Chapter Twelve
At one o'clock that morning, Dawson crept into the basement. "Genia? Danka?" he called out quietly.
The two girls bolted up in their cots. The taller of the two grabbed a broom and held it up like a weapon, the shaft shaking in her hands.
The doctor threw his hands in front of him, to show that he was not armed. "It's all right," he said softly "I'm here to get you out."
The girls exchanged uneasy looks. "Who are you?" the broom wielder asked.
"A friend of Meg's. She's in the attic, right? Is Ratigan asleep?"
"No," the smaller girl said, her voice quivering.
The taller one seemed more relaxed since Dawson had mentioned Meg's name. "Ratigan makes Meg... do things, at night..."
"What? He hasn't-"
"No," she said. "At least, not yet. He caresses her and... Well, he won't leave her alone."
"Then we need to get her out before it gets worse."
"Don't you dare take one step near me!" Meg cried.
"Come over here, sweetheart," I said, laughing. I was quite inebriated, and was feeling pretty good. I had tried to kiss her and pin her down on the sofa, but she had slipped my grasp. Now she was behind the sofa. Each time I tried to go around it to get to her, she ran in the opposite direction.
"You're a foul, black-hearted, disgusting excuse for a living being," she snapped. "Spying on people behind mirrors. You're sick!"
"Ooh, aren't we vicious tonight?" I leaned over the couch to grab her, but she jumped back at the last second. I stumbled a bit, feeling light-headed.
She backed into the door and tried to open it, but it was locked. I began to move towards her. She made a dash for the sofa once again, but I grabbed her arm and pulled her towards me.
"Hello, darling."
"Goodbye, rat!"
I smiled sadly at her. "Meg, why so much hatred? Really, one could hardly guess that you were once going to become a nun."
"And I didn't because-" I sat her down on the sofa with me, stopping the words in her mouth.
"Megana, don't fight me. I always win."
She did not respond. I let that thought sink in for a few moments. I gave her a long, hard kiss. She did not protest.
It was at that moment that Basil burst into the room.
"Leave her alone, rat!"
Meg shoved me away from her. I stood up, feeling like I was in some horrible nightmare. "What is this?" I roared, pulling out my gun. "You're supposed to be dead!"
Basil pulled out a gun. "I told you I was going to bring you to justice. Meet your Creator, scum!"
"Wait!" Meg said suddenly. We both stared at her. "You're both going to kill each other!"
Basil and I glanced at each other. We were both about the same at shooting skills. "So?" we chorused.
"Haven't enough people suffered? Please, talk this out or something."
"Talk it out? You want me to talk it out with this... scoundrel?" Basil barked.
"Yes, do you really think I am going to let you go with him, my dear?" I growled, glaring at Basil. "Give it up, girl."
A hard, heavy object slammed into my skull. Semi-conscious, I dropped the gun and stumbled onto the sofa. There was another blow to my head, and everything started to fade...
