Deerstalker - a Sherlolly story

Where there's smoke...

“Okay! Are you guys ready?” The boy who was clearly in charge asked the group.

“Yeah!!” Loud cheers erupted.

“Okay, who’s got the matches?”  When suddenly another boy walked over to their hiding place, Molly almost let out a loud yelp. They were going to put the shed on fire. The storage spot was not only a good hiding place, it was also an extremely flammable box, since it was filled to the brim with wood.  The entire supply of wood of the mill would be burned. This wasn’t just going to be a bonfire. The whole wood-working company would turn to ashes, if their storage would go up in flames.

She was about to warn Sherlock, but before she could even attempt to make some sort of signal, he was already holding a finger in front of her mouth. His eyes wide, he was signaling her to listen. Molly held her breath, trying to obtain complete motionless – which was hard when she knew that the structure that was a hair’s breath away would light up in flames any second. Yet, she heard it. A repetitive banging. Coming from inside the shed. Her eyes immediately met Sherlock’s and they both knew. Someone was in there and that someone was going to be swallowed by flames any moment.

Immediately she and Sherlock were on their feet. But when Molly was about to move into the light, Sherlock suddenly held her back with his arm.  His mouth worded the word ‘Go’, as his hand motioned towards the trees left of the mill. He wanted her to leave. In response, Molly could feel her nervousness turn into determination to rescue whoever was trapped in the wooden storage. There was no way she was going to run and hide.

“Okay! Ready? Let’s see some fire!” The moment Billy struck the match and bend down to alight the first plank of wood, Molly kicked of her heels and pushed out from behind Sherlock.

“STOP!” Her voice came out shrill and desperate, while she exposed herself to David and his friends.  She was too focused on the flames that were already surrounding the bottom of the shed, to notice their shocked expressions.

“Molly!” Sherlock called out, chasing after her, as she ran straight into the fire.

“What the hell?! Sherlock?!” Billy called out, violence in his voice. “What do you think you’re doing? Who’s she?”

Billy’s frantic words did not stop Molly from continuing on her rescue mission. She had reached the shed and had begun to remove the first planks

“There’s…There’s someone in there!!” She replied, her voice high and hoarse. She felt her hands sting from the fire and her eyes had started to tear up from the smoke. Still she did not stop, because she could still hear the banging inside the shed.

When she had almost freed the door of the shed, suddenly  arms circled around her waist. She was pulled backwards harshly, away from the starting fire.

“What do think you’re doing?! Crazy bitch!” Billy’s words sounded loudly in her ear, as she flung around her arms and legs violently. She struggled desperately to escape, tears forming in her eyes.

Despite her efforts, Billy kept on pulling her backwards. She was about to try to kick his shins, when he suddenly released her. Letting her fall onto the cold ground with a hard smack.

Molly could feel her head throb, as she struggled to get up. Regaining her balance, she immediately saw why Billy had let her go. Her breathing stopped. A few feet away, in the wet grass, lay David. A rope tied his hand and feet together and his face was covered in smoke and bruises. Sherlock was standing over him. His hair a dark explosion, as he struggled to catch his breath. While she had been captured, Sherlock had saved the person that was about to be roasted. And that person was David.

Molly felt herself get sick, her knees starting to shake. How had she ended up here?

She did not have long to dwell on her distress, because Billy soon finished untying the ropes that bound his friend. Standing only a few steps away from Sherlock he roared; “This was you! Wasn’t it?! You, freak!” A semi-circle of stunned onlookers had formed around the two boys and David, who still wasn’t able to get up.

“I just pulled David out of the fire. So, why on earth would I….” Sherlock began to reply. His voice cool and controlled, as if he had not just risked his life to save a boy he loathed.

“Yes, you did! You overheard us! And you wanted to get back on us, didn’t you?! Freaking psycho!” Billy’s words were pure violence. Molly felt a shiver run down her spine, as she realized that this boy would probably not only  use words to make his accusations known. The complete idiocy of suspecting Sherlock, only attested to what complete mayhem his anger could provoke.

“Listen, I just saved him so…” The fact that the smooth undertone had left Sherlock’s voice made Molly even more uncomfortable.

“And what did she have to do with it, huh? Was she in it with you?!” Molly froze. As Billy flung his hand in her direction, she could feel his rage being directed to her. All his friends’ eyes were suddenly trained on her.

“Off course she wasn’t,” Sherlock replied indignantly. “Come on, she could never have figured out what you were planning to do. Besides, she’d never do something like that to David. To anyone. She cries about hurt puppies.”

As soon as she the words left his mouth, Molly felt even more nauseous. She tried to tell herself that Sherlock was just talking about her in this way to free her of the blame, but she could still feel a lump form in her throat.

“Don’t lie to me. I’ve seen you two, she’d probably do whatever you tell her.” Billy was still adamant on putting his anger on the both of them , because on person just wasn’t enough for all the rage he held inside him.

“And why would I want that?” Sherlock scoffed in reply. “Why would I want to have anything to do with her? She’s pathetic. I just took pity for her at the dance and then she suddenly had to follow me here and play the hero. Think of me what you want, but don’t ever believe I have anything with this crazy girl.”

Molly could feel herself begin to shake in anger and disappointment. The only thing that kept her standing was the little voice in her head that told her ‘He’s protecting you.’

“So what is she still doing here?”  Came as Billy’s only reply.

“I think she should leave. Molly, just get the hell out of here.” Sherlock addressed her, looking straight into her eyes, his voice dripping with venom. Molly was almost certain that nobody could be pretending while sounding so convincing. Still, she had seen him pretend before.

So, Molly did just as she was told. Without a reply she slowly started to walk off into the dark night. Her knees shook with uncertainty. Uncertainty about what exactly had happened to David. Uncertainty about Billy’s accusation. Uncertainty about how Sherlock had known about David. But mostly, uncertainty about Sherlock’s words. They were either the most crushing insults she would ever receive or the biggest declaration of care and love she had ever gotten. He had either let her fall or he had taken the fall for her. As the mill started to disappear behind her, leaving Sherlock to deal with the angry and intoxicated group of boys himself, Molly had only one thought that kept her from breaking down. It was the memory of Sherlock’s eyes as he had lifted her of the motorcycle. Right before they walked into the horrors of the night together, they had requested from her ‘Trust me.’ And maybe, for once, she should.