He lies on the deck a moment, staring up at the sun. Then her face fills his vision. "Are you all right?" she asks. He nods before turning to spit out a gallon of water. "I thought…I thought you were-" Instead of finishing the sentence, she kisses him on the lips. "I love you," she says.
The passion in her kiss is not the kiss of a mother to a son, but something else. He looks upon her with new eyes, seeing not a mother, but a beautiful young woman. He knows her, but from where? All at once she shrinks into a toddler, her taut muscles turning to flab and her bikini blossoming into a frilly dress. "Samantha," he whispers. She opens her mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a scream-
Joey awoke to hear someone banging on the cellar door. He wobbled to his feet, his body sore from head to toe from the "games" Helena and Phyllis played with him. He gathered up his ragged clothes and approached the door.
"Who's there?" Helena called out.
"It's Molly. I have to get Joey out of there. She's coming and she's awful mad at him. She says she's going to cut him up into little pieces."
"What? Why?" Joey asked.
"She said it didn't work. I'm not sure what. Oh, I can't get this door to open. I'm too little." Through the door, Joey heard her crying.
"You can do it," Joey said. "I know you can."
She grunted loud enough for him to hear through the door. An instant later, the cellar door opened. Molly, her face red from the effort and crying, fell into Joey's arms. "We have to go," she said. "We have to get off the island."
"We want to come too," Helena said.
"We don't want to stay here anymore," Phyllis added.
"Fine. Help me carry Molly." Phyllis took one of Molly's arms and Joey the other. Helena trailed behind as they hurried out of the pantry.
Children were scattered all over town. Some lay sleeping in the street while others shouted and played. The trio of boys that had stolen Molly's hair ribbon earlier approached her and the others. "What's wrong with the baby? Does she need a nap?" one of the boys asked.
"Maybe she needs her diaper changed," another said. All three laughed at this.
"She's sick," Joey said. "We're taking her home to rest."
One of the boys reached out to pinch Molly's cheek. "Aw, baby needs a nappy-pooh. She's all tuckered out."
"Leave her alone," Joey said. "She's a lot braver than you'll ever be."