“So, what do you think?” Jill asked her sister.

“Well,” Jackie replied with a sigh, sitting on the couch, “it doesn’t appear to be anything serious. From what you’ve told me about how it’s been progressing, she should be feeling better within a day or two. Just keep her well-hydrated, and make sure you get some food into her.” She turned to Jill and added, “And when I say ‘food,’ I do not mean your infamous onion and garlic soup.”

“See?” Edna murmured, lightly elbowing Jill.

“Oh, hush,” Jill hissed. To her sister, she said, “Anything else?”

“Try to keep her cool. Bring a fan into her room, or put an ice pack in her pillowcase. Anything like that. It’ll help to bring the fever down a bit,” Jackie replied. “If her fever goes up any more, call me, or bring Angela into the hospital.”

“Thank you so much for coming by,” Edna said gratefully. “Would you like something to eat or drink?”

“Well, I would like something to drink, if it’s not too much trouble.”


Ophelia scrambled out of the hedge, looking horrified. She brushed her hair out of her face and hurried away from the section of the hedge that she’d just emerged from. She stood shakily, back against a wall of hedges-- a safer-seeming one, at any rate-- and stared, her face pale. She shuddered and muttered to herself, “Oh my God… that weird thing with the red wheelbarrow-pyramid-whatchamajiggy on its head and the huge sword thing… that was scary. Reminded me of Dunstan.”

Ophelia breathed slowly, trying to steady herself. Calm down, she commanded herself. If you freak out now, you won’t be able to save your friends. And it’s your fault that Emily, Tiffani, and AJ are having God knows what being done to them right now. She squared her shoulders, determined now. I’m going to save them, or… uh, well, I’m not going to die trying, but… okay, yeah, I better get moving now, instead of thinking about it. Guys, I’m on my way! It can’t be that much farther, can it? Right?

Ophelia grinned, feeling more or less confident, and began running again. She ran for several minutes before nearly running into a man with brown hair. “Hey,” he called out, as she ran past. “Have you seen a little girl? Short, black hair…”

“Sorry, dude, can’t help you,” Ophelia yelled over her shoulder.

The man sighed, watched her, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a cell phone. He dialed a number. “James?” he said into the phone. “Yeah, it’s me, Harry. Looks like the ‘Emilia’ thing might not work on her. Huh? Yeah, well… guess she’s not as stupid as you are. Give my best to Maria.”

________________________________________

“Question three hundred and thirty-three,” the recorded voice intoned, “Have you ever had feelings for Ophelia Foley?”

“I’m not answering that,” AJ yelled.

“Yes, he has!” Emily and Tiffani both yelled.

“Damn it, AJ, if I get my feet zapped one more time, and if we ever get out of here, I am going to seriously kill you!” Tiffani yelled.

“And I’m going to let her,” Emily added angrily. “I am ****ing sick and tired of getting zapped because of this.” She took a deep breath and bellowed, “We are getting hurt because you don’t want to admit to the truth, you dumb *******!”

AJ stared in shock at his sister, trying to decide what was more shocking to him: her uncharacteristic anger, or her swearing.

Angela giggled to herself as she watched the madness. It was better than any movie she'd ever seen.

“How are things going?” Dunstan asked. Angela grinned in response and shut off the monitors. Then, she recognized the expression on Dunstan’s face.

“She’s almost here, isn’t she?” Angela asked. Dunstan nodded silently. “So, what are you going to do? You’re not just going to let her take them home, right? I mean, she’s learned nothing from all this. People never do. That's what you always tell me.”

“Angela, shut up,” Dunstan snapped. “This isn’t over yet. It’s time to resort to drastic measures and mind games.”

“You don’t mean…”

“Yes.”

“But what if--”

“It’ll work.”

Angela watched Dunstan stomp away, muttering to himself. She shook her head, and then turned back to the monitors.

_______________________________________

“I… I made it!” Ophelia gasped, standing outside the small building. “I just need to go in!”

“Not so fast,” Dunstan said, placing his hand on her shoulder. Ophelia cried out in astonishment.

“You!” Ophelia exclaimed. “I’m going in there to save my friends.”

“What makes you so sure they’re in there?” Dunstan asked.

“What do you mean?”

“I never said they were being kept in here, did I?”

“No.”

“I never said you had to go through the labyrinth, did I?”

“No.”

“Then why did you do it?”

“Because it’s obviously where my friends are being kept,” Ophelia snapped. “It would be pretty damn anticlimactic to find out that I didn’t have to do any of that stuff.”

Dunstan sighed. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said slowly. “You’re pretty smart.” He held out his hand. “Okay, you win.”

Ophelia smiled and reached out to take his hand. Dunstan moved quickly, pressing his other hand, clutching a chloroform-soaked cloth, over her nose and mouth. Ophelia struggled but soon fell unconscious. Dunstan smirked to himself.

“Works every time,” he muttered. He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. “Let the final game begin.”