Chapter 5 - The Escape

On Sunday morning, Gracie woke up to the sun shining into her room and Ginger snuggled in beside her. She reached over to stroke Ginger’s ruff and was rewarded with a slow yawn and a wet lick that started at her chin and ended at her bangs.

“Doggy morning breath – that’s so gross, Ginger,” she said with a smile.

Gracie walked down the stairs to the kitchen to see what treat she’d have for breakfast today and what she’d do with Joe when he came to visit. The smell of fresh coffee filled the room. Aunt Bee must have been up early and brewed a pot for them. There was a note on the counter in front of the coffee maker.

Good morning, Gracie,

I had to skip into town to pick up some milk – ours went sour, even though I just bought it. I’ll be back shortly, with more milk and maybe some fresh bagels and cream cheese, too. You and Ginger were sleeping so soundly. I didn’t want to bother you.

Love you to the stars!

B

While Gracie read the note, she could hear the lawnmower running. Apparently, Thomas was working today, so she made a mental note to stay out of his way. He’d been super creepy yesterday, staring at her chest harder than ever before.

Ginger brushed against her legs, reminding her that she hadn’t had breakfast yet, so Gracie went to the cupboard to fill up her dish. Ginger sat patiently, then dove into the kibble once Gracie told her to go ahead.

The phone on the kitchen wall rang. Gracie jumped a bit from the jarring noise on the quiet morning, then walked over to answer it.

“Hello?”

“Hi Gracie, it’s Karen – we met last summer at the picnic. I have some bad news – your aunt was in an accident, and we have her here at the hospital. The doctors are working on her now. It was a serious accident, and she’s been hurt pretty bad. You should call your parents to let them know. I’ll call as soon as I know more. I’m so sorry – the doctors are doing their best, and we’re all praying for her.”

Gracie hung up the phone without saying goodbye. How could Aunt Bee be hurt? She was just here – the smell of the coffee proving the point. She picked up the phone to call her parents, but nobody answered on the other side. She let it ring a dozen times. It was Sunday morning, and she knew they were probably out garage sale-ing and wouldn’t be back until this evening.

She thought about calling Joe to see if he could come over and take her to the hospital. As she started dialling his number, the line went dead. She jiggled the hook, but the dial tone never came back.

“Well, Ginger – what are we going to do? How are we going to get to the hospital to see Aunt Bee?”

The quietness of the Escape filled the room; the gentle tick-tock of the grandfather clock’s pendulum swinging back and forth was the only sound in the room.

Wait – wasn’t the lawnmower just going? Thomas can take me to the hospital.

Gracie left Ginger to finish her breakfast and ran to the garage door. She pulled it open and just about ran into Thomas.

“Thomas,” she cried in surprise. “Can you take me to the hospital? Aunt Bee’s been hurt, and I have to go see her. And the phone doesn’t work.”

Thomas didn’t say anything. His lips were curled into a smile – almost – but it was clearly forced and false, and his eyes were definitely not smiling. He took off his work gloves, and she saw a tattoo on the space between his thumb and finger. It looked like the man in the moon, but it was scowling and looked angry. On the same hand, she saw a silver ring with what looked like a chip of rock attached to the setting. He held up a pair of wire cutters and snapped them open and closed; a snip-snip noise loomed ominously in the air. He started walking towards Gracie, making her take a step back. She watched as he ran his tongue along his lower lip.

“I’ve been waiting a long time for this, Gracie,” he said, his hand reaching for her.

Gracie kept backing up but was stopped by the pantry wall. With her back against the wall, she had nowhere to go when Thomas snatched the necklace off her, the fine chain snapping as he pulled.

“Finally, the last StarStone. I knew she’d eventually give it to you. She’s been hiding this for far too long, but now it’s mine,” said Thomas.

