Disclaimers: See previous disclaimers, please. Thank you.

Chapter 7:

Sarah dropped the heavy curtain back over the window, shutting out the darkness, and turned away with a sigh. It was nearly ten o'clock and there was still no sign of them. They were supposed to be home an hour ago. She threw herself onto the couch and tried to focus on the television, which was showing an old rerun in a happy blaze of noise and color. No matter how many times she tried giving it her attention, though, her mind always ended up wandering.

It wasn't that she wanted the family's company, really. By the time they got in, her dad and Karen would likely not be good company anyway, and Karen's parents had never been good company to begin with. She really just didn't want to be alone in this house anymore. It was old, dark, and unfamiliar, and the nearest neighbor was five miles away. To make matters worse, the back of her neck kept tingling, and she couldn't shake the feeling she was being watched.

When Toby had been awake she hadn't really noticed anything, but in the two long hours since then the sense that she was not quite alone had begun to weigh heavy on her nerves. She had been profoundly relieved when Karen had called to say that they would be home soon. But that had been an hour ago. The hospital wasn't that far away.

Sarah shifted her position restlessly on the couch, grabbed the remote control and began flipping randomly through channels. She stopped for a moment, then flipped again, growing more agitated as she went. Frustrated, she slammed the controller down on the cushion next to her and whirled to look behind her.

There was nothing there. She got up and made a quick round through the house, checking on Toby and flipping on all of the other lights in the house. There was still nothing. She started back down the stairs. As she reached the bottom she could hear the sound of a car engine pulling into the driveway, and headlights flashed through the gap in the curtains. Relief flooded through her, and she ran to front door to let them in.

They filed in, silent and grim. Karen and Tabitha's parents came in first, and Sarah shrank back against the wall to avoid them. They were in their late sixties, but looked significantly younger, despite the silver of their hair. They had an air about them that strongly suggested both money and aggression, and Sarah instinctively tried to stay out of sight as much as possible in their presence. She had noticed that even Karen seemed skittish, almost clumsy, in their presence, and wondered if perhaps she had been abused by them. The thought almost made her pity her stepmother.

Next came Karen and Robert, both looking tired and nervous. Robert carried a worn duffle bag easily in one hand. Tabitha brought up the rear. Tabitha's eyes were locked on her parents with an expression that made Sarah think of a potential victim eying a predator from a distance. She was cautious, possibly even calculated, in her movements. As soon as the door was locked and closed she turned off the foyer light and stood in the darkness. She stayed there for a long time, moving only to stand next to Sarah, who hadn't moved away from the wall herself.

Tabitha's parents moved into the living room and made to settle in, shedding coats and shoes into carefully placed and folded piles. Karen was making her way upstairs as Robert sought out his daughter to kiss her goodnight. He seemed neither surprised nor reproachful when he found her hiding in the foyer. He simply kissed her on the forehead.

"Better be getting to bed, ladies." He said softly. "Before the atmosphere gets any colder." He cast a flat, knowing look toward the living room, then headed upstairs after Karen.

The girls exchanged looks in the darkness, and slid out of the foyer as quietly as they could. In a moment they were up the stairs and out of sight.

"Dad says we're sharing a room." Sarah whispered. "It's right over here. Where's your luggage?"

"Your dad brought it in. Grabbed it out of the back seat before I could. It's not like it was heavy. . ." She murmured the last bit to herself and sighed. Sarah looked at her curiously and opened the door to the bedroom, ushering her in.

The room was fairly large. The walls were a pale blue and the trim about the door and windows were painted white. The furniture was white as well, and most of it appeared to be wicker. Blue accents were everywhere, from curtains to the fluffy blue-and-white floral comforter that lay on the daybed. The only thing that clashed in the room was the metal trundle bed that had already been pulled out and made up. Its black metal frame and dark red comforter seemed to collide against the sunny atmosphere of the room.

Tabitha's eyes were hooded as she looked over the room. She seemed to Sarah to be struggling against something, her hands were clenched at her sides and her mouth was set in a hard line.

"What's wrong?" Sarah asked nervously. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah." Tabitha's voice was hoarse. "Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just a little. . . emotional right now. This used to be my room."

"Oh." Sarah plucked at her shirt uncomfortably. "How is your grandfather?"

"Not doing very well, actually. He hasn't come around all day. His heart rate seems to be doing better though. I hope. . . " She trailed off, squeezing her eyes shut. For the first time Sarah could see that Tabitha really was emotional. "I. . . I want to talk to him again. . . but he might not. . ." She couldn't seem to get the words out. Turning away from Sarah, she picked up her duffle bag, which Robert had left on the floor, and threw herself down on the daybed.

