Celtic Rose

by Campbell, Jill

  “Kallisto? What’s the matter? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.” Kalan lifted Kallisto back up and grabbed her shoulders, bending so he could look into her eyes. “What is the matter with you? Wake up!” The panic and concern in his voice grew as he tried to shake her out of the shocked trance. She turned and looked back at Talus. He looked as though he’d been struck. Dipping his head, he avoided making eye contact with her. Kallisto pointed at his arm. Kalan followed her silent instruction and walked to Talus. Ramina took his place holding her up. Kallisto felt nauseous. She knew she must be pale, maybe even a little green. With Ramina’s help, she managed to stand to her feet again.

  Kalan grabbed Talus’ arm and held it up. The look that came to Kalan’s face was not shock, but anger. “Where did you get this?” He shook Talus’ arm.

  Talus yanked his arm away. “I’ve always had it! My parents put it there when I was younger. What’s the big deal? You have a tattoo!” Talus was angry now too.

  “Yes, I have one, but you have the same one as my sister; explain that!”

  Talus froze and looked at Kallisto. “Your arm was bare yesterday. I didn’t see one there.” He started to walk to her but Kalan pushed him back. Talus grabbed Kalan’s hands and threw them back. “I just want to see her tattoo! What, do you think that I’m going to hurt her? You should know better!”

  Kallisto walked past her brother, unbuttoning her sleeve as she walked. She stopped in front of Talus, pulling up her sleeve to reveal the dual-headed rose permanently imprinted on her arm. He took it in disbelief and turned to her side, lifting her arm up, holding the tattoos together.

  “They fill each other in!” Kallisto said hoarsely. The colored head of his rose filled in the empty rose on her arm and hers did the same for his. The vines ran together perfectly. Talus looked up into her eyes, shocked. “How? How can this happen? I’ve never known you and yet I feel like I do.”

  With a small, knowing wink, he whispered, “I gave you my word I would never take you anywhere that you did not want to go.”

  Ramina and Kalan both froze, gaping at him. Ramina was the first to speak, her shocked whisper breaking the silence. “You’ve been having the dreams too?”

  Talus nodded, never taking his eyes from Kallisto. “They’ve gotten worse in the last couple of weeks. I guess that was our subconscious’ way of telling us that we were connected somehow.”

  Kalan was in shock. “Wait, you were all having the dreams too?”

  Kalan was having the dreams then. That answered the question they’d come to ask, but left so many more. They all nodded in confirmation.

  William ran up then. “What’s going on guys? I was up on top and saw Kallisto fall. Is she all right?” He ran to her side and saw Talus’ hand in hers. A look of jealousy washed over his face, but he didn’t say anything.

  “William?”

  He looked at Kallisto then, but she didn’t look at him. She was lost in Talus’ eyes. “Have you been having dreams about us?”

  “How did you know about that?” He went up to Kallisto and grabbed her chin, pulling her face around to look at him, gently demanding an answer. An oxymoron she knew, but an accurate description of his action.

  “It would seem that we are all having dreams of some sort, and we all seem to be starring in them,” Kallisto said, leaning away from William’s hand.

  “Why are you two holding hands?” William said as his gaze went back to their hands. In the part of the dream he was in Kallisto was still supposed to marry him. Talus reluctantly let go of Kallisto and they held their arms out to William.

  His mouth dropped open. “But…why is my tattoo different? Shouldn’t I have the same tattoo as you then? I mean…we are supposed to get married.” Kallisto looked at Talus and saw him gritting his teeth at William’s remark. He didn’t know Kallisto was betrothed. His mouth was in a hard line showing her that he was extremely upset about this new information. William walked up and grabbed their arms, examining them, then stepped back and unbuttoned his shirt. He pulled it open to reveal a Celtic cross on the right side of his chest. It was different from Kalan’s but it had the same ancient look to it. There were streams coming off it like lightning bolts or something like that.

  Kallisto walked up and touched it. The symbol seemed to draw her like a moth to a flame. She had to touch it but she wasn’t sure why. William shuddered under her touch, which made her realize what she was doing and she dropped her hand. “I’m sorry William. I shouldn’t have done that.” She turned to walk away and he grabbed her arm.

