Marcia fumbled her way out of the booster seat and fell to the ground. It hurt a bit, but she didn’t let it slow her down. She had to go after the man!
To her horror, like her speaking ability, her walking ability had been reduced. She could walk, but only in a slow toddle. After swearing softly to herself, she resorted to crawling after the man, as she would be able to go faster that way. Somehow, she managed to catch up to the man as he headed for the main entrance. She grabbed the cuff of his pants. He looked down.
“You’re quite a determined little diaper-filler, aren’t you?” he remarked, visibly amused. He laughed. “Looks like if I really want you out of my hair, I’ll have to put you in your place.” The man ruffled Marcia’s hair. “Don’t worry, I’ll let you keep your dog and your doll.” He snapped his fingers. Marcia immediately fell asleep.
When Marcia woke up, she wasn’t in the mansion lobby anymore. She was in a crib. Thankfully, the doll that had been Christine was still with her, and as she got to her feet, she could see Rusty curled up by the foot of the crib.
“Wuthy?” she said quietly. Rusty lifted his head. “What happen?” Rusty looked at her. Marcia sighed. “Wight. You no talk.” She attempted to jiggle the crib to get down, but lacked any coordination to do so. She looked around. There was a baby monitor on a nearby end table. She immediately began to wail, hoping it would bring someone over.
Promptly, the door to the room she was in opened. A strange woman walked in and picked Marcia up.
“Oh, shush, shush, sweetie,” the woman cooed.
“Where me?” Marcia whined. The woman stroked Marcia’s hair.
“A nice man found you and your doggy abandoned in the park. The nice police are looking for your parents, but for now, you’re going to stay here, okay? Can you tell me your name? The man didn’t know it.”
“Martha.”
“Martha. What a lovely name.” Marcia swore mentally. Because of her lisp, she couldn’t say her name properly! “Martha, my name is Eloise, and I’m…”