“No, I only heard footsteps.”
Samantha crept to the mouth of the passageway to look for any sign of whoever might be approaching. The footsteps echoed along the passage and the chamber, but from the clicking sound to them, Samantha knew these footsteps did not belong to Pryde or Reverend Crane. A pair of yellow eyes appeared, confirming her worst fear.
“We’ve got to get out of here,” Prudence said too loudly, her terrified voice bouncing off the walls.
Samantha put both hands on her friend’s shoulders to steady her. “We have to be very quiet. They might pass us by.” Prudence said nothing, but continued to quake with fear.
The yellow eyes looked right at Samantha, who flinched, but couldn’t turn away. The dog growled and, to Samantha’s horror, started to creep forward down the passage. It paused at the door to the passage, snorting and then growling again. The beast jumped through a hole in the door and continued down the corridor towards the chamber.
Prudence started to whisper the Lord’s Prayer. Samantha couldn’t think of anything comforting to calm her friend and silently joined her in the prayer. Meanwhile, the dog kept making its way down the path, inexorably stalking its prey. It paused once to snort and then quickened its pace.
Samantha looked for a weapon and then remembered the pots lying along one wall. “I’ll be back in a second,” she whispered into Prudence’s ear.
“Where are you going?”
“To fetch a pot.” She fumbled around in the dark until she found the largest and heaviest one she could lift. She took it by one handle and returned to the mouth of the chamber. The yellow eyes were so close Samantha could almost make out the shape of the dog’s snout ready to bite into her.
The yellow eyes were only inches from Samantha’s waist when she raised the pot over her head and brought it down. The metal pot hit Pryde’s dog square on the head. It yelped with pain and staggered to one side. The beast growled, its eyes focusing on Samantha. She waited for it to lunge and then swung the pot again. The blow connected with the side of the dog’s head this time and sent it crashing into the wall, where it lay motionless. Samantha finally risked putting a hand out to touch the dog’s rough fur. “I think it’s dead,” she said to Prudence.
She dropped the dented pot and then grabbed another to take with her. With her other hand she took hold of Prudence and dragged her friend down the passage. “Where are we going?” Prudence asked.
“That dog got in here somehow and I doubt it was by diving in the river. So there has to be a way out of here. We have to find it before more of them show up.”
But the rest of Pryde’s dogs waited for them near the entrance to the passage. Three sets of yellow eyes glared at them and three mouths snarled in unison. Prudence screamed, the sound freezing the dogs for a moment. Then they spread out to encircle the girls.
“What do we do?” Prudence asked. She positioned herself behind Samantha, her fingernails digging into Samantha’s neck.
“I’ll hold them off, you try to get to the river.”
“The river?”
“The current will get you out of here. Try to get to shore as soon as you can and run. I’ll follow you.”
“You’ll be killed!”
“Do as I say, please,” Samantha pleaded. “When I tell you, run as fast as you can to the river.”
The dogs formed a triangle around the girls to prevent them from escaping. Samantha hoisted the pot to shoulder-level, the calm she felt when picking the lock flooding back to her. “Go!” she shouted at the same time she swung the pot in an arc.
The dogs backed off for the moment Prudence needed to break away from Samantha and run towards the river. Samantha heard a splash and then found herself alone with Pryde’s dogs. They closed in, preparing to make the kill.
Instead of swinging the pot again, Samantha threw it as hard as she could at the dog in front of her. The pot missed, bouncing across the ground, but the sound of it distracted the dogs long enough for her to dash towards the river after Prudence. She had nearly reached the bank when her foot caught a rock and she tumbled forward, landing on her back.
When she tried to stand, her left ankle throbbed with pain. “No,” Samantha moaned. “Not now.” She fell to her knees and started to crawl towards the river. Behind her, she heard the dogs approaching, savoring their next meal.