  “Why? Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to be? You and I are betrothed in the dream. It’s like we’re supposed to be together. What does Talus have to do with it?” He wouldn’t let her go. She turned to him; he had a look of desperation on his face and she knew she did love him, but not like he wanted. She put her hand to his face. He closed his eyes and leaned into the touch, not realizing it was one of pity and compassion, not romantic interest.

  “We need to talk to Mom. She seemed to know something when she made me come up here, plus she actually wanted Ramina to come with me.” She dropped her hand and turned to Kalan. He was staring at her wide-eyed. He knew what it meant to have their mother want Ramina to come with them. “The circumstances just escalated to include Talus and William, so I think we need to go back to Oklahoma. Mom must’ve known what the dreams meant.”

  “This doesn’t mean anything, Kallisto. Dreams are just that, dreams. It doesn’t warrant a trip out of the state and away from school just to ask some woman if something strange is going on here. We met and then we all starred in each other’s dreams, nothing more. You’re making something out of nothing.” William was hurt and defensive. He was also living in denial by thinking the dreams didn’t mean anything. He had the tattoo, he was having the dreams, and Kallisto was pretty positive that he felt the same feelings the others felt.

  She turned back to face William again. “William, do you feel like you’ve known me forever?” She continued without letting him answer. “Do you find it coincidental that five people, who were all given tattoos as children, are having the exact same dreams? I’m sorry, William, I can understand not wanting to believe in the supernatural. People have always been skeptical about supernatural occurrences, but I have seen my fair share. I have seen the miracles that God performs with my own eyes. I’ve seen food provided when there shouldn’t have been enough. I have seen healing and recovery when there should have been death. I believe that there is something more to all of this than coincidence. You don’t have to jump on the supernatural bandwagon and come along, but I sure wish you would. You’re a part of whatever this is and I want you with us.” She stared directly into William’s eyes, willing him to accept it. When she finished talking he dropped his gaze to the ground.

  “Do you guys think you can get out of class for a while?” Kallisto asked, scanning the faces of the group. They all nodded in confirmation. William never looked up as he nodded. “We’ll talk about this more later. We have prying eyes on us now,” she said. Everyone turned to look in the direction she was. Other students had stopped working and were staring at their little entourage, and the teacher was walking toward them.

  “What’s going on over here?” The teacher was a burly man. He reminded Kallisto of a gorilla. His head was balding, but the rest of him was hairy and big. He wasn’t fat, but he was massive. Her eyes widened a little. He saw this and softened his tone. “Only students are allowed back here ladies. Is there something you needed?” He asked nicely. She guessed seeing the initial shock in her face made him leery of frightening her. She walked over to him, holding out her hand to shake his.

  “Hi, I’m Kallisto Craven, Kalan’s sister. We wouldn’t have come here, but there is a family emergency and we need him, Talus, and William to come with us,” she smiled shyly.

  “I’m Mr. Owen.” He shook her hand, his skeptic gaze fixed behind her on the guys. “Your brother I can understand, but why William and Talus?” Ka
llisto knew that would happen. They released hands.

  “Talus is Ramina’s half-brother, and William is… our cousin,” she said gesturing. She knew William wouldn’t like that part but it was the only way she could think of to explain a way out for them.

  “I didn’t know you were all related.” He spoke mainly to the guys. They nodded. William still had his head down and Mr. Owen eyed him suspiciously, then turned his attention back on Kallisto. “Hmm…I guess that would be all right. I’m sorry for all the third degree but we’ve had a lot of people making excuses to leave together and then they get into trouble. How long are they going to be gone?” Kallisto grimaced, but luckily he had started scanning the others. It was his way of nonchalantly checking on William’s reaction. William had finally looked up, his face held no emotion. When Mr. Owen turned back to Kallisto, her face was smooth. The look on Williams face bothered her but she didn’t want to alert Mr. Owen.

