Children of Eternity Omnibus

by P. T. Dilloway

  Joseph took her by the shoulders before she could run. “Samantha, stop worrying. You’re better looking than all these girls. They’re hideous compared to you.”

  “You’re just saying that to make me feel better.”

  “I’m not. There isn’t one of them I’d rather have with me. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and let’s go inside.”

  Joseph tugged her inside, catching her when she stumbled. She kept her head down to avoid looking at anyone else as she browsed the racks. She touched a few of the shirts tentatively, as though they would bite her. “Oh for God’s sake,” Joseph said. He yanked a light blue shirt off a hanger, then a pair of jeans, and finally a pink jacket trimmed with white fur. “Go in and try these on.”

  “But—”

  “Just do it,” he snapped. She put her head down and plodded into a fitting room. After she took off Mrs. Pryde’s old clothes, she tried on the shirt and pants Joseph had given her. She looked into the mirror and stumbled back into the door. Is that me? she wondered in disbelief.

  She spun around in the mirror, amazed at how well the clothes fit. Unlike Mrs. Pryde’s old shirt and pants, these complemented the new figure Joseph had given her so that she could see womanly curves like the blonde woman’s in the window.

  She opened the door and found Joseph waiting for her. The look of awe on his face confirmed what she’d seen in the mirror. “You look wonderful,” he said, his voice like a gasp.

  “Thank you,” she said, blushing at the compliment.

  “You better go change so we can check these out.”

  She turned towards the fitting room, but then stopped. “I don’t have any money,” she said. “I gave everything to Prudence and Wendell.”

  “Don’t worry. I’ll take care of it. Go in and change.”

  She changed back into Mrs. Pryde’s clothes, avoiding the mirror to preserve the beautiful image she’d seen. Then she followed Joseph to the front counter, where a girl rang up the clothes. “Did you find what you were looking for?” she asked.

  “We sure did,” Joseph said. The girl gave them the total and Samantha’s knees almost buckled. Joseph seemed unconcerned by the cost; he pulled a plastic card out of his wallet and handed it to the girl.

  “Are you sure you can afford this?” Samantha whispered.

  “I told you, don’t worry.” He signed a piece of paper and then the girl handed a bag to Samantha.

  He led her down a long hallway of lockers like those in the high school, at the end of which was a bathroom. “I’ll be right here when you get back,” he said.

  She took the clothes into a bathroom stall and almost tore off Mrs. Pryde’s old clothes in her hurry. Samantha donned the new shirt, pants, and jacket, feeling a surge of confidence as she did so. No one could look down on her in these.

  She stopped at the bathroom sinks to tease her hair. She should ask Joseph for some shampoo and conditioner to get rid of the split ends. She needed some makeup for her face too. A little blush would bring out her cheekbones and some eyeliner would add body to her lashes. And of course she needed moisturizer for her skin with this cold air drying her out.

  She emerged from the bathroom with a dainty spin so Joseph could admire her from every angle. “What do you think?”

  “I think you’re the most beautiful girl in the world.” He took her into his arms and kissed her on the cheek. He led her back down the hallway into the mall’s corridor. This time when a group of girls neared them, Samantha noticed the way their conversation stopped and they snuck jealous glances at she and Joseph. She put her arm through Joseph’s and followed him along the rows of stores, walking slow enough so everyone could get a good look at them.

  Chapter 24: Second First Kiss

  Samantha held up the yellow cup so Joseph could see the logo. “Doesn’t this Wendy girl look almost like Wendell?”

  “You know, it does,” Joseph said. “You should get him some ribbons and a dress.” They both laughed at this and then Samantha sucked on her straw. The sweet bubbles from what Joseph called Mountain Dew tickled her throat, causing her to giggle again. I could get used to this.

  Not just the Mountain Dew, but having Joseph sitting across the little table from her, his pink lips opening and white teeth sinking into the bread and meat of his sandwich. A hamburger, she corrected herself. He dabbed self-consciously at a spot of grease in his beard, his cheeks turning red. “Do I have something in my teeth?” he asked. She shook her head. “The way you were looking at me, I thought—”

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable,” she said. “I’ve never watched anyone eat a hamburger before.”

