INVISIBLE PART 8 "ELIZABETH'S COMPASS"
Written by Marini Barika Facey
Maddie looks back over at Peter in shock. She holds her stomach and her eyes roll back in her head and Peter darts over to catch her. Madison falls to the ground and half of her body is in the portal and the other half is in the bedroom. Sophie and Gwendolyn see this stranger and run over to help even though they are scared because she suddenly appeared through the tunnel wall. Elizabeth's presence glows and fades in and out; she knows that she is no longer needed. Eliza floats over towards Sophie and Gwen. Peter peeks his head hesitantly through the portal.
Elizabeth weeps and her tears become rays of light that only beam onto Gwenny and Peter. "Gwendolyn, this is your brother!" Gwen looks at her ghostly mother in astonishment, especially because he is so much younger than she is. Sophie touches Madison's belly and says, "Mere, she is having a baby!" Gwendolyn and Peter strangely stare at each other, but know that the questions will have to wait because Maddie is the priority.
As they help Peter carefully sit Maddie up, people begin to get off of the train in a daze. Elizabeth warns Gwendolyn that they will need to quickly get everyone through the portal before they fully understand what has happened to them, so Sophie distracts the passengers. "Walk this way everyone. As they enter the portal into Peter's home, they feel as if they are at a museum or an amusement park. Sophie opens the front door and loves the attention, especially since she has always been alone.
Elizabeth whispers directions to Sophie and she relays the message to the passengers. "Watch your step and have a great day everyone. Take the next left when you get to the end of the street and that will bring you to the bus stop or you can get a taxi. We hope you have enjoyed the adventure!"
The passengers carry their bags and purses, rub their eyes and their heads in confusion, and look around. Sophie winks at her grandmother who changed her form so that the people would not see her, but Sophie can! Elizabeth follows the passengers all the way across the street like a gentle breeze to keep them sedated and unaware of what happened.
Sophie runs back up the steps into Peter and Maddie's flat to see if everything is okay, and she stops because she sees a passenger step through the portal that looks familiar! "Papa! Pere!" Gwendolyn looks up quickly from helping Peter put Madison on the bed.
Gwenny places her shaking hands on her face and then tries to fix her appearance. She begins to weep and Sophie scurries over and squeezes Charles. "Gwendolyn, I am so sorry..." Gwendolyn's anger fades the more she looks at Charles, because she is relieved he is alive. She falls to her knees next to the bed. "You have been away so very long Charlie... Why did you leave us? Why didn't you come back for us? We would have gone with you! We waited for you! Day after day, night after night, we waited for you! People called us crazy! It was so difficult! Why didn't you come for us?" Charles slowly walks over and kneels down beside her.
Peter is happy that everyone is reunited, but is overwhelmed by the portal, Maddie passing out, the passengers, and the strangers who say he is related to them in some way. "Excuse me! Could you all please leave my home? I know this is heartwarming and wonderful, but this is a bit much for me! I can tell you all are used to this kind of thing, but can't you see Madison has passed out, and this is all strange and crazy! Get out!"
Charles looks at Peter and remembers what the sinister man Cyrus said about Peter, and doesn't want to leave his sight. Charlie is elated to see his family, but again, work must come first. He asks Peter if they could stay in his living room for a moment and they will try to be as quiet as possible. Peter shakes his head, sighs, raises a brow, but allows them to stay. "Wait! How do you close that thing?" He points at the portal that caused all this trouble in the first place.
Elizabeth floats back in the flat and shuts the door behind her. "Peter! I know this is a lot to process, but I did it all to protect you." "Who are you? Protect me? Protect me from what? I don't know you! I understand you claim to be my mother and that she is my sister-" "She is your twin sister_" "Look! I know I should believe you because you are already some weird ghost or something, but this is ridiculous! I must be having a nightmare! My dad must of put something in my coffee this morning! He is crazy and carries around that stupid root!"
"That man is not your father! He is evil! He kidnapped you Peter and took you from me when you were born!" Peter's eyes move back and forth in horror and confusion as he listens to his mother; Elizabeth begins to fade the more she explains. Charles grabs Gwendolyn's hand and tells her that her mother will not be able to stay much longer. Sophie screams and says, "No! I just met Grand mere, she cannot leave now!" Sophie throws herself down onto the ground and cries! Maddie begins to wake and wonders if she is having a bad dream, till she sees all the people are still in her bedroom.