  “We’re not really sure; a family member is in the hospital back home in Oklahoma and we need to be there for her,” Kallisto said, and then prayed that God wouldn’t strike her mother ill for telling the lie.

  “All right, just be sure that you check out in the front office. And if you are going to be gone for an extended period then you’ll need to call and drop the classes. That way, when you come back later, you can get back in easier.”

  “Thank you Mr. Owen. Hopefully it won’t come to that.” Kallisto shook his hand again. “It was nice to meet you.” She smiled finally, although it was weak. He could pawn that off as being due to the ill relative. Maybe he’d think the same about William’s grim expression.

  “Yeah, you too, I hope your relative gets well.” He smiled back, Kallisto thanked him for his concern and they left. They drove around to the office so the guys could go in and check out, and then drove back to the dorms so the guys could pack some stuff. They said they would meet the girls back at the hotel, and they could discuss what to do next.

  When Kallisto and Ramina arrived at the hotel, Ramina went to the office to check out while Kallisto went upstairs to pack. She walked into the room and straight to the bed to get the suitcase out from under it. Her mind was racing with questions and confusion as she began to throw clothes from the dresser into her suitcase.

  She felt something on her leg and looked down in horror to see a huge snake wrap itself around her legs. The first thought that came to her mind was the movie ‘Anaconda’; the snake wasn’t as big as the one in the movie, but it was as big as the giant anaconda’s that she’d seen on nature shows. She dropped the clothes and froze, knowing that if she moved the snake would wrap quicker and squeeze her to death. The snake was easily large enough to devour her. She hoped it wasn’t hungry. It moved slower when she was immobilized. Slowly, as if playing a cat-and-mouse game, it worked its way up, its slimy skin giving her goose-bumps as it wound around her legs, coiling itself around them three times. The snake moved up her body and she knew soon, it would be at her torso. She wanted to scream for help, but feared the second she did the snake would suddenly strike with its sharp teeth.

  Ramina walked in as the snake started the fifth coil around Kallisto’s thighs. Terror swamped her features as she stopped mid-step in the doorway. “Oh my…where did that come from?” she said, shocked. Kallisto shook her head slowly, not wanting to make any sudden moves. “Just hold still. I’ll call 911,” Ramina said, grabbing her phone. Kallisto nodded. She dialed quickly.

  “Please help, there’s a snake crushing my friend!” she yelled. The snake tightened a little, and Kallisto hissed in pain. “Sorry, sorry. What can I do?” Ramina started forward. Kallisto shook her head a little quicker than before.

  “Don’t come any closer,” she whispered. “It might decide to add you to the menu. Go downstairs to bring the medics up here, and Kalan may be on the way. Go see if you can catch him downstairs and tell him what’s going on.” Ramina started out the door. “Please hurry.” Kallisto pleaded quietly. Ramina nodded and was gone.

  The snake kept creeping up slowly. Kallisto moved once and the snake quickly tightened up, and when she stopped the snake loosened slightly. Only a few minutes had passed, but it seemed like hours. Finally Kalan, Talus, William, and Ramina came through the door. Their eyes widened at the sight. The snake had made it to Kallisto’s stomach. Luckily she had held her arms out so at least they were free. She wasn’t completely covered; there were gaps between the coils, and she hoped that would help when they tried to remove the snake. The guys crossed the room slowly. Ramina stayed by the door only because Kalan pushed her back when she tried to come with them. Ramina looked frustrated but she kept quiet. Kallisto figured she’d bite Kalan’s head off after they kept the snake from biting off hers.

  “Just stay still, Kallisto,” Talus said soothingly.

  A hysterical laugh bubbled out before she could stop it as she thought his telling her this was supposed to help; the snake tightened, cutting the laugh short. When the snake loosened again, she took a shallow breath. She looked at Talus with a nervous grin.

  “How do you think I’ve kept from getting eaten yet?” she whispered and rolled her eyes. His eyebrows bunched angrily.

  “How can you be sarcastic at a time like this?” he said as they finally made it to Kallisto’s side.

