by M. P. Wright
I pitched my head forward so that I could hear a little better. Lying still in the blackness, I was sure that I could hear my wife, Ellie, call out my name, her voice crystal clear in the pitch. I stopped wriggling about and listened, praying that she would call out to me again. But I heard nothing more.
I closed my eyes and squeezed my body a few inches further forward, pulling Truth with me. I could feel cold water from a puddle behind me. It soaked into the back of my jacket and began to slowly seep through my shirt, cooling my over-heated body. My warm breath formed a fog around my head. The tight spot in front of us was a large rock sticking out from the right wall; I started to push forward again. As I inched by the rock I could feel the sharp edges scraping the skin from my ribs. With each breath, my chest expanded, locking me between the walls.
My heart pounded uncontrollably as I slowly pushed forward, pulling Truth behind me with each move I made. I breathed out, moved, rested, breathed out again and moved a little further. I shuffled and pushed my body further upwards until the passageway slowly began to open out. The rock around us became a little easier to get a foothold on, and after about another fifteen feet the tunnel felt less closed in. In front of me was a damp new wall of bedrock. I shone the torch at it and realised that we were finally coming towards the mouth of the tunnel. I pulled myself up along the heavy gravelled floor of the hole until my hand finally reached a slimy rim, a thin skim of viscous mud covering it.
A few more inches up and the wall’s pebbly surface showed through, and for the first time since we entered the cave I could feel fresh air blowing against my face. It took another twenty minutes to haul myself and Truth up along a tight ridge of limestone, which finally brought us back up on to solid ground. I turned off the torch and we crawled out of the mouth of the cave into a full-blown electrical storm. I sank to my knees in the dense undergrowth of the woods and reached for Truth and held her as tightly as I dared, then we both fell onto our backs in the wet grass.
The two of us lay there, exhausted, the wind blowing and rain pouring down on our faces like tiny pebbles, the starless night sky above our heads exploding with thunder and lightning.
26
A violent bolt of lightning lit up the night sky in front of us, its incandescent skeletal fingers reaching down to stroke the earth as Truth and I ran from the open ground outside the mouth of the cave into the dense canopy of the woods. The night air was heavy with the scent of ozone and damp moss; rain hammered down, soaking our clothes; the sodden ground sucked at our feet as we stumbled through the thick brambles that formed a spiky boundary into the coppice. Although I couldn’t see them, I had a feeling in my gut that Paxton, Jardine and the rest of their men were close by. I had no idea where we were going and didn’t want to switch on the torch for fear of giving ourselves away.
Truth clung on limply to my hand; I could feel her pace beginning to slacken behind me, her little body becoming heavy with fatigue. I turned and gathered her up in my arms and held her against my chest. She folded her arms around my neck, her head buried under my chin, then clamped her legs around my waist. Her breathing was heavy, her tiny body icy cold. I quickened my pace a little as I tried to blindly navigate myself through the wooded terrain. Rain poured down my brow into my eyes, making it hard for me to see anything in front of me. My head was pounding and every bone in my body ached. Each step I took sent a new wave of muscular pain shooting right through me.
Another crack of lightning lit up the sky, and as the thunder rolled across the heavens I thought I saw something move in the undergrowth at the side of me. I peered out into the darkness, the rain still beating at my face, the tree branches above us violently rustling back and forth as they were battered by the heavy wind. I wiped away the rainwater from my eyes and face with the palm of my hand and tried to get a better look around me, but could see nothing. I pressed on into the pitch black, Truth weighing heavy in my arms.
