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Chapter One

I hadn't been able to take a full breath since I left Rochester The train ride had done nothing to cal except sit there as the train sped towards Connecticut hts crowded into my head I feared that it was too late for edy I wondered what Simon and Sarah would think once they foundevery time someone walked past my seat, convinced that I was about to be attacked

It was a relief to finally pull into the station I grabbedfro was still an hour away and the black sky offered no relief fro I couldn't escape the sense of inevitably that I was about to face my mortality, but I had no other choice I needed to find out what happened to Aunt Brenda For one brief moment in my life, I had knohat it was like to have a family member that cared about me A family member who had risked her own safety to helpless than the same

A gruff cab driver threw ave hiainst the seat, feeling fatigue wash over ht hours had taken a toll on me, both physically and mentally, and I felt bone weary It was hard to believe how draed in the span of a few days It was even harder to co hunted by shadows and I had no idea how to defend myself

I was grateful when the sun started to rise, washing the fields whizzing by the carin a hazy glow It was a deceptively calot to our destination My stomach clenched in anxiety when the cab pulled in front of my aunt's house It looked exactly the saruous with how I expected to find it I wasn't sure what I was expecting after my aunt's frantic phone call, but it wasn't this peaceful facade

"Seventeen fifty," the cab driver gru to look at me I handed hiiveI cli this was the least offrom the trunk before the cabbie sped off

I took a deep breath as I stood in front offrom every pore as I braced myself for whatever I would find inside I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other until I was at the doorstep I considered ringing the doorbell but decided against it, not wanting to alert anyone I was here, although I doubted anyone, or anything, could have missed the sound of the cab

I held my breath as I twisted the doorknob, not sure whether I wanted to find it unlocked or not When the knob turned and I was able to push the door ajar, a frisson of fear went through me I doubted my aunt kept her front door unlocked I could only assun

I stepped in, closing the door behindseele looked to have occurred fro roo that it looked as tidy as before My confusion increased as I explored the rest of the house, not seeing anything out of order Could I have been mistaken and my aunt was okay? Had she just stepped out to run a few errands? I checked her garage and saw her car sitting there

I wandered into the kitchen and sat down at the table, conte what my next steps should be, when I heard the front door open I froze, not having heard a car approach or any footsteps on the front steps I frantically looked around the kitchen, wondering where I could hide, when I heard wo but they didn't sound threatening Still, I knew better than to take anything at face value and re to overhear their conversation

"I don't knohat to do I'y"