And with his hand still reaching towards Gracie, the pendant dangling from it, they were both surprised by the streak of red fur as it flew through the air, growling before latching on to the man’s outstretched hand. Ginger continued to growl but firmly held the man’s hand between her teeth, shaking it ferociously and causing him to drop the necklace. Gracie caught it before it hit the floor, and stuffed it into her jeans pocket, as the weight and ferocity of Ginger pulled the man off balance. He toppled to the floor, crying out in pain and grabbing his bloody hand.

Gracie turned and ran into the kitchen, the man muttering curses behind her. She could hear Ginger’s feet against the tile floor, quickly catching up to Gracie to stay by her side.

“Give me the stone, Gracie, and I’ll leave you alone,” he bellowed from the kitchen.

She knew he was lying and knew she didn’t have much time to figure out what to do next. She needed to find a safe place to catch her breath and come up with a plan. Aunt Bee’s office was one of the few rooms with a lock and a good solid door, and she knew it would have to do for now. The two ran into the room, slamming the door behind them and thumbing the lock, seconds before Thomas slammed into the door.

“Gracie, come out – I won’t hurt you. I just want the stone,” said Thomas, his voice only slightly muffled by the solid door.

He rattled the knob and pounded the door again, and then there was silence. Gracie’s heart was thumping as she listened at the door for any indication that Thomas was still chasing them. She realized she was holding her breath, but there was no sound of the strange man. She sank to the floor and ran her fingers through the soft fur around Ginger’s neck.

Petting Ginger calmed both of them, and soon she looked around the room to see where they were and how they were going to get out of the windowless room. The first thing she noticed was the number of paintings that lined the walls. Practically every inch, from floor to ceiling, was covered by a framed painting, though the styles were wildly different. An oil painting of an Italian villa was hung next to a portrait of a windmill, the summer sun in the villa bright enough to melt the snow on the landscape beside it. Watercolours, pencil sketches, and pastel portraits covered the walls. The room wasn’t particularly large, but the collection of landscapes made it seem immense.

Ginger gave Gracie a nudge, then walked towards a familiar painting. The forest path looked like the same painting she’d seen in Joe’s grandfather’s shop. Ginger jumped up against the painting, placing her paws on each side, then sat on the floor in front of it, turning to lock eyes on Gracie.

Though it felt a bit weird, she walked to the painting to explore what Ginger was apparently trying to show her. The intricate designs in the frame felt warm as her fingers explored them, and she could almost feel the autumn breeze, forever trapped in time within the layers of oil paint.

Ginger nudged Gracie’s pocket, pushing the hidden pendant into her thigh. Gracie pulled the stone out of her pocket, and as she brought her hands closer to the painting, the intricate designs in the wood began to move, becoming a fiery, flowing line of script around the frame. Impossibly, the frame and the painting within stretched and grew until the bottom edge of the frame was a foot off the ground.

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The necklace in her hand started leaning towards the painting-turned-doorway, tugging Gracie forward.

“What the heck is this, Ginger?”

Ginger nudged her again, pushing her towards the painting.

And then Thomas rapped on the door, loudly and quickly.

“I’m coming in, Gracie, and I’m taking the stone. Make it easy for yourself and give it to me. Or don’t – I’ll get it from you either way.”

Ginger growled at the door, and Gracie turned back to the painting with the glowing script dancing around it. It drew her closer, and she reached out to feel the painting.

And her hand went through it.

The door behind shuddered under the blow of something heavy. Thomas would be in the room in a second or two, and there was no escape for Gracie other than the picture, so she gulped and stepped forward into the canvas.

As she passed through the painting, she heard the door explode open, followed by a loud growl from Ginger. And the next moment, she was standing on the forest path from the picture, the sounds of the room silenced as she passed through.

