A Friend Called Alfie by Rachel Wells

Author:Rachel Wells
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 2019-09-10T17:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nineteen

‘Quick,’ George said, as we both sprinted as fast as we could after Pickles. He was about to enter another ward, as he chased behind a man pushing a child in a wheelchair. We caught up with him and just made it through another door before it banged aggressively behind us, I only just managed to whip my tail through in time. As we caught our breath, I looked around and saw that we were in a bright-coloured place. The man carried on pushing the chair, somehow Pickles had hitched a lift. I looked at George in horror. Pickles was sitting on the lap of the little girl in the wheelchair, but thankfully she had hidden him under her dressing gown so the man hadn’t noticed. She was smiling and we followed them until she was pushed to a bed. I had a bad feeling.

‘This must be the children’s ward,’ George said.

So this was a hospital ward I thought, as I saw a row of beds with children and a few adults next to them. I looked at George.

‘This is not good is it?’ I asked.

‘No, Dad. If we get caught there will be a whole heap of trouble.’ And as if to prove the point, Pickles jumped down from the girl’s lap and started sliding around the floor.

‘Look, it’s a dog,’ one of the children shouted, as those who were able got out of bed and crowded around Pickles. The adults looked at each other uneasily. As did George and I who were trying to stay unnoticed behind a curtain.

‘Should he be here?’ one of them asked.

‘I don’t think so, shall I go and get the ward sister?’ another replied.

‘Can’t we play with him?’ the boy who was stroking him asked. ‘Please, he’s so cute.’

‘Woof,’ Pickles agreed.

‘We don’t know anything about him,’ the adult with him replied. ‘But he shouldn’t be here, I’m sure.’

‘Maybe he’s one of those dogs who can visit hospitals,’ another adult suggested. ‘I’ve read about them.’

‘Maybe, but shouldn’t he have an adult with him and be on a lead? What if he bites a child?’ the woman who said she would go and get sister asked, before she left the ward.

‘Oh no,’ I said. Yet again, I realised I should have taken Pickles home, I shouldn’t have come, I should have waited, I should have trusted George. So many things were going wrong and I had a bad feeling in my fur. This was not one of my finer plans. ‘If they catch him, what will they do?’

‘I don’t know but Harold says to me it’s imperative that I don’t get caught, which is why I keep it so quiet. He says there will be big trouble if I’m found out.’

We were already in big trouble, that much was clear and we couldn’t get to Pickles without being seen. I wracked my brain for answers, but I couldn’t come up with a great deal of options.

‘Do you think we should stay hidden and wait and see what happens?’ I asked.

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