"What you have to show me better be pretty darn important," Suellen grumbled as she trudged after her older sister.

"Oh, it is!" Scarlett insisted. "It's actually somebody I want you to meet!"

Suellen giggled. "Don't tell me you have a man on the side!"

"Just wait and see!"

They arrived to find Rhett holding his daughter in his lap. His eyes were glassy and held a faraway, haunted look. Bonnie was slumped against him, hardly moving at all, but Scarlett could see the ever-so-slight rise and fall of her chest.

"What is this?" Suellen's eyes were narrow slits as she grabbed her sister's arm and spun her around to look into her face. "Did you steal some sick orphan from a hospital to take Bonnie's place?"

"Bonnie!" Scarlett shouted. "Look who I brought for you - your Aunt Suellen!"

Rheumy blue eyes turned toward her voice and began to shine with an eager determination.

"No!" Suellen shouted as she turned and ran back toward her own home.

"Come back!" Scarlett shouted, beginning to sprint after her, but the adrenaline surging through Suellen's body gave her a head start, and she'd soon left her sister far behind.

Scarlett's heart began to sink, until she saw a grey cat run across the road in front of her, followed by a scrawny woman with colorless, mousy hair.

"Here, kitty kitty! Here, kitty kitty!" the woman cawed.

"It went that way," Scarlett told her, pointing toward her own home. "Come on, I'll help you find it."

The woman looked at her with grateful eyes and fell into step behind her. Relief settled over Scarlett as she led the other woman toward the back porch, where Rhett sat with a barely-conscious Bonnie. At the women's approach, the child sprang to life.

After the stranger's startled cry, nothing was heard for a long time but the most sickening gulping and smacking noises. Unable to watch, Rhett and Scarlett turned away. When Bonnie was finished, all that was left were a few bones and shreds of cloth, but the little girl was once again beautiful and glowing with health.

Rhett and Scarlett looked at one another. "We can't go on like this." Rhett's voice was tired, defeated. "We both know how wrong it is."

"But she's our child, our precious darling!" Scarlett protested. "Wouldn't you do anything in the world for her?"

"You know I love her more than life itself." His dark eyes were pools of agony. "But all these other lives - it's too high a price to pay, and besides, you know she'll never be a normal child again. You remember what she was like before as well as I do. Do you really think she'd want to live like this?"

Deep down inside, Scarlett knew her husband was right, but she wasn't ready to face the truth. She held her hand out to her daughter. "Come on, Bonnie. Let's go inside."

No one suspected that, safely hidden behind a clump of bushes, a pair of eyes had witnessed the entire event.


Throughout the long night, Scarlett tossed and turned in her lonely bed, unable to sleep a wink. She'd been so desperate to bring Bonnie back she hadn't even considered the long-term consequences of doing so. What would they do when the entire population of Atlanta was depleted - move on to another town? Would Bonnie remain a child forever, or would she grow and mature as she normally would have? If the former turned out to be the case, who would care for her and provide the sustenance she needed when Scarlett was no longer able to?

The family was awakened the following morning by loud banging on the door. Rhett opened it to confront the county sheriff and a couple of deputies.

"Rhett Butler?" asked the sheriff. Rhett nodded.

"We've come to ask you and your wife some questions about some, er, rather unusual activities that were seen occurring on your property yesterday evening. May we please come in?"

"Of course!"

Rhett stepped aside so the law enforcement officials could enter as Scarlett and Bonnie appeared.

The sheriff gaped at the child. "Is this your daughter?"

"Yes," Rhett and Scarlett replied.

The sheriff and his deputies exchanged glances, and then the sheriff shook his head. "Must have been the ravings of a lunatic. This little girl couldn't possibly have done what she was accused of doing. We'll be on our way, folks. Sorry to have wasted your time."

Rhett and Scarlett both let out huge sighs of relief after they'd left. "Whew, that was close!" Rhett remarked.

Scarlett nodded. "Too close. Oh, Rhett, whatever shall we do?"