"You're staying with me," Aunt M countered, as she reached into a drawer and drew out a ring of keys.
Roxy leapt and snatched the keys from Aunt Margaret. They tinkled merrily in her grip. Her eyes sparkled, her wild hair danced in the breeze through the window.
Janie felt an overwhelming need to flee. "I'll let myself out," she mumbled, and reached down for her purse. Dan the guard was standing on the strap. "Excuse me," she said, and gave it a firm tug just as the guard lifted his foot. Her elbow rammed into his crotch. He doubled over with a grunt.
Roxy said, "Thanks, Janie," as she leapt over and relieved the gun from Dan's holster. "How do you use this thing?"
Crystal chattered, "Roxy stop! I swear Ms. Gundy, this was not the plan."
Bang!
"Oops! Okay, got it!" said Roxy.
The remains of the office window shattered behind Aunt M, who didn't look as nervous as you'd expect.
The guard was out the door and halfway to the staircase, waddling for his life, when Janie came to her senses and started after him.
Janie heard Crystal yelp, but she wasn't about to slow down. Crystal would have to fend for herself.
Halfway down the first flight of steps, Janie passed the guard.
In the lobby, she leapt to the telephone on the front desk and dialed 911.
The guard waddled past her, wheezing, unlocked the door and stumbled out onto the portico, hands on his knees.
She ran into the street to wave down the sheriff. The guard watched her warily from the top of the steps.
Two men in a Sheriff's Department SUV coasted to a stop at the curb and craned up at Long Shot, Inc. The guard trotted down the steps and leaned through the passenger side window. Instead of jumping out and storming into the building, the sheriff did a U-turn and parked in front of the casino.
The security guard crossed the street and climbed into the back seat. The two sheriff's deputies and the security guard talked earnestly. They seemed to be filling out some kind of report. The deputy in the passenger seat picked up the radio and spoke into it.
Janie strolled over to her crumpled Taurus and tossed her purse into the driver's seat. Still, the men did nothing.
The security guard got out of the SUV and made some comment, at which both of the other men laughed nervously. And he walked to his car in the parking lot and drove away.
Janie stepped up and knocked on the sheriff's passenger-side window, startling both men inside. When the window lowered a crack, Janie demanded, "What are you waiting for?"
He shrugged. "We're not getting involved, Miss."
Chapter 39
Roxy danced toward the elevator, grinning. "C'mon Crystal!"
"You didn't tell me there would be guns."
Roxy brought the gun up with both hands, sighted it at Crystal. "Poof!" she said.
Crystal skittered sideways and Roxy laughed.
"Naw, I'm not going to shoot anyone. I promise I'll ditch the gun here. Are you coming or what?"
Roxy kept the gun trained on the office door until the elevator squeaked open.
Crystal sighed, slipped in just as the doors slid closed. Roxy stuck the gun under her arm, fitted one of Margaret's keys into a lock on the control panel, turned it and jabbed the "B" button.
"You told me you'd leave the gun behind."
"I lied. Haha!"
"I don't like you when you're like this."
Roxy winked. "But you're here anyway. My most loyal follower."
"Uh..." Crystal glanced at the gun.
"I thought you wanted to do this," said Roxy.
"I do, but--"
"This is it, Crystal! The rocket ship to oneness! Don't you get it?"
"But what if we can't come back? I mean, it does sound blissful, but--"
"You can’t bail on me.”
"No, I-- It's just that I have a cat, you know, and then there's my family, too, I guess."
Margaret took the elevator to the lobby, strode down through the abandoned kitchen and flung open the emergency exit. She was glad, after all, that OSHA had forced them to leave it unlocked. In the darkness, she felt her way down the stairs and along the boardwalk. Up ahead, the bluish glow of electronics spilled through the open vault door. She could hear Roxy rant, "You’re pathetic! You and Charlie."
Margaret breathed deeply and peeked around the edge of the door. Roxy had just pranced through the inner vault door.
"So here we are," said Margaret, stepping forward.
Roxy and Crystal both flinched.
"I could shoot you right now," said Roxy.
"That's one possibility," said Margaret, stepping the rest of the way into the cavern.
