking up as Tarquin cradled the little girl comfortingly in his arms.

"Yeah. I ran ahead.." Quinne began, but trailed off as once again, that haunting song came to their ears.

"If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise..."

"What's that?" Quinne asked worriedly, glancing left and right. Toby pinched himself, scrambling to his feet again.

"It's her. It's the woman. It's the woman who killed the children" he explained quickly, pushing his brother holding Rosie back the way he had come. "She's after us."

"I can't run with this girl..." Quinne started to say.

"Boo!"

Toby yelled, and Quinne took a half- step back. The two boys began to move slowly away, as the old woman had sneaked up on them so silently neither of them had heard.

"What's the fear, my dears?" she crooned softly, shuffling closer. Quinne couldn't drop Rosie, so Toby stepped in front of him and grabbed a stick from the ground, pointing it shakily forward.

"Ohhh" the woman sighed, smiling loosely. "Don't bother with that silly little thing..."

She darted forward. Toby swung with the stick. Quinne started shouting loudly for help, and the woman seemed to shy away from the noise.

Too late, Toby realised it was a feint, as she darted forward once again, twisting the stick from his grasp and throwing it away, pulling him forward.

Six gunshots rang out through the trees.

Instantly, Toby dropped to his hands and knees, crawling away as best he could. Another twelve shots followed-two rounds-and Quinne flattened himself and Rosie against a tree. Toby peeped behind to see where the shots had come from, and saw Carmen striding furiously across the forest floor, holding a smoking, gleaming silver pistol out in front of him. Barnes was jogging worriedly behind.

"Toby?" Carmen asked concernedly.

"Fine, sir" Toby replied, promptly despite the shock. "Thank you, sir."

"I hope it teaches you a lesson" Carmen growled. "Tarquin?"

"I'm alright, sir" Quinne replied. "I only just got here..."

The woman, who had also dropped to the floor on hearing Carmen's shots, chose this time to try and sneak away. Carmen turned his attention straight to her, reloading and relifting the gun.

"Don't move" he ordered gratingly. "I'd like you down at the station, if you don't mind."

"Would you use that? On a senior citizen?" the woman asked coyly. Carmen snorted.

"With all due respect, I daresay I would. Not to kill, mind. Although perhaps..." he mused, as he cocked the shining weapon almost lovingly. "Perhaps to temporarily paralyse."

The woman seemed to realize that running maybe wasn't the best option here, although Toby couldn't be sure. Sitting on the rough ground as he was, it didn't stop him from beginning to slip into unconsciousness. He heard a police whistle, and lots of running feet. He heard Carmen yell for nobody to move. He heard lots of shouting, and some chillingly animalistic screeches of hatred. He then felt huge, strong arms hoisting him up off the floor, and everything sort of faded to a peaceful, misty grey.