Page 18 of Sanctuary

Ice-water traveled through Simon’s veins.

“Did you get the animals put up?” Jerry repeated.

“No.”

The flashlight went to Simon and then to Indra. “If you get them penned, I won’t fire you, but there will be consequences for what you’ve done. The hunters will most likely want their money back. Maybe they’ll get lucky and kill one of the smaller cats. If they’re happy with that, we may get to keep half the money. The cats need to eat.”

Simon glared, which did absolutely nothing. Jerry cared about Jerry. He turned and left Jerry standing there. Indra gave another low growl and followed him.

They were about two hundred yards away when Simon stopped.

“Did you hear that?” He could barely see Indra right beside him, the rain was falling so hard. The sound came again.

A scream.

A girl’s scream.

Chapter Thirteen

Bridge Home School for Girls, Misty

Waiting for midnight was the hardest part of the escape plan, or so Misty thought. She went between regretting she’d agreed to go and being angry she hadn’t left already. Mostly, she was terrified of being caught. What would the punishment be? She couldn’t see them, but she knew she had bruises on her back from Mrs. Turney following her around and hitting her with the cane. The bruises on her fingers had faded, but they were still visible. Every girl at the school had some sort of detectable damage, even if it was only temporary.

Did her parents know what this place would be like? She had a feeling they did. Her job as their child was to obey. She’d failed.

Or, as her thinking changed, maybe they had failed her. Paige didn’t believe in God and called it mythology. She’d said so many things that made sense and she made Misty think about the things that always bothered her. Women were born of Adam’s rib and Paige called that the biggest lie.

“Babies come from a woman’s womb. It’s the only way they come. The church taught you the Adam’s rib crap so you would think men were better. They teach you to obey and not to think for yourself. They feed you demeaning lies from the time you’re a small child so you know nothing else. They isolate girls and women so you don’t see or hear about the real world happening outside the church every day. Places like this school exist to stop girls from thinking because if we gain knowledge, we become stronger. There are horrible things in this world and if God is all powerful, he’s also responsible. You can’t have it both ways. Is it something you’ve thought about?”

She hadn’t but Paige’s words stuck with Misty. She believed in God but the how to believe was changing. She rolled over and counted the imperfections on the ceiling. A few minutes into her second round, she heard a small noise at the door. A scratch?

She sat up, and the door opened. Sarah ran in first, followed by Paige, who closed and locked the door behind her. She carried a large plastic garbage bag that looked heavy.

“This is the most dangerous part of my plan,” Paige said and dumped the contents of the bag onto the bed. “I tried to match sizes as best I could and I found a flashlight for each of us.”

Jeans, shirts, and jackets fell onto the bed.

“Where did these come from?” Misty asked.

“I figured they belong to the girls in here or the girls who have come through. They’re kept in a closet by the nurse’s room,” Paige said.

“We have a nurse?”

“No, but there’s a door that’s labeled ‘nurse’ and we don’t have time for these questions. If someone sees us sneaking out with these on, the game is up and we’re caught. If that happens, run separate ways, and maybe one of us can escape.”

“But what do I do if I’m the one who escapes?” Sarah asked.

“You run,” Paige said. “Don’t stop until you find someone you can rat this place out to. What they’re doing here is illegal and they will be in big trouble.”

Paige ruffled Sarah’s hair. Sarah reared back and shook her head. “Don’t do that,” she said, her fearful eyes going hard.

“Gotcha,” Paige said and glanced at Misty. “What are we waiting for?”

They tore through the clothes, handing items to each other as they tried them on. The school supplied boots and socks that would help them stay warm, too.

“I couldn’t find rain ponchos, but the jackets will help. They were the ones I thought would keep the rain away as much as possible. I put snacks in the pockets. We’ll be able to find drinking water if we need it.”

“How did you find the clothes?” Misty asked.

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