Roxy pranced behind the gun, which seemed to be looking for something to shoot.
Margaret continued, "But this place may surprise you."
The gun homed in on Margaret.
In her dreamy voice, Crystal said, "Why can't we all just talk this through?"
"We're past that point, you twit," said Aunt M, as she lunged for the dancing gun.
There was a loud bang. When Aunt M's ears stopped ringing, Crystal was saying, "...have a very negative attitude."
"Gimme that!" Roxy roared.
Crystal now held the gun. Bang! bang! bang! She emptied bullets into the floor. Bits of rock and bullet sprayed everywhere, stinging Aunt M's neck, face, biting into her leg.
Crystal stepped back, clutching at her waist, threw the gun. It glanced off of Roxy's head. "There. There's your stupid gun. You shouldn't be mean to people if you want them to help you. It's like, basic karma."
"Ow," said Roxy.
Crystal choked, "And I'm not sorry." She stumbled out with her hand to her waist. Light from the airlock glistened on the blood seeping through her fingers. The airlock door clanged shut.
Pitch black.
"Crystal?" Aunt M cocked her ear. There was no reply. "I'm sorry that you're so sensitive, but I only called you a twit."
Margaret heard a rustle in the darkness, and knew that Roxy was escaping through the slot at the base of the wall.
A shame Janie wasn't there. Janie was the one who would inherit the legacy. Not this other girl, who seemed to have a nose for trouble, and would not be welcome at Margaret's reunion with Joe.
Possibilities barraged Aunt M's mind. For half a second, she froze. Then she dove into the slot after Roxy.
Jeff stepped in front of Janie as she gave up on the sheriff and crossed the street back toward Long Shot, Inc. The hem of his bathrobe fluttered in the breeze.
"I know what you're thinking," he said.
"That's funny because I don't." She pushed past him, forced her way through the door and crossed the lobby.
He caught up to her as she waited for the elevator. "You think you're going to play the hero, save your poor innocent Auntie."
Ignoring him, she stepped into the elevator. The doors closed and it squeaked upward. All she knew was that somebody had to do something.
The fifth floor was deserted. She ran down the hallway and sagged against the door jamb of Essing's empty office, then doubled back and caught her breath while she waited for the elevator. At the last minute, she dodged over to Crystal's desk. What would make the best weapon? Telephone? Stapler? She settled on the steel three-hole punch and slipped back into the elevator just as the doors closed.
She pressed “B”, but nothing happened. Damn. She had forgotten she would need a key to ride to the basement. So she pressed "L", rode down to the lobby, ran through the abandoned kitchen, and cast around until she spotted the basement door, ajar. Before starting down, she took a deep breath.
Outside the cavern airlock, she found Crystal bleeding and pissed off. "They shot me!" she said. "And your Aunt called me a twit!" Crystal seemed more offended by the name calling.
"I'm sorry to hear that. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She straightened up, the brave warrior. "But I could have died!"
"Maybe you should go to the hospital."
"It's just common sense, you're headed to a place of infinite possibilities, you want the possibilities that do pan out to be as positive as possible. But they had to be selfish."
"Look, I've gotta get moving. I have to find them." Janie pictured them killing each other, Roxy drowning in a puddle, Aunt M having a heart attack.
"So you're just leaving me here?"
"The elevator's that way."
"They don't care about anyone else, why should you care about them?" Crystal blocked Janie's way.
"I don't know. Will you get out of the way?"
"No!"
Janie whacked her with the hole punch. Crystal had some very stern things to say about Janie's character as Janie wrenched the airlock open and slipped inside.
The doubts, the hesitation, the second-guessing had all faded. Janie knew what she had to do.
Strange.
Had Aunt M's confidence in her awakened something, some self-assurance she'd never felt before? Or was it just that there was no time to think?
For months, Janie had flailed and drifted, feeling she'd lost her way in life. But now she knew she was on the right path. She'd always been on the right path, because it was her path, not anyone else's. Just because it hadn't been fun didn't mean it had been wrong. She just wished she'd brought a flashlight.
Chapter 40
When she arrived back at the fifth floor, Crystal lifted her shirt and poked at the stinging scratch on her side. Good thing she'd been on a colon cleanse that week. If she'd had one more ounce of body fat, the bullet would have gone right through her.
