Irish Mist - Sean's Story (Mary O'Reilly Short Story) (2 page)

The woods seemed to be closing in around her.  The shadows were lengthening and the branches appeared to be getting closer, like the trees could move.  She stood her ground, twisting her head back and forth to watch for movement. “Sean,” she called again, clearing her throat so she was louder. “Sean, I give.  You win.  Just come out. Now.  This place gives me the creeps.”

All she wanted was to see her brother pop out from behind a tree, laughing and teasing her.  She took a deep breath and counted slowly, “One thousand one, one thousand two, one thousand three, one thousand four…”

Continuing for sixty long seconds, her heart echoing each second that passed, she realized her brother wasn’t coming. Something was wrong. Very wrong.  She weighed her options.  She could try and follow his path in the forest or she could run back to her grandmother’s house and get help.  She thought about her brother, even though he was annoying, she also knew he was strong, brave and smart.  If something had happened to him, she would need help.  She took a deep breath and then yelled as loud as she could, “Sean, I’m coming!  I’m getting help, but I’m coming back!  I promise!”

Then she turned and dashed out of the woods running as if Sean’s life depended on her, because she really felt it did.

She reached the cozy cottage in record time and burst through the door, gasping for air as she entered.

“Mary, child, what’s wrong?” her mother asked, immediately concerned. 

Her father stood and hurried to his daughter’s side. “Mary?”

“Sean,” she gasped. “In the woods.  In trouble.”

Her ancient grandmother rose quickly from her chair and took Mary’s shoulders in her hands. “Sean went into the woods?” she asked, alarm in her voice.

“Did you see him?” her father asked.

Mary shook her head. “Hide and seek,” she gasped. “I followed his trail.”

“Lord have mercy,” her grandmother whispered and then she turned to her daughter. “Margaret, you and Timothy take the car and take the dirt road to the far side of the meadow.”

“We’re going too,” Arthur said, “we can help search for him.”

Tommy nodded. “Yeah, we’ll all go and find him.”

“We’re a family; we help each other,” Mary added.

“Fine, you all go,” the grandmother said, “But be careful and take this.”

She thrust a bottle into her daughter’s hand.

“What is it, ma?” she asked.

“Holy water,” the old woman replied. “Now hurry. We have no idea what he’s gotten into, but there’s no time to waste.”

Timothy flipped open his suitcase and pulled out his service revolver.

“That won’t help you if he’s fallen in with them,” she said, looking at the gun.

“Aye, well, if it’s not them, this will help me a great deal,” he said, shoving it into the waist of his pants. “Let’s go.”

Chapter Four

Was that Mary’s voice?

He didn’t want her facing the creature too.  “No, Mary, stay away,” he mumbled.

He twisted away again and this time, the creature opened his grip and released him. He fell backwards, his limbs too heavy to respond.  Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion.  As he fell, he could see past the creature to the tree that had held the red-haired girl captive.  Now, only a few strands of her hair hung on the branches where she had been.
Good! At least she got away.

He hit the ground with a thump and lay at the feet of the beast like an offering.  He looked up and even through his blurred vision he could see long streams of frothy saliva streaming past its canine teeth and down its throat.  It growled in appreciation and a long black tongue darted from its mouth and wiped the foam away.
Damn, I’m dinner
, he realized and immediately felt bad for saying a word his mother would raise her eyebrows over.  Then he thought better of it. 
I’m going to die. I can say damn all I want to. Damn. Damn. Damn. Damn.

The beast cocked his head, looking down at Sean.  He lifted one arm up and stretched its fingers, the razor-sharp claws making a clicking sound as they snapped into place.  Then its reptilian eyes met Sean’s, the look was cold and cruel and Sean knew this would be the death blow.  He braced himself, but didn’t close his eyes.  There was no way he was going to face death with his eyes closed.  He took a deep breath. 

The glint of sun on metal blinded him for a moment and he panicked, not able to see the creature.  Finally, when he could see again, he realized the creature’s arm was still posed for the kill, but it wasn’t moving.  His gazed traveled up to its head, which seemed to be moving but not with the rest of the body.  The head began to topple forward and Sean realized it was no longer attached to the rest of the body.  He braced himself once more, this time for the weight of the head dropping on his stomach.  But as it fell, it turned to dust along with the rest of its body and dropped to the ground beside him.

