At last Samantha emerged from the brush onto a rocky trail leading into the hills. She followed the path as it wound uphill, her pursuer's footsteps growing closer. She chanced a look back, but didn't see him. Where did he go? she wondered.
Her legs felt so heavy that she could barely stand and her chest burned with every breath. She couldn't run anymore. She needed to find a place to hide until she thought of what to do.
She stumbled along to the end of the path, seeing the entrance of a cave. She'd be safe in here for a while, long enough to catch her breath and think of what to do next. She only hoped Prudence and Wendell found a similar place to hide.
She almost tripped over something as she entered the cave. A wire of some kind stretched near the floor. What an odd place to put a wire, she thought. She made sure to watch her step in case there were more so she wouldn't scrape herself up any more.
At the center of the cave, she came to a circular pool of water. Something red and glowing covered the surface of the water. She laid down at the edge of the pool, leaning towards the surface. She reared back an instant later.
The patties of red plant material formed themselves into faces. Each one bore a similarity to her own, except they were older and thinner than hers. "It's me," she said. She saw herself as a girl, a teenager, an adult, and even an old woman with wrinkles and white hair. "What is this?"
Before she could lean down to touch the red algae, she heard footsteps behind her. The man in black carried a flailing Prudence under one arm and a limp Wendell under the other. "This is too perfect," he said, advancing towards her.
Samantha backed away from the pool until she bumped up into a wall. She knelt down, putting up both hands in supplication. "Pwease don't hurt me," she said. "I'll be good. I pwomise."
"No more games," the man said. "I'm going to be rid of you and your little friends for good."
"You can't," Samantha said. "Mama Vewonica wiw be mad."
"Well, that may be, but the way I figure it, you kids were playing in this cave and whoops-" He hurled Wendell into the pool. There was a flash of red light and then Wendell vanished. Prudence screamed, kicking and clawing at the man. "You fell in and disappeared. What a shame."
He seized the struggling Prudence with both hands. With no other alternatives left, she spat into his face. He growled with rage and then threw her into the pool after her brother. Another flash of light and she disappeared. "Now it's your turn, Fatty," he said, taking a step towards Samantha.