Rainy Night (Niamh)

[Stephen Colly]

So cold…so cold…why was the weather so cold? It was mid February, the evening was rainy and dark, too dark, too cold, horrible weather…Stephen walked among the graves of the dead, looking at all the names of friends and acquaintances and people he didn’t even know…some people who were buried in the little graveyard were people who had died in the Great War, most of course were just deaths of people who had passed away because of old age, and there were a few that had just been dug, freshly dug for the soldiers who had died in this war…the Second World War was what it was being named now…

Stephen often wondered if there would ever be a “Third World War”, he hoped that he was not alive when or if it happened for he didn’t want to go through something else like this, this war was awful, it cost lives and ruined people’s families and communities all for what? Nothing? But something had to be done about it and Stephen was willing to help…

A loud bang, a gun shot suddenly was heard, echoing through the churchyard, it was probably someone having a laugh with a gun but it scared Stephen shitless, he gave a yelp and dived for covering, landing on the wet grass and curling up into a ball, tears falling down his face, his uniform was now all wet because of the wet grass, he started to shiver as the cold got to his skin, the gun shot sounded again and Stephen yelped once more, covering his ears and shaking like a leaf.

[Niamh Dunlevy]

Beside the Pavee, a young soldier limped, one side supported by a sturdy wooden crutch. His head was wrapped snug with gauze, spiky, messy hair poking out from the between the bandages, which also held in place a square of gauze over one eye. Between him and the young woman beside him, there were several uncanny resemblances, which lead one to - correctly - think that they were family. The man was a fellow Pavee, and the two were also cousins, whom Niamh had not seen since their family's last reunion before the war.

"I don't know if he'll be all right, Nivvy..." began the soldier, frowning. He and Niamh were looking for Stephen Colly, who Niamh had met once and who Rowan had seen stumbling suspiciously out of a military hospital earlier. "He looked like he lost t'e plot when he came into t'e hospital. I still don't think t'e lad should've been let out until his head was on straight 'gain."

Niamh frowned, looking sadly at her cousin as she nodded. "Yeah...I heard t'e lads are geththin' bloody beathen o'er t'ere. Any progress, t'ough, Rowan?"

Her cousin smiled, albeit sadly, and went to speak, but then a cry of terror broke the evening silence as Niamh stepped on a twig. Niamh and Rowan stiffened, the sound uncomfortably familiar, and looked at each other. Although they did not speak it, they were thinking the same thing: Stephen Colly.

"T'at sounded noth thoo far from here. You waith here, I'll go an' see whath's wrong," Niamh said matter-of-factly, and she began to run forward into the darkness. Rowan, however, still had his reflexes despite his injuries, and grabbed the younger Pavee by the collar. He dragged her back, Niamh giving a slight, "Ack!" as he tugged on her semi-auburn hair in the process.

"No, we both go," Rowan said matter-of-factly. "He's pulled something like this before, except we had that McMillan fella to help him. He could hurt you and not even realize it."

"Hurth me? Hurth me?! Bloody 'ell Rowan, he's shriekin' like a banshee! B'sides, you look worse!" Niamh cried indignantly, accidentally stepping on another twig. Another scream broke through the darkness, making the young woman's blood run cold, and she began to rush forward again. Rowan, however, was steadfast despite his injuries and held onto her, keeping the Pavee in place.

"I expected to find t'e lad like this. He's not seen you for a while, right? He might not recognize you and lash out. If he sees me, he might stay calmer."

"An' if he sees t'e blood on ye?" Niamh asked curtly, finally pulling away from her cousin's grasp, turning to face him afterwards. "Won't t'at justh make t'ings worse, Rowan?"

"That's why I'm coming with you. You're plan B," Rowan said. He couldn't help but smirk, and Niamh glared at him with a "I-can't-believe-you-just-said-that-at-a-time-like-this" look.

"Fine. Ith's coming from t'at pat' o'er t'ere, I t'ink," Niamh growled. Rowan's smirk grew, and Niamh's glare grew in ferocity along with it.

