Crack. Thump.
Bethany couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Could only stare at her new friend’s limp body in disbelief.
No. This isn’t happening. I’m dreaming, please, let me be dreaming.
Except, this was happening. The same way it happened to the blonde lady. Once they hit the floor, they never got up again.
The bad man had killed Helen.
Bethany’s hair whipped her cheeks as she shook her head, faster and faster. “No! No, no, no!”
She thrashed like a wild creature when rough hands grabbed her, not even stopping once her mama hissed, “Stop!” Then Bethany was sliding across the floor, her pajama top riding up as Mama shoved her under the bed.
“Stay put!”
Without waiting for Bethany to agree, Mama rolled to her feet. As she did, she saw a dark stain spread across Mama’s shirt like a ketchup spill. Right above Mama’s elbow.
Her knees quivered. “Mama?”
But Mama was too busy facing off with Doctor Rotten to answer.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Bethany pressed her palms to the floor and fought with herself over what to do.
If she were brave, she’d crawl out and help her mama fight the bad man.
But Mama told her to stay put, and she was smarter than Bethany.
As she struggled to decide, her heart beating too loud and fast, no one in the room moved. From beneath the bed, Bethany had a hard time seeing her mama’s face, but she had a clear view of Doctor Rotten, and he was just standing there, staring and acting strange.
Her stomach lurched when he moved, but no, he was only tilting his head and ever so slowly reaching out his hand. The same exact way mama had reached for Bethany only a few minutes ago.
A chill crept down Bethany’s back. Whatever new game the bad man was playing, she didn’t like it, not one bit.
Quiet as possible, Bethany shimmied forward beneath the bed. She’d be ready in case Mama needed help. The overhead light spilled on Mama, and Bethany went still. She was staring at the bad man’s fingers with a weird look on her face. Almost like she wanted to hold his hand.
Bethany rejected that idea immediately, mad at herself for even thinking such a dumb thing. Mama would never want to hold the bad man’s hand. She was probably just trying to trick him.
The tightness across her chest eased. Yes, that had to be it. Her mama was playing the pretend game.
“Is it true?”
Bethany frowned. Was what true? And why had Mama’s voice turned all soft and wobbly? The bad man deserved mean, loud words.
Doctor Rotten dipped his head. “It is.”
Bethany struggled to understand. It…what? And why was the bad man speaking so nice all of a sudden?
Bethany’s fists balled up tight. Mama had to realize the bad man was faking. He wasn’t nice at all. He was awful and scary and liked to hurt people.
Mama’s gaze dropped to Doctor Rotten’s hand again. Her fingers twitched.
No! Don’t do it, Mama!
If this was a new game, Bethany hated it. Maybe even more than the refrigerator game because, deep inside, a voice whispered that once her mama accepted Doctor Rotten’s hand, there was no turning back.
Please, Mama. No.
Just when Bethany was sure Mama was going to make a terrible choice, she wrenched her gaze up to the bad man’s face, and her hand fell to her side. Relief swooshed through Bethany like a river.
Thank you, thank you, thank—
A crash from another part of the house cut off Bethany’s thoughts. She jumped, cracking her head on the metal bed frame. Pain exploded in her skull. As she yelped and grabbed at the tender spot, footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Through the pain, hope blossomed. The front door. Someone had broken down the front door and was coming to rescue them. They were going to be okay.
As she started to crawl out from under the bed, the bad man whirled and pointed his gun out the open door. When he did, Mama attacked. One second she stood close to Bethany. The next, she soared through the air like her favorite superhero. She struck the man’s chest with her head, and they both went down, crashing to the floor in a tangle of arms and legs. The gun flashed, disappeared, and flashed again.
Come on, Mama, you can do it!
While they grunted and wrestled for the weapon, Bethany darted out to help but retreated again when a man and a woman burst through the doorway.
“Police, drop your weapons and freeze!”
Bethany’s eyes widened when the redhead stepped forward with a gun in her hand. Wait, she recognized that lady! Helen’s daughter must be the same nice cop who’d saved her before.
Right as she figured that out, motion flashed near the floor.
Bethany tensed, relaxing again as her mama climbed to her feet. She raised the gun shoulder-high and pointed it at Doctor Rotten, who knelt on the floor with his hands raised overhead.
“Don’t shoot. I’m unarmed.” When Mama didn’t lower her hand, he tried again. “Remember who rescued you from those terrible people you were living with and helped you become something more? Something better? If I’d left you with them, you would have shriveled up and died, like a rose bush without water. Instead, you blossomed into a shrewd, capable woman. Don’t I deserve some credit for that?”
Mama’s arm shook before steadying again. “The only thing you deserve is to die.”
The pretty red-haired cop stepped forward. “Katarina, please put the gun down. Let us do our job and arrest him, take him back to the station. Then this whole nightmare will finally be over.”
Mama shook her head. “You of all people should know better by now. As long as he’s drawing oxygen into his miserable lungs, the nightmare will never be over. He’ll always find a new way to torment us, but he can’t do that from six feet under.”
“Kat—”
Her mama squeezed the trigger before the policewoman finished.
Bethany clapped her hands over her ears, but there was no loud bang. Just a clicking noise
