***
Maura forced herself into consciousness as the angle of the sun showed it was late afternoon. As she tried sitting up, she burst into tears, angrily trying to smother her sobs, but it took a minute.
"That bastard!" she wept, feeling vaguely stupid for her hurt. "What did you expect?" Maura tried lecturing herself, "Did you think this was going to be a happy ending?" Her thin shoulders shook as she realized that some foolish part of her had. Falling back onto the cushions, she wiped her face, clumsy still from the drug’s effects and tried to concentrate. She should get dressed. Looking around the room, she saw their suitcases on a trunk, already opened and clothing hung on a small rack. This was the first time she'd seen any of the clothes James selected for her and Maura assumed Mr. Sahnoun unpacked them.
Get moving,she lectured herself, preparing to crawl again.
The piles of cushions and pillows that made their night such a comfort were a nightmare this afternoon- the slippery pile making it impossible to navigate. Maura tried rolling onto her stomach to attempt slithering out of the mountain of cushions, but that made it worse. Unable to get enough strength in her arms to push it away, a silk pillow fell on her face, blocking out the light.
The reptile part of her brain starting shrieking again, the terrified signals shooting to her nerve endings and sending Maura's heart into overdrive. She was never one for panic attacks, but her inability to remove the soft, suffocating pillow made her arms and legs shake uncontrollably. Small, terrified moans rose from her clenching throat and all she could picture was being buried alive.Maybe I deserve that,she thought wildly, wondering if her Ma was still alive when they buried her in that pauper's grave. Maura had nightmares for weeks after the pitiful funeral, dreaming that her Ma woke from her drugged coma and screamed, scratching at the roof of the cheap wooden coffin. "It's all your fault, ya' little bitch! Ya' killed yer Ma!"
Maura's chest was too tight to scream, all she could do was flail her weakened arms and moan pitifully. As she managed to push one cushion away, another slid into its place over her mouth and nose. Spots and flashes of light started sparking in her vision, and she heard the clinical part of her brain recite the symptoms of oxygen deprivation.Limbs lose coordination and strength,the voice recited dispassionately,motor functions slow. Muscle spasms begin in the trunk and neck, thoughts become confused and...
There was a slithering sound around her, the other silk cushions sliding around her thrashing legs but it sounded like something else. Crawling? It was. It was her Ma crawling up from Hell to punish her. Ma would pull her back down with her and... Maura took a last frantic breath and the soft silk over her mouth sucked inwards, creating a seal. The breath hitched once in her chest, and her legs jerked violently, one knocking over a brass stand with a loud "clang!" next to the bed.
"MAURA!" The voice dripped down to her at the bottom of her well, where she lay floating in the water. "BELFAST! WAKE UP NOW, YA SILLY GIT! YOU WAKE UP THIS INSTANT!" She felt a mouth seal over hers and brutal pushes against her chest. They hurt. They were hurting so much and she wanted to push the hands away but her arms wouldn't move.
The mouth pushing air into her suddenly pulled away and she could hear James's frantic tone bubble down into her little cavern.
"Maura! Darling, you have to breathe, come on, now!" His mouth slid over hers, pinching her nostrils shut and she could feel his warm breath seep into her lungs. With a gasp, Maura sucked in a huge breath of searing desert air and shrieked in terror. The chest compressions stopped and James’s arms pulled her upright. She knew she was hyperventilating, but the short, desperate hitches were all she could seem to manage. "...oxygen tank?" More mumbling and then a sharper "...get it now!"
A mask was placed over her mouth and nose and her chest heaved, sucking the dry air in gratefully. She could hear James's deep tone in her ear, "Breathe in now, sweetheart. Nice and slow, Maura. Breathe in. Feel that? You're all right now. You're safe."
The spots receded from her vision and she could feel her heart rate slow again. Looking up with bloodshot eyes, she could see O'Connell and Sahnoun leaning over her with concern. James's arms were around her, sitting behind her to keep her upright as he held the oxygen mask to her mouth. Maura stiffened and shoved away from him as hard as her weakened limbs would allow. "Don't- don't touch me," she gasped, "don't ever fucking touch me again."
James frowned, looking down at her blue lips and terrified eyes, "Darling, it's all right, it was an accident, you’re all ri-"
Maura drew in one deep breath. "Get away from me!" she shrieked, beginning to cry again. James gritted his teeth, feeling the stares of the other two men on him.
"HERE, PINE- eh, Pine," O'Connell said, clearing his throat, "let's go grab a pint, eh? Sahnoun has more medical training. He'll take care of Belfast, all right?"
James jerked his arm away from O’Connell, but Sahnoun's quiet voice interceded. "I'll just watch over Mrs. Pine for a moment. She isn't herself right now, the young lady doesn't know what she's saying. She'll be fine, sir." Maura felt the man's cool hand on her forehead, murmuring in a language she didn't understand. James backed out of the tent with jerky, uncoordinated steps as he watched her, still weeping in terror.
Maura was shuddering, she could still hear the slithering sound, still certain it was her Ma.Stop it,she ordered herself, heaving in more air from the mask.Stop.But she deserved it. She deserved to go to Hell, where her Ma and Da were waiting.
"Let's rest now,Wapenzi,"Sahnoun soothed.
"No! No!" she managed, "No sleeping! She'll come for me if I'm asleep! No! Don't let me sleep I'll die don't let me die!"
The dark porter looked up at James, frozen at the tent's door with confusion, but he continued to rock Maura, putting the oxygen mask back to her mouth. "I'll not let a soul touch you,Wapenzi.Not from Below or Above."
***
James let the gigantic ginger pull him away from the tent, Maura's sobs fading away. They entered the makeshift cantina, deserted except for them. O'Connell leaned into the cooler and took two bottles of Guinness, then drew them to a corner table. “WHAT THE BLOODY HELL, PINE?" he asked.
Leaning his throbbing forehead against the cool bottle, James sighed. "Bad dreams or some such. Maura must have thought she was smothering under the cushions."
"BOLLOCKS, PINE!" O'Connell leaned forward. "HOW LONG HAVE WE KNOWN EACH OTHER?"
James's jaw clenched. "That's not the point, O'Connell, and you're interfering in my personal affairs. The girl had a nightmare."
"ARE YOU DAFT, YOU STUPID ARSEHOLE? SHE NEARLY DIED! HER GODDAMNED LIPS AND FACE WERE BLUE! ANOTHER MINUTE AND SHE WOULD HAVE SUFFOCATED. SHE COULDN'T MOVE! SHE WAS DRUGGED, WASN'T SHE?"
"Shut the fuck up! You have no idea what you're saying right now!" shouted James.
O’Connell grasped his friend’s shirt, twisting it in his fist and forcing him to face him. “HOW- how, Pine?Howdid Maura almost die?”
James took another drink, then clenched his teeth, smashing the bottle against the table. "Have you forgotten who you work for, you deafened Irish arse? You will not speak to me in that way-" His tirade was cut off when a big ruddy fist landed squarely on his cheekbone. The force of the blow from the red-headed giant knocked James clean off his chair and three feet away. He was back on his feet in a moment, charging O'Connell and knocking him over with a brutal blow to the midsection.
