“Grace, we need to find something to help us get out of here,” I whispered, walking around the empty, abandoned warehouse.

“Something like what?” Grace asked. “We looked and we found nothing but empty boxes, perhaps we should make wings and fly out of here.”

“Are you being sarcastic right now?” I asked dryly. “Let’s look again, separately this time, we will meet here afterwards.”

“Jo, do you even think that is a good idea? What if he returns, don’t you think we are stronger together?”

“Let’s just hurry, okay?” I said urgently. “We need to get out of here, otherwise we are both dead meat!”

Grace got up from leaning against the wall, making her way to the opposite direction. I made my way to search through what looked like a locker room.

I tested the metal locker doors to see if I could remove one to use as some sort of a weapon. But no, there were only thick plastics and a few old garments.

“Ow! Jo! JoAnne help!”

Grace’s loud shout made me jump. I quickly made my way back to the main part of the warehouse.

“Grace? Grace, where are you?” I panicked. “Grace?”

I ran towards the direction she took earlier, to the part of the building that was more dilapidated than the rest. Some parts of the walls had fallen and cracked and there were a few old pieces of machinery that was left, which was useless to us.

“Grace?” I called out carefully, wondering if the maniac had taken her. My heart missed a beat at the thought. “Graceland? Where are you?”

“I’m here,” she said, her voice sounding faint.

“Are you alone?” I asked cautiously. “Or is he there with you?”

“Aow, aow please hurry.”

I hurried towards the end of the old machinery room. I turned the corner and I saw a dark tunnel like hallway.

“I’m down here,” Grace called. “Be careful, part of the wall fell there. I tripped and I think I broke my leg.”

“Oh okay, I’m coming,” I said, walking carefully down.

I nearly tripped over the fallen wall and I saw her. Grace looked dusty. I could finally see her through a crack of the outside wall, and there was a door nearby.

I opened it and it opened into a bathroom. The windows were high, darkened with grime and age, some even broken. Light shone in and I could see Grace’s condition; her leg was twisted, her lips ashen.

“How long have you been sitting there?” I asked, swallowing the bile rising from my stomach. I touched her shoulder and she shuddered, her body trembling.

“Please help me,” she said, her eyes filling with tears. “I am not sure I can even stand. It hurts so bad.”

“Girls?” A loud and sinister voice called out from the other part of the warehouse. “You know, you can’t run or hide from me.”

“Ohm…”

I hurriedly placed my hand on Grace’s mouth to stop her from moaning her pain out loud. I took off my sweater.

“Bite, and bite hard. We have to move; it won’t take him long to find us here.”

I picked her from under her arms and pulled her, almost half dragging her into the bathroom. She moaned but she obeyed, biting the sweater down. Her body went faint once I leaned her against the bathroom wall.

“He can’t find us here,” I said, wiping the perspiration on her face, my eyes filling with tears.

Something fell hard on the ground in the other room, making me huddle near Grace.

“I’m so sorry all of this has happened.”

Terror was starting to set in. I didn’t know how we were going to escape the madman and the warehouse, and if we were ever going to see our parents again.

***

Tell us: What do you think led to the girls being in such a scary situation?