“It doesn’t look like much once you’ve wacked its head off,” the girl said, wiping green ooze from the blade of her broadsword.

“What?” Sean murmured, finding it hard to comprehend that he was not going to die.

“Heldeofol,” she replied. “Nasty creature.  Poisonous. I’ve never seen anyone daft enough to take it on with just a stick.”

Even in his nearly unconscious state, Sean didn’t like her attitude. “Saved you,” he gasped.

“Oh, aye, you helped,” she replied casually. “But don’t be looking to get a medal for it. I’d have been out of the fix on my own in a moment or two.  You really had no reason to bother yourself.”

Sean glared at her.

“Well, no need to get nasty,” she said, kneeling down next to him.

She lifted his arm and tore his shirt away to expose his wounded arm. “Ah, he got you right good,” she whispered sympathetically. “It’s a scar you’ll wear for the rest of your days, if I’m not mistaking.”

The wound was red and puckered, and blood was oozing around the edges.  Small veins of black poison crisscrossed underneath Sean’s skin up his arm. The black was creeping slowly and was nearly to his shoulder. She ripped a piece of his shirt, formed a tourniquet and tied it high on his arm.

“We can’t have the poison get to your heart,” she explained. “Then you’d be a goner for sure.”

Pulling a few leaves from a nearby tree, she put them in her mouth and chewed on them a little before pulling them out and placing them on the wound.  Sean scrunched up his nose in disgust and she laughed. “Aye, I know, ‘tis disgusting, but it’s the only way to release the healing properties.”

She sat back on her heels and looked at him. “Your wound is deep and poison is traveling quickly. There is a way I can help you, but you must know, we will be bound because of it. Do you agree?”

Sean could barely hear her through the pain of his wounds and the lethargy caused by the poison.  He watched her mouth move and heard the words:
help, bound
and
agree
.

Nodding he took a deep shuddering breath and watched in detached interest as she withdrew a small silver knife from a sheath at her waist.
She’s going to kill me
, he thought.
After all this, the girl is going to kill me.

She lifted his hand and drew her blade across the mound of flesh below his thumb and then repeated the same process on her own hand.  She placed the knife back in the sheath and placed their hands together, her hand on top so the blood flowed from her body into his. 

Sean gasped at the burning sensation he felt at her touch. It was worse than the Mercurochrome his mother used for their scrapes and cuts. He wanted to pull his hand away, but he couldn’t get his arm to respond.

“If it makes you feel any better, I can feel the burn too,” she said, grimacing in pain. “Your blood is no treat to my system either.”

As she transferred her lifeblood into his system to kill the poison, she watched the blackened veins slowly fade and move back towards the initial wound. It was working.  The lad was going to live.  She breathed a soft sigh of relief.  She knew she’d lied.  If not for his interference, she would have died.  Her trainers had warned her to braid up her hair, but she’d been too stubborn to listen.  She owed him her life, a boon she’d never forget.

“Your name?” she asked.

“Sean,” he mumbled.

“Well then, Sean, you’re going to be fine,” she said. “And the remnants of the poison will turn this experience into naught but a bad dream.  Now all we have to do is get you up and to the edge of the woods where you’re people will be looking for you.”

She slipped her arm underneath Sean and sat him up.  He was still dazed, but he felt stronger.  He struggled to his feet and leaned against her.

“Can you walk?” she asked.

He nodded and stumbled forward.

Grabbing hold of him, she stopped his movement before he tripped himself. “Aye, you are the brave one, aren’t you?” she asked, a smile dancing across her lips. “Two sheets to the wind a moment ago and now you’re about running back home. Well, let’s take the slow route and let me help you just a wee bit.”

She guided him back through the forest, taking most of his weight on her. 

He was still in a fog, but he understood he was going back…going home.  As he moved forward, he realized that he was dizzier than he thought because it seemed that the vegetation opened up to them as they passed, branches lifted and bushed bowed so they could walk through undisturbed.  “They’re getting out of our way…” he whispered.

“Aye, you’re half-daft,” she whispered, although he could hear the smile in her voice. “Trees and plants cannot move as we bid.”

