I struggled to focus my mind on pleasant things. The first thing pushing through the floodgates of my mind was Mark. I focused on each part of him, sweeping my mind’s eye over his easy smile, his wavy, blond hair, and his soft, freckled skin.
A sound broke my thoughts. My breathing and heart rate started to race. I felt the tingling pricks of fear spreading through my arms and legs. I opened my eyes to peek and big, glaring, blood red eyes stared back at me. I backed up, and my head hit the door. There was nowhere to go.
I squeezed my eyes shut, my voice breaking in an effort not to cry. “It’s just my imagination. I’m alone. I’m just afraid. Nothing’s going to happen.”
The deep, gurgling laugh came from three places at once. I gasped, my body filling with the adrenaline it was so used to.
I opened my eyes to see three more dark creatures creeping menacingly toward me, their white eyes breaking through the thick darkness. They swayed back and forth as they studied me. Then, they leapt upon me and in me. I couldn’t even scream.
I felt my body wrack and shake, and they hurled me into the door. My shoulder smashed into the cold wood, and I drooped to the ground. Relentless, they raised me to my knees and then let me fall.
Their voices breathed into my consciousness with rabid intensity. “You’re nothing. You’re worthless. Give up. Give in. We’re stronger than you. We can beat you. We will beat you. You can’t hide.”
They peeled me from the floor and threw me into the door. I fell to the floor, and my body quivered as I struggled to regain control. With great effort, I raised myself to all fours and tried to focus, breathing heavily.
I thought of anything and everything, the scenes and people flashing through my mind like a slide show: my homes, Julie, Mark, Paige, the outside of the school, Drake glaring at me from the dinner table. I opened my eyes and saw more creatures, their dark bodies crowding toward me.
“Somebody help me. Please,” I whispered with the only strength my conscious mind had left. My soul ached with despair as they continued to shake my fragile body and pound it into the concrete floor.
I heard rustling outside the door. A cracking sound pulsed through the silence, and then faint moonbeams filled the floor of the closet where I’d been stashed. Abruptly, the creatures fled into the crevices of the closet, hiding behind paint cans and lawnmowers. I watched their beady eyes glowering back at me. I stared in the direction of the door as it creaked open, too tired to lift myself from the floor.
“Sadie!” Mark yelled, his voice tinged with panic.
I sank lower and stared at him. It was over.
“Who did this to you?” He kneeled on the floor next to me and rested one hand on my back, avoiding my eyes.
“The Vipers,” I whispered, fighting to regain mental clarity.
“Why?”
“They gave me an ultimatum. I have to leave. They’ve given me a month. I guess having a little sister is not exactly a dream come true.”
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