I tried to pull back, but her grip didn’t budge. Her fingers were locked around my arms like metal clamps.
“The monster!” she now screamed. “He hurts us!”
That was when I shoved her—hard. Her body reeled just enough for me to break free.
I ran like the devil was after me.
I wasn’t sure if she was following, but I didn’t stop to look. My feet pounded the floor, and the tunnel blurred. The air felt colder somehow.
“Don’t come back here!” she yelled from behind me. “The monster!”
Her voice got smaller as I turned the corner.
“He hurts us!”
The words barely reached me. Then nothing. Stone and silence swallowed her whole.
I made it to the stairs, glancing back once.
No one was there.
My hand caught the railing, and I started up.
The first step groaned under my weight. I paused, then noticed something strange. Every second step looked cleaner. Almost new. No cracks, no splinters, no signs of wear.
I tested one of them. Solid.
Then the next.
I moved fast, landing only on every second step. One after another, they held firm, carrying me safely back toward the light.
I slammed the yellow door shut behind me, hard enough to rattle the frame.
“Tara!” I called out.
No answer.
Of course, I didn’t call for Hudson. The woman said Daniel had nothing to do with it. But what about Hudson? What if he was the monster?
I pulled out my phone. My fingers shook so badly, I could hardly unlock the screen. I leaned into the door with my back.
The phone rang once.
Then—
“Nine-one-one, what’s your emergency?” The female voice on the other end was calm, efficient.
“I...” My throat locked up. “I need help. There’s a woman. She’s trapped. In my basement.”
“A woman is trapped in your basement?” the dispatcher repeated, her voice shifting to a firmer tone. “What’s the address?”
“I don’t know.” I swiped my hand across my forehead. “I-I don’t know the address. It’s an old mansion outside Camden. People call it the Breakers. It belongs to Daniel Winthrop. Please, just send someone.”
“The Breakers?” she echoed. “Can you describe how to get there?”
“There’s a main road that heads out of Camden. You stay on it for about twenty minutes. Then there’s a gas station on the right, Tippers.”
“Tippers on Breezy Way and Route 1? Or Dennett and Thumps?”
