Chapter 3

"Hella， light the candle." She whispered. The nails on the

window sound came again. Hella froze mid-motion. They heard a

muffled sliding sound， then the nails on glass again. Hella

stiffened when the floorboards creaked. Then she turned in the

darkness and spoke the words that Allie had been dreading.

"Someone is in our house."

Allie couldn“t even manage a nod. They had always been safe in

this town. Everybody knew that their father did little to protect his

daughters， but so far they had no cause for worry. Tonight， that all

changed. The unfriendly house seemed to emit fear and danger

from its weak walls. "Hella?"

"Come on." Swinging her legs over the bed and onto the floor，

Hella lit the candle and stood.

"Where are we going?" Allie asked as she scrambled from the

bed.

"We“ll look in on dad， make sure it wasn“t him. Then we“ll

search the house." Hella stepped away from her sister. She

walked into the hallway， looked both ways， and then crossed over

to their father“s room.

Allie followed her sister， though the terror in her heart rose to a

higher level. She knew that their father wouldn“t wake for hours

yet， and when he did the girl“s would hear more then squeaking

floorboards. Allie allowed herself a quick glance down the hall

before she followed her sister into the bedroom. Hella stopped

when she saw the figure on the bed. Allie， not noticing her sister“s

sudden stop， bumped into her. "What is it?" She whispered

stepping around her sister.

"Allie..." Her sister“s warning came too late.

Allie saw the mound on the bed and froze， her eyes wide and

fearful. On the bed Mr. Harbor lay. Two vicious bloody stabs

marked his chest. One directly over the heart， the other was off to

the right side. His blue t-shirt was torn and thoroughly soaked

with his blood. The bed sheets were covered in his dark sticky blood.

Trembling， Hella stepped forward and held her hand in front of

his nose. No breath warmed her hand. She pulled the blanket up

to cover his lifeless face. She turned to face Allie. Allie“s entire

body was trembling so violently it was a miracle was still

standing. Her face had paled to a ghastly white， marred only by

the golden freckles that marched across her nose and cheeks. Her

large brown eyes were filled with tears unshed; her long hair was

pulled back in a single braid that reached her waist. Dark curls

that had escaped the braid clung to her neck and face in a way

that made her appear sweet and lovable. Standing there in her

nightgown， she looked like an abandoned， heartbroken child.

Their father may not have been much， but he was all they had. He

was their last connection to their formerly happy life. No， that

wasn“t right. Not the last connection. They still had each other.

Hella“s thoughts were thwarted by the sound of squeaky

floorboards. She realized in a flash of terror that whoever had

killed their father， whoever had done this， was still in the dark

house.

During her sister“s examination， Allie never moved. Only when

she heard the floorboards did she turn. Their father“s murderer

was still in the house， and he had come back for them! Allie felt a

tug of pain tear through her heart， though it was emotion pain， it

hurt enough to be physical. Soon their small misfit family would

be extinct. All the hopes she ever had now lay unrealized in a

graveyard within her mind. Buried hopes， never to be lived

because she wouldn“t live through this night. But her sister could.

This flash of insight stole her breath. Hella could escape while the

murderer dealt with her. Hella could escape and live. She could

fulfill all her dreams and hopes. Allie blinked as her sister moved

away from her and picked up a folded paper from the hall floor.

Hella opened the paper.