Finders Keepers (12 page)

           
Ellie took a step toward the girl.
 
“No, you go ahead and call him.
 
Call and tell him I didn’t wait around for him and his mind games.”
 

The girl didn’t budge and she knew why.
 
The hulk was making his way toward her from behind and they were boxing her in.
 
Ellie planned on this.
 
She took another step forward.
 
Years of watching the World Cup with Taylor had given her an idea.
 
Imagining the girl as the goalie in a shootout, and herself as the ball, Ellie picked a corner and then sprinted.
 

           
The girl’s reflexes were quick, but not quick enough to completely sack her.
 
She lashed out and grabbed Ellie’s shirt.
 
The neck of the shirt strangled Ellie and the Lola’s weight nearly dragged her to the ground, but she didn’t stop.
 
With the non-blade end of the knife Ellie bludgeoned the hand that held her.
 

           
The death grip loosened on her and Ellie plunged ahead into the darkness.

***

It was so cold.
 
Her arms and legs and even her scalp prickled with
goosebumps
.
 
The chattering of her teeth was so jarring that she’d actually gotten used to seeing the scenery moving up and down like jumping beans.
 
Huddled against the back of an abandoned house, she pulled her phone out for the thousandth time.
 
There were still two bars, but Sky wasn’t answering.
 
At this point, who else could she call?
 
Hi Mom, yes I know you’re worried, but it’s going to be fine.
 
Goblins have abducted me for unspecified reasons and I am somewhere far, far belowground.
 
Send SWAT.

           
“A treasure, a treasure, I found me a treasure!”

           
His approach was noiseless.
 
By the time Ellie looked up to find the voice, he was already standing over top of her.
 
All she could see was a partial outline, but the ears and nose and fingers all ended in sharp peaks.
 
Definitely goblin.
 
He pushed his face into hers.
 
Up close she could see thousands of tiny lines etched throughout his face.
 
The skin around his neck hung in hound dog sags.
 
“You are far from home, little one.”

           
With his nose nearly touching hers, she couldn’t force herself to breathe.
 
When she finally did, the intense, rancid smell of the goblin in front of her attacked her senses.
 
Her stomach reacted like she’d just ingested a bad bout of Chinese food.
 
Her stomach cramped and then threatened immediate rejection.
 

           
He placed gnarled fingers onto her shoulders and hauled her to her feet.
 

           
“Don’t be afraid, my little treasure.
 
I’m harmless.
 
Me, I’m just a harmless old man.
 
Come with me.
 
Come with me.
 
I’ll help you get home because I know how.”

           
She followed for several reasons.
 
One, another solution had not yet presented itself and she was tired and cold and half out of her mind.
 
Two, there was the possibility that he would lead her out.
 
He could be just like any of the other sweet, little old man who lived in her neighborhood and waved to her from his front porch swing every day as she came home from school.
 
But mostly, it was because of reason number three.
 
His long, thick, overgrown fingernails dug into her arm where he had a tight grip on her.
 

           
“
Xaneth
Goldenmeyer
,” he said.
 
“My name.
 
My name.
 
But you can call me John Wayne.
 
Or Wayne John.
 
Or just
Neddie
.”

           
They left the roads and walked across the open cave floor.
 

           
“We’re almost there.
 
Just a little further.”

           
“Is this the way out?”

           
“Oh no, my sweet treasure.
 
This is home.
 
I am taking you home.”

           
Ellie bucked.
 
The goblin, surprisingly quick and strong, spun her around, wrapping a bony arm around her waist and holding her.
 
Something long and flat pressed up against her ribs.
 
“Finders Keepers.
 
Didn’t you know the rules before you chanced to play?”

           
Her head felt light and her body heavy.
 
The goblin dragged her into the shadows.
 
They passed a small building, something equivalent to a shed and then onward toward the tall curved wall of the cave.
 
Almost completely hidden, was a small hole in the cave wall, blocked by a very small, camouflaged door.
 
He lived in a cave inside of a cave.
 
Using both his free hand, he opened several padlocks with a large ring of keys.
 
The bottommost lock was near ankle level.
 
He whistled to himself, dropped the ring, caught it on the end of his bare foot, and then used his toes to unlock the last lock.
 
Still keeping his grip on her, with the knife pressed into her stomach, he guided her into the cave.
 

           
A crackling fire lit up a small, sparse rock enclosure.
 
A rustic bed and table were the only pieces of furniture.
 
The front door swung shut on its own and the goblin quickly turned three deadbolts into place.
 
But what caught Ellie’s attention was the metal door which cut off this room and the next.
 
It looked like a bank vault and was covered in twice as many locks as the cave entrance.
 

           
Xaneth
noticed her gaze and giggled.
 
“My collection.
 
My treasure box.
 
Yes, yes.
 
You will know soon enough.
 
You will be the jewel of all the treasures.
 
But first, look at this.”
 
The backpack on his back dropped to the ground.
 
He released his hold on Ellie and scrambled to rummage through it.
 
