A/N: I know I said no A/Ns until the end of a chapter, but I already feel the heat of the flames coming my way. Note: Toby and Sarah do not die. So relax…enjoy…read…review.
The news reporter droned on about when the derailment had occurred, how fast the train had been going, what the event data recorder revealed, and a hundred other details that Robert Williams filed away in the back of his mind for later use. Images of the same twisted metal, burned and overturned cars, and dazed survivors that he'd seen in the last five news reports flashed in front of him - a young boy clinging to his mother, an elderly couple sitting on the ground looking dazed and in shock, a woman with bruises on her face and arms hugging herself, face distorted in a mask of tears and pain. But his family was not among them. Robert had been to the site shortly after the crash. He had seen the destruction first hand. It had been worse than the news footage – much worse. He threw back another shot of whiskey and ran a hand through his already-disheveled hair, turning back to the decanter. A tractor trailer had stalled on the tracks. The driver was killed instantly. How is that fair? Who is to blame?
Karen was gone. Sarah was in an ICU in Virginia, barely alive and heavily sedated. He had stared at her pitiful, lacerated body, hardly resembling his beautiful daughter, as she lay besieged with machines and IV bags. Her flawless fair skin was marred by cuts and bruises on every visible part of her body. A long, angry-looking, red gash marked her face from the top of her left temple to the side of her mouth. The list of injuries had been long and daunting – a punctured lung, various internal wounds, slight brain swelling, broken ribs, a fractured femur, second-degree burns...he couldn't remember them all. The doctor had been professional and blunt – Sarah would face a long, painful recovery, if she survived.
And Toby….they hadn't found him. Robert had spent the entire night and most of the day searching where they would allow him around the crash site. After retching into the tall grass by the tracks upon seeing the destruction, he'd scoured the wreckage from a distance – the authorities would only allow him to get to a certain point before they pushed him back. And so he'd waited and tried again when they were distracted. He'd found Toby's battered blue suitcase, and what he believed to be Karen's book, burned and torn. Eventually, it was too dark to see, and they'd forced him to leave.
Toby could still be alive, unconscious somewhere. He could still be alive. Robert sat heavily on the couch in his den, pressed the cool glass to his forehead, and closed his eyes. His family was gone in an instant. At least he still had Sarah. "Please, God, let Sarah live," he rasped. After identifying Karen and being updated on Sarah's condition, he'd flown back to make arrangements and get some clothes for himself and Toby, and a couple of Sarah's things that he knew meant a great deal to her….probably just a helpless gesture on his part. Didn't they monitor those crossings? They should have cameras at all crossings that the engineer should have to check on approach.
His poor Karen – his last chance at love. His last chance at happiness. First the disappointment of Linda leaving him and their daughter; now, the horror of having to identify his wife and raise their son alone… Karen, I promise, I will find him and take care of him. He will never forget you. I will never forget you, love.
A seasoned attorney, Robert analyzed the situation, intent on identifying the person or organization that should pay the price, bear the blame, be the blood and money sacrifice to satisfy his overwhelming grief and rage. Had some lazy mechanic missed a faulty part when servicing the truck? Was the train going too fast for conditions? Had there been incidents at that crossing previously? Did the train company have prior knowledge that it was a dangerous crossing? ….He dropped the glass and sobbed into his hands.
He felt a comforting hand on his shoulder as he looked up at his sister. "Robert, we need to get to the airport." He had no idea what he would have done without Liv.
Beep…beep…beep…
Sarah was in a sunny field of golden grass, the bright sun caressing her face and arms. She didn't recognize the place – and the beeping - what was that? It was driving her insane. She turned in a complete circle, looking for someone or something that could provide an explanation. There was nothing but field.