  “It’s either that or sob uncontrollably; which do you think would be better in this situation?” she said quietly, and a single tear trailed down her cheek.

  “Shh. It’s okay, honey. I’m sorry. Just, please, be still.” He reached for the snake, which immediately tightened its coils. Kallisto gasped, Talus released. The snake slowly loosened, letting her breathe again. Its head was starting over her shoulder to go around the back of her neck. She let out a whimper.

  “We’re going to have to do this quickly. The snake is going to squeeze her no matter what, but maybe we can get it off of her before it does any damage,” William devised. “I’ll grab the head, Talus you get the mid-section, Kalan, grab the tail. We’ll unwind it as fast as we can. Ramina you may need to hold Kalli’s arms.” William continued. Ramina started forward.

  “No! Get back Ramina!” Kalan put a hand up toward Ramina, but she still crossed the room.

  “Kalan, I’ll be fine. You’re wrangling the snake, I’m just holding Kallisto. I’m not fragile, you know.” Ramina grabbed Kallisto’s arms. Kallisto relaxed a little in her grip.

  “What happens when the snake starts trying to get free from us? It might hurt you, or it could end up on you.” Kalan grabbed her arms and tried to pull them off Kallisto. Kallisto looked at him with disbelief and wondered how he could fight with Ramina right then?

  “Please, Kalan get this off me,” she whispered frantically. The snake was around the back of her neck now and its head was under her chin. She let out another whimper, feeling the scaly skin rub against hers. She looked at Kalan pleadingly. He pulled his hands away from Ramina. She gave him a stern look. They would definitely be talking about this later.

  The next few moments happened very quickly. William lunged and grabbed the head; in response, the snake tightened into a crushing hold. Talus grabbed the mid-section, trying to pull it away from Kallisto’s body. Kalan grabbed the tail and started to unwind it from her legs. Ramina lifted her slightly so Kalan could pull the coils down instead. Kallisto couldn’t breathe, something snapped, and heat and pain trailed through her body. She imagined it felt like a hot poker was being stabbed into her side.

  “It broke her rib–get it off of her!” Talus tugged at the snake’s body around Kallisto’s waist, but he couldn’t keep a grip. His hands kept slipping away from the snake’s slick skin. Talus disappeared then; Kallisto couldn’t tell where he had gone but the snake got tighter and there was another snap and more pain. Talus came back with something shiny in his hand and lunged forward. Kallisto heard ripping noises and then wet noises. Her vision cut out, like someone had shoved her into a dark room with no windows and no light. She heard more ripping noises, and the sound
of glass shattering. It sounded like Ramina screamed, but she still couldn’t open her eyes. She realized then that her eyes were open, but all she could see was black. After some more ripping noises the snake loosened its grip on her and she could breathe again. It hurt to breathe, the air burned her throat and her lungs felt flat, like they couldn’t inflate enough. She felt herself growing dizzy and disoriented, and she knew she was going to pass out moments before she collapsed.

  Chapter 5

  Kallisto woke to a beeping sound. She tried to breathe deeply but her chest tightened, making the action painful, but it also let her know she was alive. She opened her eyes slowly. The light was so bright it hurt. She could feel something on her shoulder; she tried to turn her head but the oxygen hose on her face pulled. She took her hand and reached for her shoulder, and when her fingers brushed against soft strands of hair, she realized it was somebody’s head. She stroked his hair, knowing it was Talus. His eyes fluttered open and he jerked his head up. He stared at Kallisto’s face in shock for a moment and smiled.

  “You’re awake.” Leaning over her he planted a kiss on her forehead, then another on her lips. “I’m so glad you’re awake. I was so worried.” He kissed her with every sentence. She giggled softly and cringed. His smile disappeared and his eyebrows bunched with worry.

  “Are you okay?” He ran his thumb down her cheek.

  Kallisto nodded. “Where is everyone?” She looked around and then back at Talus. He glanced away and grimaced.

  “What is it?” Her eyes widened, and then she remembered Ramina screaming. She wondered if she had gotten hurt? Or maybe someone else? How did that snake wind up in the hotel room, anyway?