They say that, just like birds, hunters know no borders, and that was certainly the case for our pursuers. They had silently preyed upon Truth and I with the tenacity and determination of a snake eagle. One of the stealthy night predators who had been carefully tracking the two of us through the woods only made his lethal presence known when it was too late for me to do anything about it. The body blow that knocked me off my feet and threw Truth out of my arms came out of the dark, fast and furiously. A huge set of shoulders connected with my legs just above my knees, sending all three of us sprawling in different directions across the wet ground. Disorientated and dazed, I rolled onto my side, my body shuddering. I pulled myself up onto my knees and elbows, quickly fighting to get my breath. My mouth hung open, gasping in air, my eyes couldn’t focus, and a high-pitched sound roared through my ears. I could feel warm blood running down the side of my face. I clenched my teeth and grasped the clods of earth in the palms of my hands as I pushed myself back up onto my feet.
As I rose, I felt a swift rush of air as the foot and leg of my attacker flew towards my face. My head snapped backwards, the tip of the man’s shoe raking sharply against my chin. I dipped my body forward and threw a stray punch, catching the man under his ribs. He came back at me hard; I bobbed to my left, bent my knees and felt his knuckles graze the top of my scalp as he swung at me. I squared myself on my feet, dipped low and threw a dirty uppercut that caught him square in the mouth. His head sank forward and I lashed my fist down across his left ear and along his jawline; then, as he fell further towards the ground, I brought my leg up, smashing my knee into his face. The man shot back on his heels, both arms springing out at his side. I caught hold of the sleeve of his jacket and yanked him off his feet. As he fell, I drew my arm back and drove my fist into his face. His head flew back and his hands flew up to cover his nose. I grabbed at his shirt and I heard the rasp of material ripping as I heaved him closer towards me. A feral rage burnt in my chest as I raised my fist and hit him again. I kept raining blows down about his head and face until I felt his body become limp and heavy. I let go of the man’s torn collar and watched as he dropped like a stone at my feet.
I spun round and began to frantically search the sodden ground around me for Truth. I found her a few feet from me, unconscious, lying on her stomach. I bent down next to her, turned her over and dropped my head onto her chest, my ear pushed against her wet clothing, listening for signs of breathing. As the rain fell down in huge droplets onto the back of my head, I felt her ribcage rise and fall, her tiny lungs ebbing and flowing, her heartbeat murmuring back at me.
I put my arms under Truth’s knees and behind her neck then lifted her up close to me. I scrambled back up onto my feet and began to run, just as a gunshot blasted out in the pitch. The bullet cut through the night air and splintered into a tree in front of me. I heard the sound of someone working the bolt action of a rifle, the empty shell casing clinking as it was expelled, and another shot rang out, pinging into the vegetation around me. I was now sprinting for all I was worth, zigzagging through the wood, tree branches whipping back across my face and chest, my feet pounding through the soaked leaves and soil. The trees in front of me became tightly spaced.
I heard another shot ring out; the bullet burst past me only inches from my head. I sunk my chin to my chest and charged on, crashing through the undergrowth. I ran without any sense of direction, the muscles in my legs burning, my stomach knotted with fear and pain. Gunfire rang out again, this time much closer. I instinctively ducked and pushed myself to move faster, and as I did I felt the earth under my feet begin to sag and become loose. My legs suddenly gave way as the ground around me fell away and I started to violently fall forward. For the second time that night, I lost my grip on Truth’s body, the two of us torn from each other as we were savagely thrown down into a darkly veiled abyss.
My body hit the ground with a nasty crack as I was pitched head over heels down a sharp, gravel-lined ravine. I felt myself gaining momentum as I rumbled blindly through branches, weeds and nettles, my arms flailing at my sides
as I was violently thrown further downhill. In the darkness, I heard Truth suddenly scream out my name then felt the back of my hand slap against wet skin as I collided with her, our bodies tumbling wildly over one another as we fell headlong down through the thick, water-logged foliage into the unknown. I finally crashed backwards through a sharp-thorned bramble thicket, my head striking the pebble- and rock-strewn base of the steep incline hard. I rolled onto my back, my ears thundering with a high-pitched squeal, my breath coming out of me in a deep sigh. I squeezed my eyes shut tight then opened them quickly. Above me I could just pick out a dense canopy of tree branches.
