Chapter 5
Below, Mouse and Vincent had made their way to the lower home tunnels where Paracelsus kept his prisoners when he didn’t need them. Mouse poked his head through the hole in the ceiling that he had discovered on one of his spying missions. Rebecca looked up just as his head came into sight and gasped with shock, starting to say something, when he stopped her with a finger to his lips. She woke up a much thinner William and silently directed his attention to Mouse who was hanging halfway out of the hole. Quietly, they alerted everyone to Mouse’s presence, and with Kanin and Cullen’s help, they caught him as he dropped from the hole. He told them that Vincent was waiting above.
"Vincent afraid. Afraid you won’t want to see him," he explained.
"Vincent?" William exclaimed. "We were afraid they had killed him with those drugs."
"They almost did," Vincent agreed as he dropped lithely into the crowd. Unable to look any of his family in the eye, he kept his head down, hiding behind a thin curtain of golden hair. When he was able to look at them at last, he angered anew at the condition of his friends. Their clothing was tattered and dirty, bespeaking an infrequency of bathing, and their faces were drawn and thin. They looked as if they hadn’t had a good meal in two years. He wondered fearfully how many of them had died.
"Vincent," Samantha squealed only to be immediately shushed by her elders. She rushed up to him and threw her arms around him. "I knew you’d come. I didn’t believe a word Paracelsus or that horrible Serena said."
Kneeling to be eye to eye with her, he said, "I would be dead, Samantha, if not for Catherine. She is the true hero of this affair. She found me, freed me, and helped me kick the addiction."
"I always knew that one was a keeper," William said, slapping Vincent on the back with a leaner hand.
Vincent suddenly found himself surrounded by all the children, touching him as if they couldn’t believe their eyes. Eric squinted at him through broken glasses, "Where have you been? We needed you."
"I know. But sometimes, Eric, circumstances keep you from doing what you want to do," he tried to explain.
Geoffrey came to his rescue. "Yeah, Eric, you know what Serena did. It would have killed anyone else but not Vincent." There was a murmur of agreement from all the children clustered about Vincent as he rose to his feet, patting Eric’s tousled head.
"I don’t know about that, but we are here now, and we intend to take back the Tunnels. Is Father all right?"
"As far as I know he is," Olivia answered.
"What about Mary? Elizabeth? Old George?" Vincent asked.
"Elizabeth and Old George died," Kanin supplied. Vincent’s shoulders slumped as the pain of losing these dear friends stabbed through his heart.
"Mary is asleep in the corner over there." Olivia nodded over her left shoulder.
Vincent hurried to Mary’s side and took the thin, frail hand in his. "Mary," he whispered softly. When there was no response, he urgently whispered her name again and gently shook her shoulder.
Slowly her eyes opened, and she saw the face she had despaired of ever seeing again. "Vincent?" she asked, thinking she was dreaming. Tenderly, he brushed a lock of white hair from her forehead. /When had her hair turned white,/ he wondered guiltily. "Yes, it is I, Mary. No, don’t try to get up." He gently restrained her until she relaxed into her pallet. "Hold on, Mary. You will soon be free. Catherine . . ." Her eyes brightened and he continued, "Mouse, Jamie, and I are working on a plan to drive Paracelsus and his cohorts from the tunnels."
"No! Kill him. That is the only way we can be truly free of him. Kill him" she whispered as she sank back on her bed.
"Oh, Mary." He was shocked and distressed at her outburst. This from a woman who was distinguished for her gentleness and pacifistic feelings, and it was all his fault. A distortion in her personality that he could only lay at his own feet.
"Don’t worry, Mary," he assured her. "We will take care of him." He added darkly, "And of Serena. Rest now," he said gently, tucking the meager, ragged blanket that covered her more closely about her thin body.
Returning to the others, Vincent outlined the plan he and Mouse had devised. Knowing that the prisoners needed to regain their strength, Vincent set the day of their freedom seven days later and said that they would bring more food to them. Water was no problem as there was a free flowing spring in the side of the chamber. Assuring them that it would only be a week, Vincent lifted Mouse through the hole in the ceiling then leaped and caught the edge, pulling himself through. With a final sorrowing look, he disappeared.
The ensuing buzz of conversation brought the guards into the chamber. "Shut up! Go to sleep!" the one known as Grunt ordered them. "You have a lot of work ahead of you tomorrow"
Eric started to yell something, but John pulled him back and clamped a hand over his mouth. The young man bent down to whisper something into Eric’s ear. The boy’s eyes widened and he nodded abruptly. Letting go a sharp sigh of relief, John relaxed and watched the glowering guards retreat and slam the door shut. The grating of the lock being closed released the rigid prisoners, and William, Pascal, Cullen, and Kanin meet in a war-council near the corner where Mary lay sleeping.
