The Healing Hands

By Christine Davies Curtis

SYNOPSIS FOR ‘THE HEALING HANDS’
Alice Baker knew she had special gift, but it was only after she qualifies as a nurse, working in Casualty in a busy London hospital, she realises she could draw pain from her patients. She always has a severe reaction until Dr John Warford, also with special gifts and a ‘time traveller’ shows her how to control them. He explains if she does not, she could be regressed to a different time.
On a day her mentor is off duty, Alice saves her brother after a near fatal motorbike accident. It sends her into a coma, and she wakes in war torn London in 1940. Befriended by a pretty cockney, Lizzie Brown and joined by time traveller John Warford, she stays at the Nag’s Head Pub in Holloway, run by Lizzie’s father Fred and step mother, Phyllis, who is not all she seems.
Alice discovers there are people, also time travellers, with malicious intent trying to disrupt the outcome of WW2, of which Phyllis is a powerful member. Alice overhears Phyllis and another discussing their plans, but does not hear the whole of it. She is banished from the Nag’s Head and becomes a Red Cross nurse, where she discovers Phyllis’ group have access to a small amount of the ‘Spanish Flu virus’ of 1918. She hears this is being held in a laboratory at Porton Down near Salisbury.
Alice becomes a nurse at the Harvard Hospital in Salisbury, where there are recovering Air force pilots. Phyllis plans to infect some of the pilots, which would have stopped the ‘Battle of Britain,’ and so possibly lost the war.
In a dramatic confrontation, Alice and John Warford(who have become romantically involved) and other helpers manage to vanquish Phyllis and her followers, with surprising results.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christine Davies Curtis
• Release date: Jan 7, 2021
• ISBN: 9781005158163

Christine Davies Curtis

Chris Davies Curtis now lives in the north of Auckland, in Whangaparaoa, Auckland, New Zealand to be near son Roy and family. Much of her very adventurous life has been spent as a community nurse, in London, the tiny feudal Island of Sark in the British Channel Isles, and New Zealand. She also ran a guest house and smallholding in Sark and toured New Zealand for two years in a Bedford van. She has travelled extensively, and now is writing about her experiences, self-illustrating her books.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Staff Nurse Alice Baker moved over to the patient on the stretcher. He was a young man and obviously in pain as blood dripped on the floor from a knife wound in his side. His eyes were frightened as he grabbed the young nurse’s arm with a bloodstained hand. With a hoarse voice he begged her to help. The emergency ward was full with Saturday night revellers and the stretcher had been placed in a side cubicle. Alice had not seen the patient at first, but a message had entered her subconscious and she had discovered the young man in time. She drew back the green curtain and approached the patient, pressing her left hand firmly to staunch the flow and placed the other on his forehead. Closing her eyes she concentrated hard on passing into the patient’s mind. Alice felt the familiar tug of pain extending along her arm to her brain and breathed in deeply. Counting to ten as she had learned by practice, she opened her mind allowing the feeling to penetrate, and gradually absorbed it as she breathed deeply in and out. Finally opening her eyes, she watched as the young man relaxed. Alice withdrew the hand on his forehead, looking deep into the amazed eyes. The noises of the busy Casualty came back into Alice’s consciousness as she smiled at her patient.

Feeling better now? He nodded and she stepped back as Doctor John Warford and a young nurse arrived through the curtain. As always, Alice felt faint after her efforts, but took several more deep breaths and was able to help with the suturing and asked the nurse to finish dressing the wound.

Slipping through the curtain into the treatment area of Casualty, Alice was about to make for the lady’s cloakroom, when she felt a hand on her elbow.

Are you alright Staff Nurse Baker?

His dark eyes under the shock of unruly dark hair showed a concern which would have thrilled Alice, had she not be feeling so drained. Despite herself the young woman felt her face flushing, but just said she needed to go, and escaped down the corridor. She was unaware of John Warford’s eyes following her retreating back. He knew Alice could cope with the gory accidents often brought into Casualty, but her white drained expression on this occasion made him shake his head. He had grown to admire the nurse, admitting to a strong attraction over the months they had worked together, and he had also come to realise something unusual was occurring. Patients seemed to be calmed by her presence, but it was more than that. He smiled to himself: he was absolutely sure now Alice had ‘the gift.’ She would need to be taught how to channel her energies or she would destroy herself. The doctor nodded to himself. It was time to take the young woman in hand, especially as the news coming out of China boded ill for the future. He realised they were all going to need all the help available.