She’d already stepped backwards.
 
Her only thought was to bolt, until she saw what he pulled out of his pack.
 
Among a little of glittery bits of junk, he pulled a not-quite-white satin and tulle dress.
 
It was considerably shorter than the last time she’d seen it.
 
He must have cut off the bottom where it’d been torn in several places.
 

           
“In the trash,” he said.
 
He threw back his head to look at her.
 
His head was completely bald except for a few patches of stringy white hair which hung down nearly to his shoulders.
 
“Someone threw this beauty in the trash!”
 

           
With that same nimbleness which defied his age, he jumped back onto his feet.
 
He stretched out the arm which held the wedding dress.
 
“For you my dear.”

           
Ellie swallowed, but she couldn’t get any saliva past the rock in her throat.
 

           
“I can’t wear that.”
 
She barely whispered.
 

           
His other hand twisted the knife making it reflect firelight all around the room in flashes of light.
 
“Oh but you will.”

8

           
The goblin locked her in the little room, promising her that if she wore the dress she could be his treasure, but if she didn’t, she’d end up his dinner.
 
In all the fairy and folktales she’d ever read, not once did she remember goblins eating people.
 
But his bones showed clearly through his sagging skin and he’d licked his dry, cracked lips with such flourish, she chose not to risk it.
 

Ellie changed as fast as her trembling hands could accomplish.
 
The zipper stuck again.
 
Her hands shook so fiercely that even after the sixth try, it was only three quarters of the way up.
 
There was no time to try her cell phone again.
 
Already she could hear the scraping of the key as he unlocked the first bolt on the door.
 
She retrieved her phone from the pocket of her jeans and forced it down the front of her dress.

His eyes and face lit up like Christmas lights when he saw her.
 
“Lovely!
 
Oh lovely, lovely.”
 
He latched his fingers onto her arm again and steered her toward the steel door.
 
“You must see where you are to sit, you know, before.”

“Before what?”

“Before you do, of course.”

The key ring appeared in his hands like a magician’s trick and he began again unlocking bolts and key locks and a couple padlocks.
 
The door was thrown open just as the reality of what he’d said sunk in.
 
Covered from floor to ceiling was a glittering treasure room of sorts.
 
Everything from gold coins and necklaces to glass bottles and license plates poked in and out of the strange pieces of furniture and other odds and ends.
 
A wooden spear, a collection of Cabbage Patch dolls, posters from World War I and II.
 
But it was the animals’ eyes which stared at her, and into her, that sucked the air right out of her soul.
 
A house cat, a coyote, several rats, and a mutt-dog all surrounded a bejeweled chair.
 
Her throne.
 

He pointed a gnarled, branch-like finger.
 
“Your home.
 
Your family.”

All of the animals were
glass
-eyed.
 
All dead.
 
Her knees buckled.

From there he dragged her back outside and threw her into the outbuilding which he promptly locked up.
 
The floor and walls and ceiling were made of stone.
 
She crawled around checking every corner and every crack and crevice.
 
There were no windows and no way out.
 
After futilely scraping at the mortar and pounding on the door until her fists were bloody and raw, Ellie crawled into a corner and wrapped her arms around her knees.
 
Her whole body shook.
 
She pulled out her phone.
 
Her stiff fingers couldn’t even touch the correct numbers to unlock the phone.
 
She held it between her hands and stared.

It couldn’t end like this.

Setting the phone down, Ellie first blew on her fingers.
 
No matter how much warm air she puffed, however, the motor function just wouldn’t come back.
 
She used her palms to rub her ears and nose.
 
Minutes passed, then an hour or two at least.
 

Xaneth
or John or
Neddie
, or whoever the crazy was, appeared sometime after her hands no longer would open from their curled position.
 
The rusty door creaked open.
 
He tottered in with a large something in his hands.
 
It sloshed.
 
Ellie moved but her limbs were heavy and sluggish.
 
She never made it into a standing position.
 
Muttering something under his breath about “it taking too long,” and "haven't had a good freeze in weeks," he tipped his bucket.
 
Her hand barely shoved the phone away from her before a waterfall of ice cold water hit the top of her head.
 

***

           
When he found her, she was folded into a corner, her hands buried between her legs and her chin pressed down into her chest.
 
The white of the dress emphasized how pale her skin was, except around her lips which had taken on a blue-
ish
tinge.
 
His legs wouldn’t move fast enough for him and he stumbled in his haste to get to her.
 

           
“Eliza?
 
Can you hear me?
 
Ellie?”

           
Her eyes were closed and she breathed unnaturally slow.
 
At the sound of his voice, her eyelids fluttered.
 
“Took you long enough.”
 
She slurred the words.

           
“Oh Ellie.”
 
He scooped her up into his arms and once free of the shed, raced along the cave wall.
 
Further down there was another opening which led to several underground tunnels.
 
One of the passages, although it appeared collapsed, was one of he and Sky's regular routes, and shooting off from it were several secret caves.
 
