The Slither Sisters

EIGHT





Ms. Lavinia explained that she was born Claudine Tillinghast at 10:25 a.m. on April 12, 1945. Her twin brother, Crawford, had been born just seven minutes earlier.

The children grew up in Tillinghast Mansion. For years, they were the best of friends. “It was a wonderful house back in the old days,” she explained. “Warm, cheerful, full of light. My brother and I spent our days reading books and playing hide-and-seek. But everything changed after Crawford left for college and discovered his ‘research.’ ”

As a young man studying physics, he pioneered a unique theory of alternate dimensions. Crawford believed there were worlds within our world—“invisible lands,” he called them, occupied by ancient and powerful beasts. His classmates called him crazy. Even his professors mocked his wild ideas. Eventually Crawford became so disgusted, he dropped out of college.

Claudine was the only person who never lost faith in him. When Crawford returned to the family home, he used all his money to build a laboratory in its basement. “And I became his lab assistant,” Ms. Lavinia explained, “because I was the only person who believed in him.”

For years, they worked together in the laboratory, searching for invisible lands without success. The days were long. They rose at dawn and worked for twelve hours or more. Crawford constructed dozens of outrageous machines and Claudine worked alongside him, testing the devices and taking detailed notes. There were no vacations, no holidays, no time for anything resembling fun. Crawford only had time for research. He was obsessed.

“And then one morning something incredible happened,” Ms. Lavinia continued. “Crawford sent me to the beach to collect some tidal pool specimens. Sea stars, anemones, barnacles—we were always running experiments on something. But that morning, there was another man on the beach. The handsomest man I’d ever met. You’ll have to forgive the cliché, but it was love at first sight.”

Soon Claudine was spending all her time with Warren Lavinia, a marine biologist who worked at the Dunwich Marine Museum and Lighthouse. They spent many wonderful hours together in a tall tower overlooking the rocky coast—such a sunny and cheerful place compared to Tillinghast’s damp, dank basement laboratory.

When Crawford learned that his sister was marrying Warren—and leaving the lab—he was furious. He refused to attend her wedding, and he replaced Claudine with a team of scientists and their families.

“He called my marriage a betrayal. He said his work was far more important than any silly romance. I tried to make amends, but he never forgave me.”

Then came the infamous fire, in which Crawford Tillinghast and seventeen other people lost their lives—or so she thought. “For thirty years I was happily married while Crawford was trapped in the alternaverse. But now that the gates are open, my brother is having his revenge. He keeps me enslaved. I clean his rooms, I prepare his meals, I serve his disgusting beasts like they’re royalty. At night I sleep on a cold stone floor.” She paused to check her wristwatch. “And if I leave Tillinghast or the school for more than an hour, he will send his monsters after my husband and kill him.”

“That’s not fair,” Robert said.

“Can we stop him?” Glenn asked.

“I honestly don’t think it’s possible,” said Ms. Lavinia. “With the gates open, he can access our world at will. He can capture students one by one and replace them with monsters. He’s amassing an army like nothing the human world has ever seen. Even with all our weapons and computers, I don’t think we’re any match for it. Our best hope is to slow him down. To buy more time. I’m here tonight to ask for your help.”

“Of course we’ll help,” Robert said.

“Totally,” Glenn said. “We don’t want to be stuck in jars for the rest of our lives. We’ll do anything.”

“Excellent,” Ms. Lavinia said. “We need Robert to run for president of student council. And he needs to win. The election is Friday, so you’ll have to work quickly.”

At precisely that moment, Pip and Squeak came racing out of the kitchen, tracking salad dressing all over the linoleum floor. Robert grabbed a roll of paper towels and ran after them, wiping up their tracks. Once he had finished, the rats hopped onto the sofa and nuzzled their heads into Ms. Lavinia’s belly. Robert expected her to be horrified, but instead she just scratched his pets behind their necks, like she was greeting baby kittens.

“You’re such a cutie-pie,” she whispered.

“Can we go back to what you said earlier?” Robert asked. “About student council?”

Ms. Lavinia nodded. “If Sarah wins this election, she will control the student body. And if she controls the student body, then it’s only a matter of time before she literally controls the students’ bodies. Do you understand?”

“But why me?” Robert asked. “Can’t we help Howard Mergler win instead?”

Ms. Lavinia shook her head. “I have seen student councils come and go for thirty years. Mr. Mergler has good ideas and honest intentions. But he has no chance of beating Sarah Price.”

“Then how about Glenn?”

“I’m afraid Mr. Torkells is ineligible. Too many disciplinary infractions.” This was a polite way of saying that Glenn had a history of getting into trouble. At their previous school, he held the record for most detentions in a single year.

“I wish I could help,” Robert said, “but I have no idea how to run for president.”

“It’s very simple,” Ms. Lavinia said. “Tomorrow morning, you go see Mr. Loomis. He’s the faculty advisor for student council. You ask him to put your name on the ballot, and I’ll take care of the rest.”

“But I can’t win,” Robert insisted. “I’m not a leader.”

Ms. Lavinia shrugged. “Well, I’m afraid you need to become one.”