Body of Water

by Stuart Wakefield

  Millie tugged her hat back down into place and snorted. She knew I didn’t believe her.

  As Dom and I left the pub, I had to run to keep up with him. “Nice old girl, isn’t she? Shame she’s as mad as a brush.”

  “Ye don’t believe her?” Dom stopped, surprised.

  I almost ran into him. “I think she believes she saw something but how could something like that exist? It’s crazy.”

  “These islands are ancient. Don’t underestimate the power of the magic that lives here.” Dom started to walk again, shaking his head.

  “What? Where are you going?”

  Dom continued to walk and said nothing.

  I watched him go, raised my arms, and let them fall back to my sides. A smart retort evaded me so I ran after him. By the time I caught up, he’d reached a house with a stone wall. The place was deserted and in ruins. It felt colder here than anywhere else I’d been so far.

  Dom scanned the outside of the house and then vaulted over the wall. He took a tentative step towards the structure and then turned back to face me.

  “Seen a ghost?”

  “Of course not.”

  “Just stand there and listen. Feel the energy in this place and Ah’ll tell ye a story.”

  I fought the sudden urge to laugh but fell silent as Dom started to speak.

  “Folk avoid this place now, especially at night. Years ago, a mother too full of grief tae let her two dead children go, secretly buried them in the garden. Folk got suspicious after a while and, unable to explain where they’d gone, she was arrested and taken away. Soon after, strange lights were seen in the garden. Witnesses were dismissed as drunks on account of this house being so near tae the pub but it soon became a place tae fear. Then police returned and started to dig. They found the children’s bodies and took them but the lights remained.”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Be quiet. Can ye feel them?”

  “Don’t be stupid. How-”

  Dom closed his eyes. “Can ye feel them?”

  I opened my mouth but stopped when something tickled my neck. Thinking it might be a loose curl I swept it away with my hand but the sensation moved down the centre of my back, like someone was tracing my spine with a cold finger tip.

  Behind Dom, a cool blue light illuminated the front wall of the crumbling house. I watched it grow brighter then begin to move upwards. A tiny smile tilted Dom’s mouth. He can’t have known it was there but perhaps he felt it.

  The light spread out and split in two. For a moment it looked like Dom had sprouted luminous wings but they continued to rise above his head and above the roof until they were out of view.

  I looked back at Dom but he had disappeared from the spot in which he had been standing. As I looked left and right someone grabbed me hard, wrenching me off my feet. I cried out and heard Dom’s deep laugh as the big man swung me around and around.

  “Let go, you bastard!”

  Dom dumped me on the ground in a heap. I sprang to my feet and launched myself at him. He easily avoided me and laughed harder still. “Ye can’t catch me, moppy.”

  That didn’t stop me from trying again. This time I fell flat on my face. Dom reached down and pulled me up by the back of my jeans. I tried to punch him but he caught me by the wrist.

  “Ye might want tae think twice aboot that,” he warned me, his voice suddenly low.

  I glared at him defiantly and tried to struggle but he held me fast, rendering me useless.

  “Go on, I dare ye.”

  I went limp in his grip, furious but overcome with the realisation that if Dom could overpower me so easily then he’d pulverise me in a balls-out, man-to-man fight. Dangling in his paw seemed like a safer option after all.

  He sensed the fight had gone from me and set me back down. Rubbing my wrists, I sat on the wall and he joined me. “What was that?”

  “Ah told ye what it was.”

  “It can’t be.”

  “Why not?”

  “It just can’t.”

  Dom chuckled and threw his arm around me, pulling me to him in a drunken gesture. I hadn’t noticed him drink that much during Millie’s story. “Wouldn’t ye like tae see yer loved ones again, if they passed on, even if they were just a light in the sky?”

  “They don’t come back.”

  “That’s not what Ah asked ye.”

  I remained silent as tears began to stream down my face. I folded up, my hands covering my scalp, huge sobs wracking my body until I gasped for air. Dom reached out and patted me awkwardly on the shoulder.

