Throngs of children were pouring out of the tent. Screams and cries filled the air. James caught a glimpse of Sister Angelica carrying a small child whose arm had been injured. Blood was splashed across the front of her cassock.
“Help us! Please! Someone help us!” she screamed as she stumbled forward.
James rushed to her side. She cradled the small boy in her arms as she sobbed uncontrollably. He could see that the boy was breathing, his chest rising and falling, but his eyes were closed into slits, and he didn't appear to be aware of the chaos that was erupting all around him.
“Sister Angelica, he needs to be taken to the infirmary immediately!”
She was on the verge of hysteria, tears spilling down her cheeks as she rocked the boy back and forth.
“Sister Angelica!” James yelled.
She blinked as if she had just come out of a trance then gathered the boy close to her. James knelt and grabbed ahold of the hem of Sister Angelica’s cassock. He quickly ripped a piece off of it in one quick motion.
“Forgive me,” he said as he bound the boy's wounded arm. “Please hurry. You need to take him inside and send for a doctor immediately.”
He guided Sister Angelica towards the pathway when, just over his left shoulder, he heard a low growl.
“Go!” he said forcefully. Sister Angelica looked past him, her eyes wide with fear, and then turned and ran towards the entryway of the chapel.
The low growl rumbled again, and James turned slowly to see, not three feet from where he stood, a giant scaly beast lying low to the ground, the size of which two adult men laid head to foot could not match. The moon shone bright overhead, and the light reflected off of the creature's back. James muffled a scream with his hand.
The creature let out a low hiss that sounded like air being blown across the mouth of an open glass bottle. Low and resonant, it froze James where he stood. He felt small and pathetic next to the gargantuan creature.
The beast shifted, and James jumped backwards. Quicker than he’d imagined it was capable of, the creature moved around and positioned itself on the pathway, blocking his exit. He could see that he was alone. Everyone else appeared to have gone up into the main building or taken cover somewhere else. Surely this was a nightmare, a terrible dream. He closed his eyes tightly.
“Wake up!” he said aloud.
Just then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see O'Malley standing just behind him.
“On my word I want you to run. Do you understand me?” His voice was barely audible.
“Yes,” James whispered.
As O'Malley stepped in front of James, he saw that he had with him a long stick.
“Now.”
James took three steps backwards. As he did, he saw O'Malley bring the stick up high above his head and then down forcefully across the creature's snout. James turned and ran as fast as he could. He barreled into a small wooden cart, falling and tearing the leg of his trousers. He jumped up and ran towards O'Malley's tent. He wasn't sure where the creature was or if the blow to its head had felled it. He ducked inside the small tent where it was dark, hoping it could provide him with some amount of cover.
He huddled in the corner, trying to hear anything that would give him an indication of what was happening. In the distance, he thought he heard a man's voice, but he could not be sure. The clocks in O'Malley's tent were carrying on their endless march through time. He shivered in the darkness; it was cold, and he was without a jacket. He pressed his arms close to his body and blew warm air into his cupped hands. He clapped his hands several times to get the blood flowing to his fingers. As he did so, the lights in the jars flickered. He clapped his hands faster. The jars began to glow and rattle. The little tent lit up, and James felt a little better in the glow of their light. He heard footsteps approaching.
“O'Malley?” James called out. He went to the tent's opening and pulled back the curtain. Before he had a chance to fully recognize what he was seeing, the full weight of the creature was upon him. James was spun around and pressed into the dirt floor. The noise that escaped his throat was no mere scream, and it startled him. He sounded like a wounded animal.
James tried to pull himself forward. The lighted jars rattled, and one of them crashed to the ground, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. A small light fluttered around James's head. He heard a soft tinkling sound. He rolled to his left and scrambled backwards, bumping into the shelf on the rear wall of the tent, sending the hundreds of ticking clocks crashing to the floor. The scaly reptile lunged forward, snapping its toothy jaws, just missing James's foot.
“Help!” James screamed. He heard some kind of commotion behind the tent. “Please help me!”
A small light landed on the front of James's shirt. The fairy with the red hair was waving her arms furiously, showering him with a golden glowing dust.
She fluttered up quickly and landed on top of one of the fallen clocks. She shook her wings violently, dusting the clock with the glowing powder. The clock, still tick-tocking in its housing, rose up, floating above the ground.
James saw the creature draw back just slightly before it lunged forward again, jaws gaping. James screamed as the floating clock flew into the alligator's open mouth. The creature stopped, a stunned look filling its black eyes. The clock was no longer visible in the monster's throat, but he heard it ticking as it lunged forward once again, catching James's right hand in its mouth. He heard a pop as the bones splintered like dry wood.
A pain like a burning ember being pressed to his naked skin shot up his right arm. He screamed again. The creature thrashed from side to side, slamming James into the dirt, tearing the flesh on his right arm just below the elbow. He felt something warm trickle down his left cheek. The beast pressed him down into the ground. James felt the air being pushed out of his lungs and was certain his body would be crushed under the monster’s weight. Then, suddenly and without reason, the creature released him.
James gasped as he rolled over and looked down at his right hand. There was nothing left but a bloody stump. He felt darkness closing in all around him. He fought against it, pushing it away.
