Beneath The Stone Sheath, is a girl named South MacCain
By: South MacCain

(I know this probably drives people crazy trying to figure to how to pronounce my last name. It is Mac-Cain, like McCain. Spelled differently.)

“Ah shit, this can’t be healthy!” I said as I ran like a bat out of hell. The wide spread Virginia countryside looked awful pretty, as I got a very, very quick tour of it. I probably would have stopped and picked a wildflower or two ~ well not really, but I was being chased to be murdered, why not humor myself.

I certainly was no girlie girl, and ran my mouth a lot, which basically got me into trouble a lot. And, that was why I was being hunted. Plus, the fact that I kicked his ass in poker. Fixed Deck, go figure. I had to get money one way or another. So his name is Corea, badass Mexican. The only person who actually scared me. He was wanted in three states for murder, which would have been helpful information, before I decided to cheat him out of his money.

He was willing to make a deal with me. Knowing me I came up with “I’d rather be a slut to a pig, than your unbathed, scurvy ass.” And I kinda said it in front of everybody, and then he found out I had cheated, and stole his wallet. Guess, they don’t forgive and forget in Mexico. Eh? Hey I have nothing against Mexicans, just Corea.

So her I am, running for my poor pathetic life. But If I didn’t always find some sort of excitement around the corers somewhere, I probably would have said, “Kill me, Corea, Kill me now.”

“What the hell?” I asked myself as I came into a clearing and noticed lights up ahead. I ran a little further and found it was a train station. I laughed and glanced backward quickly. I sprinted towards the platform, and fiddled for some of Corea’s money.

I threw it at the guy behind the desk, and grabbed the ticket from him. I ran on the train and ducked, hiding under the seat. The train conductor looked at me funny, took my ticket, handed it back to me, took one more glance and walked away.

I saw Corea far off a ways from the platform looking for me. I smiled and leaned back in my seat, sleep over came me.

**********

"Miss! Miss, you have to get up! Get up!" A hand shook me. I, half asleep half awake, bolted up thinking Corea was standing over me with a gun or a knife...or a razor... anything that could kill a potential 14 going on fifteen year old. I breathed a sigh of relief when I looked into the confused face of the train conductor.

"Wha...What?" I gulped nervously, noticing finally that I was breathing oddly and was sweating. The conductor held up my train ticket.

"Your little train ride ends here." He said with dry sarcasm. I stood up to face him, but I was just a tad shorter. Defiance shot through me.

"And where exactly is here?'' I said.

"Chicago. Now get off the train or I'll kick you off." I walked off with my head held high. I stood on the platform and yawned. It was still dark, but the sun was coming up on the eastern horizon.

I walked silently along a boardwalk facing a body of water, that I couldn't name, but hell I wasn't going swimming any way. I saw a dark figure slumped in a corner and two more kicking. I walked casually by and stood watch, none had seen me.

Finally I realized that the figure crouched in a protective ball was a female, and the other two were male. The girl's short, curly, blonde hair was dyed red from the rather large gash above her eye. The taller boy kicked her straight in the jaw. The girl coughed and spit, a tooth emerged in a pile of blood. That was it!

"Ass hole!" I muttered from under my breath and ran from behind my pile of protective crates. I took a shard of wood and hit the shorter boy in the back of the head with it. He shrank down in pain. His friend turned around in suprise and I nailed him in the face with my "sword".

"Give her a few missing teeth? I'll knock your's all out!" I shouted at them. In pain the two boys sprinted away. I laughed as I watched them run. I looked back at the girl, she sat in the corner like a mouse in an protective little ball.

Looked like she didn't know whether to trust me or be afraid of me. I wouldn't trust me either, I just don't look to trustworthy. Not that I am not, I mean I am , but that isn't the point.

"Are you okay?" I asked her. Stupid question, of course she wasn't okay. There was blood pouring down the side of her face from a large gash above her eyebrows, she had two black eyes, a split lip, possibly a broken wrist...she was holding it against her with her opposite hand, and a missing molar, the poor girl was in too much pain to even cry.

I took of my over shirt and tore the bottom completely off. I leaned forward to wrap it around her head and she jerked away.

"I know my shirt isn't exactly the most sanitary thing in the world, but it will stop the bleeding." I smiled at her, I was hoping to get a laugh out of her but there was no response. My smile faded and I got serious.

"I'm not going to hurt you, you can trust me," I said and leaned in to attempt to help her once more. This time she didn't jerk away.

