Chapter 5

Three days later Anna still hadn’t been found. Nicky refused to do, eat or drink anything. He missed Anna’s smile. The one that warmed his heart even on the coldest of days. The one that always cheered him up if he was feeling lonely. The one waiting for him behind the door when he comes home. He missed her voice and her touch. He longed to wrap his arms around her once more but as each day goes by he realises more and more that he may never get the chance again.
Shane came into Nicky’s hotel room. “The police have called the Coastguard. They are going to start searching the sea,” he told Nicky. “A Boat Hire Company hired out one of his boats to Anna and it hasn’t been returned so she mush have gone out to sea.” Nicky didn’t answer. “We are going to find her,” Shane said wrapping his arms around Nicky.

Anna felt weak. She hadn’t eaten or drunk anything in days. All she had been doing is falling asleep. She stood up and suddenly everything went black…

“There’s no point in all of us being here,” Bryan said Friday evening when everyone was at the dinner table.
“That’s true,” agreed Cherie. “There’s nothing we can do anymore.”
“I think Claire should go home,” said Mark. “I’ll go with her.”
“No!” said Claire. “I’m staying here until she’s been found.”
“But that can take ages,” said Kian.
“I don’t care!”
“I’m going to stay here with Nicky for a while,” said Shane.
“Ok,” said Daniel. “Shane, Nicky, Claire and Mark should stay. I say the rest of us go home.”
Everyone agreed and the next day everyone left leaving Claire, Mark, Nicky and Shane behind. Some fans had found out what had happened and where they were staying so there were constantly twenty odd girls outside the hotel day and night.

On Sunday morning the coastguard decided to send a boat out to the caves. The coastguard himself was aboard along with three other lifeguards. Two of the lifeguards waiting inside the boat at the entrance of the caves with the other one and the coastguard went inside. They slowly crept to the back of the cave. It was quite dark and they saw something on the ground. It was still and silent. The coastguard ran over and saw a lifeless body laying half in the water. He quickly checked her pulse and breathing. “She’s just about alive. Help me get her outside,” he said to the lifeguard. They got her into the boat and the coastguard got onto his radio to tell the police station that a female has been found.

Officer James called Nicky into his office. Shane, Mark and Claire were right there with him. “There has been a body found matching Anna’s description out in the caves. They are on their way to the hospital now. She is having trouble breathing and is suffering from hypothermia. Once she is stable we can go and identify her.” Claire started to cry and Nicky just stared at the floor.

An hour later they were at the hospital, waiting outside the resuscitation unit. A doctor and Mr James came out of the unit and called Nicky in. He walked in behind the doctor. There was nobody else in the room accept for a pale looking girl at the far end. Nicky couldn’t hear anything that was going on around him. He didn’t want to. At first Nicky couldn’t really see the girl properly because she had tubes everywhere but as he got closer, details became more recognisable to him. The shade of blondness in her hair, the shape of her face and the ring on her right middle finger, which he had given to her last Christmas. “Oh my God!” he whispered.
“Is this her?” asked the doctor.
“Yes. It is,” Nicky said as tears began to spill from his eyes. The doctor left him alone with her. He sat down on the chair next to the bed and held Anna’s lifeless hand with his own. He buried his face in the bed and cried.

‘Spend all your time waiting
For that second chance
For a break that will make it OK
There’s always some reason
To feel not good enough
And it’s hard at the end of the day
I need some distraction, oh beautiful release
Memory seeps from my veins
Let me be empty and weightless and maybe
I’ll find some peace tonight

In the arms of the angel, fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here

So tired of the straight line
And everywhere you turn
There’s vultures and thieves at your back
And the storm keeps on twisting
You keep on building the lies
That you make up for all that you lack
It don’t make no difference
Escaping one last time
It’s easier to believe
In this sweet madness
All this glorious sadness
That brings me to my knees

In the arms of the angel, fly away from here
From this dark cold hotel room
And the endlessness that you fear
You are pulled from the wreckage
Of your silent reverie
You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here

You’re in the arms of the angel
May you find some comfort here
Some comfort here.’
(Angel, Westlife, World Of Our Own, 2001)