She looked around, seeing that she was on the path and surrounded by trees. An autumn breeze quickly cooled her skin, slick with sweat from running from Thomas. She turned to look behind her and saw a window hanging above the forest floor. It was open and inviting. Nothing about it seemed out of place, except for the fact that it wasn’t attached to a house and was floating three feet above the ground. She walked around the window, examining the wooden frame, its paint beginning to crackle from age, but it looked as sturdy as any other window she’d seen. As she walked around the frame, the window disappeared. One step and it was there, solid as a house; the next, it was gone. With a start, she jumped back, and the frame came back into view. She moved her head forward an inch, and the window disappeared. There was no movement, but as soon as she went past a certain point, the window was gone. She walked around it. From the backside, there was nothing to obstruct her view of the path ahead. She kept walking, and sure enough, it popped into existence again.

Gracie continued to examine the window, her mind blown by how unremarkable it was, but when a tattooed hand reached through it, she knew it was time to go. She turned and sprinted down the forest path, not knowing where it would lead but knowing she wasn’t safe if she stayed.

“Gracie, come back here,” yelled the man.

Leaves crunched underfoot as she ran down the path, running at top speed towards a bend in the trail. As she rounded the corner, she could see something in the distance, maybe 100 yards ahead.

She recognized the shape as she grew closer: another window suspended in the air. As Gracie ran to it, she could hear Thomas running behind her. His longer legs quickly eating up the distance between them.

She slowed to a trot, reaching into her pocket to retrieve the stone and holding it up to the quickly approaching window. She didn’t have time to examine it to see if it was different from the first and had to trust her gut that the stone would work.

As soon as she aimed the stone at the window, it did its stretchy magic trick again. With one step, she moved through the opening, her back foot on the forest surface and her front on a solid hardwood floor. Banging her hip on one of the countertops, she realized that she was in the framer’s shop and frantically looked to see if there was anyone there to help her. Joe stood in the corner, his jaw wide open in surprise.

“Joe – help! He’s right behind me,” she cried.

Joe’s jaw snapped shut with a click, and he grabbed a tool off the workbench, moving quickly towards the painting that Gracie had just appeared from. She saw the light glint off the blade as he opened the knife, his skilled hands moving to the edge of the painting. Just before the sharp edge plunged into the canvas, a hand emerged from the middle of the painting. Gracie let out a little scream, but Joe was carried by his momentum, pushing the knife through the canvas and then pulling it down, severing it from the frame. The symbols that were swirling around the frame blinked out, cutting off a scream of anguish. The only sound was the slapping of the hand hitting the floor, smoke rising from the severed edge, the fingers still twitching.

“Holy shit,” said Joe. “I didn’t know that would happen.”

“What’s going on, Joe? I just walked through a painting at the Escape and came out here. How is that even possible?” asked Gracie.

“Do you have a StarStone, Gracie?”

“A what?”

“A StarStone – it’s, uh, how you travel between,” he said, emphasizing the last word.

“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Aunt Bee is in the hospital, some lunatic was chasing me at the farm, and I think Ginger is still back there, alone with him.”

“OK – let’s go see my grampa. He’ll know what to do.”

Joe grabbed a plastic bag – probably the only plastic in the shop – thought Gracie and scooped up the severed hand. Gracie recognized the tattoo on the skin between the thumb and index finger. Blood dripped from the marks where Ginger had bitten him. A ring sparkled on the index finger of what remained of Thomas’ right hand.

Joe led Gracie to the back of the shop, hollering for his grandfather.

They found him in the kitchen taking a loaf of bread out of the oven.

“Joe – why you yell? What’s wrong,” he asked.

“Gramps, you remember Gracie – Barb Gardinier’s niece? She just came through the portal from the Escape, and there was a man chasing her. I sliced the connection, but a man was reaching through it, and it cut his hand off,” Joe said, handing the bag to the old man.

“Aunt Bee is in the hospital. I think Thomas did something to her car that caused her to crash,” said Gracie, fighting to hold back the tears.

The older man opened his arms to embrace Gracie, and she fell into the safety of his arms.

“Helga – call da boys and tell them to meet me at da Escape. Tell dem it’s them bastard Moonies, and we got work to do,” said Stan as he cradled Gracie.