In the cloakroom Alice splashed her face with cold water, taking several deep breaths again. She leant on the basin’s edge for a moment, then smiled at her reflection in the clouded mirror. Her strange blue green eyes stared back at her, with the gold flecks she had noticed most pronounced when she was stressed. Pushing the loose strands of her light blond hair behind her ears, she smoothed down her tunic. Gradually she felt her normal composure return.

As a child she had first discovered she possessed the ability to calm her pet animals, but it was only when she began her nursing training, she realised her gift was much more than that. The first time she had stroked the forehead of a distressed patient in acute pain and felt a powerful surge, like an electric shock shoot up her arm, she had almost cried out with the pain of it. Fortunately no-one had seen this and Alice had quickly rushed away from the patient’s bedside. At that time she had not realised she had relieved the patient’s pain. Over the months, she had learned to control her gift and tried to husband her strength, but each time she was left with a migraine.

Now, Alice excused herself from the Charge Sister, as fortunately her shift was at an end and took the lift to the underground car park. With the headache starting to throb in her temples she walked to her little Mini Cooper, slipping into the driver’s seat. Dodging the busy Saturday night London traffic, Alice was relieved to arrive soon at her small apartment block as the headache intensified. From past experience she knew she needed to sleep off the effects. Nodding to the caretaker in his small office, Alice collected her mail from her box and walked up the one flight of stairs, grateful she was not on the top floor. Letting herself in, Alice breathed a sigh of relief and walked through the living area, flicking on the radio, and pouring a glass of milk from the fridge. Relaxing on the sofa she had not been listening to the newsreader, but the words penetrated her tiredness.

News is just filtering from China a devastatingly lethal type of influenza has caused several deaths. There is general concern worldwide as to where this might spread. Some say it could be a repeat of the Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918.

Too tired and drained to concern herself, Alice turned off the radio, moved to the bedroom, undressed and slipped between the sheets.

She had to admit each time her recovery took longer and she chided herself for becoming involved with the young man. She vowed to help only the very needy in future.

******

CHAPTER 2

This resolve proved hard to keep. Next day the victims of a car accident were brought in. One person had died at the scene and a little girl had multiple fractures. She was screaming with pain and Alice could not prevent herself from soothing the little mite. Her fair hair was matted with blood from glass cuts and her round blue eyes looked terrified. Alice stroked her little head while talking to the child, concentrating hard to pull the pain away from the several focal points. Gradually the child settled, just whimpering with fear.

The effect on Alice was worse than anything she had experienced before. Nearly collapsing, she staggered out of the cubicle, holding on to the curtain for support. The deep breathing was more difficult to perform. In a daze she was aware of Dr Warford’s firm hand on her elbow steering her to a vacant examination room and being helped onto the bed; as she nearly fainted. Alice felt a cool hand on her brow and a slow lessening of the faintness and transferred pain. As she struggled back to consciousness Alice looked deep into a pair of dark brown compassionate eyes.

You really must learn to control this, Staff Nurse Baker...Alice.

He leant back, resisting the urge to kiss the young woman’s lips. Her blond, almost white hair had escaped from her pony tail and spread like a halo on the pillow, and those strange eyes held him entranced for a moment. She was so vulnerable but also had such an inner strength he felt irresistibly drawn to Alice. He reminded himself he must be professional

Wh...what do you mean?

This gift of taking on patients’ pain. I have been watching you. I know you have it.

I don’t understand.

He stood straight and then paced the small area by the bed.

I know you will find this hard to understand, but there are a few of us descended from the witches and warlocks of medieval days who have inherited healing hands. He stopped by the bed where Alice had pulled herself to a sitting position. It is passed on from mother to son or daughter: often when the mother dies. He looked at Alice. Is your mother living?

Unable to say anything, Alice shook her head.

He looked at her with compassion. You have to learn to control your strength or it will destroy you.

Are you...one of them, er us?

I have been for a long time.

A long time?

We won’t go into that now. I just want you to know you are not alone. More importantly, you must contain your strength. You must only use the power when traditional medicine cannot help.

I can’t do that.

You must, or you will suffer regression.