Being a Nam veteran, William had assumed the leadership of the community in the absence of Father and Vincent. "We’ve got to act as we have always acted. We can’t let them know that anything is up."
The other men agreed and Pascal added that it needed to be emphasized to the children that they must not say a word about the pending rescue. With the admonition that they tell everyone, William sent the others to talk with their friends.
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The two old friends made their way back to the river cavern to await the return of Catherine and Jamie. They spent the rest of the day finalizing their plans. The next day after a lonely night spent without their loves, they mapped and counted the guards at each of the sentry posts. After another lonely night, the women returned. They had stored a great deal of food, clothing, and medicine in a side tunnel. What the Helpers couldn’t furnish, Catherine purchased. As she told Jamie, she couldn’t think of a better use for the money that her parents had left her. Peter had notified all the Helpers about the plans to wrest control of the tunnels from Paracelsus. They were ready to help in any way they could. Jamie and Catherine left Peter with the promise that they would let him know as soon as possible what had happened. They couldn’t wait to get back to their men and get this rescue under way.
Vincent pulled Catherine into a tight embrace and kissed her soundly. Ecstatic at his lack of inhibition, she rained kissed all over the planes and valleys of his beautiful face. Looking over his shoulder, she was pleased to see Mouse and Jamie in the same position. Shyly Mouse took Jamie’s hand and led her into the little cave they had made their own.
Catherine whispered in Vincent’s ear, and he turned to see the young couple disappear into their cave. "Shall we?" Catherine asked, dragging him in the direction of their cave. Suddenly Vincent scooped her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way, depositing her in the middle of his pallet. He dropped beside her, gathering her into his arms and kissing her passionately until their need for each other had reached the point of no return. Frantically removing their clothing, they joined together, fulfilling all their dreams.
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Paracelsus had continued using the community’s time schedule that coincided with the world Above. Waiting for the assigned day of the rescue was hard on all of them; they wanted it to be over. Daily, Vincent and Mouse took food to the prisoners. Finishing their preparations, they settled back to rest before the arduous task before them. Vincent was particularly restless, needing to absolve the guilt he felt at his perceived failure to protect his family and the need to wrest control of the tunnel world from Paracelsus. To get rid of some of his excess energy, he swam for long periods of time in the cold, invigorating waters of the nameless river. At last, the time arrived to put their plan into motion.
Mouse and Vincent silently dropped through the gap in the ceiling. After a few hurried, whispered instructions, they positioned themselves on either side of the heavily reinforced door. Cullen and Kanin began shouting and scuffling over a warm jacket that had belonged to Caleb, an older member who had finally succumbed to a bad heart. When the guards came rushing in, the two men were locked in a free-for-all. As they struggled to separate the two combatants, Vincent crept up behind them and bashed their heads together. Kanin and John dragged them into an alcove where the women tied them up and then gagged them
Catherine and an angry Jamie dropped into the cavern. No way was Jamie going to the left out of this venture because she was a woman. She growled at Vincent, "I’m part of this rescue too, you know."
Surprised, he glanced at her. "Of course, you are."
"Oh," she answered, her anger deflated. "I thought you were going to leave Catherine and me behind."
"Not leave you. You go with me," Mouse interjected, motioning her to stand beside him.
Catherine greeted all her old friends, telling them to wait in this cavern until it was all over, the younger people would fight this battle. Vincent and his small army set off on their liberation of the tunnels. First they systematically eliminated the sentries. One or more of the men, never the same ones, would distract the guards, giving Vincent and the others the opportunity to sneak up behind them. At last, all the more deadly of Paracelsus’ cohorts were out of action.
Armed with the sentries weapons–clubs, knives, hatchets, and staffs–they quietly and efficiently rounded up the rest of Paracelsus’ supporters, leaving someone to guard those that they captured. So quickly did they move that there was no hint that the home tunnels were being retaken.
Finally, Vincent, Catherine and their family were congregated close to the Common Room entrance. They could hear Paracelsus in the chamber ordering Jacob to make a cup of tea for him. Vincent seemed to shrink into himself and turned away with a sob. Catherine tenderly took his face in her hands and, forcing him to look into her eyes, murmured soothingly, "It’s all right, love. We’re almost there. Everyone but Father is safe. It’s time to release him from his bondage." As she spoke, Vincent slowly straightened with resolution and, with fire in his eyes, strode into the library.
Paracelsus, seated behind Father’s large, antique desk, was watching disdainfully as Serena paraded back and forth, flaunting her newest acquisitions: a diamond tiara and matching necklace, earrings, and bracelets. Startled, Serena stopped in mid-stride to stare wide-eyed at the apparition that appeared suddenly before her. "Vincent!" she mouthed.