  “Ah’m sorry. Didn’t mean tae upset-”

  I was on my feet again, angry. “They don’t come back, okay? They don’t. Sooner or later everyone fucks off and you’re alone.” And I was off, sprinting across the path and off into the darkness. Dom called after me but he was too far away for me to make his words out. Not that I cared. The sound of him running after me soon registered. He was making up the space between us fast. I was a great sprinter but Dom had a much longer stride.

  His voice became clearer. “…careful! Ye’re too close tae-”

  Then the ground beneath me disappeared and I was flailing in the air, my legs kicking uselessly. Dom grabbed me in mid fall but that meant that he had launched himself into the air after me. Falling fast, he twisted us around before we hit the ground.

  The impact was hard. My head snapped back onto Dom’s face and I heard a crack followed by the feeling of warm fluid in my hair.

  Even in the dimness I could see Dom’s face was covered in blood. I touched the back of my head first to see if it was my scalp that was bleeding but my skin felt intact.

  We had landed on a stretch of beach that I didn’t recognise. Dom lay dazed on the sand, his eyes rolling in his head. I crouched down beside him and pushed him down as he tried to get up.

  “Don’t move. You could have concussion.” I pulled off my shirt and dabbed Dom’s face, avoiding his nose. “Sorry.”

  Dom grunted and snatched the shirt from me.

  “Good runner, Ah’ll give ye that.”

  Dom insisted on going back to the house. In the kitchen I tried to tend to Dom’s face despite his protestations.

  “Do it maself,” he muttered, as I gently pressed a warm flannel to his face.

  “It’s the least I can do.”

  “Ye’re more trouble than I thought.”

  “Serves you right for scaring the shit out of me.”

  “Ye don’t belong here.”

  “Tell me about it. There, I think that’s as good as it’s going to get. I think your eyes are going to go black.”

  “Ma head is pounding. Ah’m going tae go tae bed.”

  “No. You shouldn’t sleep yet.”

  “Ah’m fine.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “Keep yer voice down. Ye’ll wake Mackay. At least turn the light out.”

  Plunged into darkness, I sat down opposite Dom.

  “Ah hate the smell of blood,” Dom said.

  I didn’t know what to say so stated the obvious. “So, you’re really alone?” I whispered in the dark.

  Dom nodded silently.

  I was so used to wearing my loss on my sleeve that the thought of telling Dom about my own life seemed vulgar. I tried to pitch it so I didn’t sound like I was trying to outdo him.

  “I killed a dog. I was only little but I remember bits of it. They told me that it had a heart attack as it ran towards me but I know it was me that killed it. I don’t know how I did it but I can still hear its owner screaming.”

  “Ye dream aboot it. Ah hear ye at night.”

  “It’s getting worse. Must be the sound of the waves. I thought it might help, you know, being here, but it wasn’t such a great idea, I guess.”

  “Ye still have Mackay,” Dom offered in consolation.

  I shook my head. “It doesn’t feel like we’re even related. I’ve seen him once since I got here. I don’t even know why he invited me.
I grew up in a children’s home, farmed out to family after family but I always ended back up there.”

  “Why?”

  “No one ever told me but I know I had issues. I don’t think I’ve ever slept through an entire night without waking up screaming. The lack of sleep made me difficult. As I got older I tested everyone to their limits. Finally, I met Ruth and Alex and everything clicked. I couldn’t believe my luck. They’d fostered ten kids before me. That’s how I got my name. Alex used to call me ‘Eleven’ and it got shortened to ‘Leven’.”

  “Would ye put the light back on, moppy?” Dom rubbed his nose tentatively and looked uncomfortable.

  “What is it?”

  He stood up. “Ye need tae come with me. Ah have tae give ye something.”

  “What?”

  “Something important.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Hideout

  The sand whipped our faces in the evening wind and the sharp grains stung my face as I hurried behind Dom’s long stride. We arrived at a small opening in the cliff face and Dom pushed me through first. He struggled to fit between the jagged opening so I helped him through as best I could. It struck me then how warm Dom’s hands were. I had shoved my hands deep into my pockets on the way here but they still felt frozen. Dom had done no such thing but his hands were still as warm as the kitchen stove.