  “How long have you lived with your cousins?”

  “Since I was six,” she said. She didn’t consider this a lie so much as a bending of truth. After Reverend Crane’s demise she had become six years old, though now she knew she was much older than that. Joseph couldn’t begin to understand the strangeness of her life—what she remembered so far.

  “What about your parents? What happened to them?”

  “They died in a car accident,” she said. “So I came to live with my cousins in their community.”

  “Where’s that at? I don’t remember hearing about any Amish towns in Maine,” Joseph said.

  “It’s not really in Maine,” she said. “It’s an island.”

  “Oh, I guess that makes sense. And you’ve never left the island since you were six?”

  “I tried once a couple years ago,” she said. “I tried to run away but I didn’t get far.”

  “It must have been a pretty horrible place. I can’t imagine living somewhere so primitive.”

  “It’s not like we’re cavemen or anything,” Samantha said. She threw down her hamburger in disgust at his condescension. Eternity was a beautiful place, especially in the spring when the trees began to bloom and in fall when the leaves changed to fiery shades of red, orange, and yellow. She thought of hot summer days in the stream, splashing Prudence on the shore and racing Rebecca or one of the other girls—she always lost and then dunked the winner underwater.

  Those days were gone now. Knowing what she was now, she couldn’t go back there. She couldn’t wait for the darkness submerged within herself to erupt to the surface. She couldn’t risk that awful woman she had been to make an appearance.

  “I’m sorry,” Joseph said. He reached across the table to wipe away tears she didn’t know were there. “I didn’t mean it like that. It’s hard for me to understand growing up without a TV or telephone or computer. It’s like Robinson Crusoe or Gilligan’s Island or something. But I’m sure it’s great. I mean it would have to be. Look how you turned out.”

  “You don’t know me,” she said.

  “I want to know you. He smiled at her and took her hand. “I think you’re the most wonderful girl I’ve ever met.”

  “I don’t know about that,” she said.

  “There’s something I want to show you, back in Seabrooke. I think it’ll make you feel a lot better.” He helped her stand and then led her back to his father’s car. Outside, artificial lights of every color lit up the buildings around them, drowning out the stars. How could anyone stand to live underneath this gray-orange sky?

  As they left Bangor, Samantha looked down at the floor at the fur-trimmed boots Joseph had bought her. She owed him so much already for making her beautiful and buying her new clothes. He had been so kind and understanding with her. As much as she would like to stay with him longer, she couldn’t for the same reason she couldn’t stay in Eternity. She didn’t want to hurt him the way she would have hurt Miss Brigham nine years ago if Pryde hadn’t stopped her. The way she had probably harmed countless people over her years on the run.

  “Joseph, I—”

  “We’re almost there,” he said. “I know this sounds weird, but would you put this over your eyes? I want it to be a surprise.” He held out the elastic headband she’d bought earlier to keep her longer hair out of her face. For a mome
nt she thought about protesting, but then decided to humor him; maybe it would soften the blow when she told him she had to go.

  She put the headband over her eyes, the fabric pressing against her face recalling the memory of Pryde stuffing her into a sack before transporting her to Eternity. Her pulse sped up and her body stiffened with fear. After all he’d done, Joseph couldn’t be leading her into some kind of trap, could he? “Where are we going?” she asked.

  “To a very special place,” he said. “A place my mom and I used to go to when I was little.” A place where he’ll probably hack me to pieces, she thought.

  The automobile pulled off the road and skidded to a stop. Samantha waited until she heard Joseph get out to peek over the top of the blindfold. She saw only snow and trees in the automobile’s headlights. I should get out of here before it’s too late, she thought. The door opened and he took her hand. “Watch your head,” he said.

  She managed to get out of the car without incident and then found herself being led up a slope, snow coming up to her knees. Joseph kept an arm around her shoulders and once had to steer her around a rock. An owl hooted in the distance while the scent of pine filled Samantha’s nostrils.

