Page 1 of The Night Vision
Prologue
Deep in the White Mountains, New Hampshire. Fifteen or so years ago…
Fearghal was stronger—he was the oldest and the largest—but Tighe was the fastest and he was the smartest. At least, that’s what Eoin always said. Tighe hoped that was enough as he searched the forest around him, listening for anything bigger than a hare. He crouched lower as he approached the clearing, tiptoeing and hopping from boulder to log to avoid leaving tracks or making a sound. They were coming for him and this time, Fearghal would make an example out of Tighe. As leader of their pack, Fearghal couldn’t tolerate such outright disobedience.
The leaves were fading, turning yellow and orange, and the grass was already brittle from the cooler, shorter days. Soon, it would be time to hunt for moose and deer and Tighe would have to take a bear if he wanted to stay in camp for the winter. The pelt was needed for warmth and a fresh kill would provide meat for the elders. But Tighehad toprove his strength and braveryand that he deserved the warmth and safety of the Ossor camp. If he didn’t find a large boar soon, Tighe would be banished and only able to return in the spring if he survived the winter alone.
Tighe was ready andwantedto be on his own, free of his Ossor brothers, but he’d promised to look after his birth brother, Eoin. Neither were children, though, and Eoin wasn’t so little anymore. He was taller than Tighe and almost twice as wide. Eoin loved to fight and was favored by the elders. Surely, their mother would see that it was time and free Tighe of his vow…
No one else knew that Tighe wanted to go, aside from Eoin, but he had given his blessing. Truthfully, Eoin would probably be relieved to be free of the shame. They shared a mother but Tighe wasn’t cut out to be an Ossor. Not like Eoin was. From an early age, Eoin had yearned to go off to camp with the other Ossors, to leave their mother’s little cabin and run with the other “wolves.” He lived for the brutal horseplay and was one with the other brothers when they hunted as a pack.
Just a little more than a year separated them but Eoin had always made excuses for his older brother. He would say that Tighe was more of a philosopher and a tactician, that he was a better leader than a fighter. That was all true but Tighe found no joy in the brotherhood of calculating, ruthless men. His heart was with the forest and he had a passion for knowing animals, not killing them.
He ate meat for nourishment and to survive, but only took what he needed from the forest. And while Tighecouldfight and did whenever he had to, he wondered what life was like in the more civilized world of the suburbs and cities. There was a different kind of violence—and a great deal of it—but aggression and abuse weren’t encouraged. In camp, there was very little difference between a celebration and a brawl and one often followed the other.
Tighe had no desire to see a suburb or a city but he wouldn’t mind eating a meal without being punched in the face. He wanted books and peace and a life in harmony with nature, not a life on the brink of survival. Ossors yearned for a fight and spent their days training for battles that would never come. Isolated and hidden from modern society, Ossors told old tales of glory in a world that no longer existed. Unable to roam and hunt in this new world, they spent their days fighting and demanding fealty from each other.
Tired of the senseless aggression and cruelty, Tighe had snapped when he was ordered to tend to Fearghal and serve him. It was tradition for the weaker Ossors to act as the “women” of the camp. They stayed behind and prepared food, cleaned the camp, and did whatever they were told. Including hand-feeding and bathing the stronger Ossors. But some went too far and took too much pleasure in demeaning their weaker brothers. Tighe refused to carry Fearghal’s shit into the woods and bury it so he had spent the morning running.
He would be safe once he was on the other side of the clearing, the southern boundary of the Ossors’ territory. The Appalachian trail brought the hardiest hikers to the steep mountain and it was forbidden for Ossors to cross the small, rocky pasture. Ossors weren’t to be seen or known by any outsiders andanycontact was punishable by immediate exile.
Tighe took one last look around him, making sure he was alone, then ran for the clearing. His feet were light as he bounded over fallen branches and brush and darted around a cluster of trees. He was just a few yards away when a large body slammed into his left, throwing Tighe against the trunk of a tree and knocking the wind out of him.
“Have ye lost yer mind?” Eoin growled as he pinned Tighe to the tree by his throat.
Tighe snorted and attempted a nod. “Haven’ seen it have ye?” he asked, laughing as Eoin released him.
“Got yerself in a real mess this time. Fearghal wants yer hide and he’s plannin’ to truss ye up like a pig and leave ye out where everyone can hear ye moanin’ and groanin’. Says he’ll make ye beg to carry his shite.”
“I won’ do it.” Tighe stated firmly.
“Nah, yer too stubborn to take that from him,” Eoin said with a sigh and nodded at the clearing behind them. “Is that yer plan, then? Yer runnin’?”
Tighe shrugged. “Until he’s tired of lookin’ fer me. I can wait him out and see what the elders say,” he muttered but Eoin shook his head.
“They’ll tell ye to make amends and Fearghal will never take his foot off yer neck. Ye’ll never be free of him unless ye fight him and ye won’.” Eoin threw his hands up, exasperated. “Iswear,ye could take him!” he whispered angrily. “Ye act like yer scared or ye canna but ye just won’! Why, Tighe?”
“Ye know what it does to me,” Tighe answered quietly, ashamed to even speak about the madness—the lust for violence and blood. It came from deep within and was a blinding haze of destructive rage that only ended when Tighe was completely spent. “I’d rather suffer than lose myself like that, but I won’ suffer Fearghal anymore.”
“No.” Eoin shook his head. “Ye shouldn’, but he won’ stop unless ye make him. I’ve tried to reason with Fearghal and I’ve thought about asking the elders if?—”
“No!” Tighe hissed, then looked around them to make sure they were still alone. “They’d just laugh and say I deserve it if I won’ stand up for meself. And they’d be right.”
“Ye canna come back if ye won’ stand up to him. Do it and be done with it!” Eoin urged, grabbing Tighe’s shoulders and giving him a rough shake. “Just once! Show him—show them all—whathappens when ye let the beast take over. Show them once and they’ll never challenge ye again.”
“And if I kill Fearghal or any of our other brothers?” Tighe countered. “How do I live with meself?”
“Why should it matter if it was a fair fight? Ye’dliveand ye’d finally have peace!” Eoin was begging but Tighe felt sick.
“I could have that without spilling blood,” he said, gesturing at the trail beyond the clearing.
Eoin sucked in a breath, his eyes shimmering as he considered. “Out there? Where would ye go and how would I find ye? Ye canna come back if ye go out there like that, they’ll say ye were poisoned and that ye don’ belong no more.”
“Maybe I shouldna come back, then. I still have the map. I’ll stay on the Trail or close to it,” Tighe said as he patted his chest pocket. They had found the map years earlier after the government man had been run out of their mother’s town. While Eoin had no desire to be anything other than an Ossor, both had been enthralled by thethousands of milesof continuous trail that extended from the states of Maine to Georgia. “I won’ get lost if I stick to the Trail and I can find me way back if ye ever need me,” he said, his voice catching as he envisioned his life without Eoin.
“If I need ye?” Eoin replied shakily. “I’ll always need me brother but yer always with me.” He pulled Tighe close and tight and they were both crying. “And I’ll always be by yer side, even if ye canna see me.”
“If ye ever go back to the village and see our ma, ye’ll let her know I didn’t let her down?” Tighe asked, making them both laugh.
