One by one, Helena placed the marbles into the hub where the bearings
had been. They were slightly smaller than the bearings, but they didn’t
have far to go. She rocked back and sighed.

“What’s wrong,” Alice asked.

“Hmmm,” Helena mused. “The grease melted from the heat of the
lightning. You need grease to pack the marblesotherwise, they’ll just
grind up and break, even over a short distance.”

Alice colored deeply, picked up her canvas bag and rummaged around.
Dana turned her back. She didn’t want to know. Alice pulled out a tube
of KY Jelly. “Will this work?”

Helena’s face brightened and broke into a wide grin. “PerfectAlice,
you are a remarkably resourceful woman.” Helena squeezed the petroleum
jelly into the hub, working it in and around all the temporary marble
bearings, tested them to see if they moved freely enough. Then, to
everyone’s astonishment, she wiped her hands on her tuxedo pants.

Helena stood up, righted the chair, pushed it back and forth a few
times. “I think this will do nicely, Cinnamon.” With that, she walked
over, leaned down, placed one arm around Cinnamon’s shoulders, the
other beneath her knees and lifted her as if she were a child, setting
her down in her chair. Cinnamon smiled and nodded, as if she understood
something more than what was being said or done.

“Well, girlsshall we go? My house is just down this street and then the next right. Ten more minutes at the most.”

The group murmured their approvalthe long trek was almost over and god
willing, there would be no more armed madmen in their way.

Helena pushed Cinnamon in the wheelchair as the group fanned out along side, lighting the way with their flashlights.

“UmHelena?” Jenny asked tentatively. “Where did you learn?”

“The little repair job?” Helena threw back her head and laughed. “When
I was a child, my favorite chauffeur was also the household car
mechanic. He had a workshop in the garage. He was always tinkering with
things when he didn’t have to drive us somewhere. I used to cut ballet
class to go down and watch him. He had the most amazing hands.” Her
voice trailed off and her eyes glazed with the memory. “He said if I
was going to be in the way, he was going to put me to work. And he did.
So” she shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, “I picked up a few useful
skills along the way. I never thought I’d ever use them though.”

Down the road, to the right, and one more block and there was a house
blazing with light. “I own more candles than anyone I know,” Helena
laughed. “I knew I could count on my staff to have the house ready when
I got home, though I’m sure they didn’t know I’d be bringing along so
many houseguests.”

A cheer went up as the women realized they had found what they most needed at this moment. Refuge.