Chapter 8

In the dark night there was hardly any sound at all, besides the lonely call of an distant owl. Most people in the small Irish town Connemara were deep asleep, safe a few. Some were still working, some couldn't sleep and some worked hard to save somebody.

Two pair of hazel eyes watched a ritual they had hoped to stop in time but there wasn't much time left at all. In stony silence five druids prepared their latest victim, tying the young gagged man on a rather large stone slab in the centre of their offering's place. Of course the victim struggled but it was of no use. The ghostly figures were a lot stronger and determined not to let the man go.

"We gotta do something Derek."

The soft whispered words were spoken with an underlying urgency as the ex-Seal balled his fists tightly, wanting nothing more then to spring into action but he knew he had to wait to make this work.

"I'll distract them so you can free the victim."

Nick gave Derek a sceptical look when the older Precept came up with that plan. Okay, it was a plan, and that was at least something but it so wasn't a good one. His boss clearly though he had turned into superman over night or something.

"Are you crazy? How were you planning to do that, outrun five freaking ghosts? Discuss with them the benefits of not killing you?"

The Dutchman frowned, scowling slightly. His friend had a point but he would probably draw attention and that was never a good thing when you were trying to free a man unnoticed. This was their priority after all, help the innocents.

"You have the best chance to free the man, so no arguments. I'll distract them with whatever I choose to use."

Nick wasn't really agreeing with this, and that was clearly seen on his face, they shouldn't split up and if they were splitting up, his boss shouldn't be the one facing those loony escapees. But there was no other option. There was no way Derek could free the captured man without getting noticed and that was a fact. Derek did have a point. Damn it, he hated it when the older man was right in situations like these. It never bode well, for either of them.

"Yeah bossman, I got it."

"Goot, as soon as their attention shifts to me, you go help that man."

The security chief nodded and started to move away in a crouched position, silently and unseen. Derek waited a few more minutes, to give Nick enough time to tale a position close to the victim and away from him. He took a moment to compose himself before he started to walk towards the circle of druids calmly. Of course, it did not take long for them to notice him, his presence disturbing their ritual and they obviously hadn't expected this.

For a brief moment time seemed to stand still as the two parties stood there, staring at each other. Good versus the bad and the good was in a severe minority. The young man on the stone slab squirmed, trying to get free of his bonds and that made Derek spring into action. There was confusion amongst the ghostly druids when the Precept didn't attack but produced a cross instead, muttering Latin words as well.

Derek knew that if he ran they would know something was up. So he pretended to know what he was doing, slowly taking steps back, There wasn't much time, he noticed the ghosts were already busy trying to surround him. Their soulless dark and empty eyes were purely focussed on him now.

Now Nick!

Nick watched as his friend lured the freaks away slowly. Don't go too far, he thought to himself as he ran forward as soon as the distance between the victim and the druids was far enough. He had already fished his pocket-knife out of his boot and quickly worked to cut the bindings of the young man who was staring at him wide eyed. The guy seemed to be in shock, pale shaking and sweaty, remaining on the stone while he was already free. Shit, the guy didn't seem able to run at all. Nick hoisted him up none too gently, forcing the dark haired man to look at him.

"Run, go to the village, now!"

He tried his best to speak softly, giving the man a push in the right direction with some force. He had no time to play nice and friendly to win himself the social award. Luckily the guy stammered something, nodding wildly before stumbling into the direction Nick had steered him in. So he was stumbling more then running, and it wasn't going at high speed, but it was going to have to do, the young security chief mused. He watched to make sure the guy was really going and not faltering halfway cause that would be really bad.

"Nick!"

The soft raindrops starting to fall wasn't what made him whirl around, but the urgency in Derek's voice was. Something was definitely wrong, he had learned a long time ago to read between the lines whenever his friend shouted his name. Crap, okay definitely something wrong. Derek was struggling as two of the white ghostly figures held him tightly, a third trying to tie the Precept's hands together while the remaining two came advancing towards Nick.

"They want to use you Nick, run! Run now!"

Shit, Derek's still there and not going anywhere anytime soon, but I gotta go else there's a real problem. Derek knew he would be coming back for him, and that thought made him break into a run, not going for the village because then they would also see the guy he helped escape. Around, he could lead them around, and help Derek in the process.

Derek watched with dread as his young colleague ran away, the two druids in hot pursuit, fast without their corporal body. He couldn't do anything, his hands were tied behind his back and cutting off circulation already. The small raindrops turned bigger and bigger and within seconds he was soaked through, coldness creeping in. How far was Nick going to get in this weather? And what were they going to do with him and his friend?

Nick squinted his eyes, trying to see something trough the thick curtain of rain, while a steady stream ran over his face and he had to blink constantly at the stinging in his eyes. His plan to run around in a big circle had washed away as soon as he realized he could only go straight ahead, towards the Inn they had stayed in years ago and hat had been closed ever since. His breathing sped up, seeing it in the distance, a dark shadow and he knew the building wouldn't provide him any shelter at all. From the rain yeah, just not from his pursuers. There was a slight stumble when he was on a familiar lane, with on his right a very familiar muddy terrain.

Oh God no.

This was just too familiar, too eerie. He had been running here not so long ago, in the same weather just not the same circumstances. His foot caught on something, and he stumbled again, falling against the wooden fence of the old muddy field. It splintered under his weight, sharp wood digging into his arm and shoulder as he fell into the mud. He had to keep going though and he scrambled back up, looking back. They were closing in on him. And so he ran, into the muddy field, blood soaking through his leather jacket, mud covering him from head to toe and silent tears streaming down his face while his mind was caught between the now and the before. There was the scarecrow, old and dingy but still there….without Julia. A sob escaped him, as he leaned against it, trying to get his breathing under control while he felt them approaching. He wanted to fight them, he was already preparing himself for it, though he never could. Something hard and heavy collided with his head, he tried clinging to the scarecrow to remain standing while his vision wavered. Then there was darkness.