Chapter90 In the Tunnels

Anna's slowly lumbering through the darkened underground passages unable to find her way out of the complex labyrinth; but, she's not giving up. She continues her search for an exit; holding on tightly to Jean-Louise Wadell. As she turns a corner, Anna bumps into a tall, stocky man in his late fifties; wearing what appears to be Pilgrim clothes to her. Startled at first, Anna gasps; but then, suddenly feels somewhat relaxed in the man's presence. He smiles down at her; and she smiles back. The man bends down on one knee to be eye-level with Anna. "Good day to ye, young lass; and, what be thy name?" "Anna." "Anna?" "Yeah; it's short for Annabeth." "Aye now, tis a lovely name. And, howst art thou today; Young Miss Annabeth?" "Not so good." She looks down to the ground and starts crying. "Now there, there young lass; tis fine. All willst be well soon; no need for tears. Art thou lost?" Anna nods; and the stranger reassures her, "Trust in me, Young Miss Annabeth, when I say all willst be well soon." The man smiles as he looks at the doll Anna's holding and asks, "And; what be thy name of ye's little doll there?" "Her name's Jean- Louise Wadell." "Jean-Louise Wadell ye say; Young Miss Annabeth?" ""Yes." "Tis a fine name true. I tell ye this, Young Miss Annabeth; thou needs to keep Jean-Louise Wadell close to thee at all times. Thou doeth this, and ye will be fine." "I will." "Fine then; all shall be well for ye. Young Miss Annabeth, ye need to keep walking down along this tunnel; and, do not thee stray from thy path. Be sure not to make no turns, child; and, ye will find the way out. Go now; and heed ye what I told thou. Keep Jean-Louise close to ye. Good day now, Young Miss Annabeth." The man stands up and starts on his way. As the man walks away, Anna turns and calls out to him. "Wait!" The man turns and asks, "What tis it; child?" "Thanks. Who are you?" "Ye are welcome, young lass. And; I be known as Jebediah. Good day now." Cindy's suddenly awoken from her sleep, and jumps up to a sitting position; then, leans over to turn on the lamp. When the light's on, she sees Mary sitting at the foot of the bed; wearing that same precocious little smirk she always displays during her encounters with Cindy. With time essentially running out, Cindy decides to make a bold move. "What do you want…Tommy?" "Are you feeling alright, Cindy; I'm Mary, not Tommy. I think you need glasses." "No…Tommy…I don't need glasses…and, I feel just fine. You're Tommy Steinman. Right now you just think you're Mary Howell; but, you're not. And, you're not Davey Howell, or Helene Steinman, or Brother Dominguez, or Charles either…you're Tommy." "And, you're crazy. I'm Mary, you stupid bitch!" Infuriated…in a fit of rage…Mary jumps off the bed, grabs the footboard, and rips it from the bed frame. Cindy rolls out of the bed onto the floor as it collapses. Mary runs over, grabs Cindy's pajamas' collar, and lifts her up by them; slamming her into wall. With Cindy pinned to the wall, Mary angrily shouts in her face, "Who am I, Cindy?!" Cindy, keeping her composure despite the attack, looks at Mary straight in the face; and, in an attempt to appease the crazed spirit, calmly answers, "Why; you're Mary, of course." Mary huffs. "Good!" She releases Cindy from her grip, walks across the room to the window and, while gazing out at the barn without turning to face Cindy, tells her, "And, don't you forget it." Cindy adjusts her pajama top and rubs her shoulders. "What do you want, Mary?" Mary cups her hands behind the small of her back, turns and heads over to Cindy. "Actually, Cindy, I've been feeling a little generous recently; and, I've decided to give you folks a sporting chance." "What do you mean…a sporting chance?" Mary turns her back to Cindy…her hands still resting in the small of her back…and sashays over to the window to look outside again. "I mean; I'm willing to give you all a chance to find Anna, and get her back." Cindy folds her arms in front of her chest and walks over towards Mary; stopping a few feet behind her. "Go on." Still looking out the window, Mary explains, "I don't know if you knew this or not, but, there are underground tunnels that run under this place; extending out into the woods. A group of monks used to live in this area; and, they held secret rituals in those very tunnels. Anyway, I put Anna down there, and now, she's wandering around lost; looking for a way back. So, I said to myself…Mary…since everyone keeps asking where Anna is…and want her back…why not give them a chance to look for her down there?" "That's awfully sporting of you, Mary." "Yes; I know." "And; it's so unlike you." Mary, still not facing Cindy, smirks. "Yes; I know that too." "So, why the sudden change of…heart…let's say; for lack of a better choice of words?" "Look, Cindy; must we continue this inane conversation of yours…or, do you want to know where to start looking for her? I have to tell you; poor little Anna's really cold and hungry down there." "Okay, Mary; so, where do we start?" "The cellar; if you break up the concrete floor, you'll find a trap door that will lead down into the chamber. From there, it's just a matter of searching the tunnels for her. But, be careful down there, Cindy; those tunnels are like one humongous, twisted maze. It's real easy to get lost ...and stay lost…down there. So, if you're up to the challenge, be my guests…and start looking for Anna." Cindy's silent, staring at the back of Mary's head thinking, when it dawns on her. "What happened, Mary?" "What do you mean?" "How'd Anna get away from you?" Mary hesitates before unconvincingly replying, "Anna didn't get away from me, Cindy; I let her go." "No; you wouldn't have done that…Tommy." Mary spins around, thrashing her arms down to her sides as she yells, "I'M NOT TOMMY!" "She got away…and, you can't find her. But why; why can't you…wait a minute …Chelsea…Chelsea's back; isn't she?" "What are you babbling about now, Cindy?" "That's it; she's back…and, you can't find her. She won't let you find her. So; you need us to find Anna for you." "You've totally gone off the deep end, Cindy." Cindy smiles and nods. "Alright, we'll find her…Tommy…" Mary starts to interrupt Cindy, "I'm not…" Cindy cuts off Mary, "But, it won't matter if we do, because Chelsea won't let you touch her; she'll protect her like she did before." "Chelsea's gone, Cindy. She can't protect Anna…or any of you for that matter." "Wrong again…Tommy…Chelsea's back; and, not only can…but, is protecting Anna, right now; and, that's why you can't find her." Cindy steps in towards Mary, leans over and whispers in her ear, "You're going to have to face her sooner or later…you do realize that; don't you? For what you did to her…she owes you one…Tommy." Mary bitterly mutters under her breath, while grinding her teeth together, "I'm not Tommy, you stupid bitch!" "Funny you should use that word…‘bitch'. You know what they say about paybacks; don't you? They can be a real…well; you get the idea." Mary scowls; then vanishes. Cindy looks out the window smiling; whispering aloud, "Take care of Anna, Chelsea."