I turned in the opposite direction and started up the road, pressing forward into the almost ninety-degree curve, my head down to follow the spot of the flashlight along the ground. I stepped carefully around a deep rut and continued walking until I rounded the bend.
When I looked up, the road stretched out before me in a straight line, and the overgrowth was knocked down as if the pathway had been frequented far more recently. In fact, it even looked somewhat maintained. In the distance, the lane passed beneath a short train trestle and beyond that, disappeared into the forest.
I was mentally debating whether or not I should call Ben back this way when I focused on something slumped against a tree along the roadside, just before the trestle.
My heart froze in my chest, and the sudden onset of blind panic made my skin prickle hot then cold. The flashlight struck the ground with a thud, its beam now directed against a clump of tall grass off the side of the road. I felt a heavy thump in my chest as my heart reacted to the dump of adrenalin, and my legs began pumping hard against the ground.
I wasn’t sure if I heard myself screaming or if it was simply the whistle of the oncoming train as I sprinted madly toward Felicity’s motionless form.
CHAPTER 25:
What I heard wasn’t just me screaming, nor was it only the whistle of the train. It was both. A pair of disharmonic tones blended into a single horrific chord. I don’t know what it was that I was screaming, but my guttural shriek had joined with the blast of the air horn to shatter the pre-dawn calm.
It could have been the word ‘no’. It could have been Felicity’s name. I might have been calling for Ben. A flagrant curse aimed at the Dark Mother wasn’t out of the realm of possibility either. Perhaps it was even all of them at once, I really cannot say.
The simple fact was that the chilling wail was just exactly that- an unintelligible cry of lament in a single drawn out breath. I suppose the second round would have been just as terrifying to hear as the first had it not been drowned out by the now overwhelming roar of the approaching freight train.
My heart was pounding as I drove myself forward- covering the distance between Felicity and me with a burst of speed that could only have been the product of an adrenalin surge. I started backpedaling as I drew near, trying to bring myself to a stop. In the end, I literally fell in front of her, hitting the ground hard and scrambling the last foot or so on my hands and knees.
As I crawled, my ears were filled with the thunder of the diesel engine. The cacophony was punctuated by the rhythmic clack of the locomotive wheels against track as the southbound freight train started across the trestle above.
Slipping my arms behind my wife’s back, I pulled her up and hugged her close. Hot tears were already streaming down my face as every ounce of the fear and dread I had been holding at bay was now bleeding out of me in an emotional hemorrhage.
Her body was warm to the touch and I buried my face against her neck, stroking her hair as my own body shuddered in an off-kilter cadence with my heavy sobs. My very soul was rending itself into nothingness as I spiraled into darkened despair. I couldn’t even find the energy to curse Cerridwen for taking her from me, nor myself for allowing it to happen.
All I could do was cry.
The last thing I expected to feel were her arms slowly wrapping across my back.
In my head, I could have sworn I heard the lilting Celtic tone of her faint voice saying, “Aye, Rowan, it’s okay…”
My first thought was that she had now joined the voices of the dead. It only stood to reason that she would speak to me from beyond the veil. And, of course, the whispers of those on the other side had become such an integral part of my life these past few years that I was rarely surprised when they made themselves known.
My second thought, when I considered the pressure I believed I felt against my back, was that the inevitable had arrived without delay. I had stepped over the edge and was officially insane.
I continued to hold her tight, letting the world around me be swallowed by the riotous noise from above. It didn’t even cross my mind that she was actually alive and well until the train had finally passed, and I could actually hear her complaining.
“Row, please,” she said, her voice a strained whisper. “I can’t breathe.”
I loosened my grip and pulled away from her. She was staring back at me with her eyes wide. Her tired expression displayed the cumulative fatigue of the past few days, but she still managed to cock her head to the side and give me a look of concern. She sucked in a deep breath and quickly huffed it back out.
“Thank you,” she said.
“I thought you were gone…” I said, wiping the back of my hand across my eyes.
“Aye,” she returned with a slight nod. “I got that impression.”
“Oh Gods…” I whispered, reaching out and gently brushing her cheek.
“It’s okay, Row.” She gave me a weak smile. “I’m fine. Really.”
“Told ya’, white man.” I heard Ben’s voice come from behind me, and I quickly glanced back over my shoulder.
My friend was standing in the middle of the service road looking down at us. He was nervously fidgeting, wringing his hands around the length of the flashlight I had dropped, and he had apparently retrieved. His expression was a mix of relief and discomfort all at once, and he looked away as if embarrassed to have witnessed my unchecked emotional outburst.
I forced out a hot breath and then sucked in a fresh one in an attempt to relax. I continued to wipe my eyes as I sniffed, somewhat chagrined myself. “How long have you been there?”
“For a bit,” he said softly. “Caught up to ya’ right after ya’ started screamin’.”
“I’m surprised you heard me.”
“Jeezus, Kemosabe, who couldn’t? You were louder than the fuckin’ train,” he told me with a half-hearted chuckle. I’m sure the joke was to ease his apparent discomfort as much as mine.
I let out a clipped laugh as well. “Yeah… So… I guess I looked pretty ridiculous.”
“No,” he replied with a slow shake of his head. “You looked pretty much like any guy would if he thought he’d just lost everything he had to live for.”
The level of understanding Ben was displaying was a testament to the depth of our friendship. I knew full well that he wasn’t one for overt displays of tenderness or sharing of vulnerabilities, so I appreciated his words even more.
“Thanks, Chief,” I told him.
“It’s all good, Kemosabe,” he replied, raising a hand and smoothing back his hair. “So ya’think we can change the subject before this gets all touchy feely?”
“Afraid you’ll damage your reputation with the woodland creatures?” Felicity quipped.
“Maybe,” he grunted. “So what’s up with you? Ya’ damn near gave us all heart attacks.”
She shrugged. “Aye, sorry about that.”
“So what did happen?” I asked, turning back to Felicity. “Why are you just sitting here?”
“Waiting for you,” she replied. “I knew you wouldn’t be too far behind.”
“Look at this,” Ben said, shoving a wrinkled piece of paper over my shoulder.
I took it and glanced at the scribbles. It was the map he had copied from Felicity’s bloody rendition.
“Turn it the other way,” he instructed, motioning with his finger.
I followed his direction and rotated the paper, then looked carefully at the scrawl of lines. My friend reached over my shoulder and indicated several points on the homemade map.
“Service road, railroad tracks…” he allowed his voice to trail off.
I looked up from the paper and at Felicity. “Did you find…”