Where had Ron gone? He was the only one who could reign in the chaos and make things right. Surely, he was around somewhere, but his office was empty and the entire fifth floor was eerily quiet. She sat at her reception desk for awhile, waiting, then wandered back down to Pete's desk in the lobby, where she could keep track of anyone coming or going.
The security cameras showed empty hallways. There was no movement in the cavern.
The only person around was Jeff, lounging against his usual pillar, eyes narrowed at the sheriff's SUV, picking his teeth with his pinkie. Crystal preferred to avoid him, but if anyone knew where Ron was, it was him.
She limped out to the portico, clutching her waist. "Do you know where Ron is?"
"I'm hoping to see him myself, Girly."
"It's just that things have gotten a little out of control."
Jeff snorted.
"And I've been injured," said Crystal, with what she thought was just the right degree of tremolo.
He rolled his eyes in her direction. "Neosporin."
"I've been shot," she clarified.
"Can't say I'm too upset about it."
"I know you don't mean that."
Just then, Ron appeared. He leaned out the door and beckoned to them, "What's going on?"
Crystal stepped inside, ranting. Jeff followed.
"Roxy and Mrs. Gundy have gone crazy! They're down in the cave, fighting. I tried to stop them but Roxy shot me."
Ron looked her over. She lifted her shirt slightly so he could see the trickle of blood.
"So you called the police?" He gritted his teeth and waved merrily at the sheriff's deputies parked at the opposite curb.
"No, no, it wasn't me," she said quickly.
"Jeff, let me get rid of the police, then we can talk. Crystal, why don't you go home and rest?" Ron took out his wallet, handed her two twenties. "And get yourself a new shirt."
Chapter 41
Down in the cave, rubble scraped Margaret's shoulder blades as she wriggled through the slot at the base of the wall. She flung out a hand and snagged Roxy's shoelace. Roxy tugged and the shoe came off in Margaret's hand. Margaret elbow-crawled after Roxy and almost caught her. Roxy writhed out of Margaret's grasp and scuttled away.
Margaret's heart flailed at her chest. She was getting too old for this. She scooped up an iron-shaped rock, lurched upright and gave chase.
A line of dirty light like the first sign of dawn glowed in the tunnel ahead. Margaret could see the shadow of Roxy's wild hair as she bounced toward it.
Margaret rounded the next bend just as Roxy came upon Andrea. A fluorescent lantern flooded the passage with cold, unblinking light. Debris littered the tunnel floor: cast off gloves, Gatorade bottles, a hammer drill, chunks of rock. Andrea squatted in the ruins of the wall in splotched overalls, examining something. Andrea stumbled upright, gazed at Roxy, then flicked a glance toward Margaret, who was sneaking up behind Roxy. Margaret put a finger to her lips.
The odor of rotting flesh clogged Margaret's nostrils. Then a gentle breeze wafted her way and she drank in the sweet smell she craved. The Chamber of Wonders reeled her toward it. Margaret's substance had started to fade already. Perhaps the particles of her being had begun to scatter.
Margaret braced herself and heaved the rock into the back of Roxy's head. It was an echo of something she'd done before. She couldn't quite remember. Something unpleasant. But this time, Margaret was sure she had it right.
The weight of the blow knocked Roxy to the ground.
Andrea ripped off her safety glasses. "You can't just--"
"Ah, but I can, Andrea. That's the wonderful thing about this place." Margaret sucked in a deep, purifying breath. "Anything is possible." Her head swam and she was almost overcome by euphoria. It had been too long.
"You knew about this?" Andrea jabbed a grimy finger at the wall.
Margaret stepped into the fluorescent glare, bent over, hands on her knees, and examined the corpse nestled in fetal position on the other side of the collapsed wall. “Oh, Mel," she tutted. From Mel's rotting fingers, Margaret pried a nugget of gold, held it to the light. It was the Golden Bear. It was unmistakable.
Margaret's heart swelled with gratitude. The universe worked in mysterious ways. It had finally produced her treasure. But how would Margaret pass the Golden Bear to Janie with so little time remaining? She had to trust that the opportunity would arise.
