Chapter 6

Lizz: LOL, 'are you drunk? DRUGGED? Follow this with your eyes!'

Leigh: That cracks me up!

Emma: You should have seen everyone's reaction to that one.

JWJ: It wasn't that funny!

Leigh: Oh, you're still mad about that one mistake you made about Ratigan being dead.

JWJ: No I'm not!

Leigh: Touchy, aren't we?

"Megana? Megana!"

"Let her be, Olivia."

"Megana!" the voice called out in a half-sob. "Oh, you've killed her!"

Blurry images moved around in front of me.

"Will you shut up for once, you little brat! Ratigan, this girl is driving me insane! She won't shut up."

"What do you want me to do about it? Gag her if you want to stop her from talking."

As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw that I was somewhere underground. Olivia and Mr. Flaversham were directly across from me, tied tightly to each other. Ratigan loomed nearby, smoking a cigarette. Matthew Childres stood further behind, fidgeting with a gold watch. A couple of mice were playing poker on a slab of stone nearby. I perceived something like train tracks going through this cavern. This had to be a mine.

I tried to sit up, realizing that my hand had been tied not-too-gently to a wooden support. "She's stirring," Childres said urgently.

"Megana!" Olivia cried out again.

"Olivia? Mr. Flaversham?" I said faintly.

"Are you all right, dear?" Mr. Flaversham asked.

"He poisoned you, didn't he?" Olivia said excitedly.

Ratigan's eyes shifted towards me. "In a way," I said in a low voice.

She gasped.

"Oh, will you stop being so dramatic!" Childres whined. "It was only chloroform, for heaven's sake!" He talked as if he had been the one who had chloroformed me.

"Mr. Flaversham? Olivia? Have they been harming you?" I ventured to question. Mr. Flaversham was about to answer when Childres interrupted, "What does it matter? They'll be dead in a couple hours anyway."

My stomach sank. Mr. Flaversham groaned, as if he had known it all along. Olivia's face wore a pitiful expression between crying and disbelief. I was speechless. "What... I- but... you!" I turned to Ratigan.

He gave me a blank look. "What were you expecting?"

"Professor, please leave my daughter and Mrs. Havers alone," Flaversham pleaded. "They don't deserve this."

"Father!" Olivia cried.

"Meg here isn't going to share your fate, Flaversham," he replied. "But you and your little horror has caused me years of unspeakable grief."

"Let them go!" I begged.

"Stay out of this, wench!" Ratigan barked. "I've waited for this for years. Do you really think I will allow you to change my mind?"

"Go to hell."

They all exclaimed in a chorus:

"Meg!" (Ratigan)

"Megana!" (Olivia)

"Mrs. Havers!" (Mr. Flaversham)

"Young lady!" (Childres)

I sighed. "What is everyone's problem? Grown men are allowed to use profanity; why can't I?"

Ratigan started to reply, but was interrupted by Childres. "Because it is completely unladylike! You're an absolute disgrace! You tried to fight my kidnappers, you paraded around on a stage in that-" (here he gestured at the costume from the saloon, which I was still wearing) "-in front of a bunch of dishonorable creatures, and here you are, back talking-"

"You were in that saloon too, you buffoon!"

"That was different."

"How?"

He ignored my question. "You women, and your senseless minds! You couldn't get along without males to keep you in line. It's all a part of that unintelligent equal rights movement, it's completely-"

"Matt, will you put a lid on it! No one wants to hear about your 'political views'. We are so off-topic that I can't even remember what we were talking about!" Ratigan looked so exasperated that Olivia had to stifle a giggle. "Now, where were we? Ah, yes." He gave us one of these evil smiles of his. He pointed at the Flavershams. "You two will die by sunset. No exceptions. I want my revenge." He walked up to me, leaned down, and whispered, "As soon as we dispose of everyone else, you're accompanying me to San Francisco." He gave me a deliberate kiss. I struggled to pull away. He stood up with satisfaction printed all over his face.

"Your independence is going to get you killed someday," Childres said. I could not remember if Ratigan had said that to me before, but it sounded familiar. "Ratigan, why do you waste your time with this one? She's a thorn in everyone's side."

That mouse was so annoying!

"CHILDRES! I DON'T WANT TO HEAR ANOTHER WORD FROM YOU!" Ratigan screamed.

Obviously James Ratigan agreed with me.

JWJ: Man, if the real Ia- erm, I mean, Matt Childres reads this-

Meg: I don't care. He's just as arrogant and stupid and makes just as big a deal out of things. It's called 'characterization'.