Heart and Mind 2

Chapter 5
The captain got out of the car, though not without difficulty. Howard didn’t say goodbye; he simply pulled the gear shifter and, without saying a word, drove on. Oliver just sighed as he watched the car going away. After a few seconds, he took out his pipe and, gripping it with his teeth, headed towards the nearest platform. The fairies were nowhere to be seen, and neither was Mary. The railway station was plunged into darkness, the lights off, the night sky covered with dense clouds. The captain, however, was quite good at navigating in the dark. Quite good not only for a middle-aged man, whose health had been ruined by years of smoking and drinking, but for a man generally. Oliver was used to night voyages with all lights on his Birdie often turned off not to attract the attention of monsters that could be hiding in the calm waters of Coastal Hill.

Perhaps for the first time in a long time the captain didn’t feel like smoking. After an attack that he might have had when they were trying to get away from the werewolf, Oliver wasn’t feeling very well. But the pipe he simply held clenched in his teeth helped him stay calm.

He was moving slowly and carefully, holding his hand on his belt with an old officer dagger on it. The captain had never used it in a real battle (which rather made him happy), but that night Oliver was ready for whatever was coming. He was tired and not afraid to admit it to himself or to us when he told us his story. He was scared and although he never spoked of that later, we still know that it’s true.

The captain walked past the station building, without even trying to peep through the window, straight onto the platform. The old steam locomotive that could move without coal or a driver stood in its place. That gave some confidence — usually, when the locomotive darted off with a loud noise, and poisonous green smoke started pouring out of the chimney, this was seen as a sign of new troubles. The station was particularly quiet. When Oliver’s foot touched the wood platform deck, the light went on. A painfully pale electric light flooded the platform for a few seconds, but then the light blinked, showering sparks, and he heard glass clink. The platform plunged into darkness again.

It took the captain, who had barely had time to cover his face from the falling glass fragments, a few seconds to pull them out of the closely woven fabric of his jacket sleeve. Then he picked up the pipe he had dropped and carefully wiped it with one of his two handkerchiefs. He always used one of those for its intended purpose, and the other only for wiping the pipe. It was amazing how well Oliver could remember such small details and actions, but most likely, his mind got especially sharpened at a time of mortal danger. Because as soon as he put the pipe back in his pocket, light flooded the station again. But this time it was not the cold electric light of a station lamp, but glow of dozens of tiny eyes.

‘I came to talk,’ the Captain said quietly. His voice was firm and calm, at least that was what he was saying later. There were so many fairies at the station that Oliver didn’t even try to count them. ‘The only thing I need is the woman you’ve taken.’

‘We’ve taken many,’ came the hiss. One of the fairies flew closer so Oliver could get a better look. This creature was just a grotesque parody of a fairy from children’s fairy tales, or even of a real human being. It had a huge head, a huge frog-like mouth, from ear to ear, and many small, sharp teeth in two rows. The fairy was dressed in a short tunic, and held a long sharp knitting pin in her hands like a spear. She was hardly even twenty inches tall, but the Captain knew too well how dangerous those creatures could be to underestimate the fairies because of their small size.

‘I need Mary,’ Oliver replied, taking a few careful steps back. The fairies followed him, trying to make a ring to encircle the man. ‘The nun.’

‘You won’t get her back, it’s already too late,’ came an evil laughter. The fairies were laughing from all sides, so the Captain could not say exactly who was answering him. He gripped the handle of the dagger, ready to whip it out at any moment. The laughter did not subside. ‘She’s halfway to the Dreamworld, Slave of Nereid. You can join her if you want.’

‘Apparently, I have no other choice,’ Oliver nodded. Lowering his head, he took a step forward. ‘It’s better than being alone.’

‘It’s better,’ one of the fairies rasped, flying closer to the Captain, ‘than to feel my teeth pulling out your trachea.’

The captain grinned. With ease that was quite unusual for his age, he grabbed the fairy by the head. At the same instant, he whipped out the dagger from its scabbard and held its blade to the little monster’s throat. The monster squeaked, and the other fairies around him hissed furiously, yet refraining from attacking him.

‘There aren’t that many of you, are there?’ the Captain shouted raising his captive higher. ‘Doesn’t every dead fairy mean thousands of wasted years, a terrible tragedy for your people?’

‘You want to trade?’ hissed the fairy whose head was still clutched between Oliver’s fingers. ‘Do you want to trade, man? ‘We agree, we agree!’

‘Cowardly fleabag!’ came the voice of another fairy. The monsters set upon the Captain not wanting to give up their captive, even at the expense of life of one of their fellow fairy.

The captain, however, was not a murderer. At least he was not a cold-blooded killer capable of finishing a hostage. Oliver threw the fairy aside, pulled his jacket over his head and ran forward, trying to break through the circle of monsters and get out of the station. He understood that if Mary was already halfway to the Dreamworld, there was no point in looking for her in the physical world. The Captain needed the help of an experienced occultist, the Captain needed magic. The Captain needed me, and I was locked in the basement, together with Catherine, the mysterious girl in the mirror, and a whole gang of angry werewolves.

The fairies, however, did not know that. They all dived and dived at poor Oliver. Dumber ones tried to rip off the jacket that he had pulled over his head to get right to their victim’s throat. Few of the smarter ones aimed at the Captain’s exposed stomach and sides. Several sewing needles stuck into his belly. A large and thick knitting pin only miraculously passed Oliver’s spine, sticking in the back. Some of the fairies threw their weapons aside and simply sunk their teeth into the Captain’s side, tearing the skin and flesh of the poor fellow. Oliver was even afraid to scream, and just kept running.

As he went round the station building, he finally saw the saving headlights in front of him. Without slowing down, he ran forward towards the light and once he heard a loud cry ‘Hit the ground!’, without hesitation he threw himself face-first into the mud. A deafening rumble followed, and only a moment later the Captain understood that it had been a shot from a scattergun. And then he heard the familiar voice of the sheriff.

‘Get up, Cap. The Bloody Moon has risen. There are more monsters than I’ve ever seen.’