"My name is Felicity, but you can call me South." She nodded. I pulled her curly blond locks into a pony tail, and I tied the cloth behind her head.

"My name is Mouse." She said quietly. I nodded.

"Do you think you can walk?" I asked her and stood up. She nodded and tried but stumbled and almost fell. I reached out to catch her.

"I take that as a no." I said and she laughed. I put her arm around my shoulders and let her lean on me.

"Thank you." She said quietly. I just nodded.

**********

"So do you like Chicago? " I asked her. She shook her head no.

"Wanna leave?" I asked her and she thought for a minute and slowly nodded. I sat her down on a bench at the train yards. I had been in Chicago a whole three hours. The sun was up and people were starting to fill up the streets. I looked around and then at Mouse.

"Where do you wanna go?" I asked her. She shrugged. I stood up, stretched, and rubbed my eyes.

"I'll be right back." I said and walked over to the ticket booth.

The guy behind the booth looked like he hadn't bathed in an entire lifetime, and he smelled of horrible body odor.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"Yeah, you could take a bath." I said to myself. I held my breath and turned my head to breath.

"Huh?" He asked.

"Nothing, what is the cheapest ticket?" I said holding my breath as I talked.

"New York." He said and turned around a small chart on the counter.


Chicago Transit Trains Departures.
New York
Philadelphia
Newark
Richmond

And more but I didn't feel like reading them.

I threw the money onto the counter and he handed me two tickets.

"The train leaves in thirty minutes." He said and went back to reading a book. I walked back over to Mouse and sat down.

"That man probably hasn't seen a tub and soap in his entire life. God damn he smells." I said and made a face.

Mouse laughed. Thirty minutes of pure boredom passed before the train slowly pulled up to the platform.

"Is that the train?" She asked.

"All aboard to New York!" The conductor yelled leaning out of a door. I nodded.

"That'd be it." I said and helped he stand and practically carried her to the train.

We walked onto the train, and I set Mouse down carefully in a chair. The train stayed at the train station.

**********

NEW YORK

"Wake up, South, wake up." Mouse said and tapped my shoulder. I didn't hear her. Her voice went in one ear and out the other. I heard her yelling at me in a dream, but I didn't know that she was actually yelling at me. It was strange. I woke up to see her staring at me.

"You are the hardest person to wake up, you know that right?" She asked. I shook my head.

"No usually I seemed pretty easy to wake up in my mind." She laughed. I sat up, stretched, and rubbed my eyes.

"Tired?" She asked. I nodded and yawned. I looked out the window to see another city that I didn't recognize.

"New York?" I asked pointing. She nodded

. "Yeah nice isn't it?" She asked with sarcasm.

"Just hope it ani't another Chicago." I sighed. And grabbed

And thank god it wasn't. There weren't any buildings on stilts. Or buildings made of wood. We walked around, and walked around, then it started to get dark.

"We need to find a place to stay." Mouse said silently, and then yawned.

"Ha! Now who's tired?!" I jumped at her. She looked at me with big eyes. And shook her head.

"Please tell me that your not a night person." She moaned. I shrugged.

"Okay I won't tell you." I said to mock her. She narrowed her eyes at me. I pulled her arm and we walked some more.

"Well, we'll just have to stay out tonight, if we can't find anything indoors." I shoved my hands into my pockets to reveal twenty dollars.

"This is all I have left." I checked my back pockets and pulled out my deck of cards.

"But I know how we can make more, come on.'" I said and pulled her into a vanderville called Medda's. She looked around and scrunched up her nose at the smell of cigar and pipe smoke.

I stopped and looked around for a little while looking around for a target, a good one.

"Can you tell me one more time why we're in here?" She asked. I smirked when I noticed a small group of guys alittle older than me and Mouse sitting in a corner table. They seemed to be enjoying the show.

"Follow me," I told her and walked over to the boys. Mouse sighed and reluctantly followed.

They didn't notice us until Mouse sneezed from inhaling to much smoke.

"What can we do for you?" One of them asked sarcastically. I held up my cards.

"Any one up for a couple games of poker? Or are you boys just a bunch of Yankee prisses?" I asked. One boy, apparently the bad-ass, big mouth leader eyed me dangerously.

"all right, we're game. Where you from, smart ass?" He asked me shifting a slingshot in his pants.