  I made myself as comfortable as I could considering I was cut and bruised.

  Dom looked infinitely less comfortable than me, his size being the problem. It was impossible for us to fit into the tiny space without at least one part of us touching.

  Dom’s announcement had unsettled me. “What’s going on?”

  His big grey eyes turned toward the narrow mouth of the cave and he went silent.

  “Dom?

  “The package that came for ye…”

  “What about it?”

  He reached into a crack in the cave wall and pulled something out of it. I couldn’t see what it was; it was completely enclosed in his fist. “Ah found this in the bottom with that white stuff and Ah kept it for maself. Ah’m sorry.”

  He held out his fist and I tucked an open palm under it.

  “Ah think ye might need it,” he said as he dropped something heavy into my hand.

  My hand closed around it and the shape felt familiar. There wasn’t enough light in the cave to see it properly but I knew what it was.

  The pendant.

  Why hadn’t Beth mentioned it in her letter? Dom said it had been in with the packing chips. Had someone in her family recognised it as mine, seen the parcel intended for me and tossed it in without her knowing? As my mind raced through the possibilities, I felt a burning sensation in my hand. One side of the pendant felt rough and my skin reacted to it.

  A plaintive cry, like an animal in pain, rang out. I had heard the same cry the night of my arrival. It had drawn me to my bedroom window but I had seen nothing.

  Dom cocked his head, momentarily distracted, and his massive body tensed. “We have tae get ye oot of here.”

  “Why?”

  “Shh!” As his finger flew up to his mouth his voice dropped to a whisper. “No time tae explain. Come on.”

  Dom stooped and crossed to the cave’s narrow entrance. Again I noticed how quickly he moved for his size. His thick brow furrowed in steady concentration as he scanned the beach. Dom held out his hand and beckoned me over. “Don’t speak, don’t even breathe. Ye must get away from this place. It’s not safe now.”

  I nodded, muted by the warm palm he placed over my mouth. I hadn’t seen anyone or anything on the island that looked as dangerous as Dom but even the big man looked nervous.

  After one more glance outside, Dom squeezed back out of the cave onto the beach and pulled me through with a powerful tug.

  “Run tae the house,” Dom ordered.

  But something else was wrong.

  I looked up at the water, smooth as glass. The wind buffeted my face but the ocean remained unnaturally still. How could this be happening?

  I heard movement behind me, and looked over my shoulder to see Dom sprinting across the sand, the uneven surface having no effect on him. Each footfall planted solidly into the sand as he rushed towards me, waving one hand in front of him.

  “Get away from the water,” Dom bellowed.

  I heard movement again and looked back towards the water to see a dark figure rise from the surface, obsidian-black against the dim light reflected by the mirrored water. The figure seemed to suck light into itself. It started to move towards me, faster that I’d expected, and accelerated rapidly. Before I could even think about moving, one inky arm reached out to snatch me from the beach. As its fingers started to close in anticipation of my frozen state, I felt two large arms around me and I was wrenched back from the water. In an instant I was back at the edge of the beach. A shriek pierced the night, but there were two inhuman voices, not one. I cried out too, struggling to release myself from Dom’s vice-like grip.

  “Let go of me.” I lashed out impotently, my fear giving me strength and my confusion sucking it away just as quickly.

  “As soon as you’re safe,” grunted Dom in reply. I could feel his warm breath in my hair as he pulled me close to him and stood up.

  The world tilted as he tucked me effortlessly under his arm and began to run. In any other circumstance I’d have felt humiliated to be transported like this but my mental exhaustion finally won out over my body and I surrendered. Dom had saved me from whatever that thing was and I doubted it was so he could harm me himself.

