Even though it would have made a good weapon, Sara couldn’t bring herself to touch it. Instead she took a utility knife—one with a retractable razor blade—and quickly freed her wrists and ankles. Then she grabbed Jack’s sling, winding it over her shoulder.
Now to go get my kids.
Sara went to the door and carefully checked the hallway. Clear. Not knowing which way to go, she chose left, creeping alongside the wall, listening for any sounds.
One came from behind her. A toilet flush.
Sara hurried into the nearest room. It looked a lot like Martin’s, with a bed and a table piled high with gore-stained tools. Along the wall were dozens of pictures, taped there. Pictures of people. Of victims. Some of them kids form the Center. Alongside the wall was a large wooden crate.
Footsteps, from the hall. Getting closer.
The table was too small to fit beneath. The bed had no dust ruffle and she’d be easily spotted. There weren’t any other doors.
That left the crate. Sara rushed to it, put a leg over the side, and climbed in, pressing her belly down onto a pile of hay.
The smell hit her first, reminding her of a dog kennel.
Then she realized there was something in the crate with her.
“Uuuuuuhhhhnnnn,” it said.
Sara clamped a hand over her mouth so she didn’t scream. It was only a foot away from her, buried beneath the filthy straw. The thing undulated, and Sara saw a glimpse of white skin.
“Uuuuuuuhhhhhnn.”
The footsteps came into the room. Sara heard them walk over to a dresser, heard the drawer open.
The thing wiggled. “Uhhhhhnnnnnn.”
“Lester will clean the crate soon,” said the man who belonged to the footsteps. “Lester promises.”
More hay fell away, and Sara stared at something that used to be human. The eyes were gone, the limbs were gone, the face horribly scarred and yet somehow…
Familiar.
“Uhhhhhhhhhnnn.”
The torso turned toward Sara, sniffing her, squirming closer, and Sara realized who she was looking at.
My god. It’s Martin’s brother, Joe.
“Lester will change the bedding later. Be quiet, or Lester will get angry.”
Joe opened his mouth, getting ready to wail again. With a mixture of revulsion and sadness, Sara reached over and put her hand over his mouth to keep him quiet.
It didn’t keep Joe quiet. When Joe was touched, he screamed. Sara recoiled, pushing back against the side of the crate, trying to bury herself in the soiled straw as Lester’s footsteps drew closer.
“The pet wants hay,” Lester said. “Lester will get some hay. Along with the stick.”
The crate shook—Lester giving it a kick. Then Sara heard him walk out of the room.
Sara moved fast, getting to her knees, swinging a leg over the side, and then stopping.
She looked back down at Joe’s torso, pale and scarred. She couldn’t leave him like this. There didn’t seem to be any of Joe left in this body. The funny, outgoing man she once knew was now a pathetic, sub-human creature.
“I’m sorry, Joe,” she whispered.
The utility knife parted his neck with a whisper, and Sara hopped out as the blood began to gush.
Sara ran to the hallway, focusing on the task ahead rather than dwelling on what she’d just done. Seeing Lester disappear around a corner, Sara went in the opposite direction, finding another door.
Dark in the room. Dark and quiet.
She squinted in the darkness, making out a square shape in the corner.
Another crate? Jesus… another trunk?
Sara wanted out of the room, but she knew she had to check it out. She inched closer, grasping the bloody utility knife, letting her eyes adjust to the dim.
No, not a trunk.
A crib.
She rushed toward it, still frightened but needing to know. Hands on the railing, she stared down at the tangle of blankets, hoping against all hope…
Jack’s eyes were closed, his little chest moving up and down as he slept.
Crying silently, Sara pressed her son to her chest, kissing his head, inhaling his beautiful baby smell. She tucked him into his sling on her belly, adjusted the straps and belt, and crept back into the hallway, heading for the stairs.
Sara froze, hearing the footsteps echoing up at her, drawing closer. She went the other way, down the long corridor, which dead-ended at a door. A large, iron door, with a slot in the center and a bar across it.
“Here comes Lester, and Lester is angry.”
Sara looked through the slot, seeing an antechamber with another door, also with a slot. She didn’t like the looks of it, but she heard Lester’s footsteps echoing closer and had no place else to go.
She removed the bar and went inside, closing the door gently behind her. On the floor were two empty plates and glasses. Sara approached the second door cautiously, placing an ear against it.
There was nothing to hear.
Sara bent down, putting her face close to the slot, trying to peer inside. She could make out a room, awash in dim, flickering light. There was also a smell. A sickly sweet, coppery smell.
“NOOOOOOOOOOO!”
Lester must have discovered Joe. Sara had no options left. She opened the second door and went inside.
The lighting effect was from candles, set up all around the room. But rather than evoke a peaceful, church-like setting, it was more akin to a medieval dungeon. The stone walls looked damp, and the floor was covered with brown stains that made Sara’s shoes stick.
She looked around. There was a large bureau, an umbrella stand, a workbench, and a table and chair with salt and pepper shakers and a roll of paper towels. There was also a bed, and for a bad moment it looked like there was someone in it.
No; it was just pillows and shadows. But beneath the bed might make a good place to hide. With the low light in here, it would be tough to see under it.
Sara also wondered if she could hide in the bureau, which seemed big enough, when she noticed another door in the corner of the room.
A bathroom? A closet?
The door was wooden, slightly ajar. Sara didn’t want to see what was behind it but knew she had no real choice.
She was heading for the door when she heard a squeaking sound.
It’s coming from the bureau.
She paused, moving closer, her arms wrapped protectively around Jack.
The bureau rattled.
That’s when Sara realized it wasn’t a bureau at all. It was something else. Something horrible.
And someone was inside.
After only a few minutes, Martin tired of Captain Prendick’s screams. The gridiron was as he’d remembered; hands-off and boring. There was nothing for him to do but watch, and Prendick was face-down so he couldn’t even see the man’s expressions.
Martin said a goodbye that probably wasn’t even heard, then took off. He was anxious to get started on Sara. He also needed another Vicodin—his cheeks really stung.
Gun cocked and eyes scanning the trees for ferals, Martin headed back to the prison.
Tom hurt. His finger felt like it was being crushed, burned, and sawed-off, all at the same time. Then that freakazoid Lester poked him over and over with that frickin’ nail, and each one was worse than a bullet wound combined with a snake bite, which was a guess on Tom’s part because he’d never actually been shot or bitten. But they hurt like frickin’ hell.
To make the whole thing even worse, he was thirsty, he was forced to watch Tyrone and that skank Cindy hold hands and make lovey-dovey eyes at each other, and he still had a little piece of Meadow stuck in his teeth that he couldn’t get out.