Heavy fog began to drift out through the overhanging foliage in thick clumps and started to drift towards the ground. The white noise in my ears faded and I could hear the sound of running water in front of me and the voices of men calling out overhead. I pulled myself up onto my rump and rested my back against the side of a large tree stump for a moment, my eyes picking out the fast-moving stream that ran noisily only a stone’s throw from where I was sat. I tried to roll the pain I felt out of my shoulders and pinched at the tightening muscles at the back of my neck before shakily raising myself back up on to my feet. Truth had rolled directly over me and fallen only a few feet away. I made my way over to where she was lying on her back. She was thankfully conscious but remained motionless, her body covered in leaves and mud, riddled in shock, her frightened eyes wide open, staring blankly up at me. I saw her blink a couple of times as I knelt down at her side. Neither of us was able to speak. My body was wracked with pain as I reached underneath her body and once more lifted her back up close to my chest. Then, with the last vestiges of any strength I possessed, I stood upright and walked out into the darkness and into the water.
A thin mist hung just above my knees as I waded across the stream then stumbled out onto the bank on the other side. I lay Truth on the grass in front of me then saw lightning roll out from behind over my head. The rain twisted out of the sky like spun glass, the heavy droplets bouncing off my head, the water burning my face. The air was now so heavy with ozone that I could taste it in my mouth, its electrical scent like scorched metal on my parched lips.
I fought to stay on my feet, and in the pitch I thought I saw something moving out in front of me. I felt myself trembling. I squeezed at my eyes with the tips of my fingers as a sharp, piercing pain ignited in my temples, and my insides knotted violently as a wave of nausea shot through my body. I dropped to my knees and desperately reached out and snatched up Truth’s tiny fingers in my own as I helplessly watched as two wraithlike, faceless figures emerged out of the fog.
I fell to the ground and a blanket of heavy numbness covered my body. I briefly heard a faint voice speak to me but could not understand what it said. I felt myself being lifted from the wet grass then blackness taking me by the hand and walking me towards its dusky sanctuary. I remember being cold and the water soaking through my shoes. I remember the smell of burning tobacco lingering in the air and feeling Truth’s fingers fall from my own. But most of all, I remember seeing the reflection of my dead wife Ellie’s face staring back at me from the eternal and labyrinthine paradise that she now called her home.
27
The warmth on the side of my face from the rays of the early morning sunshine woke me from a heavy and dream-filled sleep. I had no idea where I was. Feeling punch-drunk, I tried to raise myself up off a pillow that was bolstering my head. I was lying on my back on the soft sprung mattress of a high-slung single bed in a room that felt like it was no bigger than a garden shed. Varnished wooden walls boxed me in. There was no door that I could see, only an ornate panelled frame that ran around the top and sides of the sleeping area. A cut-glass mirror hung at the foot of the bed, making the little space that I had been sleeping in appear to be a little larger than it actually was. My naked body was draped in a series of heavy, knitted, brightly coloured bohemian blankets.
I lay still for a moment, staring up above me. A watery film covered my eyes, blurring my vision. I struggled to focus and squinted at the brightly decorated maroon and gold intertwined fabrics that covered the ceiling. A gentle, warm breeze wafted in from an open window above my head and the fresh air rolled over me, lovingly caressing my forehead, cheeks and neck, followed by the heady scent of wild flowers. Still disorientated, I slowly raised myself up off the bed by my elbows; then out of the corner of my eye I caught sight of someone standing over me. In surprise, I shot backwards, my head and shoulders slamming into the cushioned headboard behind me. At the side of the bed stood a scruffy-looking young boy, no more than ten years of age, staring inquisitively back at me. The kid suddenly broke out into a grin, revealing two missing front teeth. He continued to eye me up and down for a while longer before sticking one of his fingers up into his nostril and beginning to leisurely pick at his nose.