"Good thing you still have your ears, Nivvy," Rowan replied smartly, and his cousin gave a growl of irritation. The two quickly went towards the path Niamh had mentioned, and walked down it, throwing glances over their shoulders every few feet. Trees and bushes lined the path, casting shadows that blocked out the moonlight in some places; a perfect place for crooks to hide. England was not much of a war zone, but it still had its lawless members of society.

"Sthephen?" Niamh called out into the darkness. "Sthephen? Sthephen Colly, can you hear me?!"

"Oi, Stephen!" Rowan yelled. "It's me, Corporal O'Hannagain! Stephen, are you out here?!"

"Sthephen, are you t'ere?!"

"PRIVATE! Private Stephen Colly!"

As they continued to call his name, both Pavees hoped he was all right. The last time Rowan had seen him, Stephen had looked fine on the surface, but his gaze was glazed with fear. Hopefully, he had just decided to go out on a nightly walk, and the doctors hadn't released him from the hospital, like how everyone had said they did. Maybe he had just fibbed to get out of there, and was now wandering around when he was supposed to be resting.

But if the doctors did turn him loose....


+++++++++++++++++++


OOC - For those of you reading this, an ellipsis with four periods is gramatically correct at the end of sentence, since the fourth dot denotes a period. I recently found that out.

[Stephen Colly]

"Sthephen? Sthephen? Sthephen Colly, can you hear me?!"

"Oi, Stephen! It's me, Corporal O'Hannagain! Stephen, are you out here?!"

“Sthephen, are you t'ere?!”

"PRIVATE! Private Stephen Colly!"

Was that his name? Were two people calling his name? Stephen lay there, his hands pressed over his ears, the shouting stopped and he looked up, his eyes searching the landscape of headstones frantically, trying to find out where the noise was coming from…they could be Jerries, coming to kill him or to torture him…it had happened to people…they could be German spies…he crawled through the wet grass to a headstone and lent against it, staring up at the sky.

The field hospital had made Stephen go crazy, all those soldiers with blood and bandages just brought back worse memories…he had decided to get out and had persuaded one of the younger nurses to let him take a walk, they had said they might have to check with the main doctor but they didn’t see why not and Stephen had taken that answer as a yes.

His hands were shaking, his face looked a mess, tears and rain and a bit of blood all running down his forehead and onto the grass, he stared down at his leg in the darkness and saw that it was beginning to shake but he wasn’t making it do that. He let out a scream of terror as his leg kept shaking. Grabbing the limb, he tried to make it stop but it kept shaking under his trembling fingers…there it was again…the gun shot and he covered his face and ears with his hands, the cold headstone rather comforting.

[Niamh Dunlevy]

OOC - Meant to say "military hospital", not "field hospital". My mistake.

+++++++++++++++++


He was most definitely somewhere ahead of Niamh and Rowan, somewhere in the thicker part of the overgrown area. The two Pavees glanced at each other, then moved faster, Rowan wincing a few times when his injured leg smacked against the ground. Niamh helped him along, the foliage thickening for a few metres, but then thinning at the very end of the path. With some difficulty, the cousins managed to push through, twigs and branches cracking and snapping with the effort.

They were in a graveyard. A graveyard, of all things. Niamh blinked, wide-eyed like a rabbit, while Rowan only bit his lip and frowned deeply.

"Wha...whath...? Whath t'e hell..." began Niamh, slightly disturbed by hearing Stephen's voice coming from a place of death. Rowan only shook his head.

"Doesn't surprise me, Niamh. I've heard of soldiers waking up in t'e middle of swamps after going through shell shock. He's probably thinking about death so much, he unconsciously went towards it - at least, that's what I think. C'mon, let's find t'e lad before he hurts himself."

"Y-yeah, leth's...God, t'is is all thoo creepy...."