Feeling awkward, Sarah set about getting ready for bed. She wanted to talk to Tabitha badly, but she thought it might be inappropriate to bring up the labyrinth at a time like this. She had never met Tabitha and Karen's grandfather, and while she felt bad for the family that knew him, she didn't feel much about it personally. The biggest thing on her mind had been her conversation with Tabitha the week before, and she was dying to find out more about Tabitha's experience in the labyrinth.

She felt guilty for even thinking about it at the moment. The last thing Tabitha needed was to be grilled about the past. In an attempt to take her mind off of the situation, she started straightening and fluffing the room. For a long while the sound of Sarah's movements was the only thing to be heard, and she was beginning to think that Tabitha had fallen asleep when her aunt suddenly sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Her head was cocked as if she were listening. Then, apparently satisfied with what she heard, she turned to Sarah.

"We need to talk," She said, an oddly determined look in her eyes. Sarah stared at her for a moment, then fairly leapt across the room, landing neatly on the trundle bed facing Tabitha.

"Okay."

Tabitha looked at her for a moment, surprised by her eagerness, then seemed to shake it off.

"Weird things have been happening, Sarah."

"Weird how?"

Taking a deep breath, Tabitha plunged into the prior evening's events, outlining every detail of the attack. As she finished the story she could see that Sarah's eagerness had turned to alarm.

"That wasn't. . . you don't think it was. . ." Sarah stumbled over her words. Tabitha shook her head.

"No, that wasn't Jareth. It really wasn't his kind of thing. But it was something from the underground, I'm certain."

Sarah nodded, thoughtful. "Does your chest still hurt?"

"Every now and then, when I get upset or I move too quickly. I had to tell Karen and your dad that I had a break-in. That was the only excuse that was close enough to the truth to back up, and still explained why I didn't come to the hospital right away. I told them I called the police, but they didn't find anything helpful. Hopefully they wont push it any father than that." Tabitha shifted uncomfortably. "Mom and Dad didn't really believe it, I could tell, but it doesn't matter. They wont look into it."

"What is their problem, anyway?" Sarah asked in a fierce whisper. "They make me nervous, even when they don't pay any attention to me."

"That's just the way they are. They think that Karen and I are embarrassing, going on the way we do about Granddad. They don't like any public display of emotion. Also, they were horrified by how late I was - things simply aren't done that way, and no excuse is good enough. So they are currently freezing the two of us out. Personally, I'm relieved. I'd rather be frozen out than put up with their demeaning attitudes. To say the least." She muttered. Tabitha rubbed her eyes, and changed the subject. "I can't believe that Granddad's heart attack was a coincidence with all of this."

Sarah looked up, her eyebrows raised. "What does your grandfather have to do with this?"

"Oh, that's right," Tabitha said. "I didn't tell you about that. You see, my grandfather was in the labyrinth with me back then. But he was. . . well, old even then, and the shock caused him to have a heart attack."

Sarah sat for a moment in shock. She found it easy to accept someone as young as Tabitha going into a place of such obvious fantasy, but a man as old as a grandfather? The image clashed in her head. She glanced at Tabitha, who was chewing thoughtfully on her lip. 'She's not telling me something.' She thought to herself. They fell quiet for a moment, lost in thought. Then Sarah got up decisively, and pulled the blankets back on the trundle bed to climb in. "You need to go to the labyrinth." She said firmly.

"What?" Tabitha started. "I don't think that's necessary."

"Well, someone from the Underground attacked you, hurt you somehow, and ripped everything you own to shreds. I think you need to go and find out what that was about. You can't ignore it, aunt Tabitha."

"I'll go back once I finish your story. I'll have to deliver it then, and that will give me a reason for being there." Tabitha lay back on the bed and rolled onto her side away from Sarah.

"Why do you need to deliver my story?" She asked, nervously.

"It's part of my job. I record anything important that happen in the Goblin King's realm." She said simply, refusing to elaborate. Frustrated, Sarah moved on.

"Okay then, how do you plan on finishing my story when your computer is trashed? You need to just go, and get it over with." She prodded.

"But I'll have to go there anyway to deliver your story. I may as well wait and do it all at once." It was clear that Tabitha would try to find any excuse to keep from going there, but Sarah bulled through.

"No, you'll just have to do it twice, then. What if you are attacked again? If you're feeling the way you are, another serious shock could kill you! You need to go and face this thing now. You might even get help from Jareth. I know you haven't told me much about your trip into the underground, but I can't help but get the feeling you know Jareth pretty well. And compared with whatever it was that attacked you, even I have to admit that Jareth looks like a doll."

A small smile flitted across Tabitha's face. Then she sighed and rolled back over to face Sarah, her eyes strangely bright. "Yeah? Well, then, YOU are coming with me."

"Wait, what!"