SIXTY-SEVEN

Death Call

The sounds above scared her. Sammy curled into herself, cold as ever. At least the man in the corner was gone and she didn’t have to hear his voice again. He whimpered all night long, even after Tessa left him alone. The next morning she came back into the room, chirpier than she usually was.

“I’ll let him go now,” she’d said to Samantha. “Isn’t that right, my love?’ she tucked a finger under the man’s chin so he could look up at her. “You love me, don’t you?”

He nodded urgently. Samantha’s heart squeezed at the sight. She knew that Tessa was going to do more horrible things to him, but at least she was considerate enough to not do it in her presence. While dozing off, she wondered what her friend had turned into. This wasn’t the person she knew. Perhaps she had rushed too fast into the friendship. She should have given it more time, studied her enough to prevent Lolita from befriending her too.

The noise above started again. A whip slashing the air, a yelp and a particula