"Mr. Hamelin," Sabrina shouted, "get Wendell out of here!" Hamelin nodded, picked up his son, and stepped into the flame. Daphne and Granny rushed to Toby, and together they dragged the big spider by his legs through the portal. As they did, Sabrina heard the old woman ask Puck to help with the other Everafter children. He spun around on his heels and transformed into a gorilla, hoisted Bella and Natalie onto his back, then raced through the flames himself. Snow White and Sheriff Hamstead helped the mayor to his feet and together they raced to the portal.
"I'msupposed to rescue you,"Charming said to Snow White.
"Maybe it's time we both started trying some new things," Snow White said as the three disappeared into the flames.
Granny came back through the portal and waited for Sabrina.
"We can't leave him down here," Sabrina cried, as she watched the Wolf and Rumpelstiltskin fighting.
"I believe Mr. Canis knows what he is doing," Granny Relda said.
"I won't go," Sabrina insisted, but Granny grabbed her sweater and dragged her through the portal. In a flash, they were standing outside in the cold, with a hundred elementary school students, who were staring at the gorilla carrying a big, hairy girl and a frog monster.
"This is going to take a lot of forgetful dust!" Daphne said, under her breath.
"Get away from the school!" Sabrina shouted to the children and they obeyed. They ran for the parking lot just as Sabrina heard a slow, horrible rumble from below. Everyone raced to the other side of the road, where some children were already congregated. When she reached them, Sabrina turned and watched the school. The horror unreeled like a car crash you couldn't stop watching. First, smoke billowed out of the school's windows, then a terrible explosion blew out the glass and knocked the doors off their hinges. The roof collapsed, a flame a hundred feet high shot out of the center, and then the ground around it sank and the school fell into it. Finally, a cloud of dust rose up, covering the site, and when it settled again, the school was gone. Only a huge hole remained as evidence that there had been anything there at all.
"Mr. Canis," Sabrina gasped. "He's gone. I killed him."
"Sabrina, don't," Granny pleaded.
"This is all my fault!" the girl said as she broke down in tears.
"No, child, you are not responsible for this." Granny tried to reassure her. Sabrina pulled away.
"It was my anger and my prejudice that did this," she cried.
"Child, Rumpelstiltskin manipulated you," her grandmother insisted.
"He only manipulated what was already inside of me." "Oh, libeling.”
Suddenly, Beauty and the Beast, the Frog Prince and his Princess, and Little Miss Muffet (aka Mrs. Arachnid) and the spider raced through the crowd of children.
"We heard there was trouble at the school," the Beast grunted. "Have you found our kids?"
Puck pointed at the three unconscious monsters lying on the ground. The parents cried out in unison and rushed to their children. The Beast picked up his grotesque, unconscious daughter, Natalie, and lifted her into the air. "She's beautiful, darling," he cried to his wife.
Sabrina watched the happiness in the parents' eyes. The Frog Prince and his wife kneeled down to their unconscious daughter, Bella, and slowly caressed her face. Even the spider cooed over his son, Toby. They loved their monstrous, murderous children. Sabrina looked into her box of matches. She reached in and took out the last of the Match Girl's matches. She could save it until her arm was well, then rescue her mom and dad, but it would take weeks. She couldn't be without them for another day. She needed them right now. She made a wish, then struck the match against the box's flinty surface. The flame came to life and shined in the cold night.
"Sabrina, no!" Granny Relda cried.
"Look at what I've become," the girl said sadly. "I need my mom and dad."
"Sabrina, you listen to me! I forbid it. It's too dangerous," Granny said, but Sabrina could already see her parents, safe and asleep on a bed, inside the flame. She tossed the match to the ground and the portal grew. Without even a glance at her grandmother or sister, she stepped through and found herself on the other side.
The room was dark. It was also warm, which made Sabrina a bit dizzy, stepping from such icy cold air into the heat. She shook off the dizziness and rushed to her parents, embracing them both the best she could.
"I'm going to take you home, now," she said, dragging her unconscious mother from the bed and onto the floor. She pulled as strongly as she could with her one good arm, edging closer and closer to the portal, where she could see Granny, Daphne, and Puck waiting with worried faces.
Suddenly, Daphne's face grimaced in terror and she started shouting, but Sabrina couldn't hear a word. Sound didn't cross the portal.
What is she trying to tell me?
And that's when the figure stepped out of the shadows. Sabrina knew she might someday have to confront her parents' kidnapper, but her imagination had not prepared her for the person she now saw in front of her. She was a child, probably Daphne's age, wearing a red cloak and a sadistic grin. Sabrina had never seen an expression like that on a little girl.
"Did you bring my puppy?" the child asked, sniffing the air.
"Who are you?" Sabrina asked.
"No, you didn't," the little girl said angrily. "But you've been around my puppy. Where is he?"
The little girl reached out and put her hand on Sabrina's shirt. When she removed it, a bloodred stain remained-a handprint.
"I can't play house without my grandma or my puppy," the girl said.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Sabrina said, trying to find the strength to get her mother through the portal.
"Yes, gibberish, that's what I speak," the little girl agreed. "Not a word makes sense. That's what they said. They said 1 had imagination."
"What do you want?"
"I want to play house!" The little girl's face grew very angry and she pointed a finger at Sabrina.
"I have a mommy and a daddy and a baby brother and a kitty. Do you want to pet the kitty?"
Just then, Sabrina heard an inhuman voice slurping and slavering behind her. It said, "Jabberwocky, Jabberwocky, Jabberwocky" over and over again. She turned to see what was making the noise and a shriek flew out of her throat. Hunching over her was something too impossible to exist-a combination of skin and scales and jagged teeth. Even in a town like Ferryport Landing, Sabrina had never seen something that brought so much horror.
"My, you are an ugly one," a voice said from across the room. The monster turned. Puck was standing next to the portal, hands on hips, like some kind of comic-book hero. "Come on, Grimm. I'm here to rescue you."
With a hiss, the portal burned out and closed behind him. Puck looked back and grimaced. "Uh-oh."
The little girl screamed with rage. "I don't need a sister or another brother! I need a grandma and a puppy!"
Suddenly, the monster swung its enormous arm at Sabrina, and then the room went black.
To be continued…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Buckley has written and developed television shows for many networks. The Mole People and The New Sideshow can be seen regularly on the Discovery Channel. Michael lives in New York City. The Sisters Grimm books are his first.
