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That’s not the only reason I didn’t want Allie to come here, though. I didn’t want to risk her stumbling onto any clues that could lead to Orso. Also, I didn’t want her reliving the worst memory of her childhood. I wasn’t just worried that she’d freeze. I was worried she’d break down when forced to visit the scene of her nightmare.
At the top of the creaking stairs, I stop and glance at the various doors down the hall. I wonder where Allie was kept, exactly. A bedroom? I suddenly have an urge to know.
I understand it’s a painful memory for Allie so she doesn’t want to talk about it. Maybe if I know what happened, she won’t have to. Maybe if I can step into her nightmare, I can help her get rid of it and she won’t have to keep trying to go after the people responsible. Maybe she’ll be able to let go of the past. Maybe we both can.
I open the door to every room. Nothing.
There’s only one room left – the one upstairs. The attic.
I guess that’s a good place to keep a girl prisoner, though I still don’t understand why Sergio Bianchi would lock up his own daughter. I understand why he kidnapped her. But why take her here and not whisk her off somewhere far away at once? Why lock her up and board the windows? Was it just to keep her safe from Orso? Why keep her in an attic when there are plenty of bedrooms downstairs? Why let her sleep on the floor? Why the boarded windows?
I keep those questions in mind as I go up the stairs. These narrow ones creak even more loudly. At the top, there’s a small area with old furniture and boxes. Then there’s the door.
I open it. As soon as I go through, I catch the stench in the room. I turn on the lights and see the bottle of spoiled milk on the floor, as well as a jug filled with a yellowish liquid in the corner. There’s a dead rat, too.
Well, better a rat’s corpse than a girl’s.
I see evidence of a young girl staying here, though. A jacket left behind. A teddy bear with red button eyes in tatters. A stretch of cardboard on the floor and an old blanket. I see the boarded windows as well, indicating that someone was kept imprisoned here.
I swallow. Allie was kept here.
I know I said I wanted to step into her nightmare, but now that I’m here, I don’t want to imagine it. I don’t want to imagine her scared and helpless. I’m glad she isn’t here. She wouldn’t have been able to bear the memory.
I’m about to leave, but then I glimpse a photo on the wall next to the window. I pick it up and my eyebrows furrow.
Orso?
Suddenly, the door behind me falls shut. I run to it and try to open it but fail. I hear the rustle of boots and the sound of heavy wood being dragged outside.
Someone just locked me in. And he’s stacking pieces of furniture against the door to keep me in.
Fuck. Why didn’t I sense someone approaching? Was it because I was too preoccupied?
I don’t panic, though. A locked door is no reason to be afraid. I’ll find a way to get out. I always do.
I draw a deep breath.
For now, I have to stay calm and organize my thoughts. I have time.
Or so I think until I hear something start to beep. I trace the sound to the teddy bear. After I rip it open, my eyes grow wide.
It’s a bomb. And the timer says I have less than a minute left before it goes off.
Okay. I suppose I should hurry.
I look at the boarded windows. One of them is my only way out. I pick the one that has the fewest boards and shoot the glass so that it shatters. Then I wrap my fists in Allie’s old jacket and punch the boards. My jaw clenches and my teeth scrape as I put all my strength into my task.
Come on.
Even with the jacket serving as gloves, my fists start to hurt. I ignore the pain. Finally, one board cracks, then another. I pull them off and glance at the timer. Nineteen seconds.
I squeeze through the window and run towards the edge. I have no choice but to jump so I do that, leaping through the darkness. I’m still floating through the air when the house explodes.
The sound rips through my ears and sends my eardrums ringing. The force throws me into a tree several feet away. My chest hits the trunk and I feel a rib crack. As oxygen leaves my lungs, I fall down. I lose consciousness even before I hit the ground.
~
When I regain consciousness, I find myself still on the ground. The sky is still dark. I catch a glimpse of the moon through the tree branches.
