"Maybe that's better than letting people die because we can't get the medicine they need," Becky said.

"You want to wake up like her one day, go right ahead. I'd just as soon destroy those caves for good," David said.

"There may come a time when we need that water. For now these booby traps should do the job," Aunt Samantha said.

Molly crawled through the opening, keeping her hands out in front to detect any of Aunt Samantha's tripwires. When her fingers brushed against one she waited for an avalanche to crush her, but nothing happened. "Here's one," Molly said. "You have to step over it or you'll get hurt."

Veronica did this and then picked Molly up, setting her down behind the tripwire. They continued this pattern until they reached the fountain. Veronica knelt on the stones ringing the glowing water and pressed a hand to her cheek. "It's real. I thought it was something Gramps was making up, but it really exists. The Fountain of Youth," she said.

Molly came up next to her and looked into the water. She saw herself as a toddler and an infant, both faces locked in a scream of pain. Molly backed away from the fountain, coming within an inch of setting off a tripwire.

"There's nothing to worry about, Molly. Everything's going to be all right now," Veronica said. "Look, there's me at twenty-five with that awful perm and me at fifteen with all those zits. Oh, there's me as a baby. This is unbelievable."

Veronica leaned closer to the surface of the water, reaching one hand out to touch it. As her fingers dipped beneath the water, her entire body started to glow. "It's working!" she shouted. "I can feel it!"

Molly watched Veronica's glowing form growing leaner with every second so that her clothes became loose. Her hair turned black and straightened into a solid wave coursing down her back. The lines on her face evaporated until her entire face had the smoothness of a statue. With the glow surrounding her beautiful face, she reminded Molly of pictures of the Virgin Mary in Becky's Bible. Maybe she is an angel, Molly thought.

Veronica tried to pull her arm out then, but instead something yanked her down farther into the water until her shoulders were submerged. Despite Veronica kicking furiously to free herself from the Fountain of Youth, she couldn't escape. Her body grew smaller inside her clothes, into a teenager's frame and then a child's. "Help me! Molly, help!" Veronica called out in a small voice, a little girl's voice.

Molly raced forward and grabbed at Veronica's pants until she found Veronica's legs. Molly pulled as hard as she could, straining from the effort. At last whatever had taken hold of Veronica let go and she went flying backwards, knocking Molly to the ground.




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