She rolled over to sit against a boulder near the shore and waited for the dogs to close on her. She felt the area around her until she came up with the rocks she’d used to light the torch with earlier. She cupped one in each hand, preparing for her last stand. The dogs growled and snapped at each other to determine which went first, the one in center winning the honor.
The dog charged forward, its jaws going straight for her throat. Samantha swung her left arm, the rock in her hand knocking the dog’s muzzle aside. She followed with her right hand. The dog collapsed to the ground at her feet.
With the demise of their leader, the other two dogs came at her simultaneously. One lunged for her chest while the other went for her injured leg. Samantha raised her hands as the first dog neared her chest. She clapped her hands together; the dog collapsed onto her, its weight almost crushing her.
The remaining dog snapped at her legs. She kicked it once with her right foot and then hurled both stones at it. One of the rocks hit the mark while the other sailed wide to hit the ground. The dog was startled enough for Samantha to push its comrade off her chest and then pull herself up and over the boulder she’d been resting against.
She dropped into the river and this time let the current take hold to carry her away. The last dog howled with rage at losing its prey. Samantha turned around in time to watch the yellow eyes climb over the boulder and dive into the water after her. The dog whimpered like a newborn puppy as it tried in vain to stay afloat. The yellow eyes sunk beneath the water.
Samantha tried to make her way to shore, but her sore ankle prevented her from making headway. After a minute of struggling, she no longer had the strength to stay afloat. Her head started to sink beneath the water when she suddenly found herself suspended in the air by one of her braids.
“I got you,” Pryde growled. He held up a torch so she could see Prudence lying in an unconscious heap behind him. “Time for you two to see the rev.”
Samantha swatted and kicked at Pryde, but his grip was as strong as the river’s current. He ended her struggle with a blow to the back of her head. She saw flashes of white light in her vision and then everything went dark once more.
Chapter 30: The Water
Samantha didn’t stay unconscious for long. She awoke to find herself slumped over Pryde’s left shoulder. He dragged Prudence behind him, using her apron as a makeshift rope. Samantha kicked Pryde in the chest as hard as she could with her right leg, but he didn’t break stride. “Keep that up and I’ll skin you and that sack of lard alive. I don’t care what the rev says,” Pryde said.
“You wouldn’t dare!” Samantha spat back, but she didn’t doubt Pryde would kill her and Prudence to avenge his dogs.
“Why don’t you try me and find out?”
From what she could tell, Pryde followed a steep path along the river. The path was well-maintained, clear of any debris or rocks like the one she’d tripped over. Samantha guessed Pryde must have visited this area often. “Where are you taking us?”
“To the water.”
“If you’re going to drown us, why not throw us into the river?” she asked. She hoped she hadn’t given him ideas.
“I’d like to, but the rev has plans for you.”
As Pryde continued carrying them up the path, Samantha tried to think of a plan for escape. With her bad ankle and Prudence being unconscious, she couldn’t think of anything. Then she saw the hilt of the knife at his belt within inches of her fingertips. If she could only shift herself a little bit, she could reach the knife.
“Why are you doing this? Don’t you know it’s wrong?”
“I leave deciding what’s ri
ght and wrong to the rev.”
“You know who I am, don’t you? You were with Miss Brigham when she found me. If Reverend Crane’s going to kill me anyway, couldn’t you tell me?” She wiggled her hips in his grasp enough to get an inch closer to the knife. Another inch and she could reach the hilt.
“You were someone sticking her nose in other people’s business. For all the trouble you’ve caused me I should have slit your throat when I had the chance. The rev thought he could tame you. I knew better,” Pryde said, saying more than she ever remembered hearing before. As he spoke, she wiggled closer to the knife until her fingers wrapped around the hilt.
She pulled the knife from its hilt and in one fluid motion stabbed it into Pryde’s back. He howled in pain and then pitched her into a wall. The knife flew from her hand, disappearing over the path and into the river below. Samantha tried to get up, but couldn’t on her ankle. She crawled up the path as fast as possible until Pryde seized her by the injured ankle. Samantha screamed as he squeezed the ankle until she heard bones crack.
