Children of Eternity Omnibus Read online

  Rebecca’s thoughts turned from Miss Brigham to David. Why did he have to be so mean to her? Why couldn’t he understand she couldn’t like him that way? She was just nine years old; she wasn’t old enough for grown up things like kissing. That was what Reverend Crane and Miss Brigham had said, only grown ups could kiss like that. Rebecca might have to act like an adult at times, but she was still a child. Sometimes she even still got scared of the dark and had to take a doll out from beneath her pillow. She shook her head as she realized her bed and the doll were both gone now.

  The storm hadn’t done anything to the fountain cave. There were a few more rocks scattered around out front, but otherwise it looked the same. As she always did, Rebecca took a deep breath before she went inside.

  Samantha had first taken her to the fountain cave three years ago. That was when Annie had come down with a fever. At the time Annie had been almost the same age as Rebecca. Samantha took Rebecca into the cave, where she’d first seen the pool of glowing water.

  “That’s the Fountain of Youth,” Samantha had said. “You have to be very careful not to get any of the water on you, or else you’ll turn little again.”

  “I won’t,” Rebecca had said.

  Then she had followed Samantha over to the edge of the fountain. Back then when Rebecca had looked down at the water, she had seen herself as a toddler and a baby. “Why are my reflections so little?” she asked.

  “It just shows you who you used to be,” Samantha said.

  “You too?”

  “Even me. Even Miss Brigham.”

  “Oh,” Rebecca said. She had taken a step back from the water to watch as Samantha leaned down to scoop some out.

  They had gotten it back to Eternity without incident. But when Miss Brigham had taken the container, her hand slipped. Some of the water had splashed onto Annie. Rebecca had watched in horror as her friend shrank back into almost a baby, just two years old. Before long Annie had forgotten about being a big girl and become a baby again.

  They had always been very careful with the water since then. A community like Eternity was precarious enough without anyone turning back into a baby by accident. Rebecca would have to be extra careful this time, without a proper container for the water.

  She made her way over to the fountain and then got down on her knees. Something was wrong, though. When she looked into the water, she only saw one reflection. It was of her as a toddler, her hair longer and curlier while her tiny body was clad in a pink dress. Even stranger, her chubby cheeks were red, as were her eyes. She was crying. Little Rebecca said something, but the real Rebecca couldn’t hear it.

  She watched her younger reflection sob for a few minutes. Then she shook her head. It was just a reflection. It couldn’t do anything to her. There were people counting on her to get the water and take it back to Eternity.

  She leaned down and then dipped the bowl into the fountain. The reflection of herself as a toddler broke into many more reflections, all of them the same. These reflections kept saying something, but she couldn’t understand them. She pulled up the bowl, figuring she had enough water.

  Then she took off for Eternity, though even as she walked, she couldn’t get the image from her mind.

  Chapter 17: Everyday Miracle

  Miss Brigham set Mr. Delgado in the shade of the church’s front steps. In part she did this to keep him cool, but also because it allowed her to sit on the step and talk to him. “How did you come to be on Eternity, Mr. Delgado?”

  “Hector, please.”

  “Yes, of course. Hector.” She savored each syllable of his name. The Bible said it was wrong to lust after anyone, but after five years surrounded by only children, Miss Brigham couldn’t help herself. On top of that, Hector was so handsome: his rugged face, his rippling chest, his bulging muscles. Not even Reverend Crane had been so handsome, or so strong.

  The only imperfection was that awful tube in his mouth. Her stomach churned as some of the smoke blew into her face. She fought down the nausea; she knew it would not be ladylike to vomit in front of him. How could he enjoy something so vile?

  He blew out another cloud of smoke and then said, “I was fishing when that storm hit. Blew me all the way here, onto the beach.”

  “Oh dear. Your family must be so worried about you.” She didn’t see a wedding ring on his finger, but he might have lost that in the storm.

  “I don’t have any family left. Except for Lucy.”

  “Lucy? Is that your wife?”

  He laughed at this and shook his head. “No, I ain’t the marrying kind, trust me. Lucy is my niece. The one you call Samantha.”

  “Samantha is your niece?”

  “That’s right. I’d given up all hope of ever seeing her again and then I wake up on my boat and there she is. Damnedest thing I ever saw.”

  “It’s the Lord at work. He has brought you together.” Miss Brigham smiled. “Now I see the purpose of the storm. He wanted to bring you here to be reunited with your niece.”

  “He could have done that without destroying your town, couldn’t he?”

  “Yes, but perhaps He has something else in mind. Perhaps it is time for us to leave this place, to go to the mainland with you.”

  “That’s a good thought. My house is a bit small for all of you, though.”

  “I’m sure we can manage.”

  “Don’t any of you have family back on the mainland?”

  Miss Brigham shook her head. “Our families have been dead for quite some time. Except for Samantha, of course.”

  “You mean all these kids are orphans?”

  “I’m afraid so, Hector. I’m all they have now that Reverend Crane and Mr. Pryde are dead.”

  “That’s awful.” He blew another cloud of smoke that nearly made her gag. “Social services will have a bitch of a time finding foster homes for all of them.”

