“I’m here. I’m right here, baby.”
She stepped from the shadows, eyes wide, face pale. Her shaking hands grabbed mine.
Then I saw the blood.
It streaked across her cheek and forehead, sharp and red, turning her into a monster.
I jerked back. “What’s that?”
My voice sounded sharp and strange.
“We don’t have time for that, honey,” she whispered, her eyes flicking to the man. “This is Agent West. He’s here to help us.”
She glanced over her shoulder, just for a second. The hair on my arms rose like they were listening to something I couldn’t hear.
“Where’s Daddy?”
“That’s not important, sweetheart,” she said gently, brushing her bloody hand over mine as she lifted me out of bed. “Listen to me; we’re going to a warm place, somewhere you’ve never been before. It’ll be fun, okay? A new adventure.”
Her voice was soft, like lullabies and nighttime prayers, but I could hear the fear in it.
I glanced around my room. “But what about all my stuff?” I asked.
Mommy smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You’ll have a new room,” she said softly. “With new toys. Even better ones.”
Agent West leaned forward, arms out. “Want to go for a walk?”
His voice was kind.
I shook my head. “No.”
I didn’t want him to hold me. I didn’t like not understanding. I didn’t know what was happening, and I hated it.
He lifted me anyway.
My body locked up, stiff as a board. Clover was crushed tight against my chest. Mommy trailed beside us, her hand clamped on his sleeve. I could feel the muscle in his arm flex beneath her grip.
Then—
a shout.
It ripped through the house like lightning. Agent West flinched. He let go.
I slipped.
There was nothing to catch. No railing, no floor, no air. I just fell.
My body twisted in the air before I smashed into the steps.
Once.
Twice.
CRACK.
The back of my head slammed into the bottom step. White-hot pain burst through my skull like fireworks gone wrong. I saw them behind my eyelids.
Red, white, blue.