Sally didn't know where she was going or what she was doing. Fear was all that she knew. All-consuming, awful fear. Riley ran after her. She could tell from the look on Riley's face that she too had recognized the lady. Had Jorden? Hopefully Sally's drawings looked enough like the lady that he would be able to figure it out. What should she do? Should she find somewhere in the house to hide? No, Sally needed to find Lisa. Sally didn't know why. Maybe Lisa would know what to do. Maybe she could protect them. But in reality, Sally just needed something familiar and safe to run to and cling to.
Why was the lady here? They had done everything they could to stay far away from her. This wasn't fair. If they were caught, what would she do to them? That thought sent Sally's mind into a fresh spin of panic. More burns? More knives? She couldn't take that. What would happen to Riley? Would she be punished the way that Sally had been? Sally felt Riley’s hand close tightly around her own.
Right, that hadn’t happened yet. Riley was still with her. But where was Lisa? The girls flew through the house as quickly and quietly as they could. At last, they arrived at Lisa’s room to find her unpacking the last of her things. Sally flung herself at Lisa and sobbed into her shoulder. Riley began explaining things. But Sally could only sob into Lisa’s shoulder. No, this couldn’t happen. Everything here was so perfect. Why did the lady have to ruin what she held so close to her heart? Memories and nightmares seemed to fill the space all around Sally. Lisa wrapped her arms around Sally and held her firmly.
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” Lisa whispered to her. Those words melted Sally’s heart. There were people here who actually cared about her and wanted to protect her. Sally dug her nails into Lisa’s shoulder as she was lifted up and carried down the hall.
The polite conversation Jorden had been having with the lady sounded very different now. More voices had joined in. These were loud, angry voices. Everyone was shouting and fighting. Was Jorden going to be alright? How were things going? Sally wished for the hundredth time that she could understand what they were saying.
Lisa led them out through the back door, into the garden. There was a gate at the very end of it. Were they going to escape through that? But what would they do after that? They had nowhere to go, and they couldn’t just leave Jorden behind. Even if they did manage to escape, everything would be ruined. This place had been everything that Sally had ever wanted in a home. She had felt safe and loved here. Would they ever be able to return? Lisa flung the gate open, and they slipped out. What if Sally had to spend the rest of her life running and hiding? What if she never got to have a home?
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“Hey!” Sally heard a sharp voice call. She looked up just in time to see Lisa crashing into a man. Sally fell to the ground. Before she could stand up, she was grabbed and dragged away from Lisa. There were two other strangers standing there. Had they planned this? Had the lady known that they would try to escape through the back? Riley flung herself at the nearest attacker without any hesitation. Sally hadn’t been expecting that. Neither had the man. He stumbled back, caught off guard.
Now Sally was being dragged further and further away from Lisa and her sister. There was nothing that she could do but try to twist free and cry out helplessly. Lisa tore herself away from the third man and charged towards Sally.
A gunshot rang out and Lisa stumbled to the ground. Blood gushed out of her left shoulder, staining the green grass crimson. A howl of rage escaped Riley. Sally wanted to tear her eyes away from the awful sight, but she couldn’t. Lisa lay perfectly still on the ground as Sally’s captor stepped forward. He pulled out a knife and leaned over the motionless Lisa. No, this was someone Sally refused to lose. Lisa wasn’t going to die, not now, not like this.
Sally stopped trying to twist free. She focused all of her power on attacking. She scratched at the man’s face with her good hand and desperately tried to kick the knife out of his hand. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the third man approaching, dragging Riley with him. No, she couldn’t go back. She couldn’t lose Lisa.
One final kick and the knife fell from the man’s grip. But before Sally could break free, he shoved her to the ground. Pain shot across Sally. Tears blurred her vision and sharp bits of gravel dug into her skin. She could just barely make out the man as he reached out to retrieve his knife. Sally closed her eyes. Lisa filled her mind. She remembered the first day that she had met Lisa. The kind, tired face smiling at her. Why did she have to lose Lisa? She had already lost her parents and her home. Why did they have to kill Lisa? A second gunshot rang out.
Sally’s eyes remained closed. She could hear Riley’s gentle sobbing. Sally flinched. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder and heard Jorden speaking gently to her. He stood there, gun in hand, fear plastered over his face. Riley stood a few feet off. Next to her lay the body of one of the men. To Sally’s surprise, Lisa was sitting up. Her face was pale and distant. Her eyes looked dull, and her hands gripped the knife that she had buried in the chest of Sally’s attacker.