  “Foster homes? You mean they would break the children up?”

  “Well, yeah. Not like anyone can take in dozens of kids.”

  “Oh my.”

  “What’s wrong, Miss—”

  “Molly,” she said. She looked down at her feet. “The children have never been separated before. I don’t know if they’ll be able to cope. I don’t know if I’ll be able to cope.”

  Her heart leaped when he reached up to take her hand. “I’m sure a pretty young girl like you can find something to do with herself. You’ll probably have men lining up to take you out.”

  “You really think so?”

  “Of course. I’ll be first in line.”

  Miss Brigham’s face turned so warm, she thought she would pass out. “Thank you, Hector.”

  “No problem, Molly.”

  She leaned under the railing, drawn to him by some unseen force. Their lips had just touched when she heard footsteps approaching. Miss Brigham pulled away from Hector and then began trying to compose herself. She hoped her face didn’t look too red or too guilty.

  “I got the water, Miss Brigham,” Rebecca announced. She carried the gold bowl they used for communion.

  “Very good, Rebecca.” Miss Brigham got to her feet and then hurried down the steps. She rushed over to take the bowl from Rebecca, though she was careful not to spill any of the water. The last thing she wanted was to inadvertently make herself younger. She carried the bowl over to Hector and then knelt down in front of him.

  “That’s great, but I’m not really thirsty,” he said.

  “No, no, this isn’t to drink. Well, you could drink it but you don’t really need to—”

  “It’s medicine,” Rebecca said. “For your leg.”

  “I don’t think washing my foot is going to do much good.”

  “Just relax, Hector. Trust in the Lord.”

  “Oh, I see. This is that faith healing stuff. You going to say a prayer and whatnot and then God will magically heal me?”

  “You shouldn’t mock the Lord. He has provided this water for us, to keep us here for many years.”

  �
��Many years? Can’t be too long. That one girl couldn’t have been more than five.”

  “We’ve been here over three hundred years, Hector.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  “Not with the power of the Lord on our side. His power is in this holy water.”

  “Uh-huh. Holy water.”

  “It’s the Fountain of Youth,” Rebecca said.

  “Oh, sure, that makes sense.”

  “You don’t believe us. That’s perfectly understandable. I shouldn’t think I would believe such a cockamamie story either if I were you. It took a bit of explaining for Samantha to finally convince me it was real. Like Thomas, I finally had to see the proof for myself before I truly believed in the water’s power.”

  “Right—”

  Miss Brigham interrupted him by pouring some of the water on his leg. She made sure to use just a couple of tablespoons, enough to heal him without turning him into a little boy. It was a tempting thought to use more, to make him closer to her age, but she resisted this impulse. The fountain water was not to be used to suit her selfish desires.

  She held the bowl up then to watch as the water did its work. The purple bruise on Hector’s leg faded. She had perhaps used a bit too much, she noted as she saw the gray in his beard disappear. Some of the lines in his face smoothed away as well, only making him even more handsome.

  Miss Brigham passed the bowl of water to Rebecca so she could take the splint from his leg. His eyes widened as his foot hit the ground; he must not have felt any pain. She took his hand and then helped him up. He didn’t so much as wince as he took one step and then another.

  “It’s a miracle,” he said.

  “Yes, it is.”

  Chapter 18: Dropping In

  Through the trees, Samantha saw the sun high in the sky. It must be about noon by now. Still they had found no sign of Prudence. She hoped the boys were having better luck. Though knowing David and the other boys, they would only make a half-hearted search before returning to the ruins of the village. None of them had ever liked Prudence as she had. To them Prudence had just been the quiet fat girl who made their clothes. They didn’t understand beneath that flabby exterior was a wonderful person. A wonderful person Samantha had insulted and then abandoned for her own selfish pursuits.

  She was still mired in these thoughts when she heard something heavy rustle the brush. “What was that?” Wendell asked. Samantha only had time to see the yellow eyes before the black shape lunged.

  Her instincts took over, prompting her to roll to her right. The beast landed between her and Wendell; it looked no less dangerous than the one that had fallen from the cliff the day before. It looked from her to Wendell, sizing them up. Samantha knew it would go after the smaller prey, unless she drew its attention.

  She felt around the ground until her hand uncovered a rock about the size of her palm. She threw the rock as hard as she could, hitting the beast in the flank. As expected, it whirled around on her, baring its teeth. She screamed to Wendell, “Run!”

  He didn’t need to be told again. As Wendell bolted deeper into the forest, Samantha felt around for another rock or a stick or anything that could be a weapon. She didn’t find anything.

  By removing the rock she had loosened some of the dirt around her. She swiped at this with her hand, kicking up some of the dirt into the beast’s face. That gave her the distraction she needed to get to her feet and run in the opposite direction as Wendell.

  She heard the beast crashing through the brush behind her. It wouldn’t take long for it to catch up to her. She looked around for another tree branch that would be low enough to climb up. She didn’t see any strong enough to support her weight.

  If she knew where she was she could try to lure it over the cliff as she had with the other one, but she couldn’t be sure where she was in relation to the beach. The sound of the beast came closer, its growl becoming louder as it sensed it was getting close to a meal. Samantha didn’t have much time left.