The creature, heaving and hissing, turned and slowly glided out of the tent. The tick-tock of the clock lodged in its belly echoed loudly.
James fell back on to the floor, his chest heaving and blood trickling out of a large gash running the length of his face. His hand was gone, taken into the belly of the beast, right along with O'Malley's clock.
The fairy and her little light danced brightly as the other lights faded. He watched as she fluttered out of the tent. He could not fight the press of darkness any longer. He let it take him, and he felt the damp earth receive the full weight of his body.
CHAPTER 9
A GIRL
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock
Please be quiet! Please. I am so tired.
“We must close the wound! Fetch my bag!”
Floating, falling, abysmal darkness.
I want out of here! Let me out!
“He is delirious.”
“The fever is high. We need to get him into a bath. Sister Maddie! Pull yourself together and draw a bath!”
Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock
I'm tired of it. Stop it!
“Into the bath. Now!”
Cold as the sea on a winter's day. Ice cold.
Ah... Warmth of the fire. Yes. I know this place.
The ceiling came into focus first. The wooden beams crisscrossing overhead seemed so close, James felt as if he could touch them. He raised his right arm up to see if they were as close as he thought they were. He reached... A bloody bandage hung from the end of his arm.
Pain.
James writhed in pain. The intensity of it took his breath away. He clenched his jaw and gripped the bed linens with his left hand.
“There now,” said a soft voice. “I'm here, James.”
“Please… Please help me,” said James. His memory was clouded. All that
mattered was the pain in his arm.
“James, you've had an... accident.” Sister Maddie wiped her face with a cloth. She was crying. James looked into her sweet face. Sister Maddie, Mother. He smiled at her. Her tears flowed.
“Oh, James!” she sobbed. “I'm so sorry! This is all my fault!”
He tried to remember. As he searched his memory, he saw that, seated in Sister Gerty's usual place, was a man. O'Malley.
“O'Malley?” said James.
The memories fell on him like a ton of stone, crushing him. The alligator, that dreadful ticking. James wailed. He swung his feet over the edge of the bed. As he stood up, his legs were shaking and his entire body convulsed. He vomited into a small bucket stationed by his bed.
“James, please! Lie down. You are not well!” cried Sister Maddie.
O'Malley took him by the arm. “You had best do what Sister Maddie asks of you, James.”
He looked around the small infirmary. A young boy was sleeping in one of the neighboring beds, and someone else lay sleeping, or at least resting, behind a curtain in yet another bed. In all of his time spent in the infirmary, James had never seen all of the beds filled. He looked down at the bandage.
“Is it bad? How bad is it? Can it be fixed?” he asked as he fell back onto the bed. The pain was unbearable.
“Oh, James. My dear boy. I am afraid the hand... Your hand... it could not be saved.” Sister Maddie shook her head as if she herself could not believe what she had just said.
James felt the room tilt as he held his right arm up. He pulled at the bandages. He pushed the pain out of his mind, spitting and sputtering as he unwound the wrappings. Sister Maddie and O'Malley stood in silence. As he pulled the last of the bandages free from his arm, he gasped.
Where his hand had once been was now a bloodied and swollen stump. There was nothing from the wrist down. At some point in his delirium, someone had stitched up the ragged edges. James felt himself swoon, and the putrid taste of vomit rose up in the back of his throat.
“Mr. O'Malley, would you be so kind as to fetch some clean bandages from the good doctor?” Sister Maddie asked. “He’s in the rectory.”
“Yes. Right away,” he answered and disappeared into the hallway.
James lay back onto a mountain of pillows and allowed Sister Maddie to cover him with warm blankets.
“Where is Peter?” he asked, as beads of sweat gathered on his brow and upper lip.
“I'm not sure. Do you need to speak with him?” asked Sister Maddie.
“Yes. Can you find him for me? It’s important.”
“James, I don't want to leave you right at this moment. Can it wait?”
“No, it cannot wait.”
“I will fetch him,” said a voice. James turned to see a young girl emerge from behind the curtain that surrounded the bed furthest to his right. James stared in spite of himself. The pain in his wrist faded ever so slightly.
This girl with hair as black as the night sky and eyes like green sea foam was possibly the most beautiful girl James had ever seen.
“Oh no, my dear. You need your rest as much as anyone. How are you feeling?” asked Sister Maddie.
“I'm fine, Sister Madeline,” she answered. Her voice was like beautiful music.
She looked at his injury and did not turn away. James covered the arm with a blanket. He looked up, and her eyes met his. She smiled, and his heart felt full to bursting.
“I will fetch him,” said Sister Maddie. “But would you be so kind as to keep an eye on James?”
“Of course,” answered the girl.
“James, I will be back shortly.”
“That's fine,” said James. His cheeks burned hot with embarrassment and the remnant of fever.
The girl with the raven hair took her seat at James's bedside.
“She loves you, you know,” said the girl.
“Yes, I know,” he answered.
“Do you love her?”
“I do,” said James truthfully. There was no hesitation in his answer, even if her questions were more personal than was proper.
