Chapter 5

All of a sudden, a sharp, grating noise echoed through the confined space.

A pale hand clawed at the cracks in the bricks, inching out from behind the curtain.

"Ms. Lawson, hurry. Get out of here."

A strange creature—or rather, half of it—crawled toward me with difficulty. She called my name as she closed in on me, her hair disheveled.

Seeing me frozen in place, she tipped her head up at me and smiled. "It's me."

Her face was split open from the corners of her mouth. Half her tongue hung out of her oral cavity, and her cheeks were sunken. Yet, I recognized her.

It was Rose Langston, an ex-student of mine. She was also Mimi's best friend.

At that moment, I instantly understood why my usually obedient daughter had persisted in dealing with those two deranged men. All despite my disapproval.

"You... Why..."

I wanted to ask her, "Why are you here?" or "Why have you ended up like this?"

But neither of those phrases rolled off the tip of my tongue. I couldn't bring myself to, faced