"Wendell, get out," Prudence said. "Let Mr. Pryde find Samantha and bring her back."
"No!" he said. Of course Prudence wouldn't understand. She didn't care about anything she couldn't put in her mouth and swallow. "I'm not going to leave her."
Mr. Pryde reached into the automobile, unfastening Wendell's seatbelt. Wendell scurried over to Prudence's former seat, but Mr. Pryde caught hold of his legs and dragged him from the automobile. He then tossed Wendell over his shoulder like a bag of wheat, not so much as grunting when Wendell punched him in the back as hard as he could. Mr. Pryde dumped Wendell on a couch in the parlor and then reached into his pocket for a cigarette. "I'm sorry, kid, but there ain't time to argue about this. You two stay here and keep out of trouble."
Wendell got to his feet and tried to race after Mr. Pryde, but found Prudence blocking the doorway with her wide body. "He said to stay here," she said.
"You always do what you're told. If you had let me go after Samantha in the first place none of this would have happened," he said. "It's your fault."
"My fault? I did what Samantha wanted us to do. How was I supposed to know what would happen?"
Wendell tried to break past Prudence, but she was too heavy for him to move. "Get out of my way!" he shouted.
"No." He reared back and punched her in the center of her bulging gut. Prudence's face turned red and tears came to her eyes. She pushed Wendell back; he tripped over the couch and crumpled to the floor. Prudence rubbed her stomach as she continued to cry not just from the pain of Wendell hitting her.
Samantha was gone. Her best friend had abandoned her and the other children on Eternity still needed their help. Prudence couldn't do this herself and scrawny little Wendell wouldn't be of much use. They were doomed.
Wendell tried to stand up, but felt a flash of pain in his ankle from where he'd tripped. Stupid Prudence, standing there crying like a baby when they should be out looking for Samantha. He sat up and then used his hands to bounce himself onto the couch. "Are you hurt?" Prudence asked.
"Yes, thanks to you. Is your brain as flabby as the rest of you? We can't let Samantha go."
"What good would it do for us to get lost trying to find her? Mr. Pryde will have an easier time without us." She came over and plopped down next to Wendell on the couch.
"Do you really think he'll find her?"