Pryde grabbed her by the neck and raised her high into the air so that her head brushed against the roof of the cavern. “I ought to kill you right now,” he said. Samantha felt lightheaded, stars exploding before her eyes as Pryde cut off the air to her lungs. He hurled her against the wall again and then stomped down to where Prudence lay. “But I think I’ll kill the pig first.”
“No! Don’t hurt her. I promise I won’t do anything else. I’ll be good,” she said.
Pryde didn’t seem to hear her. From his belt he took a second knife, smaller but no less dangerous. He held the knife over Prudence’s throat as she continued to lay unconscious. Samantha crawled towards him, but she knew there was nothing she could do. At the last moment Pryde raised the knife and instead of slitting Prudence’s throat, he hacked off her bun. He stuffed the ball of hair into a pouch on his belt. “I’ve wanted to kill this one for so long,” he said. “I don’t know why the rev insists on keeping her around.”
“If you don’t like Reverend Crane, why don’t you kill him and do whatever you want?” Samantha asked. She stopped crawling towards Prudence and settled herself against a wall to rest.
“I owe the rev. Some of us believe in loyalty.”
“But you don’t believe all this about The Way, do you?”
Pryde gave another of his dry-leaf chuckles. “Heaven and Hell don’t interest me.” He held up his knife and waved it at Prudence. “But it makes my job easy. Keeps everyone in line.”
Pryde reached into another compartment of his belt for a silver flask. He unscrewed the top and took a sip, throwing his head back as he did so. Then he stood and walked over to Samantha. She thought he might finish her off, but instead he offered her the flask. “Take a sip. Just a sip.”
“What is it? Poison?”
“I’m tired of carrying you.” He held the knife within an inch of her throat. “Drink it.”
Samantha took a cautious sip and tasted the same sweet water as she remembered from the gruel. “What is this?” she asked. “Some kind of magic potion?”
“You’ll find out soon enough.” He snatched the flask from her and stuffed it back into his belt. When he turned around, she saw the knife wound had healed. She felt a tingle in her ankle and got to her feet without pain.
Before she could think about running away, Pryde slammed her against the cavern wall. He held his knife over her ear and in one deft motion sliced off her braid. “A souvenir,” he said with a satisfied grin. “Now, see if you can wake Fatty and we’ll pay a visit to the rev.”
Samantha went over to Prudence, kneeling down beside her. She shook Prudence until her friend stirred. “Where are we?” Prudence asked. She touched her head where Pryde had cut off her hair. “What happened?”
“We have to get moving. Stay close to me.” She helped Prudence up and put an arm around her shoulders. Together they walked up the path to where Pryde waited.
“You two keep going. Try anything funny and I’ll slice you in half,” Pryde said. Prudence gulped at this, but Samantha met his gaze, her eyes narrowing.
She and Prudence continued up the path with Pryde following behind, his knife at the ready. “Where are we going?” Prudence asked. “Is he going to kill us?”
“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you,” Samantha said. She glanced over her shoulder at Pryde.
“What happened to my hair?”
“He took it.”
The path ended in an arched opening carved from the rock. Beyond this was a chamber several times bigger than the one where Prudence had written her message. A white light danced off the walls, illuminating stick figures painted around the chamber. One sequence of figures showed a baby, a child, an adult woman, and an elderly woman.
The white glow came from a pool of water sunk into the center of the room. Samantha stepped up to the edge of the pool and found more hieroglyphics etched there. In the surface of the water she saw not her actual reflection, but reflections of herself from a baby to a little girl. “What is this?” she asked.
“This,” Reverend Crane said from behind them, “is the Fountain of Youth.”
Chapter 31: The Fountain
“The Fountain of Youth,” Samantha repeated. “So that’s how you’ve been doing it. That’s what happened to the children in the dining room. You put this water in the gruel.”
“Of course, my child.”
“Is that how you erased their memories? How you erased my memory?” Samantha asked.