The two cousins did not split up - the graveyard was too big, and there were several parts where it was overgrown enough to get lost in. Besides, the two of them believed in ghosts, and didn't want some demon of death leaping out at them unexpectedly. If a supernatural creature did descend upon them, then they could take it on...or not...well, maybe they could....

Finding Stephen was proving to be difficult. The graveyard was much bigger then expected, and the bushes just kept getting thicker and thicker. Stephen's sobs echoed, and they appeared for just a moment, melting into the silence of the night once more. Niamh and Rowan searched for a good twenty minutes, not wanting to scare Stephen by yelling again, using only the sounds of the Private's fear to guide them. It was soon obvious, however, that they would have to call for them again.

"STHEPHEN!" yelled Niamh, causing Rowan to wince slightly at the volume. Couldn't she be just a little more quiet? "STHEPHEN COOOOOLLLLLYYYYYY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?!!"

[Stephen Colly]

Again Stephen heard his name being said and this time the voice was closer by, much closer than it had been last. He let out a whimper, why were people looking for him? Couldn’t he just be left alone to die or to be on his own for once? His mind was in a state of shock as he looked around at the dark headstones, seeing the outlines of names of people, when they were born, who they were, when they died…all very sad…all death like.

His name was called again, this time it was much closer and he could see two shadows that were being lit up by the lights from the church, two people were coming towards him, one a girl and the other a boy, the man looked the worst for wear, he didn’t recognise them at all. Another wave of panic came over him as his leg began to tremble once more and his hands shook like leaves. He let out another cry of terror as a bird fluttered out from a nearby tree and off into the night. He huddled closer to the headstone, as if it was now his friend and protector from the horrors that were around.

He stared out at the figures coming closer, his eyes scanning a quick escape route just in case he needed one. Another two or three birds came fluttering, making a loud noise as they flew southwards, making Stephen jump and hide his head in his hands once more, completely and utterly terrified.

[Niamh Dunlevy]

After a few moments of silence, there was another cry, not too far from where Niamh and Rowan were. A pheasant bursted out from the bushes, startling someone who was near those bushes and causing a few more to take flight. The cousins hurried over as fast as they could, Niamh having to help Rowan along the last few feet. Rowan, however, had enough strength to put his arm out and stop his cousin abruptly, just as they were only ten metres from the shadow.

"Don't move," Rowan said quietly, looking seriously at the sobbing figure. "Everything seems like a threat to him. T'e smallest step could be seen as someone steppin' on 'im. Keep yourself in check, and let me do t'e talkin', okay?"

"...Bloody hell..." Niamh murmured, staring at Stephen's silhouette with a hard, pale face. Rowan took that as a "yes", and slowly limped forward, his body keeping Niamh out of sight. He didn't want Stephen to feel outnumbered.

"Stephen," Rowan said calmly, "it's me, Corporal Rowan O'Hannagain. You and I were roommates in that military hospital, remember? I've been looking for you. Are you all right, Stephen?"

From afar, Niamh watched, the Pavee woman wishing Rowan hadn't blocked her view of Stephen. She also hoped Stephen didn't bolt - it would take the pair forever to find him again if he did. The graveyard was already eerie enough; the Pavee didn't need to explore its darker corners, even if it was for a friend....

"Stephen," Rowan repeated. "Stephen, it's me. I want you to breathe deep, then look up. Do I look like a Jerry to you?"

Dear God, I hope noth, Niamh thought. You've already goth one bad leg, Rowzy...

Rowan waited for the young soldier's answer.

[Stephen Colly]

Stephen was hurdling like a scared rabbit against the headstone, the coldness of it didn’t seem to be getting to his skin yet or if it was, Stephen was too upset and shocked to realize it. The figures were coming ever closer and Stephen pressed himself against the headstone, trying to make himself as small as possible.

Someone was saying his name, it was a male voice and it was now closer, Stephen couldn’t see the woman, the man was blocking her, or she had gone away. Stephen kept his head low, his eyes on the feet of the stranger who was saying that apparently they had met; they were roommates in the military hospital…had Stephen been in a hospital? He didn’t remember that…he didn’t remember that.