He was heading for the closest one.
 
They hadn't used it since they were kids, but Gibbs was careful to check it every once in a while and keep it stocked, in case of an emergency.
 
He never thought it’d be for something like this.
 

           
He was breathing hard and his chest and arms burned by the time they reached the small enclosure.
 
His hair and shoulders were encrusted with dirt from the passageway's crumbling ceiling and walls.
 
A quick look inside revealed that everything was as he left it.
 
He laid Ellie down and then quickly snagged a blanket out of the corner.
 
Then he yanked his own shirt off.
 
Very carefully, he pulled her into a sitting position against him.
 

“Ellie, are you still with me?
 
Can you hear me?”

           
She moaned softly.
 
As if he were dressing a child, he pulled his shirt over Ellie’s head and then threaded one arm and then the other through the sleeves.
 
Her cheek rested against his.
 
He slid his hands under the back of her shirt.
 
Working the zipper down, he pulled the wet dress away from her skin.
 
Grabbing the blanket, he pulled it over her, and then worked the rest of the dress down and then off.
 
He was sweating by the time it was done.
   

           
Gibbs pulled her close.

***

He didn’t dare fall asleep for fear she would do the same.
 
So he talked, and sometimes she talked back, albeit mostly incoherently and deliriously.
 
He told her about his childhood, growing up in the underground darkness, keeping centipedes for pets, learning to steal and how to move with the shadows when aboveground.
 
He told her about his mother and how she worked so hard to give him what she considered a normal upbringing.
 
Before the electricity failed eight years ago, she’d watched Martha Stewart and the home shopping network religiously.
 

She shivered and he tightened his arms around her.
 

“We celebrate every holiday as if they were our own.
 
Christmas used to be a favorite at our house, although most goblins enjoy Halloween.
 
It’s the one day we can go aboveground during the daylight without being
harrassed
.
 
We didn’t use to steal as much.
 
Before my father took the mining job, he used to go night-fishing and he’d take me along.
 
The man had principles about what you did or didn’t take from the humans.”
 
Gibbs paused.
 
“He wanted a better existence for us and if I had more time, I’d go back to it.”
 
He chuckled.
 
“I’d have to steal a couple of poles to do it though.”
 

Did she tense?
 
He intertwined his fingers with hers and held them.
 
His words kept coming even though he himself felt exhausted.
 
He’d been doing this too long—balancing the weight of responsibility that’d been handed to him when he was just six—only one year older than Sky.
 
And just when he thought it couldn’t get any trickier, Ellie got involved.
 
Now he didn’t just have Sky to worry about, he had Sky’s…Ellie, and his own feelings mixing everything up in the middle of it.
 

“My father used to tickle Sky until he was on the floor rolling with laughter half in and half out of the change, and then he’d come to me, put his hands on my shoulders and say, “He’s your family, little man, and you know why you need to keep him safe.
 
He’s the hope of our kind.”
 
As if he’d been holding his breath, it all came out in a whoosh.
 
His voice hardened.
 
“I was just a kid when he died, and after a while, it was all too much.
 
When I was thirteen I ran away from home and lived off the streets for a bit.
 
One night, cold and hungry, I was attacked by a meth addict and my belly slashed clean open.”
 
He paused and then said, almost to himself.
 
“It changed everything and I came home.”

The hours passed and in spite of his resolve, Gibbs’ eyes closed and he dozed.
       

Warmth and the smell of fresh earth.
 
Ellie didn’t open her eyes immediately.
 
Her head rested on an arm, not her arm.
 
Not only that but her legs were tangled up in his and her arms were pressed up against his chest.
 
Her heart picked up speed and her cheeks flushed.
 
Gibbs’ breathing was deep and even and he didn’t stir when she shifted slightly.
 

Bits and pieces of last night swirled in and out of her thoughts muddling everything she thought she knew.
 
She peeked out at him.
 
He looked younger in his sleep—no more than seventeen.
 
His dark brown hair curled over his forehead and around his ears.
 
His nose was straight, his jaw defined, and his lips…she remembered those lips.

“Like what you see?”
 

Ellie jerked back, but Gibbs’ caught her before she slammed her head into the stone floor.
 
He opened one eye and then the other and grinned.
 
There was no explanation for the rush of relief she felt at seeing him again.
 
Nor the terrifying and exciting tingle he caused in her stomach.
 
Ellie shivered and Gibbs wrapped her up in his arms again.
 
Very lightly he pressed his lips to the top of her head.
 
The kiss dissolved every last bit of uncertainty she’d clung to.
 
With only the slightest tremble, Ellie tilted her face up to his and brushed her lips across the stubble on his jawline.
 
His muscles tensed underneath her and he breathed out slowly.
 
Then he turned his face down to hers until their lips almost touched.
 
She didn’t hesitate making up the last of the distance.
 
His lips parted for hers and after just a few seconds she was completely warm inside and out.
   

“What was that for?” he said when they finally broke apart.