Penny curled up in a ball in the corner of the dark dinning room, her mind filled with terror as she watched Jessica escape through the window with Kimberly right behind her. She wanted nothing more than to follow her sister, to be free of this nightmare of a house, but she didn't have the strength to leave. She knew if she tried to escape that they would just come after her and then her tortures would be much worse then before. Plus there was her belt, she did not even understand herself why she needed the belt so much but the longer she went without it the more she felt her mind unravel and come to pieces on her. She wished she could just leave the belt and follow her sister, but wishing did not make things happen. The more she tried to gather the will to break for that window the deeper she sank into the corner wanting to be swallowed by the shadows and never have to face another day. The strange red-haired girl dropped beside Penny, she said something to the girl, yet Penny could not understand the words that came forth. The girl's voice was gargled and distant as if the girl was calling out through murky water. Kim was the girl's name, but wasn't that what she called the other redhead? She was even more confused by the presence of this girl than before, first the girl appears out of nowhere and then there are two of them. Penny found the more she thought about it the more her head hurt and yet for some odd reason she felt safe being near Kim. There was something about the redhead that calmed her ever so slightly. She was glad the girl did not follow her sister and the other one; Penny would have truly been lost and alone if she had. The redhead knelt next to her, there was worry mixed with fear in those fiery eyes. How could someone have fiery eyes Penny wondered when the girl spun around to face the door to the dinning room. A hand suddenly broke through the door and long black fingers ending in crooked nails pulled at the remains of the wood causing it to scream in pain. Bit by bit the talons tore through the door until there was enough room for the monstrous hand to reach through the hole and flipped the latch. The doors slowly parted and two giant shadowy beasts with glowing yellow eyes lumbered into the room. Kim sprung to her feet and shoved a chair at one of the creatures. The beasts seemed slightly startled by Kim. They traded passing glances amongst one another, and then the closest swung one of its massive limbs at the redhead, knocking her over the table and to the floor. One of the creatures clumped its way around the table to pin Kim to the floor while the other moved towards Penny. "Hello Penny." The creature said in a calm and gentle voice, however Penny knew better then to be fooled by the sound of these beings voices. They may seem kind but over the years she found their idea of kindness was less then pleasant, but if a girl did as she was told she did not end up like the others, "Look what I found for you." The creature held out a stuffed raccoon to the girl. "Thank you." Penny took the stuffed animal from the creature and cradled it in her arms. She heard Kim's screams and glanced between the table legs to see Kim being held down as her hands were being bound behind her back. "She has been a bad girl hasn't she?" The creature near Penny asked. Penny simply nodded and hugged her raccoon tightly. The creature suddenly noticed the hole in the window and it's eyes blazed with fury, "Did Jessie go through there?" It demanded, taking Penny by the back of her head and forcing her to face the window. Tears filled Penny's eyes, "S... She left me..." She sobbed reaching out for the window. "Shit!" The creature got to its feet, "I'm going to find her." The creature stated to the other monster, which had just finished hauling Kim to her feet, "Take Penny back to her room." It ordered with a hiss. "What about her?" The other creature inquired, pushing Kim forward. "She must be new. Take her to the others." The first one commanded, it then pulled Penny to her feet by her arm and pushed her towards Kim, "You two be good and don't try running away again. Is that clear?" It inquired, glaring from one girl to another before rushing out of the room and down the hall after Jessica. "Come along girls." The other creature ordered giving them a slight shove down the hall. It led the two girls through the winding halls of the house and up a flight of stairs. Where it opened the first door it came across and shoved the girls into the room, "Get inside and I do not want to hear a sound from either of you." ***** Jessica slowly awake, every muscle in her body ached as if she had just run a marathon, "Unnnn..." She clenched her head, "My head hurts." She mumbled as she tried to sit up. "Jessie!!" Misty threw her arms around Jessica and kissed her on the face several times, "I was so worried about you. Are you alright?" She inquired, hugging the girl tightly. "Misty!?!" Jessica was startle to see the girl, "What are you doing here? Don't you have class?" Misty stared into the girl's eyes, "I was worried about you." She remarked uneasily, Jessica was usually happy to see her and at that moment Misty felt her presence was not welcome, "A... Amy let me stay behind after lunch. I wanted to be there when you woke up." She admitted sheepishly. Jessica sat up to glance at the clock above the cafeteria doors to see it was two in the afternoon, "Geez, it's already passed lunch?" She stated in amazement. "We missed lunch?" Kim asked groggily as she staggered to her feet. Natalie quickly helped the girl around the coffee table, "Easy there." She coaxed the girl over to an empty sofa, "You alright, Kim?" Kim slowly nodded, "I guess so." She shakily replied. Amy rushed over to the redhead's