  The sea receded quickly as Dom accelerated and I began to recognise some of the landscape that whipped past us as he ran. We were headed back to the house. I relaxed as much as I could into Dom’s grip, certain that he’d slow down soon but he showed no sign of stopping and I was surprised to see the house whip past us, a flash of the dimly-lit windows in the night. Just as I opened my mouth to speak everything went black and Dom skidded to a halt. We were inside. But inside what? Dom set me down gently and it took me a moment for my eyes to become accustomed to the darkness. I reached out and my hands met a large chunk of crispy matter, its texture vaguely familiar. Hay.

  “We’re in a barn?”

  “Catch yer breath for a moment,” said Dom, an unusual softness in his voice. “Ah’ve a feeling it’s going tae be a long night.”

  Grateful for the pause, I slumped onto a bale swathed in waxy fabric, the unusual texture stimulating my senses as I splayed my fingers out, seeking enough traction to help me sit upright. Dom placed a large palm on my chest and pushed me slowly back down, just as he had before when I had woken on the living room sofa.

  I lay in the dark, Dom’s hand still on my chest. The warmth from the big man’s hand spread through me and my breathing started to slow. I rested my cold hands on Dom’s and the warmth spread through them too. Dom sat perpendicular to me, his head tilted up towards the enormous beams floating above us.

  This time, when I tried to sit up, he let me. I kept behind him, sitting at right angles to the expanse of his back.

  “What’s happening?” I whispered the words as much to myself as to him.

  “Ah’m not sure, moppy.” His resigned tone offered me no comfort. I’d hoped that if he was what he said he was then he’d have some insight into the madness of the past few days.

  “I feel like I’m going mad.” My hands found their way up into my hair, rubbing my scalp before the balls of my hands found a resting place in the sockets of my eyes. Bright flashes popped behind my eyelids and then eased into shimmering clouds.

  “The world’s going mad, beuy.”

  “I thought my world had ended when Ruth died and then I got here.”

  “It’s ma world that’s going mad, not yers.”

  “Your world?”

  Dom got up, crossed to the barn door, and opened it. A slice of moonlight illuminated one half of his face. I got up and crossed over to him, taking in a breath to speak but his hand came up to silen
ce me. I stopped and watched his silver-grey eyes scan the area outside the barn. Seeming satisfied, he closed the door, sealing us in darkness once again. He guided me back to the bale and sat me down firmly.

  “Ye still haven’t accepted it yet? Ah’m not like ye.”

  “But you must be. It’s crazy.” I tried in vain to read his expression.

  Saying nothing, he reached out for my hand with his, while his other tugged up the bottom of his thick sweater. “What will it take?” He pulled my hand up beneath the chunky knitted fabric and my fingertips skimmed across his tight stomach. After all the running I’d expected at least a sheen of sweat on Dom’s skin but his was a dry heat. Soon, I felt what I assumed he wanted me to feel, a rough patch of skin on his left side, just below his ribcage. His hand stopped and held mine there as soon as he felt me react to the change of texture.

  “How did you get this?”

  His voice dropped to a barely audible whisper. “Ah told ye. Got it the day ma family were killed.”

  “Yesterday, in your room. The newspaper clippings. Someone saw an injured man, a naked man, staggering away from the scene.” I felt a tremor run through his body and a splash on my forearm. “You’re really him, aren’t you?”

  Dom remained silent but his huge frame wracked with silent sobs. I snaked my hands around his waist and up across his back, embracing him while he cried. His arms coiled around me in return and the big man sobbed into my neck.

  Whatever Dom was feeling, he’d been channelling it into trying to identify his family’s murderers, and allowing my father to control him through fear of losing what little he had left. I felt certain that his aggression was born from his suffering. What must it feel like to be alone? My own feelings of isolation withered as I considered this. I might have felt alone but at least I was human. What must it be like for him, I wondered?

  Sometimes, when I was upset, Beth didn’t say anything and let me cry. I stroked the back of Dom’s head and waited patiently. He cried for a long time but his hold on me didn’t relax once. Finally, the heaving of Dom’s shoulders lessened and his hold on me loosened a little. I reached up and wiped the moisture away from Dom’s eyes.

  “A’hm scared,” Dom said, his voice cracking.