"What's that? Your bodyguard?" I asked him and sat down. One boy got up quickly and pulled a chair out for Mouse. She blushed and sat down quietly. I looked up at her and laughed. She shot me a look that said 'shut up!' Just to make her happy I did.

"I don't think you understood me, I asked you your names." He said sternly. I looked at him.

"Oooo, scary. Big bad New Yorker." I teased. He seemed to get a little madder. " You don't scare me." I said to him matter of factly. This kid was nothing to Corea.

"Do you have any idea who you are talking to?" He asked and leaned up on his elbows on the table.

"I know all I want to do is play some poker, make some money, eat, and leave. Now if you don't shut up, then I'm not going to accomplish any of those things any time soon." The boys, there were about six, looked on in shook. Yes, boys, I know I have a big mouth, you don't have to tell me twice.

Mouse leaned over to me.

"South, that there is Spot Conlon....the most dangerous Newsie in New York. H eowns the Brooklyn Newsies." I looked at her questioningly.

"How do you know?" I asked her.

"I've been here before, I've met him before." I nodded and mouthed a small oh. Still not really caring who he was, all I wanted was his money.

He looked at the two of us, and stared intently at Mouse. Trying to see if he could place her name with her face.

"Hey I know you." He said pointing at Mouse. She looked at him quickly.

"Mouse, right?" He asked. She nodded.

"Okay Mouse answer me question?" He asked. Mouse nodded nervously.

"Who's your big mouth friend? Where she from? And can she run fast?" He asked humoring himself and the boys around the table.

"First off Conlon, you don't scare me. I made it clear to you that all I wanted to do was play poker, and leave. Hopefully with some money, so that I can get me and Mouse shelter and food. If you haven't heard about three seconds ago, I would say I heard thunder, and that brings rain. Can you shut up so I can deal the cards?" I asked sternly. Wow that took like six breaths to say. As I was preaching I heard thunder. Shit. Rain is not cool, btu hell if it makes me clean, I haven't had a shower in two days, and was starting to get that crudy feeling.

"What's your name? I wanna know it so I can put it on your grave stone." He smirked.

"Funny." I said and delt the cards.

"South MacCain." I said and held up my hand. A flush. I put my cards face down on the table.

"What'd ya say Spot?" I said and pulled out a five dollar bill.

"Raise." He said and threw in a couple of coins. I nodded and looked at the boy next to me.

"Daggers?" Spot asked. Daggers looked at Spot, sighed and threw his cards down.

"Fold." He sighed again.

"Tanner?" Spot asked, the boy sitting next to Daggers.

"Call," He said and placed down two cards. I handed him two more. He threw his cards down.

"Fold." He said angrily and crossed his arms across his chest. I smiled to myself.

"Come on Sockeye." Spot basically pleaded.

"Tell me you got some thing." Spot said. Oh he does, just not much. I said to myself.

"Raise." Sockeye said and threw in two nickels.

"Mouse?" I asked. She sighed and threw her cards down.

"Fold?" I asked her. She nodded.

"All right Spot, let's see em?" I said smiling. He put down two pair. Sockeye put down a pair. And I slowly laid down the flush.

"I win boys." I said smiling. I handed Mouse the money.

"Deal again?" I asked them. I knew they would being the fact that their pride just went down.

"Deal them MacCain." Spot said angrily. I smirked mocking him. So we sat there for about three hours playing poker. I won almost every hand which left every single one of them in immense awe and confusion. Fixed deck boys, doesn't take a genius to figure out win someone is cheating. I said to myself. I started to laugh at them softly and rose. Mouse quickly followed, she was also confused to how I won just about every hand.

"Ready, Mouse?" I asked her as I shoved my chair under the table. I smiled at Spot.

"Good playing with ya Brooklyn." I said and leaned over to shake his hand. He didn't follow my gesture. He stood up, and got into my face. Apparently he was pissed, and I didn't seem to make any thing better.

"I don't like you Virginia, I'll tell you that now, just so that you know. Your sneaky I can tell you've been into more trouble than all of us combined." He said softly but sternly. I looked at him through my eyelashes, me eyes narrow. I drew back my hand.

"Well, Brooklyn, I don't like you either. Your right, I am sneaky, and I have been in lots of trouble, but you don't know what I am capable of, you don't know at all. And Brooklyn, you don't scare me, not in the slightest...not in the least...not at all."

"South come on lets leave." Mouse said tugging on my shirt. I nodded but never took my eyes off of Brooklyn. He didn't scare me, as much as he wanted to think he did he didn't.

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