by T. W. Fuller

Created on: June 04, 2009

Excerpt from The Odyssey of Sheila O'Brien

There she is! cried Head Mistress Bailey. The policeman she hailed earlier sped back toward her, and seeing Sheila at the far end of the hall gave chase, blowing his whistle. Bailey followed directly.

Oh, God, no, gasped Sheila. She was out of breath, but she would not be caught. Not again. She would never go back to that dreadful orphanage. There were rooms on either side of the hall, however the room Sheila so desperately needed to get into was further down the hall. She took a deep breath and ran, never looking back.

The footsteps slamming against the tile floor and reverberating against the walls, the policeman who would not stop blowing his whistle, the Head Mistress who kept calling out her name, were maddening to Sheila. And for one brief moment she sincerely thought about just ending it right there, and giving herself up, again, as she had so many times before.

A slight hesitation. And perhaps Sheila might have stopped right there, and fallen upon her knees, just a few feet from the room she was sure would lead to her freedom. However, it was the remark made by Bailey, which echoed off the walls and descended down the hall, to her awaiting ears that gave Sheila her ultimate strength.

Just wait 'til I get you back to the orphanage, young lady, Bailey had uttered between breaths.

Sheila knew what Bailey meant by that. That impending terror, which had been inflicted upon her, and so many other girls at the orphanage, time and time again, filled her with the extra courage she needed. So, with a final push, she rushed toward the room marked Professor Tess.

The key to unlock the door was currently around her neck, on a chain made with thin rope. She had to stow that key away in many different places for the past two weeks, for fear Bailey would conduct one of her unannounced searches, which the woman indeed had done.

Without trepidation, Sheila took the key out, and in one motion pulled the rope over her head with one hand, and slid the key in the hole with her other hand. No need in picking it, as she had done before. Although, she knew how, if that became necessary. She could hear Professor Tess's words in her head. They were the last words he ever spoke to her.

Child, don't ever come back here, no matter how they treat you at that place. It's become too dangerous. Professor Tess hadn't elaborated, much to Sheila's protests. One week later she learned he had been arrested, and was to be committed

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