Blood Donor Read online

  “This isn’t far off.”

  I jerked my head toward the sofa. “They don’t seem to mind being here.”

  “They’re stupid.”

  “What do you miss the most?”

  “My aunt, Hazel. When she wasn’t working double shifts, she’d let me stay. She’d make homemade pizza. You?” This time Thorn’s smile was soft with remembering.

  “My best friend, Emily. Going to the beach with her.” I sighed. “I love beaches. First thing I’ll do when I get out? Have a picnic with Mom and Emily at the beach.”

  “Me, I’ll go straight to Aunt Hazel’s and hug her. Keep hugging her until she says I can stay forever.”

  We fell quiet. The movie behind us continued to blare. Red and her buddy Skip had decided to watch all the Star Trek movies, from oldest to newest. As usual, Red had it turned up loud. I wanted to scream. Instead I stood. Jerked my head toward the sofas. “I can’t stand this.”

  Thorn followed me to the bedroom. We lay on our cots. Priss was hanging on to the folded mesh, her head stuck into the window well. She glanced at us and said, “I’ll watch longer. There are squirrels out there.”

  Squirrel TV. That’s what I had called the windows at home when Mom’s cat sat by them and watched the action in the backyard. I flopped onto my side, eyes on Priss. Was Mom missing me as much as I was missing her? Had Emily asked about me?

  One second I was on my side, staring at Priss’s back. The next I was asleep.

  I had no idea how long I had been sleeping when Priss cried, “Wake up! Come here!”

  I jerked awake. Raced to join Priss on the cot. Heads together, we looked out the window.

  A boy bolted across the yard. He fell, got up, kept running.

  “Go, go,” I whispered.

  Then two security guards appeared. One came from under the trees, leading a dog. A big dog. He let it go.

  The dog bolted across the grass. It leaped at the boy. Priss gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth. The boy crashed to the ground. The dog stood on his chest and snarled in his face. I held my breath. My heart hammered. But the dog didn’t attack.

  When the two guards arrived beside the boy, one gave an order we could barely hear. “Stand down.” The dog returned to its master’s side.

  As the boy started to get up, the other guard pointed something at him. The boy jerked and flopped.

  “Shit,” I whispered. “Tasers.”

  The boy stopped moving. The guards dragged him back toward the house. I pulled Priss away from the window. We both fell to our knees on the cot.

  “God, Jo,” Priss said. “Dogs and Tasers. Even if you find a way out, how do you get past that?”

  The next day I returned to the shower drain. I sat on the floor of the shower and waited. Finally I heard Dylan’s voice.

  “Are you there?” he called.

  “I’m here.”

  “So Ethan didn’t come back. We’re hoping he got away.”

  “He didn’t.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I was able to break a window and see out. Two guards and a dog took him down. They tased him.”

  “Then why didn’t he come back?”

  Silence. What could I say? Maybe he was locked up somewhere. As punishment.

  Then Dylan said, “What if the assholes killed him?”

  Chapter Ten

  Dylan’s words haunted me. What if they had killed Ethan? What if? And if they had killed him, then we were all in more danger than I had first thought. Thorn could be right that they were going to kill us all.

  The guards brought dinner at the usual time. Priss ran into the hallway and took the bags from them. Fried chicken, corn bread, french fries and gravy. I loved this meal at home, but tonight the greasy smell made my stomach turn. I picked at the fries and frowned at the table. What if? What if they had killed him?

  “Hey, new bitch, I’m gonna eat your chicken,” Red said.

  “Don’t care.” I took a drink of water to wash down a fry sticking in my throat.

  “What the fuck is your problem?”

  I shared a look with Thorn. We had already talked. “The guy who tried to escape. He didn’t get returned to the boys’ area.”

  “So?”

  “Dylan is worried they might have killed him.” Drained all his blood?

  Priss and Skip gasped.

  Red laughed. “That’s so stupid. We are their gold mine. They wouldn’t hurt us. Hell, look how good they feed us.”

