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“Why is she here? And what are you doing with her?”
Cain shrugged. “Who knows? But it’s going to be interesting.”
* * *
Aurora
I sat up in bed with a gasp, my gaze dancing across the room, wondering what had woken me up.
Everything looked normal. The door to my room was still closed, and my closet door was still cracked open, light pouring into the room.
A loud bang crashed, like the sound of someone dropping a metal pan on a tile floor, and I jerked in surprise. Where had that come from?
And then there was something else.
It took me a moment to realize what I was hearing.
Screaming.
Nearby.
Like an animal dying.
I froze for a second, and then I hesitantly got out of the bed, shivering as my feet touched the cold wooden floor.
It was okay to leave my room. Nothing was going to happen to me. I was safe now. I was with my dad.
Even though I was telling myself that, I still opened the door as quietly as I could and then stood there for several long moments, seeing if I heard anything else.
It happened again and I flinched.
It took me a minute to figure it out.
It didn't sound like it was coming from outside. It sounded like it was coming from…below.
I took one step out of my room, and then another. And then I walked down the dark hallway until I got to the living room, not seeing my dad anywhere. I wandered into the kitchen, thinking maybe I was just imagining it. Maybe it was wind going through the pipes or the water heater…or something.
That happened, right?
Just as I was getting a drink of water, I heard it again. The glass slipped out of my hand and shattered onto the floor. I was shaking as I stood there, not sure what to do. Finally, I tiptoed over to where the butcher’s block was on the counter and slid out one of the largest knives.
I knew where the sound was coming from now. The basement.
Everything inside of me was screaming not to go, that I should immediately crawl back into bed and put my head under the covers. But I moved forward, like I didn't have control of my body anymore. Until I was standing in front of the basement door.
The one door of the house that I’d never opened.
I jumped as another loud scream shot through the air. It was definitely coming from down there.
My dad had warned me about the basement. He’d told me that there were boxes and broken things he hadn't had time to get rid of and that if I went down there, I’d probably end up hurting myself.
And like daddy’s good little girl, I hadn't tried to go down there…until now.
The scream sounded familiar. I’d heard that voice scream happily, when she threw her arms around my neck and hugged me, when she watched her big brother’s soccer games and cheered.
My hand was shaking as I turned the door knob, trying to be as quiet as possible. My breathing was coming out in gasps, and it sounded too loud.
I got the door opened and I paused, sure that whoever was downstairs had heard me and would be storming through the second door at the bottom of the stairs.