  Then she saw what she needed: a thick branch sheared from its mother tree by a bolt of lightning. Samantha’s instincts took over again; she somersaulted over to the branch. She managed to grab the branch as she rolled past it.

  She tightened both hands around the branch and then swung blindly. She heard the beast whimper, meaning she must have made contact. Then Samantha saw the beast lying on the ground, stunned. She raised the branch over her head. She didn’t want to kill it, but there was no hope of taming Pryde’s beasts; he had trained them since birth to be vicious killers. That kind of programming could not be undone.

  Once she was certain the beast was dead, Samantha knelt down into the bushes to spew the fish she’d eaten for breakfast. This time she knew her period had nothing to do with it.

  ***

  Wendell had hoped to run back to the village for help. He knew the others would tease him for being weak and a girl, but he also knew he couldn’t rescue Samantha on his own, not from one of those beasts. Killing one of those required someone strong like David.

  His plan soon went awry as he realized he had no idea where he was. In his flight from the monster, he had run blindly into the woods. Now he could only see trees and bushes all around; they looked the same as all the other trees and bushes in this area.

  Then his foot caught a root and he found himself tumbling not to the ground, but through it. He plunged through the air, his arms flailing uselessly. He had just enough time to scream—a girlish scream even to his own ears—before he hit something firm yet soft. Even stranger, that something firm yet soft groaned.

  A moment later, he heard Prudence whisper, “Samantha?”

  “No, it’s me. Wendell.”

  “Oh, you. Where’s Samantha?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “You don’t know? Didn’t you come to rescue me?”

  “Well, we were looking for you. Then one of those monsters attacked us. Samantha distracted it so I could get help.”

  “And you ended up in here. Well done.”

  “I didn’t mean to fall in here. I was just running so fast—”

  “That’s what happened to me too. Now we’re both going to die.” It was too dark in the hole to see more than an outline of Prudence’s chubby face, but he could hear her crying.

  “We won’t die. Samantha will find us.”

  “No she won’t. She’ll never find us in here. We’ll end up just like the other one.”

  “What other one?”

  “The other one who fell in here. You’re probably sitting on her. Or him.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “When I fell in here, I found a skull. One of the other children fell in here and died, probably a long time ago.”

  Wendell got to his feet. He flailed around until he wound up tripping and falling back on top of Prudence. She shoved him off of her. “Stop it!”

  “It’s not my fault you take up the whole pit.”

  “I do not!”

  “You do so.” He heard Prudence crying again. He said, “I’m sorry. You don’t take up the whole pit.”

  “Just most of it.”

  “Um—”

  “It’s all right. I know I’m fat. Not for much longer. Soon I’ll be even skinnier than Samantha, just a pile of bones.”

  “Don’t talk like that. We’re going to get out of here.”

  “How?”

  “Well—” Wendell stopped to think it over. He gazed up at the top of the pit. “I could get on your shoulders. Maybe I could reach the top.”

  “That won’t work.”

  “We have to at least try. Unless you have a better idea.”

  “I guess we could try.”

  Prudence groaned again as she got to her feet. Then she shook her head. “It’s not going to work. We’re not tall enough.”

  “We’ll try anyway,” Wendell said. He waited for her to squat down so he could climb up on her back the way the toddlers did when they wanted a piggyback ride from Samantha
or Miss Brigham.

  Prudence grunted as she stood up with him on her shoulders. “Go on,” she said, her voice already strained from the effort.

  Wendell heard her groan a couple more times as he planted his feet on her shoulders. Then he stretched to his full height. As Prudence had said, it wasn’t going to work. He was still a good three feet from the top. “Get on your toes,” he said. “Stretch!”

  “I’ll try.”

  He had to plant a hand against the muddy side of the pit as Prudence managed to get him up another few inches. He in turn got on his toes. It wasn’t any good. He had narrowed the gap a little, but not enough to reach the top. And from what he could see, there weren’t any vines or roots or anything he could grab to pull himself up.

  He didn’t have any more time to try as Prudence gasped. He found himself tumbling through the air again, until he landed on her for a third time. “I told you,” she grumbled.

  “We’ll think of something. There has to be a way out.”

  “No there isn’t. We’re going to die here. Me and a stinky little boy no one likes.”

  “And I’m going to die with a big fat cow everyone laughs at.”

  “You’re a liar!”

  “Am not.”

  “Are too!” A few seconds later he heard Prudence sob. “You’re right. Everyone makes fun of me. Even Samantha.”

  “Prudence—”

  “Leave me alone.” In the dim light of their tomb, he saw her roll over onto her side, her back facing him. With a sigh he stared up at the top of the hole and began to pray for Samantha to find them.

  Chapter 19: Rescue

  Once again Samantha was lost. She had thought she knew the island well, but after getting lost two straight days, she knew that wasn’t true. She was still a stranger to Eternity, though at least now she knew why that was.

  Samantha didn’t belong on this island. She belonged on the mainland, in Portland, with Uncle Hector. As soon as she found Prudence and they fixed Uncle Hector’s boat, then she would finally go home.