Amber sat upon her spot in the window, watching Kimberly and Penny curled up in their bed. Sarah had helped them carry Kim to the bed. Kim seemed to be in some kind of coma like state and would not respond to any form of stimulate. Hoping that the girl would soon awaken they dressed her before tucking the girl under the covers with Penny resting next to her. Amber recalled the many time she would lay next to Jessica in the wee hours of the night, her love fast asleep in her arms. She would try to resist the urge to brush a lock of the girl's messy curls out of her eyes for fear that it would only awaken Jessica. So she would simply lay there with the moonlight played shadows across the girl's face and envision all the things she wished to do with Jessica when they escaped the madness of this house. She frowned as she reminded herself that none of those dreams would ever come true. Jessica abandoned her the moment she got a chance and was never returning. She was going to be trapped within these walled until she was old and grey or when her brothers finally got tired of her and put an end to her miserable life, as Sarah had envisioned they would. "Can't sleep huh, Amber?" Sarah inquired from her spot on the top bunk. Amber nodded, "I can't get what has happened today out of my mind." She glanced over at Penny to see the girl's silk belt hanging off the back of the bed, "I can't believe that thing actually existed. Where did Kim find it anyway?" Sarah glanced over the railing at the belt below, "I thought Penny made the thing up actually. It makes no sense." She looked at Amber, "And what was with that black stuff in the tub earlier? It looked like it was trying to drown Kimberly." She let out a shudder at the memory of the black tar writhing in the tub and Kim's small hand forcing itself through the surface from time to time, "How did you know that that stuff would not pull you in with it?" Amber shook her head in confusion, "I... I don't know." She admitted sheepishly, "At first I was scared then seeing Kim fighting with it made me feel the need to help her so I shoved my arm in as deep into the mess as I could. It felt cold and my hand felt numb. It was almost as if the tub had no bottom." "I'm just glad you managed to pull Kim out of that gunk." Sarah stated gratefully, still amazed by what she had witnessed, "It was like something from my nightmares. I don't think I'm brave enough to stick my hand in that goo." She remarked guilty, "I'm worthless. I can never protect anyone like you or Kim or Jessie even." "I'm not brave." Amber turned her head and rest it upon the cool glass of the window, "I'm not brave at all." She glanced down at the trees as they swayed in the breeze. Suddenly something small hit the window under her head, "What was that?" She scanned around the darkness in search of what could have hit the window when another object tapped against the window again. "What was what?" Sarah inquired as she quickly, but quietly, descended the bunk bed's ladder. "I don't know." Amber continued to search for what could be making the sound when she saw a small shadow in the middle of the lawn. The shadow darted around as if in search for something, "I think there is someone down there." Again something hit the window, "I think they're throwing rocks!" Sarah approached the window and tried to help with the hunt, "Who would be down there?" Sarah inquired curiously, "And how would they know we are up here?" The shadow stepped into the light of a street lamp and waved up at the girls. Amber became stunned by what she saw before her, "JESSIE!!!" She cried out loud, not realizing she had raised her voice. "Shhhhh." Sarah hushed the girl and quickly glanced around to see the other girls were still fast asleep, "You don't want to wake everyone up, do you?" Amber quieted her voice, "But it's Jessie." She exclaimed, softly this time, "She came back to us." Sarah squinted out the window; there in the streetlight she could see a small girl in baggy overalls, white t-shirt and a mess of wavy hair upon her head, "My god!" She exclaimed aghast, "It really is her. Why did she return if she had already escaped this place?" She puzzled. "She came back for us." Amber stated confidently as she struggled to get the window to open, "Dammit, why did they have to lock the windows too." She remarked in frustration, "It's not like we are going to jump off the roof." She pulled on the window as it squeaked in protest. Sarah anxiously glanced at the bedroom door and back to Amber, "Are you crazy?" She inquired nervously, "You are going to get us all sent to the basement. Or worse... the cupboard and I don't want to end up there." The window was now open a crack and Amber jumped off the sill as if she had given up her efforts, "Where are they?" She inquired frantically as she started to scramble around the loose clothing in the corner around where Caitlin slept Sarah ventured over to her sister, "What are you going on about?" She whispered, not wanting to wake the other girls. "Ma'am had given April some colouring books and crayons." Amber explained as she sifted through the clothes, "I remember seeing her playing with them around here the other day. AHA!" She pulled a tattered colouring book out from under a sweater then began her search for the crayons. "What are you going to do with that thing?" Sarah inquired curiously, then stepped on something hard that snapped under her foot, "I think I found a crayon." She remarked, picking up a broken red crayon off the ground. Amber quickly snatched the crayon from Sarah's hand, "Thanks." She rushed back to the window and started to write on the only page of the colouring book that she could find that was not covered in scribbles. "What are you doing?" Sarah repeated, curiously watching the girl. "I'm writing Jessica a note." Amber explained simply as she scribbled out a few words upon the page in hopes that Jessica would be able to read it. Without another word to Sarah she tore out the page out of the book and folded it several times, "I just hope she sees this." She tossed the paper through the small crack in the window, and then waited. ***** To be Continued . . .
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