Andrea's voice broke through her thoughts: "You're on your own, Margaret. I'm out of here."
Margaret felt a blow between her shoulder blades. The Golden Bear flew out of her hand. She toppled onto the corpse. Rotting flesh kissed her face. Someone grasped her from behind and dragged her back into the light.
Roxy loomed over her, wild hair silhouetted in the lantern light.
"Faked you out, didn't I?" crowed Roxy.
See? Anything was possible. A drop of blood fell from Roxy's chin and stung Margaret's eye. She should have been dismayed to find Roxy alive and leering over her, but it was oddly invigorating to know you could kill someone, and then you got to do it all over again. Margaret wondered how she'd do it this time.
Then Roxy shifted and Margaret had a slightly less invigorating thought: what if Roxy killed her before Margaret and Joe reunited and dove into the great beyond together? That would be a real downer.
Roxy snatched up Andrea's fluorescent lantern and scrambled over Mel's body toward the Chamber of Wonders.
Margaret felt around, retrieved the Golden Bear. She got stiffly to her feet and stumbled after her.
Chapter 42
Fleeing from the cavern, Andrea pushed through the hinged panel from the hidden stairway, tripped into Jeff's stuffy apartment, gasped and stepped back. Her father was already there.
He towered over Jeff, jabbing a finger at his chest, and the only words Andrea caught were, "My daughter would never--"
Both men spun around. Jeff jerked his head up and away, studied Andrea out of the corner of his eye. She wore filthy blue coveralls. Her face was streaked with dirt.
"Never do what?" crowed Jeff.
"Andrea, what's going on?" said Ron. "You know this is Jeff's private apartment. And you know I don't want you exposed to the cavern."
"I know what's behind the rock wall now, Father."
"What do you mean?
Andrea glared. "I’ve been doing some demolition work in the cave. Imagi
ne what I found.”
Ron paled. "Margaret put you up to this?"
"Did you kill her, Dad?"
He glanced at Jeff. "Who?"
"You tell me," she shouted. "Is it Pete's daughter?"
"What are--Oh my God."
Ron stepped toward the paneled wall where Andrea had just emerged, veered back.
Jeff shifted. "Told you," he said.
Ron turned on him, then bit back whatever he'd planned to say. "I need a flashlight."
Jeff leaned to rummage in the magazine pocket of his recliner, held up a flashlight.
Ron said, "Andrea, go to Pete's place, pick him up and bring him back here."
"I thought he was fired?"
Ron's lip twisted. "If it's Melanie, he deserves to know," he said.
Chapter 43
Five months before, on that afternoon back in June, Melanie hadn't known that it was the last time she'd see daylight.
The gathering clouds split open with a crash and water poured from the sky, so much water the whole world blurred to gray. Melanie kneeled and trundled two rocks out of the way, twinging her back in the process. She drew a sharp breath, then bent back down, reached through the rusted steel grate and fumbled with the hidden latch. Rain ran up her nose. Finally, the grate fell open. Gripping the bars, she lowered herself into the throat of the mountain. As she heaved the grate shut behind her, she lost her footing and tumbled to the rocky ground. When she stood up, she could feel herself grinning.
She was getting nearer to the source. It coursed through her veins. It brought a skip to her step.
The rumble of rain and thunder surrounded her, even underground. Darkness chased the beam of her flashlight through the tunnel.
Then she was weightless. Her first instinct was to laugh. She was in the air for seconds, enough time to wonder whether she was flying. Just before plunging into freezing water, she realized she had it all wrong.
Coughing and gasping, she popped to the surface. The flashlight was gone. She did a panicky dog-paddle to get her mouth above water as she spun in circles. Rock broke off in her hands as she clawed at the walls.
Water tugged at her Sketchers, dunked her every time she caught a breath. She lost feeling in her hands. Her body trembled, teeth clacked together. She could barely move. There was a painful crush in her chest. Melanie caught a last taste of air and let the current suck her under.
Melanie had barraged her dad and Ron Essing and her co-workers at Long Shot, Inc. with so many questions, they’d all clammed up. Well, Dad never had said much anyway, other than, "Effing lay off. I don’t know."
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