Chapter Ten

Jesse had filled about several dozen exhibits in with a slightly embellished version of what had happened while he and Tally had gone missing, and pretty soon, rumor circulated throughout the rest of the museum, mutating as rumor does with each telling.

In the Western diorama, Jed leaned against the wall of the tunnel, accompanied, as always, by Octavius. "So much for normal in this museum," Jed said.

"Is anything ever normal, my love?"

"Nah, not really, unless you got a really vague definition for normal."

"Even so, can such a state of normalcy ever be achieved?"

"I dunno. I guess it just means followin' certain patterns, like we were before all this craziness."

"Life needs a little insanity every now and again, Jedediah, or else we ourselves will be driven insane."

"So it all works out."

"Yes, in a way, it does." Octavius pulled Jed into him from behind. "It all balances out, and it all works together to complete a bigger picture that we can't readily see."

"I jus' hope Tally's okay."

"She should be. Wasn't she taken to a hospital?"

"I think so, but it's kinda weird, y'know? She jus' almost gets killed outta nowhere and nobody's sayin' nothin'."

"That's likely because it occurred in the Underworld, so the story goes. They must certainly have different authorities to deal with these things."

"Yeah, guess you're right." Jed sighed and leaned into Octavius, keeping his eyes off the swelling crowds of late-show viewers.

Tally opened her eyes and looked around at the sterile hospital room. Much as she hated to be here, her best hope lay in the fact that she'd get out soon.

The window by her bed slipped open, and in crawled none other than Jesse and Ahkmenrah.

"How did you-?"

"Get in here?" Jesse finished. "Very carefully."

"Let him talk me into this?" Ahkmenrah added. "With great stupidity."

"Why?"

"Jus' checkin' on ya, seein' how you're doin'."

"Just fine, since you want to know. So, what, you're working together now?"

"I was just desperate," Ahkmenrah said, "and now I really should be leaving, since I know what I need to know."

"You fine with gettin' down there?"

"Of course. I don't need your help." Ahkmenrah disappeared out the window on that note.

"What're you doing here?" Tally asked. "I mean, I understand Ahk, but you?"

Jesse took a seat and crossed his legs, lacing his fingers over one knee. "I'm sorry I shot him."

"You already told me this."

"I tried to. You never let me finish."

"Even so."

"I'm tryin' to change, I swear."

"You have no choice. You're a wax dummy in a museum now. It's not like you can spend months on end avoiding Pinkertons."

"Are there any?"

"Haven't seen any in the two years I've been there, but haven't paid much attention, either."

"Okay. So, how long you think you're gonna be in here?"

"With luck, two more days, and then two weeks after that, I'm going back to get the stitches out."

"Stitches?"

"Yes, I said stitches."

"That gonna be the end of it you think?"

"I'm hopin'."

Footsteps came from the end of the hall, and Jesse said quickly, "Better get goin'," and he, too, vanished out the window.

A doctor walked into the room to find Tally still awake, alongside an open window. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Just peachy."

The doctor walked over and shut the window. "Get a lot of rest, Tally."

"I'll try."

With that, the doctor walked out of the room, leaving Tally more or less to whatever devices she had available to her in her present situation.

Ahkmenrah leaned against the door with a sigh, amazingly relieved to be back in the museum. After a minute, he heard a knock on the other side of the service door, so he opened it gingerly, only to find that it was Jesse, who rushed inside without a word for Ahkmenrah.

Ahkmenrah walked back into the lobby, where he met up with Larry. "She's fine. I've seen her myself," he said.

"That's good," Larry replied.

"She's a fighter, Tally. I trust she'll be back at work within a day or two."

"She's crazy if she wants to come back to work with stitches."

"How did you know she has stitches?"

"Lucky guess."

"Oh. Well then."

Eventually, the gathering in the lobby dispersed, just half an hour before dawn.