I grabbed hold of the edge of the blanket and quickly drew it up around my neck, covering up my bare chest like a shocked damsel protecting her modesty from the untoward attentions of a frisky rogue. The kid stood his ground by the bedside and kept on staring back at me.
“Who the hell are you?”
“Fella, this here’s Connell: he’s my young ’un.”
Startled, the boy jumped away from the bed as a woman’s voice snapped at me from out of nowhere. She had a guttural, deep Irish accent. The child swung around nervously as I slowly arched my head around the panelled frame to see who was speaking. A large-set, pretty-looking, raven-haired woman stared back at me; her muscular arms were folded over each other and resting firmly on the lacquered edge of the bottom half of a caravan stable door. She stabbed at her breast with her thumb by way of an introduction to me. “I’m Drina. What they call ye, mister?”
“My name’s Joseph.”
The boy raised his arm and pointed in my direction then spoke to his mother in a strange foreign tongue, the like of which I’d never heard before.
Drina listened to her son and continued to watch me suspiciously before answering her child in the same mysterious language, her voice now calm and soft. The boy listened intently to his mother’s words then backed away from me, never taking his eyes off my startled face for a moment.
“What was he saying to you?”
“Well, Joseph, my lad here wants to know who the pretty-looking dusky woman is . . . the one that’s been watching over ye like a hawk while you bin dead to the world.”
“Woman, what woman?”
“Connell here’s talking about the poor soul that’s bin hanging by your side till ye broke outta that hot sweat that’s bin burning on ye. You’ve bin making an awful show a yerself for sure, calling out her name for half the night.”
“Say what?”
“Ye heard me.” Drina shook her head and laughed to herself then opened up the stable door, walked in and stood behind her son. She put her arm around the shoulder of her child, drawing him close to her. “My boy here, he sees mullos, like the one ye had watching over you.”
“A mullo?” I could feel the pincer-like grasp of a headache pinching at my temples. I squeezed my eyes shut tight with my fingertips and shook my head in confusion, unable to make head or tail of what she was talking about. Bewildered, I looked back up at her. “What’s a mullo?”
“A ghost . . . Jaysus, don’t be telling me ye’ve never heard o’ one o’ those?”
Ghost . . . The unwelcome word rattled around in my fuddled head. My throat tightened a little, and I swallowed hard and coughed as I felt a series of thick perspiration droplets breaking out at the top of my forehead. Nervously, I rubbed the palm of my trembling hand over my brow and across my scalp, while Connell continued to burn his gaze into me.
“Oh, I’ve heard of ’em, all right.” I shook the unwelcome images of unseen spectres from my mind and nodded towards the boy. “Why’s he starin’ at me like that?”
The woman shook her head and quickly jabbed a couple of fingers into her child’s back by way of a reprimand for his bad manners then pushed him ou
t of her way towards the caravan door.
“Ah, take no notice of the lad. Connell here, he ain’t never seen no west phari before.”
I may not have understood the language she was speaking, but I sure as hell knew what her words meant. The woman smiled then quickly turned away, calling back to me as she walked down the steps of the caravan.
“Truth is, ain’t none of us have seen many of your kind, specially one that’s bin keeping company with a pretty little white gorjer, like what my old fella found ye holding on to last night.”
Her words suddenly jolted at my woolly memory. My head throbbed, then panic struck me from out of nowhere. I felt a heavy weight pull at my insides and my head sank down in shame and fear, the sharp, pin-like bristles on my chin striking against the bare skin of my naked chest. A bitter metallic taste coated the inside of my mouth and a wave of nausea rolled over me as I threw both legs out of the bed. I frantically pulled the blanket around my waist then hauled myself up onto my feet. I took a couple of unsteady steps, and as I did I felt the blood rush to my woozy head and fell back onto the edge of the bed. Staring down at the floor, I weakly called out after Drina to come back. I heard voices chattering outside and took a deep breath then looked back up towards the caravan door and unexpectedly came face to face with my young companion.