My Three Cousins

Chapter Twenty-Nine

I was running in the direction of Helen's scream before I even realized my feet had moved.  My heart was pounding, and I couldn't think of anything other than getting to my cousin.  At the last second, I paused, realizing that maintaining the element of surprise might be to my benefit.  I ducked behind the corner of the house; the pond was still a way off in the distance and I could see the electric man moving toward Joan, who was doing everything in her power to stay out of his reach.  Despite the scream I didn't see Helen.

Joan's reflexes were keeping her a few steps ahead of the electric man who seemed to be shooting bolts of lightning from his hands.  Each time I thought he would catch her she managed to dart out of the way just in time.  Despite my earlier bravado, my fear froze me in place.  I knew that there was no point in running out to help Joan because, unlike her, my reactions weren't helped by magic.  With slower reaction I wouldn't be able to avoid lightning bolts and I knew my cousin well enough to know that, despite our differences, seeing me struck by lightning would be a distraction.

Still, I knew I couldn't stand and watch my cousin get attacked, eventually she would grow tired and he would have the upper hand.  Joan had now leaped over a pile of leaves on the ground and managed to grab a hold of a tree branch to swing away from the next lightning strike.  From my perspective, I could only assume that her thoughts were on staying alive and all plans of positioning him correctly had gone out the window.

Instead of running out to help Joan, I turned and ran around to the front door of the house.  I was hoping I would be able to find Ruth or Helen to come up with a plan.  I briefly sent out a plea to the universe to let Joan be strong enough to keep ahead of him until I could return with help.  

Inside the house the furniture was tipped over and the place looked as though a storm had blown through.  Mirrors were broken and glass was smashed everywhere.  I could hear the sizzle of electricity running through the house more than usual, but every light was off.  As much as I wanted to hurry, I had to be careful where I stepped and what I touched.  Now that I was inside, I wasn't afraid of him hearing me, so I began to quietly call out for Ruth and Helen.

Finally, over the hum of the electric current I heard a strangled voice.

"Where are you?"  I called again, hoping they'd yell out to me louder this time.

"Here," the voice answered, and I couldn't tell if it was Ruth or Helen, but it sounded like it was coming from the back of the house.  I carefully made my way that direction and as I did the sound of the electric current grew louder until it was almost deafening.  By the time I made it to the kitchen I was holding my hands over my ears.

"Stop!"  A panicked voice yelled over the noise, and I looked up to see Ruth trapped on top of the kitchen island.  The floor was covered in cords, metal hangers, and appliances.  It had a bright electric glow and seemed to be the source of the sound that emanated around the house.

"Ruth!"  I yelled, relieved to see her.

"Don't come in here," she gestured to the floor as if I hadn't already seen it.

"Wait, I'll get you out," I promised as if I had any clue how to do what I was saying.  I took a step back away from the kitchen and looked around me, trying to find an answer.  I tried to remember everything Ruth had told us about electricity but in my panic my mind was going blank.

I took deep breaths to calm my body and then tried to think through the situation.  Ruth knew more about electricity than me so if the answer was in those books, she would know it and would be doing it, unless it was out of her reach.  Some of her words came back to me and I remembered I should be using rubber or wood to avoid getting shocked.  As I looked into the kitchen, I got the sickening feeling that rubber and wood wouldn't be enough.  There was more electricity concentrated on the floor than I'd ever seen in one place in my life.  I couldn't just toss Ruth rubber boots and expect her to survive.

I tried to think about what they kept in the tunnel room as if something there might help me.  I ran through the last time I had seen the room when Fitz was combing the shelves for clues about what was going on, but my mind kept getting stuck not on what Fitz was looking at in the room, but what he said to me after.  "Then why'd you lie about what was in the room?"

It finally clicked, I didn't need what was in the room at the end of the tunnel, I needed what wasn't there.  I immediately took off toward the closed in back porch, once there I looked around for anything that could be an electric panel.  There was a large metal cylinder in the corner that I knew to be the water heater and then right behind it I saw a silver panel on the wall.  I opened the panel to find rows and rows of switches.  I knew I didn't have time to read them all, so I just flipped them in the opposite direction.  The panel came aglow with tiny, red off lights and the house grew instantly quieter.

I ran back to the kitchen doorway.  The floor wasn't as bright and I could hear Ruth, "I think it's still electric."  She seemed worried about the idea of getting down off the island.

"I do too," I agreed, noting a faint hum here that wasn't in the rest of the house.  "I have an idea."  With that I ran back into the dining room and pulled a leaf off the kitchen table.  I carried the large board in and extended one end toward Ruth.  She took it in her glowing hands and focused on the wood for a moment.  As I watched her, I could only think about Joan outside battling the electric man alone and I wished Ruth's power would work faster.

She finally stopped and dropped the board onto the kitchen floor.  "Back up Addison," she yelled, and I stepped out of the doorway.  There was a thud from inside the kitchen followed by the sound of rushed footsteps then Ruth came flying in through the door.  Her jump had been too forceful, and she collided with the dining room wall, but other than that she was unharmed.

As soon as she could stand up straight, she threw her arms around me in a desperate hug.  "You all came back for us?"  She asked hopefully.

"Just me," I said, and her face fell.  "We need to find Helen then get outside to help Joan.  I don't know how much longer she can fight him off on her own."

At this Ruth looked confused.  "What do you mean?"

"I saw Joan when I came in and she was avoiding the electric man's attacks, but she'd be stronger if we could find Helen and you three could get him near the water.  I think we could carry out some version of the plan." 

"But Addison, Joan and Helen were together, they both followed him outside."  Ruth's words were detached like she couldn't understand what this could mean and thought maybe I had made a mistake, but my heart sunk.