The boy shook his head, not remembering. Again the man was speaking, telling him to look up and breath deeply, the man asked if he was a Jerry, if he looked like one. Stephen’s terrified eyes glanced up and searched the man in front of him.

”G-Go A-away.” he said, pressing against the headstone, ”I’m f-fine.” he said, trying to make himself believe that he was fine. Another bird fluttered out of the trees and Stephen yelped and covered his head with his arms, his body shaking once more.

[Niamh Dunlevy]

Rowan smiled sadly, shaking his head. "No Stephen," he said, "you are not fine. You're as jumpy as a cricket, and you're scared. Stephen, I know you just got back from the front lines; I know what's going on in your head. That's why I need you to look at me, Stephen, so I know you are okay."

With a wince, the Corporal got down on his knees, turning slightly and motioning for Niamh come to closer. The woman did so, and Rowan turned his head back to Stephen. He reached forward, placing a hand on the lower-ranking boy's shoulder.

"Stephen, do you know where you are?" Rowan asked. "Do you remember how long you've been out here? Are you hu - "

Rowan paused, noticing a trickle of blood flowing down the side of Stephen's head. As gently as he could, he reached forward, all the while murmuring, "Don't worry, I just need to see your head. Did you hurt it somehow?"

Niamh, meanwhile, felt her mind whirling. Something...something like the current situation had happened back in Exeter. It was back when she had first met Stephen, and he let her stay at his house. He had reacted to some sort of sound...a bar fight...and she knew that the monster in his head was from before....

"...Sthephen?" Niamh asked quietly, taking a step forward. "Sthephen? Do ya remember me, laddie? Ith's me...Niamh. Niamh Mairi Dunlevy. Do you remember Drummer, m'horse? You saved 'im. You saved m'horse."

"Niamh..." Rowan began, throwing a glare over his shoulder. Niamh glared fiercely back, and took a couple more steps in defiance.

"Sthephen..." said she, "Sthephen...you're fine. You're in England, no Jerries here. Whath's wrong? Why are ye shakin', laddie?"

Rowan was about to blurt, "It's shell shock, you moron," but held his tongue. If he raised his voice or used a harsh tone, then Stephen could snap. The boy was obviously scared out of his wits, and snapping words and being harsh-sounding would only make things worse.

[Stephen Colly]

Why couldn’t they just bugger off? Couldn’t the see that he wanted to be alone? Obviously not. Stephen jumped slightly as the man knelt down, the woman suddenly appeared from behind him and Stephen gave a yelp, he hadn’t realized she was still there…she must be a ghost or something for Stephen was sure that the girl had gone away, again...obviously not. ”I’m f-fine! Leave me alone!” he snapped, hurdling closer to the headstone, he wasn’t going to get any closer to it any more, he was already very very close.

”G-Get off me!” Stephen said suddenly as a hand was placed on his shoulder, ”Don’t shoot me!” he suddenly said, his eyes not recognising the soldier who he had talked to just hours before. He was too scared of the hand that was on his shoulder to hear what the man said next, he had stopped midsentence and was now trying to see the side of Stephen’s head, ”My head?” he frowned, his expression changing, ”You’ve shot me haven’t you!” he said suddenly, his eyes boring into the other soldier’s. Meanwhile, the girl had come closer and was talking to him.

Stephen looked over at her, staring at her, when she spoke about a horse, his eyes lifted. ”I had a horse once.” he muttered, ”His name was Joey and he…he…was beautiful.” he trailed off, ”How do you know my name?” he suddenly said when she said his name, ”Leave me alone!” he said, his hands gripping his leg as it shook. His mind was a complete mess, that last time in France had done something, what ever it had done, it hadn’t helped one bit.

[Niamh Dunlevy]

"No, Stephen! I did not shoot - "

"Joey thold me."