“That is good,” said the girl. “There is nothing worse than to love and not be loved in return.”
James winced. The pain had returned with a vengeance. The girl picked up a damp rag that was lying on James’s pillow and dabbed his forehead. James tried to quiet the pain by biting the inside of his cheek.
“It’s better if you don't fight it,” said the girl.
“What?” said James, a bit confused.
“The pain. Don’t fight it. Try to allow yourself to feel it. It will pass.”
“I wish it would pass,” said James through clenched teeth.
“Ah...,” said the girl smiling. “The pain lets you know you're alive. Be thankful for that.”
James was astonished by her eloquence. She looked to be no more than sixteen or seventeen, the same age as he, and yet she seemed vastly wiser than the other girls he had had occasion to meet at St. Catherine’s. This brought to his mind the fact that he did not recall ever seeing this girl prior to that moment.
“May I ask your name?”
She smiled. “My name is Wendy.”
“Wendy,” he repeated. It was the most beautiful word he had ever heard.
“Now that we are properly acquainted, you must try to rest,” she said, still dabbing at his forehead with the damp rag.
“I need to speak to Peter. You said you would fetch him. Do you know him?”
“I know of him,” Wendy replied. She didn’t even attempt to hide her annoyance. She rolled her eyes then returned her gaze to him, smiling. “He and my brother seem to have found a kindred spirit in one another.”
“You have a brother?” asked James.
“Yes. Two, to be exact. Michael and John,” she said. James detected a hint of sadness in her voice.
“How long have you been here? I haven't seen you before now.”
“Oh, only a short while. Less than a full week.” James sensed that she didn't want to talk about the circumstances of her arrival.
“I've been here my whole life. Sister Maddie is like a mother to me,” he said.
“You're lucky. She’s a lovely woman,” said Wendy. “She hasn't left your side for the better part of four days.”
“Four days?” James was shocked. Everything seemed to have happened within a matter of hours. “Has it been that long?”
“Yes. I came to the infirmary for a fever which has since broken, and you were rushed in that same night. The night the animals traveling with the circus escaped.”
James cocked his head. “You say escaped as if you don't believe it. I assure you, they escaped. That reptilian beast has my hand and Mr. O'Malley's clock as a trophy.”
“Oh, I don’t doubt that,” she said. “But I find it very hard to believe that they just broke free from their bonds. Those animals were chained. Someone had to have let them out.”
“Why would someone do that?” asked James. He shifted position, trying to find a comfortable posture.
“I don't know. I don't see how it could have happened any other way.”
James rested his head on the pillows. He heard footsteps approaching and sat up. Wendy rose and placed the rag back on James’s pillow.
“James!” Peter's familiar voice rang out as he burst into the room with Sister Maddie behind him.
“Do mind the other patients, Peter,” she said “You are entirely too loud.”
Peter ignored her. He walked to James's bed and put his hand on James’s shoulder.
“Well, let’s see it,” said Peter, smiling.
“See what?” asked James.
“Your hand... Or should I say where your hand used to be.” Peter rubbed his palms together and grinned.
All James could do was stare at Peter. He knew him, and so it didn't surprise him that he would be so insensitive, but Peter's demeanor was cheery, almost blissful. He was about to decline Peter's request when Wendy spoke up.
“T
hat's a fine way to greet your friend. He was almost killed,” she said.
Peter looked at Wendy as if he were seeing her for the first time. He drew his lips into a tight line. “Ah, Wendy. I see you are doing what you do best. Sticking your nose into other people's business.”
“How dare you speak to her like that?”
Sister Maddie and Wendy both looked at James. Wendy smiled.
“That’s enough,” said Sister Maddie. “Wendy, would you help me fetch clean linens from the laundry? And where has Mr. O'Malley run off to? I can’t find him anywhere.”
Wendy followed Sister Maddie out of the room. As she disappeared out of the door, she grinned at James and winked. His heart fluttered.
“Looks like you've got yourself a new friend,” said Peter. He was now standing with arms folded against his chest.
“She's lovely,” said James quietly.
“I don't care about her,” snapped Peter. “Sister Maddie wouldn't let me see you. She thinks she runs the world.”
“She runs St. Catherine’s. And besides, it was probably a good idea for you to stay away. I can barely remember anything. Wendy says I've been here four days.”
Peter stood close to the bed on his right side. He pulled the blanket down, revealing James’s mangled arm, and his eyes grew wide. He quickly covered it up again.
“You've had a look at it. Satisfied?” asked James. The pain crested, and he felt a wave of nausea envelop him. “Satisfied?”
“I don't want to see you like this.” Peter looked away. James thought he may have been crying, but it was hard to tell.
“The animals escaped from their enclosures. How is that even possible?” asked James.
“I don’t know,” said Peter turning back to face him. It was clear he wasn’t crying, but the other possibility was that he was trying not to laugh. James pushed that infuriating thought from his mind. “Caleb and I were in the big tent watching the show,” he continued. “Someone screamed, and then everyone started running. I didn’t know what was going on. I was scared.”
“I heard the screaming,” said James. “I went to see what was happening, and Sister Angelica was there with a boy.”
Six Points of Light:Hook's Origin Page 9