Regression?

He paused for a moment, collecting his thoughts. This is all very strange to you I know, but it is imperative you understand. If you don’t use your gift wisely, you could be sent backwards...

Backwards?

To a previous existence. To start again.

I just don’t understand.

I can’t explain, but let yourself be guided by me. He touched Alice briefly on the shoulder and departed quickly through the cubicle’s curtain

For a moment Alice sat stunned, trying to understand what she had just heard. It all seemed fantastic, but in the back of her mind it almost made sense. She vaguely remembered after her mother had died giving birth to her brother Harry, there had been an increase in her ability to calm animals. They appeared to be drawn to her, and her friends and neighbours brought their pets for her healing hands to be laid on them. It had been a natural thing for her, but earned her a reputation of being a strange child. Alice had compassion for those worse off than her and had put that down to her need for affection, which had been lacking in her young life. Her father had taken a long time to recover from the death of his beloved wife, leaving the children to their own devices and a series of housekeepers.

Alice slid off the bed, smoothed down her skirt and went back on duty. For a while, she tried to avoid becoming involved with severely damaged patients. It was hard, as she felt drawn to them. Twice, she had been about to help, but always Dr Warford appeared at her side and asked her to perform some duty for him away from the patient. She did not see he took on the pain himself, as he had learned over the many years of his life, how to disburse the pain. He decided he must help Alice, and tried to push down the strong attachment he was beginning to develop for the young woman. It would only get in the way, but her fresh beauty and innocence was like a tonic to the life-weary Doctor.

The time soon came when John Warford realised he must waste no more time in teaching Alice or she would be lost to him, and with the news from China he knew they could possibly need her gift. He approached the Casualty Sister.

I want to instruct Staff Nurse Baker on proper First Aid. She really has not the necessary skills should we have a major disaster.

Surprised and a little bemused the Sister released Alice for a few sessions; sessions which she would have been amazed to see had she witnessed them.

Gradually Alice learned a Yoga-like transference and core strength, but fate was to intervene before she was fully in control. On a day when Dr Warford was off duty there was a major traffic incident and Alice was called in to help with a motorbike victim. As she approached the Casualty Department, Alice felt a deep foreboding.

Thank goodness you are here Staff Nurse. The duty Sister was distracted, we have four young men following a nasty accident in Piccadilly Circus. They stupidly rode their motor bikes through the heavy traffic and they all came off in front of a bus. She shook her head, Three are not too badly hurt, but the ringleader...see if you can do anything for him: he is a real mess. As she turned, she frowned. Strange thing, he muttered something which sounded like your name, but I may have been mistaken.

With a sick feeling, Alice pulled the curtain aside where the casualty lay. Although she had not seen her brother for several months, there was no mistaking the curly fair hair and long sideburns of Harry. She knew he had bought a large motorbike and went around with a gang of youngsters. In vain she had tried to stop the wild young man, but any influence had gone when she moved out into her own apartment. Their father had died, and she and Harry had split the inheritance. They had never been very close, and became less so after Alice moved to the nurses’ home when she started her training and Harry decided to share a house with some friends.

Now her younger brother lay white and unmoving on the casualty bed. One arm was obviously broken with a compound fracture. Alice could see the white shards of bone protruding through the skin of his upper arm. His left leg was twisted at an unnatural angle and she suspected a dislocation. He had obviously not been wearing a helmet as all the left side of his face was covered in blood from a severe cut on his scalp and one eye was swollen shut. Alice suspected concussion and probably fractured ribs, possibly perforating his lungs. Bloodstained bubbles seeped from his bruised lips at each laboured breath, and a moan escaped each time breathed in.

She rushed over and spoke his name, but the young man was too far gone to respond and seemed hardly to be breathing. Through her tears Alice bent over and placed both hands on her brother’s chest concentrating all her energy and strength to flow into Harry. Like a massive electric shock she could feel her strength leave her, and as she fainted, she just heard his whisper, Alice, Alice.

It was only a moment later Dr John Warford swept into the cubicle, to discover the apparently lifeless body of Alice collapsed on the floor. He had felt a strong foreboding as he relaxed on his day off, compelling him to call in at the Casualty department. Sweeping the young woman into his arms, he ran to intensive care, calling for assistance. There was little life in Alice as she was connected to a