“Jackie?” But even as she called, she knew Jackie was gone forever. “Clint! Come see what Mommy has brought you.” Out of breath, they slowed to a walk, and passed an auxiliary tunnel that had a dank and terrible smell to it. The well was at the end of this tunnel. She stopped and put her face up to Mary’s. “Smell that? You must never, never go near this place. The whole underworld is yours to play in, but you must return to the Home Cavern as soon as you get near that smell.”
“I don’t want to play here. Please. I’m scared. I want to go home.”
“This is home for you now, Mary.”
After an exhausted sleep, Mary was slightly more docile, and she followed Sally Ann as long as they kept contact with their hands. How flexible the young are, Sally thought. How adaptable. The sleep felt wonderful. She awoke refreshed and invigorated. Ready for a new day. It was so good to have your sleeping and eating regulated by the body rather than by the sun. She laughed and skipped along the main tunnel, teaching Mary how to quench her thirst by sucking the dripping water from the side of the tunnel.
Eventually, they reached Home Cavern, and Clint was there.
They hugged each other and cried together and she felt all over his whole body to make sure he was all right. Thin, perhaps, but that is the way of the underworld.
“I brought you some surprises, Clint. Some jam.” She took the small jar out of her bag and handed it to him. She laughed at his puzzlement, took it back and opened it for him. He stuck his finger in and licked it.
“Ick. What’s that taste?”
“Sugar, honey. You’re supposed to like it.”
“I don’t like nothing from there.”
“How about this?” and she handed him the sweater. “Here, I’ll help you put it on.”
“I don’t much like this either.” He kept running his hands over the soft wool. “What’s making those noises?”
“That’s your new sister, Mary. She’s come to live with us and be your playmate.”
“She doesn’t sound so good.”
“I was afraid like that when I first got here. Be nice to her. She’ll learn the ways of our life soon.”
Clint walked over to Mary. “Wanna swim?”
“I want to go home,” she sniffed.
“She’s dumb, Mommy.”
“Give her time, honey.”
While Mary slept, Sally Ann and Clint talked. He wasn’t interested in hearing much about the time she’d spent “in the sun,” but she did tell him that some people would probably come into the tunnels to look for them. “Can we find a place to hide for a while, Clint?”
“Sure. I’ve found some places that nobody else could find.”
Sally sensed a change in Clint. He seemed older. Distant. Maybe it was because she knew that he was twenty years old, instead of thinking he was only about eight. Maybe being on his own for a couple of months had matured him.
After sleep they started. They dumped the jam into the lake and filled the jar with food. That went into her bag along with the extra T-shirts she had brought and some moss. Mary was a problem, but Sally Ann had expected it and was prepared. Clint tried to emulate her patience, but it was hard for him. He was so swift in the tunnels.
Clint led them down a series of side tunnels that were barely big enough to crawl through in some places. Up and down they went, following his lead.
Finally, one tunnel came to a dead end at a lake and they had to swim underwater to find the opening on the other side. This was nearly an impossible task for Mary, but the fact that she was so small and light helped a lot; they virtually held her breath for her and pulled her under and through the tunnel entrance.
The other side was a perfect space. It was dry and warm, with a deep swimming hole in the middle, and a brisk stream running down one side. The new Home Cavern.
Sally set up housekeeping, making beds, preparing a toilet, continually keeping her ears open for invaders. They came, but she never heard them.
PART THREE
1
Sally Ann and Mary sat on the side of the swimming hole, their feet dangling in the water. The children were playing loudly in the pool, splashing and laughing. Clint was throwing them high into the air and they begged for turns over and over again. He was a good father.
“I’m going to go away for a while, Mary. I have some unfinished business to take care of.”
Mary grabbed her hand. “Are you going up there? Can I go and take the boys? Can Clint go? Can we all go with you, Sally? Oh, please?”
“You know Clint and the children can never leave this place, Mary. And your place is here with them. This is your home now. I’ll be back. I won’t be gone long.”
“I wish you wouldn’t go.”
“I know, dear. I’ll be back before you miss me. Time passes quickly down here.”
Clint had nothing to say when she told him. His silence spoke of his disapproval. She packed some gear and left without further discussion.
The door at the top of the stairs was open, as she expected. She knew Michael would leave it that way in case any of them cared to return. She spent two days at the bottom of the stairs, getting used to the light, then ventured up. It was hot.
How do I look now, she wondered. She skirted the woods and made her way to her mother’s house. Strengthening her resolve, she knocked on the kitchen door. Her mother looked dully out at her.
“You’ve come back.”
“Yes. Momma.”
“Well, come in and clean up.”
Not exactly a rousing welcome, but about what she had expected. After all, she had kidnapped Michael’s youngest daughter and given her a life in the caverns. Not an act to endear her to the family.
After she showered, she put on the clean housedress her mother had laid out. She examined herself in the mirror. Her face looked about the same. A few more lines around the mouth and eyes, maybe. Somehow she didn’t feel nearly as monstrous as she had the last time she was here. The smell of bacon frying came through from the kitchen. She joined her mother, wordlessly set the table, then sat down and waited.
“How’s Mary?”
“She’s fine. She’s happy, Momma.”
Her mother turned with fury in her eyes. “Don’t you dare talk of happiness to me. You. Living under the earth like a worm. Destroying all that Michael and Maggie had by taking their little girl like you did. You’re Satan himself.”
Sally Ann endured her mother’s venom. She knew it had to come out sooner or later, and was glad Cora could get it off her chest so soon. She stood up and put her arms around her mother as she stood at the stove. She felt the silent sobs shake her frail frame. Her mother had grown old. Very old.
“Oh, Sally Ann, why have you come back again? Just when a hurt has healed, you come back to pick it open again. Why do you do that?”
“I’ve come to see Michael.”
“I guess I knew that the moment I saw you at the door. Well, there’s the phone. Get it over with.”
The number was written on a list Cora kept on the wall. Sally dialed the number slowly, praying that Maggie wouldn’t answer the phone. She did.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Maggie. This is Sally Ann. May I speak to Michael, please?”
The phone bounced on the floor, and Sally Ann visualized Maggie’s open-mouthed shock. The idea gave her distinct pleasure.
“Hello? Hello, who’s this?” Michael.
“Hello, Michael. This is Sally Ann. Would you come to breakfast at Mother’s this morning?”
“Oh, my God . . .” the phone went dead.
Sally smiled, slowly hanging up the phone. “He’ll be right over, Momma.” Cora left the room. Sally heard the bedroom door close.