  Thorn wiped the grease from her fingers. “They feed us good to keep our energy up. They don’t care about us, just what’s in us.”

  “So?” Red grabbed another chicken leg. “Let them have our blood. I’ve never had it so good.”

  “We’re in a prison,” I said. I wondered what kind of life Red had had outside that she would like this.

  “We’re fed, we’re dry, we have a shower—toothpaste even. And a TV. Warm sleeping bags, which we need since you broke that damn window.”

  I ignored that. “If Thorn is right, they are taking blood from us too often. That’s why everyone has afternoon naps and goes to bed so early.” I looked into Red’s almost green eyes. “When your blood gets too thin or whatever, then what?”

  We stared at each other for a minute. Red frowned. “Shut up. Just shut the fuck up.”

  I shrugged and stared at the far wall. The one Red had smashed me into. I rolled my shoulder, remembering the pain. Then I squinted. From this angle, in this light, I could see a dent. How…? Then I realized the wall wasn’t brick like the other inside walls. Or stone like the outside walls and hallway.

  I went over for a closer look. The smooth white wall was the same as my bedroom walls at home. The floor here was also different colors, more faded farther from the wall. Like something big and wide had stood against the wall, covering the flooring. Shelves maybe, if this had been a kitchen.

  I paced along the wall and stopped in the doorway to the hall. I’d never paid attention to how deep the doorway was. The length of my arm. Why would a wall be so thick?

  “Jo,” Thorn called. “There’s cake in this bag. Chocolate. Want some?”

  I blinked. “Sure. Give me a sec.”

  “Now, or I’ll eat your cake too,” Red snapped.

  “Fine.” I returned to the table. But the questions stayed with me.

  The next morning I was cold and wanted to wear my coat. I couldn’t. We had stuffed it into the window well to keep the frosty film in place, so the window didn’t look broken from the outside.

  After breakfast I took a hot shower to warm up. When I returned to the living room, Priss told me that the guards had come for Thorn. My stomach squeezed so hard I almost doubled over. I paced until she came back. It seemed to take forever.

  When I heard the outer door, I ran into the hallway. Thorn was leaning against the wall and sinking toward the floor.

  I raced to help her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Don’t know. Feels like they took more than usual. I’m so dizzy.” She moaned.

  “I’ll help you to bed.”

  “Don’t let me sleep, Jo. I need to tell you something,” Thorn whispered.

  “What?”

  “Not here.” She sagged against me.

  In the bedroom, I lowered Thorn onto her cot. I sat and kept my arm around her so she couldn’t lie down. “Tell me.”

  Thorn leaned against me and barely spoke above a whisper. “The window in the donor room is closed off with wood. After they strapped me into the chair and my blood started flowing, they went into the next room. Left the door open a crack. I heard them talking. Couldn’t make out the words.”

  Her voice faded away. Her eyes started closing, so I pinched her arm. Thorn blinked her eyes back open. “They started talking louder. I heard footsteps, so I pretended to be asleep. Someone nudged me, but I kept up the act.” She twisted around to look into my face. “Then they kept talking, but in the donor room. They were quiet, but I heard everything.�
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  With effort, Thorn sat up. “They were wondering what the boss was going to do about the new girl.”

  I pulled my head back. “Me?”

  Thorn nodded. “The one said the snatchers screwed up, taking someone with a family. The cops are looking for you, Jo.”

  “Wow. That’s great, right?”

  Thorn shook her head. She took my hands. Her grip was weak. “They said…oh god, they…”

  I squeezed her fingers. “Tell me.”

  Thorn’s dark eyes seemed to shine from inside deep caves. Then tears trickled out of the darkness. “One wondered if they would have to get rid of you too. The other swore and said they weren’t being paid enough.” She shivered. “So…cold.”

  “Get rid of me too? What does that mean?” But my mind went to the boy who had escaped and hadn’t been returned to his prison. I knew what they meant.

  Fear like I’d never felt froze my bones. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. I felt as if I was already dead.

