Island Angels

Super Grotto

Brittany gasped. "Alfred did it!"

"Not my son." Opal Mildred snarled. "Nitwit! Pull me out of this pit!"

"But he—he must be with you," the child stammered. "He's somewhere..."

"Don't look. You found me, set me free. Instantly!"

"All right, I'll give you a tug," Brittany said.

She lay on the wet grass, leaned into the hole, and grabbed the old woman's torso. Floundering like a trapped fish, Opal maneuvered her way to the top. Brittany shoved her, and she rolled onto the ground.

"You're tough," Brittany observed. "How can you climb out of a cistern when you can't walk without a cane?"

"Fiddlesticks." She grasped Brittany's arm with a crushing grip and pulled herself to her feet. "I am a woman of grace. Never before I did fall into that hole. I blame the cow who moved the boards."

Cow? Opal Mildred often called Mom a cow, but she never left the house. Blair? Not strong enough. Delaina? Maybe. Or, could it be...

"The new Opal Mildred!" Brittany cried.

"I'll have you know that I am the real Opal," she raged. "Hours I've spent, down this pit, thanks to that boor who shares my name."

"What have you been doing down there?"

"What I do is my business, young lady. This is my personal cistern."

"If it's really yours, you should know to step around it." Brittany took her hand. "You'd better go inside to bed. Hope you don't mind sharing with Mom."

"That pig?"

"Or, you could spend the night outside. You never told me where Alfred and Blair went."

"How should I know where they went?"

"They're together!" Brittany cried. "That means he kidnapped her!"

One step, two, three...Brittany climbed the corkscrew staircase.

Opal Mildred had crawled into bed beside Mom. She hadn't thanked Brittany for rescuing her, but neither had she ordered her off the property. The child could return to her attic bedroom.

Yet, she couldn't.

How can I sleep, knowing Blair is with Alfred? she thought. Captain Cummings hasn't found her. What if he's given up? Does he know about the kidnapping?

She stood dumbly at the foot of the stairs. Could she walk to the lighthouse, alone, without a flashlight? Delaina was gone. Would God send another angel? If only she had Rhonda's magic prayer cloth!

Then, the knocks came.

At first, they were only vibrations on the floor. Then the vibrations became audible. Rap, rap, rap—pause—rap, rap, rap—pause. Someone was in the basement!

Brittany dashed to the heating vent. "Who's down there?"

Grotto called, "I've got a flashlight! Meet me by the cistern."

Careful to avoid the open pit, she flew to the backyard. "Why did you creep into our basement?" she asked. "It's after eleven."

"You want to find Blair, don't you?"