“Enter.”
Run. Now. Run.
The familiar voice set the Devil wild inside of me. He thrashed against my walls, begging to take control of my body so we couldflee. I hadn't expected such a violent response, but then the mirrored room flashed behind my eyelids with every blink—the water, the chains, the isolation. I took an involuntary step back from the door, but Nathaniel reached for my hand, squeezing it gently before I could run.
Words were exchanged between Joe and the woman before the door opened wider and Nathaniel and I were allowed inside. The ‘Captain’s’ office had been invaded by mold, black blotches crawling along the peeling wallpaper like bruises on a decaying corpse. It was small, with only enough space for one tall bookshelf pressed up against the left corner and a desk, the wooden floorboards speckled with dust. An earthy dampness thickened the air, every inhale poison. I tried to hold my breath, but the sight of Joe knocked it out of me.
He was seated behind the desk, a framed photo of him and his followers hanging on the wall behind him. His hair had greyed, but his eyes maintained the cold menace I remembered when he locked me in that mirrored room.
He rose to his feet to shake Nathaniel’s hand, but when his eyes landed on me, he paused, hand slowly dropping to his side.
Run! Run! Run!
I met his gaze, daring him to throw me out, banish me, create a scene in front of all his devoted followers. I wasn’t that same scared little boy anymore. There was no way he would have the power to lock me inside a dark room ever again.
“You’ve grown,” were his first words to me as he slowly sunk down into his chair.
“You’ve aged,” was my response.
Joe seemed to forget all about Nathaniel as he assessed me. “What are you doing here?”
“Where is my mother?” I demanded.
A flicker of confusion crossed his wrinkled face, his lips parting as if to speak, only to hang open without a word. I didn’tunderstand what he expected. Why else would I have visited this wicked hell hole?
“My mother,” I repeated, frustrated at his lack of response, “where is she?”
“Not here.”
“Then you won’t mind if we look around and–” Nathaniel started, but I cut him off by taking a step forward, hands pressed flat against the dust covered desk.
“Where. Is. She?”
Joe leaned back in his seat, hands falling comfortably to his lap. “Why now? It’s been what…ten years?”
“Answer the damn question!”
“As I said, she’s not here,” Joe said, jaw clenched. “Have you tried North Lane?”
Run!
“What?”
“North Lane.” It was Joe’s turn to repeat himself now. “Have you looked there?”
No. I had not. I had sworn never to return to that place and had assumed my mother would have done the same. The memories were unpleasant. For both of us. “Why would she be there?”
Joe opened his mouth to answer when the door to his office burst open, and three women entered, not at all surprised to see that Nathaniel and I were standing in front of them.
“It’s time, Captain!” one of the women announced.
With a plastered smile, Joe nodded and rose to his feet. With a dismissive glance my way, he said, “Don’t come here again.”
I stared after him, mouth agape. Nathaniel reached for my hand once we were alone in the office, his thumb brushing my knuckles gently. “Should we…visit North Lane, then?”
“No,” I said immediately, yanking my hand back. “No, he’s lying! Or keeping something from me! That house is…it’s abandoned.”
“Why would he lie?”