Rowan paused, turning his head around to look at Niamh. "...What?"

"I said, 'Joey thold me.' He also thold me t'at you were lookin' fer him, Sthephen," Niamh said with a smile on her face. She walked over, and leaned down to look him in the eye. If he was crazy, then maybe an even crazier statement would work. Niamh still also had that picture of Joey...

"He and I have been keepin' in thouch. He's veeerrrry busy with t'e war effort, Stephen...pullin' around carths and all that. He, uh...he's somewhere in France, and I'm thrying tho geth a hold of him so you can go see him. You want t'at, don'th you?"

The Corporal just stared at his cousin like she was insane. A talking horse? What was she thinking? Not even a shell-shocked soldier would fall for that...but then again, Stephen had seemed perkier when Niamh mentioned a horse...

"Sthephen...have t'is," Niamh said softly, pulling the aforementioned picture of Joey out of her pocket, and showing it to him. "Thry tho clear your head. We're here tho help, big guy...noth hurth. Joey would thell you t'e same."

"Yeah...he would," added Rowan, deciding to play along with his cousin. "He wouldn't like to see you like this, especially in a graveyard, of all things. Just come with us, laddie, and we'll fix you up right."

"You have not'ing to fear, Sthephen," Niamh said. "We're friends. We'll find you a place fer ya head, and I'll see if I can call up Joey, hm?"

[Stephen Colly]

”Joey told you?” Stephen said, frowning, ”He told you my name?” he now was really confused. ”I guessed he was in France…” he muttered, staring at something behind them, it wasn’t anything, he was just remembering his horse, but then the images turned to nasty ones, horses dying, horses getting stuck in the mud, his eyes widened as he saw the images and when a picture was handed to him he jumped again and then slowly looked at it.

He took the picture in his shaking hands, the picture shook because of his hands as he stared down at it, trying to remember. He traced with a shaky finger, the outline of the horse that he loved, he glanced up at the girl as she spoke to him, ”I-I don’t understand.” he muttered, frowning.

He was staring at the picture, his head shot up as the man started to speak about him going with them, he bit his lip. ”I-I don’t e-even know you.” he said, looking over at the girl as he spoke, ”I d-don’t think I can trust you…” he growled, his voice changing to become more fearful as he gave the picture back to the girl, or at least tried but dropped it into the dark and frantically tried to find it in the darkness and the rain.

”I can’t f-find it.” he said worryingly as he searched with his shaking hands. His head snapped up suddenly and his eyes searched the countryside around. ”I can hear bombs.” he whispered, gripping hold of the woman suddenly with his trembling hands.

[Niamh Dunlevy]

Was clinging a good thing? Or did it mean that he was about to snap and rip her head off? Niamh was not so sure. All she did know was that there were no bombs going off, and that the graveyard was getting creepier by the second. Maybe she could use his hallucinations to her advantage, though....

"T'at's why were here," Niamh said, trying to sound as serious as possible. "We're, uh, thryin' to - "

A hand suddenly clamped over her mouth, and Rowan's fierce stare suddenly bore into hers. He then said, "What my cousin is trying to say, Stephen, is that we're going to take you away from those bombs. If you come with us, we'll find you a warm place to sleep, and you won't have to worry about t'e bombs. I need you, however, to trust us."

Well...he certainly worded that better then Niamh was about to; she was going to say she and Rowan were a couple of people taking people to bomb shelters because of an air raid. The young Pavee probably would have ended up mentally scarring Stephen further. Thank the heavens Rowan was so down-to-earth almost all the time!

As Rowan pulled his hand away from Niamh's mouth, the latter spoke again. "Sthephen," said she, "you're noth alone. We're here tho help, noth do harm in any way. Me an' Rowan, we're friends...."

"...So just come with us," the other Pavee finished with a smile, his hands reaching forward to gently pluck the picture off the muddy ground. It had begun to rain lightly, and it was best for the three to seek shelter, lest they all become chilled and come down with a bad cold. "We know a place to go."