side, "Let me take a look at you." Pulled Kim's eyelid open and shone a light into it, then took her pulse, "You will feel rather groggy for a bit, but once you get some food inside of you should be alright." She held the girl's wrist for a moment and frowned. Natalie watched the nurse carefully, "Is something wrong?" She inquired anxiously. Amy shook her head, "Its nothing." She glanced at Kim, "How are you feeling?" "I feel like someone hit me with a bat." Kim remarked, rubbing her back, "I hurt all over." "You muscles are just sore from being in a dream." Amy explained as she moved to Jessica. "You should be alright soon enough, but if they are hurting too much I can give you some pain killers." She looked into Jessica's eyes and checked her pulse as well. "I might want one for this headache." Jessica commented as she held her head, "It's a bugger." Amy gave the girl a rather serious look, "Do you want to tell us what happened?" She inquired. Jessica slowly shook her head, "I don't know. It feels like a long nightmare." She remarked with sigh of despair. Amy glanced down at Kima, "Why isn't she walking up?" She inquired worriedly. Kim frowned, "She said she was going to stay behind." She explained sadly. "She's trying to save Penny." Jessica remarked, "But it is hopeless. No one can save her." "What do you mean?" Natalie demanded, "How would you know what is inside of Penny's dreams?" Jessica gazed up at Natalie and let out another sigh, "Because I was with her. She's my little sister." ***** Kima stumbled across the room until she tripped over a mattress in the middle of the room and fell to onto it. She rolled over to see several pairs of small eyes watching her. Two of the oldest girls got up from their spot in the corner and hurried to Penny's side. "Penny, are you alright?" One of the girls inquired, carefully looking the girl over. She had short curly orange hair and numerous freckles upon her face. "Where is Jessie?" Another, with longer straight black hair, anxiously asked. "She ran away." Penny stated simply as she sat upon the lower bed of a bunk bed and hugged her stuffed raccoon. "She will be back." Kima stated confidently as she struggled with her bindings until she managed to wiggle her hands under her butt and her feet, "Can someone help me here?" Kima inquired holding her hands out to the girls. The smallest with shoulder cut wavy light blonde hair crawled over to Kima and tried to help with the ropes. "Kim, are you alright?" The black hair girl asked, cautiously eyeing Kima's pyjamas, "What happened to your clothes...?" "How did you know my name?" Kima curiously inquired, scanning the room. She counted five girls in the room, not including herself, each wearing loose fitting ragged clothes that gave them the appearance of homeless kids or orphans that she has seen in old movies. "Don't you remember me?" The girl inquired with a frown, "I'm sorry I scared you off. I didn't mean too." She lowered her eyes and fiddled with her thumbs. Kima suddenly realized that these girls must have been talking about Kimberly, "I'm sorry. I think I hit my head. Who were you all again?" She inquired, pretending to be in a daze. The girls glanced at each other peculiarly, then the longhaired girl shrugged, "I'm Sarah." She said, "The redhead is Amber and the little one is April, she doesn't talk much." April smiled up at Kima, which Kima returned, "and the shy one in the corner is Caitlin. She was the newest before you showed up." Caitlin gave a slight wave from her spot in the corner, "Hi..." She said in a voice no more then a whisper. "What are you all doing here?" Kima inquired, still struggling with her ropes. "We were sold." Sarah admitted bluntly. "No, we weren't." Amber countered then sat upon the mattress on the floor next to Kima, "Don't listen to her. We are orphans and this is a foster home. Didn't you know that?" She inquired curiously as she helped with knot around Kima's wrists, "You must have really hit your head hard if you can't remember that much." Sarah pulled out a pink suitcase from against the wall, "Here are your things even. Don't you remember walking here in the rain?" "No... I don't remember how I got here." Kima confessed sheepishly, "Now, how do we get out of here?" "We don't." Sarah stated dismally, "No one has ever escaped this place... alive..." "Will you cut it out?" Amber snapped pulling the knot free from Kima's ropes then turning to face Sarah, "Amanda left not that long ago. We all saw her." She stated. "She is dead just like the others." Sarah shakily remarked, "We are all going to die here." "I want my mommy." Caitlin piped from the corner. "She is dead too." Sarah retorted, "They are all de-" Amber abruptly stood and stuck Sarah across the face, "They are not!" She exclaimed roughly. Kima stripped the last of the rope from her arms, "Hey!!" She leapt between the two girls. "Don't fight!" For the first time Kima noticed that she was no taller then both of them, the sleeves of her pyjama top hung loosely over her hands and the pant had fallen around her ankles. She patted her chest in frustration and glanced down her shirt to discover her originally small breast were now nonexistent, "No... Not again... This can't be happening?" She exclaimed frantically, pulling at her hair to discover it had grown long once again. "What is wrong?" Amber inquired watching the redhead's bizarre dance as Kim patted her body. Kima stared at the girl, "I'm young again." She stated and dropped to the mattress in a heap, "I'm trapped here, part of this nightmare." She said staring at the water stained ceiling. Amber also lied down and curled up next to Kima, "Welcome to the family." ***** To be Continued . . .
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