close. She crawled deeper into the thorns. Something twitched just ahead of her. The rabbit poked its head out of a nook, eyed her with unconcealed astonishment, then disappeared down a hole in the ground.
Yes , I am as crazy as I look.
Anna dragged herself toward the rabbit’s hole, now flat on her belly, thorns digging into her scalp and palms and legs. Ancient dust and pollen drifted down out of the canopy. She was shaking vines that hadn’t been disturbed in years. When she reached the rabbit hole, it was too small for even her head to enter.
He didn’t say go down a rabbit hole, dummy, she scolded herself , he said lift the iron ring. He said…
Take care as you crawl, as you approach the entrance. Feel around under the brambles. Feel for the crumbling wooden planks. Do not crawl across them. They will not support even one as small as you. Run your fingers along the edge of the wood. Mind the splinters. You will find an iron ring. Lift it. Lift it only enough to slip inside. Lower yourself through the hole. Test each step before your weight is on it, the bottom is a long way down. It is very dark, but don’t worry, they will never find you here.
She searched the ground around her but did not discover any planks. What if this is the wrong thicket? she thought. But this had to be right. This was exactly where Joseph said it would be .
Unless he is just using you, said the other voice. Maybe he wanted you to blow up the factory and then lead the sisters on a chase so that he could sneak into the orphanage while they are away.
That is stupid , she thought . People try to sneak out of Saint Frances. Nobody sneaks in .
Sister Dolores did.
Shut up, she thought and dragged herself further into the brambles . He wanted me. Specifically me. He knew my name.
Nun’s voices carried on the breeze, too far away to be understood, but still way too close. Anna rummaged under the bed of leaves and dead bramble branches, finding no planks.
Her tunnel had narrowed to an end and she could go no further. She attempted to squirm backward, intending to try a different path, but as she did so, the vines and branches collapsed in on her. She struggled backward, but the harder she pushed, the tighter the brambles held her, the deeper the thorns bit her .
You are in the jaws of the briar monster and it has begun to chew , the other voice said in her head.
Shut up , she screamed back.
Anna’s arms ached with effort. Her eyes watered from the dust and her skin stung everywhere from countless punctures and scrapes. She let her head flop forward onto her arms, discovering that her neck ached as well. Come to think of it, her feet, ankles and knees felt used up, too. And she was so tired. Maybe I’ll just sleep here for a little bit , she thought.
Then she coughed.
The first cough snuck up on her. She hadn’t expected it, but now an entire herd of coughs were lining up for their chance to rat her out. The dust and pollen settled over her, thicker than the morning’s mist. Anna choked down one cough and stifled a second into her hands.
She didn’t hear any chatter from the search party. Had they moved away from her, or had they quieted to listen? Anna imagined them looking at each other, silent, asking with their eyes, “Did you hear that?” “Was that a cough?” “It was just a chipmunk or blue jay.” “Sounded like a little girl coughing, to me.”
She squinted into the darkness. Thick vines blocked the path ahead and to the left. A gap opened to the right, too narrow for her whole body, but wide enough to slip her arm through. She reached over, trying to feel for the boards beneath the leaves.
But, as her hand passed through the opening, she felt nothing. Nothing at all. Under the groundcover was nothing but thin air.
That’s it ! she thought. The vines clutched her tightly, much too tightly for any little girl to tear free of their grasp, but Anna did it anyway. The thorns punctured, then scraped, then deeply cut
Yes , I am as crazy as I look.
Anna dragged herself toward the rabbit’s hole, now flat on her belly, thorns digging into her scalp and palms and legs. Ancient dust and pollen drifted down out of the canopy. She was shaking vines that hadn’t been disturbed in years. When she reached the rabbit hole, it was too small for even her head to enter.
He didn’t say go down a rabbit hole, dummy, she scolded herself , he said lift the iron ring. He said…
Take care as you crawl, as you approach the entrance. Feel around under the brambles. Feel for the crumbling wooden planks. Do not crawl across them. They will not support even one as small as you. Run your fingers along the edge of the wood. Mind the splinters. You will find an iron ring. Lift it. Lift it only enough to slip inside. Lower yourself through the hole. Test each step before your weight is on it, the bottom is a long way down. It is very dark, but don’t worry, they will never find you here.
She searched the ground around her but did not discover any planks. What if this is the wrong thicket? she thought. But this had to be right. This was exactly where Joseph said it would be .
Unless he is just using you, said the other voice. Maybe he wanted you to blow up the factory and then lead the sisters on a chase so that he could sneak into the orphanage while they are away.
That is stupid , she thought . People try to sneak out of Saint Frances. Nobody sneaks in .
Sister Dolores did.
Shut up, she thought and dragged herself further into the brambles . He wanted me. Specifically me. He knew my name.
Nun’s voices carried on the breeze, too far away to be understood, but still way too close. Anna rummaged under the bed of leaves and dead bramble branches, finding no planks.
Her tunnel had narrowed to an end and she could go no further. She attempted to squirm backward, intending to try a different path, but as she did so, the vines and branches collapsed in on her. She struggled backward, but the harder she pushed, the tighter the brambles held her, the deeper the thorns bit her .
You are in the jaws of the briar monster and it has begun to chew , the other voice said in her head.
Shut up , she screamed back.
Anna’s arms ached with effort. Her eyes watered from the dust and her skin stung everywhere from countless punctures and scrapes. She let her head flop forward onto her arms, discovering that her neck ached as well. Come to think of it, her feet, ankles and knees felt used up, too. And she was so tired. Maybe I’ll just sleep here for a little bit , she thought.
Then she coughed.
The first cough snuck up on her. She hadn’t expected it, but now an entire herd of coughs were lining up for their chance to rat her out. The dust and pollen settled over her, thicker than the morning’s mist. Anna choked down one cough and stifled a second into her hands.
She didn’t hear any chatter from the search party. Had they moved away from her, or had they quieted to listen? Anna imagined them looking at each other, silent, asking with their eyes, “Did you hear that?” “Was that a cough?” “It was just a chipmunk or blue jay.” “Sounded like a little girl coughing, to me.”
She squinted into the darkness. Thick vines blocked the path ahead and to the left. A gap opened to the right, too narrow for her whole body, but wide enough to slip her arm through. She reached over, trying to feel for the boards beneath the leaves.
But, as her hand passed through the opening, she felt nothing. Nothing at all. Under the groundcover was nothing but thin air.
That’s it ! she thought. The vines clutched her tightly, much too tightly for any little girl to tear free of their grasp, but Anna did it anyway. The thorns punctured, then scraped, then deeply cut
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