Elizabeth floats over and touches Madison's stomach and it starts to glow and everyone can see the fetus. "Hey! What are you doing?" Peter can't handle the chaos and madness. Elizabeth drifts over to the portal, looks back at everyone and is extremely disappointed to have to leave, but she quickly goes through it, and the portal closes behind her. Sophie rushes over and tries to catch her, but it is too late; she pounds her hands on the wall and the floor! Charles has to tear her away from where the portal once was. He struggles and picks up his daughter and gestures to Gwendolyn that they should go into the other room.
"Peter, what is going on? I thought this was all a dream." The baby begins to kick and Madison grunts. "Was that really your mother? Is that beautiful woman truly your sister? That little girl is your niece! You have to find out what all of this means Peter! You have wondered all of your life about who you are! You love the people who adopted you, but you have always felt that something was missing. This is strange, but it makes sense!" "Maddie, just rest. Don't worry about any of this." Madison gives Peter a look and he knows that she won't sleep until she gets every detail about what is going on.
Charlie pops his head in the bedroom to see if he can come in. Maddie kindly asks, "How is the little girl?" "She feel asleep in her mother's lap, because she was exhausted. Peter, I have a great deal to tell you! I know it may be too much for you to handle, but you need answers and I have them." Charles pulls a chair next to the bed and Peter holds Madison's hand tightly as they listen to Charlie try to explain as much about these outlandish occurrences as he possibly can.
Peter cries as he realizes that his mother was really there. He asks if Gwendolyn could come in the room. "Peter, I will go and get her, but I want you to know that whatever Elizabeth did to your baby was a protective spell and will not harm your child." Peter shakes his head and puts his face in Maddie's chest. She gently holds his head and kisses him. "Madison, I knew that man was not good. I always sensed something was wrong even though everyone said he was my father, but all of this sounds like some kind of movie; it can't be real, but I know it is!"
Madison laughs, "Peter, you walked through the wall. I mean, that is incredible! You are just as powerful as all of the things you have just seen! I know it terrifies you baby, but you need these people! They are your family...your real family! They can show you more and help answer all of the questions that you have wanted to know. Yes, this is crazy! It is overwhelming! It is confusing and ridiculous to believe, but maybe they can even help you understand what is happening with you!"
Madison becomes quiet and Peter lifts his head as he sees Gwendolyn enter the room. Maddie squeezes Peter's hand and whispers to him. Charles and Sophie finally come into the room as well. Madison looks at Peter again and then says, "You guys can stay with us as long as you want, because I can tell all of this is important for Peter and also for me. I know this isn't the ideal place to live, but we have an extra room that is for the baby where you can stay for now." Tears of gratefulness and exhaustion trickle down Gwen's eyes as she looks at Maddie. Gwendolyn slowly walks over with a tired, sad Sophie hobbling next to her on her hip. "Thank you. All of this is strange for us as well! We don't understand how any of this is possible! We don't know how it happened! We haven't seen Charlie in a long, long time either. He is the one who can make sense of this and bring a little clarity."
Peter and Charles leave the room and go to the kitchen as Gwen chats with Madison. "Peter, I didn't tell you everything, because we were in front of the others, but I believe you are the only one who can stop Cyrus!" Peter listens closely as Charles speaks and he feels a surge of anxiety, confidence, and fear well up inside of himself. He knows he cannot leave Maddie, but is glad that Gwendolyn and Sophie will be with her. "We have to leave them Peter!" "I need to tell her what is going on Charles!" "I don't know if that is wise Peter." "Charles! Look! We have to do this my way, because clearly you have hurt your family by not telling them anything! I know you think you are keeping them safe by not sharing anything with them, but that is just as dangerous as them knowing! I have to tell Madison!"
As they head back into the bedroom, Sophie walks over like a ghost and says, "Grand mere told me to give this to you Peter." Sophie hands Peter a compass and when he touches it, his mother's life flashes before his eyes and everything Elizabeth wanted Peter to know about his extraordinary gifts burst and whir in front of him! Everyone in the room is in awe, because Peter's eyes are like beams of light projecting everything he sees onto the walls in front of them. Gwendolyn weeps. Madison shakes but is awestruck and the baby kicks. Charles nods because he already knew what Peter will have to go through; he cannot hide the weight of what this means from his eyes. Sophie sadly smiles as she sees her grandmother painted radiantly across the walls. They all stare in silence and it is clear that their adventure is just beginning...
To Be Continued!