Molly McCormack & the Legend of Tir na nOg

5 - 2 a.m.

Tick, tick, tick. The noise was constant. Conor wiped the drool from his mouth and rolled to his side. Tick, tick, tick. There it was again. Conor pulled the pillow from under him and folded it over his head.

Tick, tick, tick, tick, TICK.

Though the sound was now muffled, the last "tick" was so loud, it drew Conor from his dreams and roused him completely. He pulled his head out from under the pillow and wiped the sleep from his eyes. What's that noise? Instinctively, he looked to his clock. The steady sound of the tick, tick, ticking of the clock sounded nothing like the. . . .

TICK!

There it was again! Conor spun his head around and looked at his window. Something was hitting it. He crept out of bed and opened it to investigate. His curiosity was rewarded with a rock clonking him dead on the forehead. He fell to the floor.

"What the ....?!"

"Pssst!" a hissing noise came from outside. "Conor, it's me!"
Conor jumped up and hung his head out the window. He couldn't believe what he saw. It was Molly. She was fully dressed and carrying a flashlight. He had to be dreaming.

"What are you doing?" he called in a hushed whisper.

"Conor," Molly urged. "Quick, get dressed. Bring a flashlight and a backpack." She looked around, highly suspicious of spies entrenched in the woods. "And for Pete's sake, be quiet about it!"

Conor's mouth was poised with a million questions, but Molly hushed him quiet.

"Just get moving. I'll explain when you get down here."

With no obvious choice but to follow her instruction, Conor slipped on his clothes from the previous day, grabbed his backpack, and headed downstairs. He didn't know whether to be frightened or excited. He was sure it wasn't his charm that had Molly rapping at his window. She wanted something from him pretty badly for it to drag her out at this late hour. He fished through the closet, grabbed his father's flashlight, and slipped quietly out the back door.

His eyes quickly fell on the figure of Molly. She had shut off her flashlight and was waiting impatiently for him. He drew up beside her.

"I figured it out!" She exclaimed.

"Figured what out? What are you talking about?"

"The whole mystery surrounding the Moat. I figured it out. The locket you saw is part of a bigger treasure. It would explain so much."

"What?"

"It's actually quite simple. Stop interrupting me and pay attention. I'll try and go slow."

Conor bit his tongue and let Molly continue.

"Alright then, you see, there's Pirate treasure in the Moat. And someone was trying to steal it today when you interrupted him. That locket you saw is just a small part of the treasure. I'm talking tip of the iceberg. Ya still with me?"

Conor looked dubious, but drawled a slow "Yeah. . ."

"Someone was trying to chase us away from the treasure. We didn't imagine anything. It was real!"

Conor placed his hand on Molly's forehead. "Feeling feverish are we?"

Molly slapped Conor's hand away in frustration.