When You Wake up and Scream
Chapter Two.
Naoise McCullough sighed and closed the books silently. The library was deserted and she knew that she would be in trouble if she was caught in here this late again, but this essay wasn't going to write itself. She slotted the thick, heavy book back on its shelf and then padded over to her own books, sliding all of the loose sheets of paper into her file block and shoving the pens into her pocket.
"Perhaps," she muttered to herself. "If you didn’t get drunk all of the time, you would have had time to do this essay."
She shook her head, silently thinking that it was worth it. After all, she would only regret it in her older years, if she sat back and let her University years run away with her. She pitied some of the students that she saw, who felt that hey had a strong duty to their parents to keep their nose clean. Naoise knew that her parents would want her to toe the line as best as she could, but they would be disappointed for her if she didn't go to any of he classic all-night student parties, getting back into her dorm only a couple of hours before her lecture started.
Trinity College was silent at this time of night, and she ran through the dark corridors up to her dormitory. The other three girls were asleep as she put her stuff away. All she had to do was write her conclusion now, and then her essay would be done. At least it was something that she was interested in – she was a first-year Psychology student, and she was doing her current essay on mob psychology. She had always been fascinated by how drastically people changed when they were in groups, ever since she had become aware of it in High School when the boys in her class would be sound when you caught them by themselves, but as soon as they were with their mates they would be leering and making suggestive comments as you walked past them in the corridor. However, she wasn't tired in the slightest – her mind was racing and there would be no chance of getting to sleep. She had no lectures tomorrow, so she decided to be a rebel and walked back out of the dormitory.
The streets of Dublin were satisfyingly quiet, and her footsteps were the only sounds she was hearing. It was weird to see the usually bustling streets empty, empty of even the drunks. It was truly deserted.
Naoise walked up O'Connell Street slowly, looking around herself. No faces appeared from the hotel windows, not even a curtain twitched. She sighed, enjoying the peace of it all.
Suddenly, she wasn't alone. She paused and glanced behind her, to see that in the shadows someone was watching her. She suddenly felt uneasy. All she could see was his outline, and eyes that were cast in shadow. She narrowed her eyes at him but didn't move.
"You shouldn't be out so late." he called to her. "You don't know what could be around the corner."
"Thanks for that." Naoise said coolly. The man laughed, and then he turned and disappeared back down the side street. Naoise watched him until he went. He had given her the creeps, made her feel uneasy. Suddenly the quiet, deserted peace of the city had been tainted slightly, and Naoise understood that, although things were calm on the outside, behind the scenes there were a lot of dangers lurking around. She was silly to be out so late, she told herself, and decided to get back to the University before her strange visitor made another appearance.
She took a different route back, hoping that she would avoid him this way. There was noise up ahead of her, and she curiously quickened her step, hoping that there would be someone around there. Naoise's anxiety was growing, and she expected the young man to appear around the next corner at any moment.
This street had several people on it, all of which were police, or Gardai, as they were known in Ireland. She stopped, wondering what was going on. Usually there would be a couple of minor fights on a Friday or Saturday night, but never this late. One of the Garda officers saw her at that moment, and he came over to speak to her.
"Is everything all right?" she asked him.
"Not really, love. What are you doing out this late, anyway?"
"I've been studying and I couldn't get to sleep, so I've been walking around a bit."
"From Trinity, hey?"
"Aye."
"Well, you haven't seen anyone else about on your travels, have you?"
"Only one person, but I didn't see him clearly."
"Oh really? Did he say anything to you?"
"Just said I shouldn't be out so late.' Naoise frowned. 'Why? What's happened?"
"There's just been a little bit of trouble, that's all."
"Serious trouble?"
"I'm afraid so. There's been a man stabbed, so there has, and it doesn't look as though he's been dead long so we're scouting the area for whoever's done it."
Naoise winced.
"That's awful." she said softly. "I wish I could help, but I didn't see anyone apart from the guy I already mentioned, and he didn’t seem covered in blood or anything like that."
"Well, I'm sure if he's spotted they'll be having a word with him anyway. It just seems unbelievable that the murderer could have already gotten away. He must be local if that's the case – he'll know where he's going."
The officer took Naoise's name and contact details and then let her on her way. She wondered about the strange man she had bumped into earlier. Could he have had something to do with it?