"Yep!" chirped Niamh. "An' you can have some food t'ere, thoo!"

[Stephen Colly]

”Take me away from the bombs…?” Stephen repeated what the man said, suddenly realizing that that would be amazing, excellent, that that would be the best thing in the world, a place to sleep would be lovely, he hadn’t been sleeping very well these last few days…”I’d like that.” he finally said after a few seconds of thinking this over.

”Friends…” he looked at the two of them for a few minutes, the bombs were going off in his head and his eyes searched the countryside around them, the silent graves. He was beginning to start to trust these two, they had said that they knew Joey and that was surely good. Rain started to fall slightly and Stephen looked up into the sky.

”There will be food there?” his eyes perked up, he hadn’t eaten in a while, he would like some food, food was good. ”Food sounds good.” he said and leant on Niamh as he began to get up, his right leg still shaking uncontrollably, he grabbed the headstone beside him to keep steady as he stared at his leg in the darkness and then back up at the other two.

"I want to go away from the bombs." he said as he grabbed on to Niamh, stumbling slightly but caught himself as his leg still shook.

[Niamh Dunlevy]

"Yep, loths and loths o' food," Niamh said cheerily. "Hoth mashed pothathoes, meath pie...Aunthie Laura makes 'em reaaaal good! You'll like ith a loth, and y'know whath? Ye can have dinner in bed! An' breakfasth, thoo!"

Out of the corner of her eye, Niamh saw Rowan giving her a look. Stephen was supposed to go back to the military hospital, where he could be properly taken care of. Rowan's mother, Niamh's Aunt Laura O'Hannagain, was not trained to deal with shell shock. Yes, she made excellent food, and she had a spare room in her house where Stephen could stay....But the military would kill the two Pavees! They couldn't just hide Stephen in Aunt Laura's house - wouldn't that be like...like...kidnapping?

"I want to go away from the bombs," said Stephen, struggling to stay on his feet as Niamh helped him up. The young woman saw that his right leg was trembling uncontrollably, and it seemed like the boy-soldier couldn't walk without stumbling. Frowning, she slung one of his arms over her shoulder, and gently began to lead Stephen along.

"Now, what do you prefer - chips or mashed?" asked Niamh, trying to talk to Stephen and get his mind off of the bombs only he could hear. Rowan, however, caught her attention, tapping on her shoulder as he limped beside them.

"We can't bring him to Aunt Laura's," Rowan said in a low voice. "The military will kill me if we do. We have to bring him back."

"He eaths firsth," said Niamh. "He needs food."

"Are you mad?!" Rowan said quietly, putting on a heated look. "The medicine doctors use to help people like Stephen can give the poor lad nausea! You want him puking like a colicky babe?!"

"Shuth up, will you!" snapped Niamh. "I know whath I'm doing!"

"No, you don't!"

"Yes, I do!"

[Stephen Colly]

Stephen liked the idea of all that food that she was saying; he hadn’t eaten in ages, days even. ”Dinner and breakfast in bed.” the idea sounded marvellous, it sounded delicious. He flinched but relaxed when she slung his arm over her shoulder, he could stand a bit more easily now. He lent on her slightly as they stumbled towards the gate that was swinging in the slight breeze.

Stephen shrugged, he didn’t know what he liked, he just wanted some food but he didn’t know how he would be able to hold his knife and fork, he could barely hold a picture his hands shook so much.

The two beside him now began to talk in hushed tones, the woman seemed angry and snapped at the other man which made Stephen jump some what. He glanced at them as they neared the gate. The rain was becoming slowly heavier and heavier, the boy-soldier began to shake not as much with fear but now with the cold, he had been sitting out in the rain and cold for a good hour at least until the two next to him had arrived.

His teeth began to chatter as they left the churchyard and made their way along the path that led away from the place of death towards the little main street, Stephen stumbling along as best he could, staring out into the darkness.