“Joe, take my car and bring Gracie to da hospital to see to her aunt. Me’n your uncles go find dis Thomas.”

Stan turned the contents of the bag onto the kitchen table. He removed the ring from the finger.

“OK, he no go between without this, so it be easier to find him. Mebbe.” He said, slipping the ring into his pocket. “You safe now, Gracie, but stay with Joe in case more trouble coming.”

With the adrenaline spent, Gracie fell against the gentle old man. He carefully guided her into the kitchen chair while his wife poured her a glass of water.

“What is happening?” Gracie asked again.

“Gracie,” the older woman began, “Did Barb tell you about the art she collects? The secret places, secret pathways, and secret worlds?”

Gracie shook her head, not understanding what the older woman was talking about.

“You need to know about them, but not right now. Go to your aunt. She needs you now. When the time is right, I’ll tell you more about who we are and what we do.”

“Is my Aunt part of all this?” she asked.

“She is one of the most important people involved in all of this. Go see her now – everything else can wait,” replied the kind woman.

Joe came over to Gracie and helped her up, guiding her to the shop truck to make the quick trip to the hospital., Gracie’s mind was reeling – what had happened, who was her Aunt, and how did she just run through a painting? It was all too fantastical to believe, but here she was. Then she remembered Ginger back at the Escape, and she began to cry.

***

They arrived at the hospital and went inside. Gracie saw Karen behind the admitting desk.

“Is she OK?” Gracie asked.

“She’s...recovering. The surgery went well, but your aunt was hurt very badly,” explained Karen. “At this point, all we can do is hope and pray. Your aunt has always been tough. She’s in room 110, down the hall. You can visit her for a few minutes, but she’s heavily sedated and probably won’t know you’re there.”

Joe sat in the waiting area as Gracie headed down the hall to see her aunt. The room was quiet except for the whirring of the air conditioner and the beeping of the machine by the bedside. Aunt Bee was on the bed, with a clear plastic mask over her mouth and nose. Her head was bandaged heavily, obscuring the woman’s features and making her look far more frail than she was in real life. Gracie walked to the bed and sat on the edge, taking her aunt’s gauze-wrapped hand in her own.

“What have you gotten me into, Aunt Bee?”

The only response was the beeping of the machine hooked up to monitor Barb’s broken body.

“You’d have been so proud of Ginger today. She protected me from Thomas. He said he wants the StarStone – which I guess is the rock on the necklace you gave me,” she told the sleeping woman.

“I don’t know what’s going on, but if he did something to cause your accident, I’m going to make sure he gets what’s coming to him, so he can’t hurt anyone else again.”

“I need you, aunty – please don’t leave me.”

Gracie stayed in the room until the nurses told her she had to go home. They said she could come back in the morning, but they’d call if anything changed over the night.

***

The next morning, when Gracie came back, she snuck Ginger into the hospital to comfort her aunt, but when they entered her room, the bed was empty, and the machines were turned off. Ginger gave out a low cry, and Gracie bent down to cry into the thick fur around the pup’s neck. After a few minutes of comforting and being comforted by the dog, Gracie looked around the room. There was a note on the bedside table, folded in half with her name on the outside. She picked it up to read it.

Gracie,

The Escape is yours now. It’s been my responsibility for many years, but it’s time for me to go. I have so much to tell you, but I foolishly started too late. I’d hoped to fix it all myself, to protect you from the dangers. I’m sorry that I have to leave this responsibility to you.

There’s a war coming, Gracie, and it’s going to be fought in both worlds. We can’t let that happen. Talk to Stan, and he’ll help you wherever he can. Explore my office – I’ve hidden some things that will help you find out who is collecting the StarStones. I don’t know why they’re doing it yet, but I know it can’t be for good.

Take care of Ginger and yourself. I love you to the stars, Gracie, and always have.

B

~f~

*fin... for now*

The prologue ends here, but stay tuned for more adventures and explorations within the StarStone universe.