Page 24 of Pretty Nightmare

It’s… just a building. A long rectangle. No windows. It’s whitewashed concrete. Kinda looks like a bunker. Built to withstand hurricanes. That kind of building.

What do you do there?

Sleep. That’s it. They wake us up in the morning and make us… do things.

OK, we can talk about that later. But right now, I just want you to picture yourself there. Feel the island all around you. See in your mind. Tell me what you can feel.

… The air. It’s wet. And the sun, it’s hot. I’m sticky with sweat.

Can you feel anything else?

I know what the leaves on the trees feels like. Waxy. They’re big leaves. And I’m barefoot. I like that about this place. There are a lot of dirt paths and they’re smooth. Like someone takes care of them. You can walk a long way before you accidentally step on a rock. So that’s nice.

Do you know what day it is?

No. Just a day. Any other day.

Well, that’s not true. It’s actually a very specific day. It’s the day of the auction. Where are you that afternoon of the auction?

In the bunkhouse.

What are you doing?

…. I just took a bath and… now someone is brushing my hair. They’re going to put a white ribbon in it so it matches my white dress.

Do you normally wear white dresses?

No. I was wearing shorts and a t-shirt earlier.

That’s right. Your shorts were denim and your t-shirt was peach. It said ‘Brat’ across the front in bold, black letters.

Yeah, it did.

Why do you think that’s funny?

Because I was a brat.

Yeah, you were. OK. Now you and I are talking. Do you remember what we were talking about?

Yep. You were telling me to be good and you’d handle things. You were going to make sure I’d be OK. You promised me.

Right. I did. Let’s move on. You’re in the white dress now. And the sun is starting to drop low on the horizon. They’re taking you somewhere. Where are they taking you?

To the Garden of Good and Evil. There’s another girl here. Anastasia. She’s in the truck with me, but they drop her off first. She screams and kicks. And they smack her. Not on the face though—they smack her on the back of her legs with a twig and it leaves a long, thick welt.

Why is she screaming?

She doesn’t like the cage. They didn’t tell us why we’re being put in cages until they got us out here. So they’re explaining the tigers to her and she is frrrr-eak-ing out.

What do you think about that?

I think she’s being stupid.

Why?

Because she should know better. I’ve been here a lot longer than her. But… she’s older than me by a few years. She should just know better. They like it when you cry.

Who?