Terrible though it was, Naoise found herself laughing quietly. She felt like a character in a TV drama!
Turning back onto O'Connell Street, she hurried back to the safety of the grounds of Trinity College, leaving the Gardai combing the streets behind her.
"Perhaps," she muttered to herself. "If you didn’t get drunk all of the time, you would have had time to do this essay."
She shook her head, silently thinking that it was worth it. After all, she would only regret it in her older years, if she sat back and let her University years run away with her. She pitied some of the students that she saw, who felt that hey had a strong duty to their parents to keep their nose clean. Naoise knew that her parents would want her to toe the line as best as she could, but they would be disappointed for her if she didn't go to any of he classic all-night student parties, getting back into her dorm only a couple of hours before her lecture started.
Trinity College was silent at this time of night, and she ran through the dark corridors up to her dormitory. The other three girls were asleep as she put her stuff away. All she had to do was write her conclusion now, and then her essay would be done. At least it was something that she was interested in – she was a first-year Psychology student, and she was doing her current essay on mob psychology. She had always been fascinated by how drastically people changed when they were in groups, ever since she had become aware of it in High School when the boys in her class would be sound when you caught them by themselves, but as soon as they were with their mates they would be leering and making suggestive comments as you walked past them in the corridor. However, she wasn't tired in the slightest – her mind was racing and there would be no chance of getting to sleep. She had no lectures tomorrow, so she decided to be a rebel and walked back out of the dormitory.
The streets of Dublin were satisfyingly quiet, and her footsteps were the only sounds she was hearing. It was weird to see the usually bustling streets empty, empty of even the drunks. It was truly deserted.
Naoise walked up O'Connell Street slowly, looking around herself. No faces appeared from the hotel windows, not even a curtain twitched. She sighed, enjoying the peace of it all.
Suddenly, she wasn't alone. She paused and glanced behind her, to see that in the shadows someone was watching her. She suddenly felt uneasy. All she could see was his outline, and eyes that were cast in shadow. She narrowed her eyes at him but didn't move.
"You shouldn't be out so late." he called to her. "You don't know what could be around the corner."
"Thanks for that." Naoise said coolly. The man laughed, and then he turned and disappeared back down the side street. Naoise watched him until he went. He had given her the creeps, made her feel uneasy. Suddenly the quiet, deserted peace of the city had been tainted slightly, and Naoise understood that, although things were calm on the outside, behind the scenes there were a lot of dangers lurking around. She was silly to be out so late, she told herself, and decided to get back to the University before her strange visitor made another appearance.
She took a different route back, hoping that she would avoid him this way. There was noise up ahead of her, and she curiously quickened her step, hoping that there would be someone around there. Naoise's anxiety was growing, and she expected the young man to appear around the next corner at any moment.
This street had several people on it, all of which were police, or Gardai, as they were known in Ireland. She stopped, wondering what was going on. Usually there would be a couple of minor fights on a Friday or Saturday night, but never this late. One of the Garda officers saw her at that moment, and he came over to speak to her.
"Is everything all right?" she asked him.
"Not really, love. What are you doing out this late, anyway?"
"I've been studying and I couldn't get to sleep, so I've been walking around a bit."
"From Trinity, hey?"
"Aye."
"Well, you haven't seen anyone else about on your travels, have you?"
"Only one person, but I didn't see him clearly."
"Oh really? Did he say anything to you?"
"Just said I shouldn't be out so late.' Naoise frowned. 'Why? What's happened?"
"There's just been a little bit of trouble, that's all."
"Serious trouble?"
"I'm afraid so. There's been a man stabbed, so there has, and it doesn't look as though he's been dead long so we're scouting the area for whoever's done it."
Naoise winced.
"That's awful." she said softly. "I wish I could help, but I didn't see anyone apart from the guy I already mentioned, and he didn’t seem covered in blood or anything like that."
"Well, I'm sure if he's spotted they'll be having a word with him anyway. It just seems unbelievable that the murderer could have already gotten away. He must be local if that's the case – he'll know where he's going."
The officer took Naoise's name and contact details and then let her on her way. She wondered about the strange man she had bumped into earlier. Could he have had something to do with it?
Terrible though it was, Naoise found herself laughing quietly. She felt like a character in a TV drama!
Turning back onto O'Connell Street, she hurried back to the safety of the grounds of Trinity College, leaving the Gardai combing the streets behind her.