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“All business,” Ben reiterated.
Mo nodded, a knowing smile playing on his lips. "Fair enough. I’m happy to keep you distracted with loads of work so you don’t fall in love with her. You and King are going to be our work horses here.”
“More trenches to dig?” Ben wiped at the sweat gathering on his brow as Paisley glided over to them. There was a little jump in her step that made Ben hopeful that she might be finding some relief from all the terror she’d faced.
“Ben,” she called, excited in a way he hadn’t seen from her before. The tension was gone from her back and the worry from her brow. “We’re going to put on a play. The kids are really excited. I’m going to direct.” She did a little bow to show how important she felt.
She practically jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly. “A play?” he asked, wondering how they’d put on any production way out here.
“Isn’t that great?” She buzzed with delight as Mo stepped out of the ditch to introduce himself.
“Hello, Miss Paisley. I’m Mo. Glad you’re here with us, and we’ll be very happy for any kind of play you direct. The kids love things like that; it’s been ages since we’ve done it. Ben and I can get a stage together. It won’t be anything too big or fancy but we’ll make something.”
“Really?” she clapped her hands together eagerly. “And maybe a few things for the set?”
“Sure we can do that, right Ben?”
“Absolutely.” Ben nodded along with the plan, so relieved to see Paisley smiling.
She rose on her tiptoes and kissed Ben’s cheek. “I’m excited. I haven’t felt like this in so long. Just like my old self. Thank you for helping me out.”
“Ben will do anything for you. Just like we see in the movies. He’ll fight a bear for you,” Mo called out as Paisley headed back toward the center of Cinderhill.
“A bear?” Paisley asked, turning to check if he was serious. “There are bears?”
Mo laughed, “Not while Ben’s around.”
CHAPTER7
PAISLEY
The bed didn’t seem as lumpy and uncomfortable tonight. Or maybe she was so exhausted from helping out as much as she could around Cinderhill. Either way, when it was time to close her eyes, she didn’t cry herself to sleep. She didn’t think about all the things she could have done differently in the last eighteen months. She and Ben didn’t linger over the idea of how strange it was that they were rooming together like they were at sleep-away camp.
Instead, Paisley drifted into a deep sleep. It felt like a blessing until her mind began swirling with fragmented images and a sense of dread. In her dream, she was standing in a grand hotel lobby, surrounded by adoring fans. The air was filled with excitement as cameras flashed and people clamored for her attention. It was a familiar occurrence in her life, yet it still always shocked her when people stood in line to spend some time sharing space with her.
As she looked closer, the faces of the fans distorted, morphing into grotesque figures with sinister grins. Their eyes narrowed and panic coursed through her veins. She tried to step back, only to trap herself, the crowd closing in, their presence suffocating. The dream became a nightmare.
Desperation consumed her as she fought against the smothering crush of bodies, but her attempts to escape were futile. The world around her darkened, and suddenly, she was in a small room off the lobby, the walls closing in. The room was filled with a nauseating stench, and as she looked down, she realized it was the stench of blood. Of death.
A shiver ran down her spine as she noticed the lifeless bodies of rats scattered across the floor, their heads gruesomely severed. The room seemed to pulse with an eerie energy, and she could hear the scurrying of rats in the corners, their numbers multiplying exponentially.
Fear consumed her as the rats scurried, pouring into the room from every crevice. Their beady eyes locked onto her, their sharp teeth gnashing in anticipation. She desperately clawed at the walls, trying to find an escape, but there was no way out. No door.
Paisley's screams echoed through the tiny room, her voice a desperate plea for help, but no one came. The claustrophobia intensified as the rats swarmed over her, crawling up her legs and covering her body. She felt their sharp bites, their claws digging into her flesh.
Her heart pounded in her chest as she gasped for breath. In that moment of desperation, she jolted awake, her body covered in a cold sweat. She sat up in bed, panting heavily, her hand instinctively reaching out for someone, anyone.
The nightmare clung to her like a thick fog, refusing to release its grip. When a hand finally touched her shoulder, she swung her arm wildly, inadvertently landing a punch on Ben's cheek. Pain shot through her hand as she realized what she’d done, and she quickly reached out to check if Ben was okay.
"Ben, I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, her voice trembling with a mix of fear and distress. "I punched you.”
Ben winced, a hand pressed against his cheek, but he quickly reassured her. "I can take a punch. You okay? Were you dreaming?”
Tears welled up in Paisley's eyes as she curled in around herself, sitting upright in her bed. The sheets were tangled around her, making the feeling of claustrophobia even worse.
"It was... I freaked out. I’m sorry," she began, her voice shaky. "There was this meet and greet I was doing. It went really badly and I felt like I was right back there.”
“A bad day in Hollywood still seems like it would be a pretty good day.” Ben tried to lighten the mood but Paisley couldn’t bring herself to laugh.