Father had noticed some motion out of the corner of his eye and, when he saw that it was Vincent, dropped the cup. Vincent’s eyes closed in pain when he saw how the last two years had changed Father. He was old, white-headed, frightfully thin, unwashed, and unkempt. Paracelsus whirled around to shout at Jacob and saw his retribution standing just inside the entrance. Bitterly he leaned back in the chair and scowled balefully at this thorn in his side that continually robbed him of his well-deserved victories. A sound from behind him caused him to swing around and come face-to-face with Mouse, Jamie, and a small group of tunnel dwellers staring at him from the top of the small metal stairs. He was surrounded.
Staggering, Father clutched at the sideboard to keep from falling only to find Vincent’s strong fingers gripping his and pulling him into a jubilant and relieved embrace. He clutched the son he thought he had lost forever to his heart and, looking up, encountered Catherine’s smiling, green eyes. Sadly, he closed his eyes for a minute and, shaking his head, he knew he owed this young woman more than he could ever repay. Opening his eyes, he reached for her hand and guided it to his lips. "Thank you," he fervently whispered as he placed a kiss on that no longer soft hand. There was a strength and toughness there that he had never noticed before. She nodded then bent and kissed him on the cheek, tears glistening in her eyelashes. At long last, Vincent held his greatest treasures in his arms.
"How touching," Paracelsus’ mocking voice shattered their reunion. "The prodigal son returns and everyone accepts him back with no questions, no recriminations. How like you, Jacob. Forgive and forget. Well, I don’t forgive or forget. What do you plan to do with me? Will Vincent finally succeed in getting rid of me?" If nothing else, the man was a realist. He knew he was looking at death and the end of all his dreams, but he would inflict as much pain as possible before he died.
Reluctantly, almost as if they didn’t want to be near him, Vincent’s army closed around the old man and the young woman.
Serena’s eyes were wide with fright; her head whipped from side to side sending her well-coiffed hair into flying disarray. Her eyes settled at last frantically and fearfully on Vincent. Gathering the shreds of her pride and dignity around her, she approached the man she had sought to destroy. "You won’t hurt me, will you, Vincent? I love you. I always have. I was only doing what he," she pointed at the tall, thin man in black, "made me do." A snort of derision from Jamie caused her to stumble to a halt. Several of the women were loudly disputing her words.
"Vincent won’t, but I will if you don’t shut up," Catherine stated flatly. Serena seemed to shrink into the ugly person she was inside and sullenly dropped into a nearby chair. But still, she didn’t think they would harm her.
Paracelsus spared a withering glare for the cowardly instrument of his revenge then turned back to his enemies. "Well?" he confronted them.
When Catherine had hugged him, Father had felt the unyielding shape of a gun in her pocket. Now he quietly asked her to give it to him.
"What are you going to do?" she whispered.
"I think you know," he answered.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.
"No," he replied as his shoulders slumped, but then a startling change came over him. He stood straight and fixing her with a steely look of resolve, he said, "But it is something I should have done the last time." He held out a hand that was rock solid. "Please?"
Reluctantly she handed it to him, knowing as she did that she would have an equal share in his guilt.
Paracelsus had been enjoying the debate the community had been having about what they should do with him. When Cullen suggested that they throw him into the Abyss, he laughed, knowing they wouldn’t. There was talk of making a jail cell and keeping him in chains. During the sometimes heated discussion, Vincent was strangely silent. He had killed Paracelsus once and couldn’t do it again. This was something the community had to decide for itself.
Father moved to stand in front of the crowd. He raised a hand to silence them, the gun in his other hand hidden in his shirt. Catherine moved next to Vincent and took a firm grip on his arm.
"Jacob, are you going to solve this dilemma?" Paracelsus sneered.
Glancing over his shoulder at the man who had been a source of regret and fear for more than thirty years, Father nodded. "Yes," he said calmly. He turned as he explained, "I failed the last time I tried to stop you and _my_," he emphasized the word, "son paid the price. I will not fail now." Suddenly the gun was pointed at Paracelsus’ chest. Before Vincent could stop him, he pulled the trigger and shot his old enemy through the heart. As John Pater fell, there was a triumphant smile on his thin lips. He had finally provoked Jacob to violence and in his twisted thoughts, that made Jacob as bad as he.
Serena screamed and jumped out of her chair, looking for a means of escape. There was none.
Father sagged and Vincent caught him before he fell. "Father, what have you done?" he asked in horror. Had these last two years completely ruined his world? First Mary and now Father, and he had been disturbed by some of the punishments proposed by his family for the man lying on the floor.
"Finished something that should have been ended long ago." His pleading grey eyes bored into Vincent’s concerned blue one. "Forgive me, son, for betraying all our cherished beliefs and what this world is built on, but I could not allow him to torment you any further."
"There is nothing to forgive. As you have said to me several times, it was necessary." His eyes widened as Father handed the gun back to Catherine.