Beep…beep…beep…
Am I dreaming? Is that an alarm clock? Are we in the Keys? Sarah felt a surge of excitement at the prospect of getting out on the ocean. She'd bought some "new" used diving gear for the occasion. What in bloody hell was making that beeping sound? She began to turn around and search for the source again when Karen suddenly appeared in front of her, smiling benignly. Sarah gasped, startled by the sudden presence where there had been nothing only seconds earlier. "Karen!" she exclaimed, instinctively clutching her chest in surprise. "You startled me." She absently registered that Karen looked perfectly put together as always, and was wearing an outfit that different from the one she'd worn on the train.
Karen smiled reassuringly. "It's okay, love." Sarah's brow furrowed. When had Karen ever called her "love?" The woman must have spent too much time on HMS Cabernet Sauvignon – and why wasn't her head buried in a romance novel? Sure, they got along, but love? The closest Karen had ever come to a term of endearment where Sarah was concerned was "sweetie," and that was only when Sarah had been exponentially upset about something – a thoughtless boyfriend, a car that kept breaking down, a lecherous professor, an unfair grade.
Her stepmother laid a hand on Sarah's arm. "Don't worry about the noise. Your father and I will take care of it." This was too weird. Karen was rarely soothing. What was she talking about? Did she mean they would take care of the alarm and she should sleep? Hadn't they just been on the train? Sarah shook her head slightly to shake off the mental fuzziness. She couldn't remember getting off the train. Karen's hand was still on her arm, almost as if she didn't want to let go. "Sarah," she implored. "What is it, Karen?" Sarah responded, still completely confused by her surroundings and Karen's sudden appearance.
"Please," Karen almost begged, tightening her grip on Sarah's arm. Sarah winced. This was too weird. "Please Sarah – take care of Toby." Sarah glanced at Karen incredulously. Of course she would take care of Toby. She didn't intend on leaving his side when they were snorkeling, and wouldn't dare allow him to dive yet. "Of course," she croaked in response, still unsure of what was going on. Karen seemed to relax. "Thank you, Sarah," she exhaled, eyes full of gratitude. Sarah was about to reply when her eyelids suddenly felt so heavy, she knew she couldn't force them to stay open. There was so much she wanted to ask Karen. Were they still on the train? Had her father arrived? Her lids closed heavily as she sank back into darkness. "Karen?" she whispered. Sarah felt a disturbing, uneasy, "sinking" feeling that something was horribly wrong. Suddenly, reality was crashing in unrelenting waves through her memory. Explosion. Impact. Heat. Fear. Darkness. Toby!
She had to find Toby – he had to be okay. She couldn't let anything happen to him again. Again? How had she lost him before? She struggled to remember. Her father and Karen trusted her to look after him. In desperation, her mind reached back to the last time she'd been frantic to find her baby brother. How had she found him then? There had been stone walls stretching for miles…someone had helped her. Who had helped her? Could they help her again?
The ICU nurse who was changing out the IV bag glanced worriedly at Sarah when she heard a strangled plea coming from the young woman's cracked lips. "Hoggle!"
The smell of earthy forest and sweet summer blossoms hung in the air as the dwarf attended to the topiaries in the Labyrinth with an air of contentment. It was his favorite time of year. The smells of late summer reminded him of the adventures and happier times of his youth. The ladder wobbled slightly below him as his stout frame stretched to clip a wayward twig. "Nice, trimmed plant; rotten misbehavin' twig," his gravelly voice mused, finally reaching his goal and snipping the offending stem. Hoggle looked over the row of plants he'd been working on in satisfaction. They were clipped to resemble animals, geometric shapes, anything that struck the king's fancy. Although, there was one topiary, impossibly clipped to resemble the King's visage that he didn't dare touch for fear of damaging it and incurring his Majesty's wrath.
Hoggle would never admit it, but he enjoyed tending the Labyrinth. Having no children or family of his own, he felt a somewhat paternal pride at keeping the magical life-size puzzle ready to receive the hapless victims of His Majesty's games, nobility, impromptu parties, or anything else its king could throw at it. He also prided himself in his knowledge of its twists and turns, riddles and dead ends, and forbidding oubliettes.
