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“I want to go home. Please, tell us what to do.” Yet another voice. That made at least four women.
“I made it to the edge of the property.” Tracy was trying to keep her voice down so no one but the women could hear her. “But an electric fence surrounds everything. I touched it, and it knocked me out. He brought me back here.”
The woman across from her said, “How far is the fence past the carnival rides?”
That was surprising. “You’ve seen them?”
“Yes, on our so-called date.”
“I was supposed to go on one, but I convinced them I was sick. What’s that about?”
“The other guy, not the blond one, takes you to that strange little amusement park. It was weird because he was so nice. I mean, it would have been pleasant if he wasn’t insane and I wasn’t a prisoner. We rode rides, had dinner outside, and talked.”
“What did you talk about?” Tracy asked.
“He asked me questions about my childhood, especially when I was a teenager. I can’t remember too much, really. I was trying to figure out how to overpower him. Get out of here.”
“But you didn’t try?” Tracy said.
“No. I figured the other guy was watching us. And if I did the wrong thing, he’d retaliate. The threats are always aimed at everyone so you feel responsible for hurting the entire group. And sometimes a woman disappears. So unless you’re ready to die . . .”
“How do you know they disappear?”
“We don’t talk for long, especially after the time we got in trouble, but we still check on each other sometimes. As long as we keep it short—”
“Quit talking!” a male voice said.
The sound of metal panels clanging shut echoed down the hall, but Tracy kept hers open. The blond guy passed by. He was carrying something. Then she heard a knock on a door down the hall and the sound of a panel opening.
“I’m giving you some clothes and shoes,” he said. “Put these on and be ready. When you hear everyone else being served dinner, it’s time. I’ll let you out and take you with me. You’re going on a date. Don’t try anything. It won’t do you any good, and everyone else will be hurt if you cause any trouble. Do you understand?”
Tracy couldn’t hear a response, but he must have gotten what he wanted, because the metal panel was pulled shut. As he walked back down the hall, he whistled that song again. She was really beginning to hate it. When she heard the door at the end of the hall shut, she put her mouth close to the small opening in her door. “Can anyone hear me?”
Another panel down the hall slid open. “My name is Merrie, and I just got here. I’m supposed to go on a date tonight. I ... I don’t want to do this. Please, someone tell me what to do.” Her voice shook like an old woman’s. She was clearly terrified.
“Don’t worry, Merrie,” the woman across from Tracy said. “Just enjoy an evening out of your cell. It’s useless to fight him. Go along with it. You’ll be fine. We’ll all figure out a way to get out of here together. But during the date ... that’s not the time.”
“Okay, but I’m still frightened.”
“I promise you’ll be okay. And we’ll all be here waiting for you. I’m beginning to think we have to keep talking to each other. Take the risk. We have to work together.”
“Merrie, I think I saw you being carried in,” Tracy said. “You have long black hair like mine, right?”
“Yes. Why?”
“I’m wondering if that’s just a coincidence. What about the rest of you? And how old are you?”
“I have long dark hair, and I’m thirty-one.”
“That’s about my age. What about the rest of you?”
After the others responded, they were all silent for a minute. Were they all thinking what she’d been thinking? That this guy was looking for someone in particular?
Then a voice down the hall said, “I’m Marla, and I think they might have taken the woman across from me away.”
“Why do you think so?” Tracy asked.
“Because we usually knock on our doors to say good night. We’ve done it for a while now. But she didn’t respond last night. And the blond guy didn’t deliver food to her. I would have heard it. Besides, since we started talking today, she hasn’t said anything.”
“Look, everyone else say your name out loud,” Tracy said. “That way we can keep track of each other. And when one of us gets out, we can tell the police who’s here. Again, I’m Tracy. And we’ve heard from Merrie and Marla.”
“I’m Amy,” the woman across from her said.
“Rhonda.” This came from down the hall.
The hall was silent, and then there was the sound of someone knocking on a door. No response.
“Her name is Sarah,” Rhonda said. Her voice broke. It was obvious she was worried.
Where was Sarah? And who would disappear next?