  Chapter Eleven

  I tucked Thorn into her sleeping bag with shaking hands and raced past the other girls watching TV. It was almost time to talk with Dylan. In the bathroom, I dropped to my knees by the shower drain and pressed my hands onto the tile floor.

  Eyes closed, I whispered, “She has to be wrong. She didn’t hear that. Maybe the other boy is back. If he’s back, Thorn is wrong. Please, please, be back.”

  I waited and kept whispering to myself, hoping that would keep my panic under control. But it was rising. Choking me. Making me gasp.

  Finally a voice rose from the drain. “Hello?”

  I slapped the floor with both hands. “Dylan, I’m here. Tell me he’s back. Tell me they brought the other guy back.”

  “No.”

  That word punched the air out of me. I pressed my forehead against the floor. Tried to remember to breathe.

  “Why?” came Dylan’s voice. “Jo? Why do you want to know?”

  “I’m scared,” I whispered.

  “What? I can’t hear you? Talk louder.”

  “I said, I said…” I sucked air into my lungs. “I have to go.”

  “Talk tomorrow?”

  “Yeah. Sure.” I pushed up off the floor. Paced to the door and back. Slapped my hands against the wall under the shower head. Again and again. Until my palms were red and stinging.

  Panic was winning. I felt like I was going to start screaming. But if I let one scream out, I’d never stop. I ran the cold-water tap and held my hands under the flow, then splashed my face.

  A little calmer, I returned to the living room. Red, Skip and Priss were watching yet another movie. I stared at them for a long time. They didn’t care what could happen to me. At least Thorn had cared enough to warn me about what she’d heard.

  These three could not be counted on to help. Maybe Priss, but half the time she was happy to hang out with Red and Skip. Like now. Laughing when Red laughed.

  I’d need help if I was going to escape. I had to escape.

  Tonight.

  The only question was how.

  “Why are you standing there like a brain-dead idiot?” Red laughed, a mean sound.

  I blinked. “Just admiring your happy family.” I walked behind the couch and reached over Priss’s shoulder to grab her bag of chips.

  “Hey!”

  “Sorry, Priss. Barbecue is my fave.” There was a box on the floor by Red. Chips, chocolate bars, bottled water. It wasn’t like I was taking the last bag. I sat at the table and crunched on the chips one by one. Thought about every part of every room. I kept coming back to the wall beside the door. The wall Red and I had dented. It was so thick—there had to be something hidden behind it.

  Thorn and I thought this area had been the kitchen, back when the old house had rich owners with servants. If the stove had been against that wall, there might be something like a chimney back there. Or…

  A way for the servants to take the food up to the dining room. Stairs. That was it. A servant staircase.

  My way out.

  But breaking through that wall would be hard and noisy.

  Red laughed and hooted at something in the movie.

  Would Red let me break through a wall? Or would she warn the guards instead? Could I take that chance? I’d never felt she could be trusted.

  I was going to have to find a way to silence Red.

  Chapter Twelve

  Everyone went to bed early, like always. I pretended to fall asleep as I listened to the others taking off their jeans and crawling into their sleeping bags. The last person up shut off the lights.

  I gave it what I thought was half an hour. Then I sat up and waited for my eyes to get used to the darkness. The other girls were four unmoving lumps.

  I had gone to bed with my jeans on. Now I swung my feet to the floor and slipped on my shoes. Got the stick with the nail from under my mattress. Hugging my pillow, I tiptoed to the next room. The windows were gray rectangles in the darkness. There wasn’t enough light to work, so I sneaked into the bathroom, closed the door and turned on the light.

  I sat against the far wall and used the nail to rip a hole in the pillow along its seam. When the hole was big enough, I ripped the seam open and set the stuffing on the floor. I sat on it.

  I picked at the other seams until I got them ripped open too. Then I made holes in the material so I could rip it into six strips. I tied the pieces together to make two longer strips and tugged at them to make sure they were going to hold.

  Step one finished. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed but thought it wasn’t near midnight yet. Time for step two.