He hummed as he secured the shears over his shoulder and awkwardly began to descend the ladder. "There just ain't no end to the work around here," he proclaimed as he reached the bottom rung. Suddenly, his vision became blurry as he felt the earth tremble around him and heard his name ringing in his ears, spoken in a tremulous female voice almost forgotten. "Hoggle.."
The dwarf yelped and dove behind the large stone pot housing the topiary he'd been clipping. After a moment's silence, he tentatively peeked over the pot, plump fingers gripping the rim. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary. Of course, the words "ordinary" and "Labyrinth" really should never coexist in the same thought. He shivered as he remembered the owner of the voice. "Sarah," he breathed in shock. A memory tugged at the recesses of his mind. "Why did you say I was your friend?"…."Because you are."
Hoggle's round eyes widened as he remembered the girl, one of his only friends…but it had been at least twenty seasons since she had called on him. Could it really be her? He realized the trembling was within him and not coming from the Labyrinth or the land. Was Sarah in trouble? Hoggle knew that he was not intrinsically brave – it was a fault of his species. He also knew he was somewhat… intimidated when it came to His Majesty's bullying and commanding nature. But there was one person, one being, who inspired him to overcome his weaknesses - the human girl Sarah.
Hoggle flung the shears aside and hobbled quickly down the twisting paths of the Labyrinth to the place where he, Didymus, and Ludo had visited with her in the mirror all those years ago. "I'm comin', Sarah!"
Robert wandered into his daughter's old room one more time before leaving for the airport to return to the hospital. He'd wandered in and out of his children's rooms all morning, hands shoved in his pockets, no discernable expression on his face. He didn't know why he kept shuffling back and forth between their rooms. It frustrated him. After he'd had a quick shower and changed, he and Liv had loaded the luggage in her car. In his mission to lock the door, he'd feigned that he'd forgotten something – and had suddenly found himself back in her childhood room, staring blankly at the posters, stuffed animals, dusty nick-knacks, and pictures of Sarah with her friends posted haphazardly on a bulletin board over her desk.
He had already retrieved some items from her efficiency apartment near the university. What was he looking for? His gaze came to rest on the small, red, leather-bound book on her old vanity. A slight smile replaced his dead expression as he recalled how Sarah had kept the book with her constantly, endlessly reciting the lines of one of the characters with great bravado. Robert clutched the book with both hands as he relived the fond memory. For the most part, he'd vacillated between heated rage and debilitating sadness, or feeling completely numb. What he didn't know was that his holding the book and his association with Sarah allowed a long-forgotten portal to open.
"Robert…" His sister's voice pulled him back to the present. "We need to go to her. I know it's hard. She needs you there."
Robert sighed heavily, deciding he would bring the book. "Liv," he choked back a sob. "She doesn't even look like Sarah. The cuts, the burns – all of those tubes… I don't know if I can face it without breaking down." Liv set her jaw and walked around Robert to face him. At that moment, he was her little brother – standing up to the neighborhood bully, losing his first girlfriend, dealing with the nervousness of his first mock trial. She grasped his shoulders firmly. "You can and you will, Robert Williams. You are not a quitter. I will be with you, and you will get through this. You have to hang in there for Sarah and Toby…and Karen." Liv gently but resolutely turned Robert toward the door and guided him down the hallway, suppressing her own feelings of extreme sadness and helplessness to be strong for her brother.
The dwarf could not see the humans, but he could hear them. He assumed that the man was Sarah's father. Hoggle winced at the mirror in the Labyrinth as he heard the humans discussing her condition. "Sarah," he moaned, fuzzy brows drooping in despair. He had to do something. Who could help? It would have to be someone with magic - someone who could go to the human dimension.
A/N: Props to those who reviewed, followed, or favorited!
Props to tooralooryeaye and StaticMissi for the corrections and suggestions. Apologies to those who are following and received multiple alerts. The site's been acting wonky tonight and kept losing the formatting.
