Chapter P10: Molly Strikes Back

Chapter P10: Molly Strikes Back

Molly watched Joseph retreat from view and then looked down at the bodies of Helena and Phyllis. Veronica had killed them. She had killed them with so little thought, as if she were swatting mosquitoes. How could Molly have been so wrong about Veronica all these years?

She was never my friend, Molly thought, touching the mud-stained hem of her dress. Veronica had used her, just as she had used David and even Samantha to get what she wanted. Now she would use Joseph to clear away the algae so she could have access to the Fountain of Youth again.

All of this was Molly’s fault. She thought back to that moment in the cave when Rebecca tottered on the brink of the fountain. If Molly had only pulled Rebecca—the girl who had raised her from an infant—back from the edge everything would have been different. How could she have let Mama Becky die? I was an angry little girl, Molly thought.

This thought did little to comfort her when she again looked down at Helena and Phyllis. They had died because of Molly’s grudge against the best mother anyone could have. Samantha, Prudence, Wendell, and David were gone too thanks to her. How many more would have to pay for her mistake?

She couldn’t let Veronica take Joseph to Seabrooke. She had to stop them somehow, but she was too little to fight Veronica. She needed help.

Molly ran into town, waving her arms and shouting for help. “Oh, look who’s back,” one of the boys who’d tormented her earlier said. “What’s wrong, do you need your diaper changed?”

“Helena and Phyllis are dead and she’s going to kill Joseph. You have to help me stop her. Please,” Molly said.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Veronica! She killed them.”

“Who are Helena and Phyllis?” one of the other boys asked.

“Her imaginary friends.”

“They are not. You saw them earlier. They were with Joseph and I. She killed them and now she’s going to kill him.”

The boys laughed in unison. One shoved her into the same mud puddle as earlier. “Stupid baby,” they chanted again. The boys shoved her face into the puddle, waiting until her lungs burned before they let her up. They walked away, their laughter fading away. Molly rolled over to wipe the mud from her eyes.

A hand touched her face. She raised her hands to protect herself from more torture. “It’s all right,” a girl’s voice said. “You’re safe now, Molly.”

Molly opened her eyes to see a sandy-haired girl in a powder blue dress. The girl helped Molly stand up. “Annie? You’ve got to help me. Veronica’s gone mad. She killed Helena and Phyllis and now she’ll kill Joseph.”

“I know,” Annie said.

“You saw?” Annie nodded. “But then why didn’t you help us? We might have been able to stop her.”

“What happened is what was meant to happen.”

“How do you know?”

Annie closed her eyes, the rest of her face tightening as though straining to hear a distant voice. “I hear it speaking to me. The fountain. For the last seven years I’ve heard it. It’s guiding us to our final destiny and you, Molly, have played the greatest role in shaping that fate.” Annie opened her eyes and patted Molly on the cheek. “On the outside you are a child, but inside you still have a grownup’s soul. Remember that.”

“But what about Veronica? How can I stop her?”

“When the time comes, you’ll know what to do.” From the pockets of her dress, Annie produced a handful of stones. “These will allow you to free Joseph. If you run, you should be able to overtake them before they reach the shore.”

“Thank you,” Molly said. She took the stones and then hurried away. She passed the fallen bodies of Helena and Phyllis and then bolted into the forest to try and catch Veronica before it was too late.

As Annie had predicted, Molly overtook Veronica and Joseph, catching sight of them in the forest about halfway to the shore. They picked their way carefully through the forest, Joseph leading the way while Veronica hung back a step with her knife at the ready in case he tried anything. They didn’t give any sign of seeing her, so she crawled forward through the brush to find a better position for an ambush.

She located a small clearing about fifty feet away and found a spot among the brush to wait. The stones turned slippery in her sweaty palms. She didn’t know what good a handful of rocks could do against Veronica, but then she thought of David and Goliath. Please God, guide my rocks like you did David’s, she prayed.

Joseph appeared at the edge of the clearing, followed by Veronica. Molly waited in silence until they reached the center before she threw the first rock at Veronica’s head. The marble-sized rock struck Veronica in the shoulder. “What the hell was that?” she said.

“What?” Joseph said.

“Something hit me. You better not be up to anything.”

“I didn’t do anything.” Molly threw the next rock, a bigger one that hit Veronica on the arm. She only had three stones left. I can’t miss, she thought.

“Let’s get moving,” Veronica said. She pushed Joseph forward. Molly reared back to throw the next stone. She picked the largest one, the size of a golf ball, and hurled it as hard as she could, saying another prayer as she threw.

The rock struck Veronica in the back of the head. She stumbled forward, collapsing to the ground. Molly burst out of the brush towards Joseph. “Joey, run!” she said. She took his hand and together they ran into the forest, Veronica roaring curses after them.

“Where are we going?” Joseph asked.

“Where it all started,” Molly said.