  It felt good to be doing something. Even if this didn’t work, anything was better than waiting for the next bad thing to happen.

  Moving as quietly as I could, I returned to the bedroom. Stood by the doorway for a minute to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Red was in the sleeping bag closest to the door. Skip was beside her, then Priss and Thorn. My cot was closest to the window.

  I crept to the space between Priss’s and Thorn’s cots and knelt down. I clamped my hand over Priss’s mouth, scaring her awake. “Shh. It’s Jo,” I whispered in her ear. “I need your help.”

  Priss lifted my hand from her mouth and whispered back, “To do what?”

  “To tie up Red.”

  Priss inhaled in surprise.

  I said, “I’m going to try to get out tonight. I don’t trust her. Can’t have her screwing it up. Will you help?”

  A pause and then Priss said, “Okay.” She swung her legs out of her sleeping bag. Slipped into her jeans and shoes.

  “Follow me,” I whispered. “And sit on Red’s legs.”

  We moved to Red’s cot, each of us taking a side. As I had hoped, only her head was poking out of the sleeping bag. I took a long breath. I climbed up and sat on Red’s chest. My legs squeezed against Red’s arms so they couldn’t get free.

  Red woke up yelling. She twisted and kicked. “I’m going to kill you. Get off me, bitch!”

  “Now, Priss.” Red’s legs stopped moving, so I knew Priss had sat on them. I said, “This will be easier if you don’t fight.” I took one of the ties I’d made and worked it between the sleeping bag and the cot. “I’m going to tie you up, but just for the night. In the morning I’ll be gone, and the others can untie you.”

  “Fuck you! Get off me.” She spat in my face. “Get off now!”

  I had the homemade strap behind Red’s upper arms. I tied it as tight as I could. Then turned around.

  “Get your ass out of my face!” Red yelled.

  The light went on. Everyone froze for a second. Skip stood by the switch. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to escape.” I pushed the second tie under Red’s waist. “I can’t risk Red telling the leeches. And you should sit on your bed before the others tackle you and tie you up too.”

  “Tell the leeches? But…” Skip’s eyes widened. She frowned at Red. “I…I saw you at the door. Then suddenly th
ey delivered a big stash of snacks. You’re talking to them? Telling them stuff? How could you do that?” She ruffled her messy brown hair as she looked from Priss to Thorn, who was now awake and getting out of bed. Skip raised her hands. “Try to escape if you want, Jo. I won’t stop you.”

  “Bitch!” Red screamed. “You’re all bitches!”

  Thorn found one of Red’s socks and stuffed it into her mouth, choking off Red’s swearing.

  “Thanks.” I tied the second strap around Red’s waist so it trapped her hands. Then I swung off Red and looked at her for a few seconds. Hate spilled from her eyes like twin laser beams. I shrugged. “Sorry. You might think this is a sweet gig, but it’s still a prison. And I’m getting out before they kill me. If they kill me, it won’t be long before they come for you.”

  Priss took my mattress and laid it on top of Red. Then she piled the cot frame on top of that.

  “What are you doing?” Thorn asked.

  “Making sure she can’t wiggle off the bed and get herself undone somehow.” She leaned over Red’s face. “Can you breathe okay?” A muffled response assured everyone she could.

  “Are you going to tie me up too?” Skip asked in a shaky voice.

  “Not if you stay in here,” I said.

  “Sure. I don’t want to have anything to do with whatever you’re planning.”

  I took my coat from the window well and jammed my sleeping bag into it to keep the broken corner in place. I walked into the living room and tossed my coat on the back of the sofa.

  Okay. Red was silenced for now. I rubbed my hands, ready to tackle the next step.

  “Do you want the light on in here?” Thorn asked.

  “There’s enough light from the bedroom.”

  “What’s the plan?” Priss asked.

  I pointed. “Bust through that wall.”

  “But it’s an inside wall,” Thorn said. “And behind it is the stone wall of the hallway.”

  “Yes. But it’s really thick. Why?” The two girls stared with questions on their faces. “That wall’s hiding a staircase.”