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She wanted to hide under the covers, but knew she wasn’t safe here She had no idea where she was or what day it was The rooht that the fireplace gave out

Rachel slowly slid her body out of the heavy blankets and put her cold, bare feet on the stone floor She had no clothes except for the oversized flannel shirt and shorts that she earing Which, now that she thought about it, didn’t belong to her

Still struggling to piece together what had happened, she began to remember She saw flashes of Violet, Hunter, of polices She suddenly re her to this castle

She walked quickly to the bedrooe, brass circular handle and pulled hard The door slowly opened, creaking at the hinges

She slowly tiptoed out of the bedroo, dark corridor Silence filled the air and the only noise she could hear was the sound of her own breath as she inhaled and exhaled As she crept through the never-ending hallways, she saw slass It didn’t let in ht that she could see directly in front of her

She stopped outside of a large door, sihtly, and Rachel put her ear to it She didn’t hear anything and debated whether or not to go in She thought that perhaps Benji was asleep inside and she desperately wanted to talk to him

She slowly turned the handle, and opened the door ever so slightly As she peered in, she saw one reindeer, two fox and a handful of rabbits turned upside down, hanging fro As she scanned their bodies, she saw their necks cut open and pools of blood under each aniht and s with her back towards it, panicked and gasping for air

As she continued down the hall, each consecutive door that she passed was also closed shut; she didn’t dare open the doors for fear of what or who ht be inside She didn’t want to take any more chances

She neared the end of the hallway and ca that led to a wide spiral staircase She peered down over the banister to see as below, but couldn’t tell in the darkness what lay before her She slowly crept down the steps, one foot after the other down the never-ending staircase Her feet felt like ice pops as they grew colder and colder froe floor to ceilingher reflection, but saw nothing

Trying to defog the mirror arm breath and the sleeve of her flannel shirt, she ran her arm in circles over the , clear circular area in the ain, but all she could see were the clothes on her body—her face, liazed back at herself She couldn’t figure out as going on She touched her face, hair and neck, which all felt nor down at her feet, legs and then rolling back her sleeves to see her arms and hands Then, she lifted up her shirt and peered down at her stomach It was there—she saw it It was a hole, the size of a bullet and she suddenly re openly and then being shot She re helpless and weak on the ground

Her eyes swelled up as a tear strea her stoed her life She let out a scream, “Benji!”

Nobody answered Silence filled the dark walls as she sat there, alone and scared, her body aching as she began having flashbacks of that night