  The farther they went, the more she thought of the collection of bones in Pryde’s cellar. Joseph was a distant relative of Jonas Pryde; could he have the same homicidal tendencies? Maybe he routinely brought girls up here to slaughter. Maybe everything he’d done for her so far was a ruse to lure her into his trap. “My feet are getting wet. Let’s go back,” she said.

  “It’s not much farther,” he said. Samantha’s hands twitched with a life of their own as she imagined how she could incapacitate him. Grab his hand from around her shoulder, spin him around, toss him to the ground, and then—

  She didn’t want to think about the finishing move. I have to get out of here, she thought. She had to leave before this dark, nameless beast within her struck out at Joseph. No matter what his intention for bringing her out here, she didn’t want to hurt him. She couldn’t.

  They came to a stop and he said, “Ta da.” He removed the blindfold from her eyes and she found not a pile of bones, but a wondrous spectacle of nature.

  They stood atop a barren hill with the lights of Seabrooke twinkling beneath them to the right and beyond that, the sea sparkling in the moonlight. Above, the stars shone brighter than ever. “It’s beautiful,” she said.

  “It’s better in the spring and fall when the weather is better. My mom and I used to come up here when my dad was out at sea. She would point to a tiny little boat out there and say, ‘There’s Daddy.’ I believed her, although how she could tell, I have no idea. It probably wasn’t his boat at all, but it always made me feel better.”

  “Your mother must have really loved your father,” Samantha said. “I wish I could remember my parents. I can only remember the night they died. I wish I could remember something else about them, anything else.”

  “I’m sure they loved you.”

  “Maybe,” she said, the word trailing into the night. They probably had loved her, but how could they love what she had become after they died? It’s just as well they never got a chance to see what a horrible person I became, she thought.

  “I shouldn’t have brought you up here,” he said. “I thought it would make you feel better, but now you’re only feeling worse. I’m such an idiot!”

  “It’s not your fault. I’m glad you brought me up here so I could see this. It’s beautiful. Everything about today has been beautiful. I can’t remember such a great day.”

  She leaned towards him to kiss him on the cheek. At the last moment he turned so that her lips ended up touching his. She didn’t mind. She pressed her body against his, throwing her arms around his shoulders. In her mind, she saw a pair of lips with a purplish tint to them. Another first kiss long ago, before she became a monster. No, she couldn’t think about that now. She wanted to enjoy this moment forever. She wanted to stay up here with Joseph, where nothing could ever harm them, forever. Let the rest of the world disappear; they only needed each other. That was enough for her.

  Chapter 25: The Showdown

  Prudence lay on the couch in the living room, waiting for any sign of Samantha. She, Wendell, and Mr. Pryde had searched all day without finding Samantha or Joseph. The police had no idea where they might have gone. By the time the sun went down, Mr. Pryde called an end to their search.

  She’s left us, Prudence thought for at least the hundredth time that day. “I’ll see you guys later. Don’t wait up,” she had said. Those were her final words. Nine years and Prudence didn’t even merit a proper farewell. That boy, she thought. He’s taken possession of her somehow and twisted her brain.

  Upstairs, Wendell sat in the closet of his bedroom. In the dark space between boxes marked ‘Christmas Lights’ and ‘Easter Baskets’ Wendell contemplated the lost opportunity. It’s Prudence’s fault, he thought. That fat pig was always staying close to Samantha, keeping Wendell from talking to her. How could he pour his heart out with that pig right there?

  Something touched Wendell’s leg and he started, thinking it was a rat. Instead, he picked up a bundle of papers that had fallen from somewhere. He reached up to open the door, letting enough moonlight in to see the word ‘Playboy’ in block letters at the top of the first page. Beneath this, a blonde woman lay curled up on some kind of couch, leering at Wendell.

