Ben let out a tired moan, which could have been a yes.

“Can I come, sir?” Mike asked, “Please?”

“I think it’s best if you stay here,” Mr Allen told Mike.

“Please, sir. Won’t it be better for him to have a friend there?”

Mr Allen didn’t have time to answer, because at that moment the paramedics arrived.

 

Ben was glad when the ambulance arrived at the hospital, if not just because the paramedics had bombarded him with question after question, trying to find what had happened, how and why and where and when. At least they had been able to slow the bleeding, applying a fresh bandage and applying pressure to the wound.

The hospital’s A&E department was quiet, and Ben was seen to almost right away. The gash on his arm was given stitches, and the shallo