He didn’t even know what he’d done.
He’d committed such an atrocity... and he had no idea. How many had been in that house who hadn’t been able to escape? She wanted to scream and then run as far from him as possible.
“But now that the man with the gun is dead,” Arthur continued, “it needs someone else. And it won’t be me again. I won’t. I can’t!” He began to cry, huge wrenching sobs that shook his whole frame.
Mariana reached toward Jack’s bag—
The wild man snarled at her.
“You were lost. But we found you,” Mariana said. “We can help you. Or get you help, if you let us. All we need is his backpack. If you let us have that, we can help. You just have to trust us. We’re friends. My name’s Mariana Ortiz-Rodriguez.”
His jaw dropped and he stared at her.
And then he pointed a shaking finger at Reyva. “You. What is your name?”
“Reyva.”
“Last name. Tell me your last name.”
“Chaudhari.”
“And your mother’s?”
“Patel.”
He began to laugh again as he pointed to Claire. “You. Oh, I can guess who you are. But go on, tell me. What’s your name, girl?”
She hesitated, unsure if she should tell him. She didn’t like the idea of this man knowing anything about her. But what harm would it do? If they played along, maybe he’d let them have the phone. “Dreyer. Claire Dreyer.”
He laughed so hard that he wheezed. “For so long, I believed they’d come back, and then I’d be free. But they didn’t come...” He gestured at himself. “Now I see! It had them sendyou. Their children.”
His eyes were glittering as he looked at each of them. What was he trying to say?
“Did he marry Julie, Sweet Julie?” the wild man asked Claire. “Did they both send you here? Of course they did. It made them—its final gift, before they left. A compulsion buried deep within their minds, dormant until you reached the age we were when we set it free. How poetic.” He cackled again.
She felt her body freeze, as cold as she’d been in the rain. How did he know her mother’s name? And her nickname? Every night, after dinner, her father always called her mother “Sweet Julie.” She’d laugh and tell him he wasn’t getting any dessert, even if he called her sweet. Sugar wasn’t good for him, his doctor had said. Then he’d have to eat her up, he’d say.
How does he know that?she wondered.
And what does he mean “it made them”? What compulsion?
“All we want to do is use a phone to call for help,” Mariana said. “You’ll be rescued too. You’ll be safe. There are people out there who will take care of you. Help you. Get you whatever medicines you need.”
“You’re not well,” Reyva said firmly. “You need help.”
Claire’s head spun. Her parents couldn’t have known him. They’d gushed about this place for hours before she’d agreed to come, never once mentioning a boy who’d been lost, presumed dead. A boy they’d left in the woods. If they’d lived through that kind of trauma, they wouldn’t have been so very eager to send their daughter here.Meet new friends, have new experiences...“You’re lying,” Claire said.
Reyva shot her a look that clearly saidshut up, while Mariana knelt slowly toward Jack’s pack. “I’m only going to make a call,” Mariana said soothingly. “We don’t want to hurt you. We just want to help.”
“Youwillhelp me,” the wild man said. And then he threw himself at Mariana. She fell back. Scrambling away, she kicked as he grabbed for her.
Reyva lunged forward. “Leave her alone!”
He clamped his hand around Mariana’s arm and began hauling her toward the mound. “Youmusthelp me. It wants someone new. You have to take on the burden. It’s your doom and your destiny.”
Reyva charged forward, a stick in her free hand. “Let her go!” She bashed at his wrist. He howled, released Mariana, and instead grabbed Reyva’s broken arm. She screamed, and her knees crumpled.
Jumping forward, Claire pounded on his back and yelled, “Stop it! Stop! Stop!”
