When You Were Young

"But what about Veronica? How can I stop her?"

"When the time comes, you'll know what to do." She untied Molly and then helped her up. From the pockets of her dress, Annie produced a handful of stones. "These will allow you to free Joseph. If you run, you should be able to overtake them before they reach the shore."

"Thank you," Molly said. She took the stones and then raced out of the shop. The trio of boys cried out when she ran past before laughing and going back to their game. She passed the fallen bodies of Helena and Phyllis and then bolted into the forest to try and catch Veronica before it was too late.

As she ran, Molly thought of what Annie had said. Even though she was a child in body, she could still act grown-up in spirit. All along she'd acted like a little girl in deferring to Veronica. Not anymore. It was time for her to act like an adult and stand up to Veronica.

As Annie had predicted, Molly overtook Veronica and Joseph, catching sight of them in the forest about halfway to the shore. They picked their way carefully through the forest, Joseph leading the way while Veronica hung back a step with her knife at the ready in case he tried anything. They didn't give any sign of seeing her, so she crawled forward through the brush to find a better position for an ambush.

She located a small clearing about fifty feet away and found a spot among the brush to wait. The stones had turned warm in her sweaty palms. She didn't know what good a handful of rocks could do against Veronica, but then she thought of David and Goliath. Please God, guide my rocks like you did David's, she prayed. If this didn't work, then both she and Joseph would meet the same fate as Helena and Phyllis.

Joseph appeared at the edge of the clearing, followed by Veronica. Molly waited in silence until they reached the center before she threw the first rock at Veronica's head. The marble-sized rock struck Veronica in the shoulder. "What the hell was that?" she said.

"What?" Joseph said.

"Something hit me. You better not be up to anything."

"I didn't do anything." Molly threw the next rock, a bigger one that hit Veronica on the arm. She only had three stones left. I can't miss, she thought.

"Let's get moving," Veronica said. She pushed Joseph forward. Molly reared back to throw the next stone. She picked the largest one, the size of a golf ball, and hurled it as hard as she could, saying another prayer as she threw.