Chapter 4

I stared at her bloody back, tears burning down my face.

The crushed leaves tasted bitter, but I choked them down anyway.

Whether it was the medicine or sheer survival instinct, my fever finally broke before dawn.

My head cleared.

Thinking I was still passed out, the girl took my hand.

Her finger traced letters into my palm, over and over.

C–L–A–R–A.

She kept writing it, as if reminding herself who she was.

"My name... is Clara," she choked out in a soft whisper.

Her touch was light on my skin. A faint warmth spread straight to my chest.

It made me think of another night I had been burning with fever.

I was trapped in bed, heavy and breathless, unable to force a sound out of my throat.

Out in the living room, my mother was frantic on the phone.

"Dr. Evans! Leo only ate a few bites of dinner. Is it his heart? Please, you have to hurry!"

She hung up and immediately rushed to the kitchen to simmer special broth for him.

No one checked on me.

With the fever burning my eyes, I had to drag myself to the bathroom and pour cold water over my head just to survive the night.

---

I opened my eyes and looked at Clara.

"My name is Dora," I rasped out, my voice raw.

She froze, her eyes suddenly lighting up in the dark.

"You're awake!"

I nodded, throwing my arms awkwardly around her.

"I'm sorry. This was all my fault."

In that foul, pitch-black shed, we held each other tight.

"Clara..." I whispered into her shoulder. "If we get out of here alive, will you be my big sister?"

"Yes," she answered without hesitation. "Sisters for life."

---

Over the next two days, the atmosphere shifted.

The guards grew tense, pacing constantly and slamming doors.

I overheard them whispering through the wall.

"Cops are cracking down hard nearby. We can't stay here. Time to move."

"What about the kids?"

"Take the ones we can sell. The rest... get rid of them in the woods. Don't leave any loose ends."

As he spoke, he glanced coldly toward Clara and me.

---

I didn't sleep a wink that night.

Once the room went quiet, I crept toward the far wall.

Earlier that day, I’d spotted a rusty piece of metal wire jutting out from a crack in the plaster.

I worked the wire into the rusted screws holding the small ventilation grate in place.

The wire was soft. The screws were frozen stiff.

My fingernails tore and snapped back while my blood smeared over the iron.

Pain shot up my fingers, making me gasp, but I didn't stop.

Right as dawn broke, the grate finally gave way.

I nudged Clara awake.

"Clara, quick! Climb out through here!"

She stared at the narrow opening, then looked back at me, shaking her head. "You go first."

"You're taller," I lied instantly. "Get through, then pull me up from the outside. Hurry, we're out of time!"

She stepped onto my shoulders. I pressed my back against the wall, putting every ounce of my remaining strength into lifting her.

My arms trembled violently. My teeth gritted together.

Finally, her fingers caught the outer ledge of the window frame.

Then—

Click.

The heavy lock on the door snapped back.

A blinding beam of flashlight whipped across the dark, locking straight onto my pale face.