Scout Stories: Bruised Beginnings

A Cat Of Many Colours

Keefe turned in time to see Peigi hit the wall. Her head bounced off the wall with a wet crack and she fell to the floor. Keefe screamed but Peigi didn't move. She was still.

"A day was all he got form her wish," said the voice. "Most of the stories forget that. It wasn't happily ever after for the family. It was one day, one chance to say goodbye."

Keefe tried to ignore the voice and ran to his cousin. He cradles her head in his hands.

"Peigi," he said. "Peigi say something."

"I won't give that to you, little mouse," said the voice.

"Peigi come on. Open you eyes. Yell at me. Hit me. Say something. Do something."

Her blood was on the wall in a splatter, but there was more than that. Old blood had dried on this wall. It had been painted on to form glyphs and words that Keefe didn't know. He didn't care. He was next to thee dead man and the sword.

"You won that race Peigi. I won't give out about it any more. I'll let you boss me around even though I'm older. I'll tell Oisín that it was me who took his dessert last week. I'll do anything you want. Just open your eyes."

"So the hero came here and called the creature to him," said the voice, "And the creature came because it thought it had fooled him. He used his own blood to paint the trap, to force it to serve his people. He trapped it in it's disguise! It could change colour to better hide from the brats who had heard the hero's story and wanted their own stupid little wishes fulfilled, but it couldn't harm them as it wanted to."

Peigi was getting colder in Keefe's arms.

"I'll let you go, Peigi," said Keefe. "I'll let you go so please. Please wake up."

The blood pured over Keefe's arms as he cradled her. He couldn't get it to stop.

"It warned them about every storm that may hurt them. It told them of every freeze that might have killed their animals of their crops. It was forced to protect them even though all it wanted was to watch them die."

"Please."

"Until there came a storm..."

Keefe wailed and the creature laughed.

"Maybe the storm wanted to kill them as well. First came the rain that lashed on these walls. Then came the wind, strong enough to shake the walls. A piece of wall was blown down. Only a small piece. The monster didn't notice."

The voice was all around him now. It was in his head.

"Shut up," said Keefe.

"Then came the lightening. It flashed and the creature say where that the wind had taken a piece of the trap away. It was free. Freed by the storm it had forecast."

Movement in the corner of his eye made Keefe look up. The white cat approached him. As it then its coat changed to black and then to grey. It became fat and old and a sleek kitten. It changed with every step into every single cat Keefe had encountered in the village. Then it started to grow.

"Three children came to it. The creature gave them the storm by way of thanks, by way of challenge."

The mouth didn't move but Keefe was sure that it was the source of the voice.

"Get back," he said. He pulled Peigi closer with one arm and grabbed dead man's hand with the other. He pulled the dead's man fingers from it. The bone was made brittle with age. They broke easier.