Sabrina watched the happiness in the parents' eyes. The Frog Prince and his wife kneeled down to their unconscious daughter, Bella, and slowly caressed her face. Even the spider cooed over his son, Toby. They loved their monstrous, murderous children. Sabrina looked into her box of matches. She reached in and took out the last of the Match Girl's matches. She could save it until her arm was well, then rescue her mom and dad, but it would take weeks. She couldn't be without them for another day. She needed them right now. She made a wish, then struck the match against the box's flinty surface. The flame came to life and shined in the cold night.
'Sabrina, no!' Granny Relda cried.
'Look at what I've become,' the girl said sadly. 'I need my mom and dad.'
'Sabrina, you listen to me! I forbid it. It's too dangerous,' Granny said, but Sabrina could already see her parents, safe and asleep on a bed, inside the flame. She tossed the match to the ground and the portal grew. Without even a glance at her grandmother or sister, she stepped through and found herself on the other side.
The room was dark. It was also warm, which made Sabrina a bit dizzy, stepping from such icy cold air into the heat. She shook off the dizziness and rushed to her parents, embracing them both the best she could.
'I'm going to take you home, now,' she said, dragging her unconscious mother from the bed and onto the floor. She pulled as strongly as she could with her one good arm, edging closer and closer to the portal, where she could see Granny, Daphne, and Puck waiting with worried faces.
Suddenly, Daphne's face grimaced in terror and she started shouting, but Sabrina couldn't hear a word. Sound didn't cross the portal.
What is she trying to tell me?
And that's when the figure stepped out of the shadows. Sabrina knew she might someday have to confront her parents' kidnapper, but her imagination had not prepared her for the person she now saw in front of her. She was a child, probably Daphne's age, wearing a red cloak and a sadistic grin. Sabrina had never seen an expression like that on a little girl.
'Did you bring my puppy?' the child asked, sniffing the air.
'Who are you?' Sabrina asked.
'No, you didn't,' the little girl said angrily. 'But you've been around my puppy. Where is he?'
The little girl reached out and put her hand on Sabrina's shirt. When she removed it, a bloodred stain remained-a handprint.
'I can't play house without my grandma or my puppy,' the girl said.
'I don't know what you're talking about,' Sabrina said, trying to find the strength to get her mother through the portal.
'Yes, gibberish, that's what I speak,' the little girl agreed. 'Not a word makes sense. That's what they said. They said 1 had imagination.'
'What do you want?'
'I want to play house!' The little girl's face grew very angry and she pointed a finger at Sabrina.
'I have a mommy and a daddy and a baby brother and a kitty. Do you want to pet the kitty?'
Just then, Sabrina heard an inhuman voice slurping and slavering behind her. It said, 'Jabberwocky, Jabberwocky, Jabberwocky' over and over again. She turned to see what was making the noise and a shriek flew out of her throat. Hunching over her was something too impossible to exist-a combination of skin and scales and jagged teeth. Even in a town like Ferryport Landing, Sabrina had never seen something that brought so much horror.
'My, you are an ugly one,' a voice said from across the room. The monster turned. Puck was standing next to the portal, hands on hips, like some kind of comic-book hero. 'Come on, Grimm. I'm here to rescue you.'
With a hiss, the portal burned out and closed behind him. Puck looked back and grimaced. 'Uh-oh.'
The little girl screamed with rage. 'I don't need a sister or another brother! I need a grandma and a puppy!'
Suddenly, the monster swung its enormous arm at Sabrina, and then the room went black.
To be continued…
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michael Buckley has written and developed television shows for many networks. The Mole People and The New Sideshow can be seen regularly on the Discovery Channel. Michael lives in New York City. The Sisters Grimm books are his first.