  He threw the magazine away in disgust. What did it matter anymore? She had gone. Gone with him. That stupid, hairy beast who carted her away while Wendell stood there and did nothing. He should have challenged the boy to a fight. He no doubt would have lost, but at least Samantha would have known how much he cared about her. She would have known he would do anything for her—die if he must.

  At first Prudence thought the sound of the front door opening must be in her dreams. Then she heard Samantha whispering. Prudence heaved herself off the couch and ran to the front hall, where Samantha and Joseph were kissing. Prudence stood there and watched their bodies curl around each other, gasps, smacks, and moans escaping from their interlocked lips. Then Samantha’s eyes opened and she leapt back from Joseph. “Prudence, what are you doing?” she squealed.

  “I’m sorry,” Prudence mumbled.

  “Go to bed,” Joseph commanded as though she were a small child. A shadow covered half his face, but she saw the look of impatience on the other half. He didn’t have any right to be angry with her. She hadn’t done anything wrong. She wasn’t the one who had disappeared all day.

  “Where have you been?” she asked.

  “We went to Bangor and went shopping. You should have seen all the wonderful clothes stores. It would have been heaven for you. We ate ice cream and cookies and hamburgers. I’ve never had so much fun in all my life,” Samantha said.

  “We’ve all been worried sick about you. Why couldn’t you tell us where you were going?”

  “You’re not her mother, so stop acting like it,” Joseph said. Samantha jerked at this statement as though someone had slapped her. “I’m sorry, Sam. I just meant she doesn’t have any right to go sticking her nose into our business.”

  “Yeah, well, I do,” Mr. Pryde called out. He stomped out of the kitchen, his face dark except for the butt of his cigarette. “I told you not to go off driving that car. You ain’t got a license yet.”

  “Mr. Pryde, it’s my fault,” Samantha said.

  “You stay out of this, little girl. Take your cousin and go upstairs until I’m ready to deal with you.”

  “Don’t talk to her like that,” Joseph said.

  “Boy, don’t start with me. You’re in enough trouble as it is. First thing tomorrow you’re going with me to apologize to the sheriff for wasting his time. Then you’re going to help me on the boat for the next month. Maybe some real work will straighten you out.”

  “No,” Joseph said. “You can’t make us do anything.”

  “You think because you’re fifteen I can’t still take you over my knee?
”

  “I’d like to see you try.”

  “Please, don’t fight. Let’s go in the kitchen and talk,” Samantha said. She tried to put herself between the Pryde men, but Joseph took her by the shoulder and pushed her towards Prudence. Samantha stumbled, falling on her rear at Prudence’s feet. “Don’t!” she shouted, but it was too late.

  Mr. Pryde snuffed out his cigarette and then took a step towards his son. Joseph swung wildly, the blow catching nothing but air. Mr. Pryde caught his son’s arm and shoved the boy back against the wall. Samantha screamed, a sharp, piercing shriek that caused Prudence to cover her ears. She gathered up the weeping Samantha and mumbled assurances into her ears.

  Wendell heard the scream and recognized it as belonging to Samantha. He bolted from the bedroom and down the stairs to find the Prydes grappling by the front door. Mr. Pryde sat on top of his son, pinning him to the floor. Near the living room doorway, Samantha hugged Prudence, whose face couldn’t contain the joy at being reunited with Samantha.

  Wendell leapt over the stair railing to hurry over to Samantha’s side. “You’re back!” he said.

  “Is it over?” Samantha asked.

  “Not yet, dear,” Prudence said, stroking Samantha’s hair as she would Molly’s after a nightmare.

  “Where have you been? There’s so much I need to tell you,” Wendell blurted out. He didn’t care about the Prydes wrestling on the floor or this lummox Prudence holding Samantha. He had missed too many chances already. “Samantha, I—”

  An enraged scream cut off his words. Joseph Pryde lay in a gasping heap while his father stood and lit a cigarette. “Everyone get to your bedrooms. Now!” Mr. Pryde roared.

  “You aren’t going to hurt him, are you?” Samantha asked, her voice muffled by sobs and layers of Prudence’s fat.