In only a few minutes, they arrived at the edge of the woods.  He tried to quicken his pace, but she held him back.

“Just a moment,” she said. “I need to be sure the way is clear.”

“I’ll be fine,” he mumbled, his voice stronger than before.

“Aye, you will be,” she said. “But I need to be sure for meself. Your people react a little strangely when they see folks like me.”

 She left him, leaning against a large tree, as she surveyed the clearing ahead of them.  “There’s a car heading this way,” she reported to him, calling back to him over her shoulder. “They should arrive here within a few minutes.”

“Mary must have gotten ma and da,” he replied. “They’re probably worried.”

“Well, that’s nice you have parents who care,” she said wistfully.

She hurried back and helped him the remaining steps to the clearing, guiding him along the lower side of a rise, so she was hidden from view.  Stopping at a large boulder, she helped him rest against it.  Placing her hand on his brow, she waited for a moment and then smiled. “You’re going to be fine, Sean the brave,” she said. “I wish you good health and a blessed life.”

Sean had so many questions, but he barely had the strength to keep his eyes open. He rested his head against the rock. “But…” he murmured, not able to finish the question.

She bent down and placed a quick kiss on his forehead. “Thank you, Sean,” she whispered. “I owe you and I won’t be forgetting.”

He watched her hurry back into the shelter of the woods and then she just disappeared.  That was the last thing he remembered for a long time.

Chapter Five

The lights were low when he finally woke up.  Sean didn’t know if it was early in the morning or late at night.  He looked around slowly and realized he was sleeping on the couch in the front parlor of the cottage and a banked fire glowed in the fireplace. 
Why am I sleeping on the couch?
he wondered.
I don’t remember being sick.

`
Then, in the far corner of his mind, almost out of reach, he remembered entering the woods. “The woods!” he exclaimed aloud.

“Sean, you’re awake,” his father said, jumping up from the nearby recliner and hurrying to his son’s side.

His father, usually the epitome of good grooming and tidy dressing, looked awful.  His hair was disheveled, his face was covered with stubble and his clothes looked like he had slept in them for several days.  He pushed his hair out of his face and laid his hand on Sean’s forehead. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

Sean did a quick self-assessment. “Um, thirsty and hungry, really hungry,” he said, the woods pushed from his mind by his dad’s unkempt appearance. “Dad, are you okay?  You kind of look like a mess.”

His dad laughed and nodded. “I’m fine, Sean, just fine,” he said, “and feeling much better now that you’re awake and hungry.  What would you like to eat?  Some broth?  A bit of oatmeal?”

Scrunching up his nose at those suggestions, he shook his head. “Can’t I have a burger or some cookies?” he asked.

Timothy leaned forward and rubbed his son’s hair, “Yes. Yes, you can have whatever you’d like,” he said. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll whip you up a burger and some cookies.”

“And a shake?” Sean asked, deciding to take advantage of the situation.

“Sure, why not?” Timothy replied as he stood up and walked to the doorway. “Your mom is asleep right now, but your Grandma is awake. I’ll have her sit with you while I cook.”

Sean smiled and wondered what all the special treatment was about, but he didn’t dare ask, in case questioning things might cause them to reconsider.  He started to push himself up to a sitting position, but winced as a pain shot through his arm.  He pushed down the blankets and looked down at the white bandages wrapped around his forearm.

“Do you remember what happened?” his grandmother asked from the doorway.

Sean looked up and shook his head. “I thought I remembered something about the woods,” he said. “But every time I try to concentrate on it, it floats away.”

She came closer and pulled up a wooden chair next to the couch and sat close to his head. “Do you remember the woods?” she asked.

Nodding, he tried to picture it again. “Yes, we were playing hide and seek,” he said slowly. “I wanted to find a great hiding place, so I climbed the fence and went into the woods.”

“And once in the woods, what did you see?” she asked.

“There were, you know, woods stuff,” he replied. “Trees, bushes, rocks and…”

His eyes widened and he quickly turned his hand over and looked at the scrape across his palm. “There was a girl,” he said, staring at his hand. “And she cut me with her knife. She cut me because I was poisoned and we mixed our blood.”