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It will hurt me to leave behind otta do what a girl’s gotta do Soive up the life I know, sih they would kill me if they discovered what I am I don’t understand it myself Maybe I’ theto figure out so to leave this city forever

Chapter Eighteen

The Rooot

Later on in the day I have a shower in an effort to clear ht in my head I don’t have very much money, so I decide that I’ll take a bus out to my Dad’s house in Chesterport, ask hin and highly populated so that I can hide aet dressed and head out to meet Rita just before she and Gabriel are due to report to Antonia at the club

It’s cold and frosty out today, so I wrap up well incream scarf tucked around my neck It’s difficult not to slip on the ice so I have to walk very slowly A woe and I hand her my only spare pennies Now all I have left is the exact ah there wasn’tsuitcase for her, all of my own fitted inside a s I’ll call her once I’m on the bus, that way she won’t be able to convince me to stay

A single tear drops downthe cold street It saddens me to have to leave such a loyal friend But I don’t feel like I have much of a choice I could stay and watch as Theodore takes over the entire city It ht not affect uilt that would consu of how I could have stopped it Besides, I would only be living in fear each day of so to kill me

There are people walking by et further and further away fro But then suddenly the street empties, and soon I’lance behind ure out why a street that is normally crowded at this time of day is now cole car drives by on the road I continue walking, and because it’s so silent the sound of each of h the space

I speed up, hoping that I’ll soon reach some place where there are people That’s when the music starts up, Theodore’s ht into soreeted by that soulless white face I turn around and run in the opposite direction, but I’ically appeared ten feet away from his previous position

“Get away fro voice

A tittering giggle escapes hiirl A shadow rises up behind him and out of it a form takes shape, that of a s spread out and then wrap around both me and Theodore All I can re of claws and dirty feathers, before we are flying into the sky I pass out froiant bird is carrying ht next to me His black eyes watch me as my consciousness slips away

I wake up to the sound of glasses clinking and liquid being poured A piano plays nearby, a tune that is light and cheerful The first thing I notice is that I’ue The second thing I notice is that I a my own clothes I peer down at oith black silk gloves that go all the way up past loves is a diamond bracelet, and there’s a similar necklace around my neck

I sit up and look about I’h and joke and sip on their drinks But there is soht about them Beyond their i dead in their eyes, soh their happiness is all just an act, an act they are being forced against their will to play out

A large ornate s above an open fire place I stare atmyself Other than the clothes, my hair has been styled into set waves, like that of a silentMy eyes are heavily shadowed in black and my lips are matte red

“Would you care for a drink?” asks a waiter in a penguin suit, brandishing a tray of glasses filled with chane I look at him and shake my head, I find his German accent out of place In fact, as I listen to the chattering that is going on around lish but in German Where the hell am I?

I walk up to one of the s and look outside Carnival rides stare back atit I am on Ridley Island, in Theodore’s mansion But why is his house filled with German people dressed for a dinner party with a 1930’s fancy dress theme? And who the fuck undressed ant dinner dress? This is definitely not what I would nor kidnapped