“The fountain only affects the body. The mind requires a chemical Mr. Pryde acquired from the savages. Even they can serve the Lord’s purposes from time to time.”
“Why?” Prudence asked. “Why would you do this?”
“How else could I keep all of you in check? As adults you could rise up and resume your heathen ways. As children, I am free to mold you in His image. I am able to make certain you follow The Way.”
“But what about our parents? What did you do to them?”
Reverend Crane snorted. “There were no parents. They died long before you ever came to this place.”
“We were grownups?” Prudence held her hands up to her face as if trying to imagine them as a woman’s hands. The reverend came over to pat her shoulder.
“Prudence, I did it to save your soul. You were all bound for Hell. I had no choice but to take this dramatic step.”
“But, you lied to us. You told us a lie—any lie—is wrong. You said lies violate The Way.”
“I am sorry, my child, but I had to protect you. I didn’t have the heart to tell you about your parents. I wanted to spare you that pain,” Reverend Crane said.
“He didn’t want to tell you they were dead so you’d think they might come back,” Samantha said. “He didn’t want you to try running away or else he might have to find some new help.”
“Is that true?” Prudence asked.
“Of course not, my child. I love you as I would my own flesh and blood. I have done everything to protect you.”
“He’s lying! Prudence—” Pryde cut Samantha off by covering her mouth with his hand. Prudence looked up at the reverend, her eyes darting back and forth as if calculating a difficult math equation.
“But the children in the dining room. Some of them died.”
“I know, my child. It was an unfortunate accident. I never meant for any harm to befall them. Perhaps it was God’s will that they be punished for their gluttony.”
“They were hungry,” Prudence said. She patted her bulging stomach. “They didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Prudence, you must trust me. Everything I’ve done has been with the best interests of your immortal soul in mind.”
“I don’t know—”
“Do not worry anymore about it, my child. Soon these issues will no longer trouble you.” Samantha tried to warn Prudence, but it was too late. The reverend cinched a rope around Prudence’s waist and then pushed her backwards into the pool. The reve
rend motioned for Pryde to bring Samantha closer.
In the water, white light covered Prudence’s entire body. As Samantha watched, Prudence’s body shrank into the dimensions of a little girl’s. The reverend hauled Prudence out of the water, stepping back to avoid getting any of the water splashed onto himself, Samantha, or Pryde. Samantha wanted to run over and check on her friend, but Pryde held her back. “You don’t want to touch her right now,” Reverend Crane said. “The water in its purest form is extremely potent.”
The glow surrounding Prudence faded, revealing a chubby little girl swamped by a wet gray dress. Pryde let go of Samantha’s shoulder so she could at last rush over to Prudence’s side. Samantha brushed her finger along a constellation of freckles that had appeared across the bridge of Prudence’s nose. Prudence opened her eyes and started to cry when she held up a sleeve now many sizes too big. “I’m little,” she said. “You said nothing bad would happen, Samantha. You promised.” Prudence put her head against the ground and continued to cry.
“Do not worry, my child. Soon all this will be forgotten.” From his pocket he took out a glass vial filled with red liquid.
Samantha waited until he brought the vial in range and then swatted it from his hand. The glass shattered against the cave wall, spraying its contents over the hieroglyphics.
“That was a foolish thing to do,” Reverend Crane said. “And it accomplishes nothing. I have more. You have only delayed the inevitable.”
“I won’t let you erase her memory like you did to me,” Samantha said. She grabbed Reverend Crane and shoved him against the wall. Before she could do anything else, Pryde wrapped an elbow around her neck.
“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice,” the reverend said. He went back over to Prudence and began untying the rope from around her waist. Pryde kept his elbow locked around Samantha’s neck, squeezing until she gasped for air. “Don’t kill her. I have plans for her.”
Pryde let up enough for air to trickle back into Samantha’s lungs. As she tried to catch her breath, the reverend approached her with the rope dangling from his hand. She didn’t have any more time to spare.
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