Page 49 of Amnesty

She hugged me again, silencing my words. “Thank you for coming. Thank you for saving me.”

Her voice was the same. Memories came flooding back to me, all the time we used to spend together.

Behind us there was a bang, and a shadow crossed over the opening in the ceiling. Sadie reacted instantly. Her body went limp. She slid down my body and hit the ground, throwing her arms over her head. I stared in shock and horror as she cowered.

There was another loud sound that echoed around the hole.

“Oh my God! He’s coming!” she cried, reaching out and grabbing my foot. “He’s coming. Hide!”

He jumped.

Literally leapt right down into a dark, suspicious hole where a killer was squatting.

What the hell was he thinking?

I raced over to stare down, prepared to throw myself down there if needed.

“It’s okay,” he called out. “I’m fine. I’ll be right up.”

Is he out of his mind?

Who was he talking to down there, and why did the voice seem familiar? Not at all like a man.

There was no yelling or gunfire (thank God), nothing that made me think something terrible was going on down there.

If nothing terrible, then what?

What the hell is happening?

Standing up, I paced a little, staying very close to the opening. I knew I needed to get down there immediately. The desire to find out exactly what was hidden in that hole, what made up the space, was intense.

But…

Something was holding me back.

Eddie was down there. He wasn’t screaming or fighting. That meant it must sort of be safe. Right?

Probably not.

I was scared. So scared my limbs were shaking and I kinda felt I might pee my pants.

PS: Don’t tell anyone about that part. How embarrassing.

What if I went down there and never came back up? What if the door blew shut or the man showed up and locked me down there?

What if I went down and the last eleven years replayed in my head on fast-forward and my life was changed forever?

Eddie made a sound, and I rushed back over. There was a soft glow somewhere down there to one side.

“Eddie?” I called.

He didn’t answer.

My tummy twisted. I began chewing my nails.

“Eddie, are you okay?” I called out again.

Still nothing.

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