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down. His head hit the ground so hard he almost missed the jab in his leg. Like a bee sting, but worse. He slapped at his leg, dislodging something plastic.
    He brought it close to his burning eyes. Not a syringe , he thought. It’s a dart .
    ‘You stuck me with a dart ?’ he demanded. ‘What the hell is wrong with you? Who the hell carries darts ?’
    ‘What the hell is wrong with me ?’ Ken cried. ‘What the hell is wrong with you ? Are you insane?’ He rolled away, scrabbling to his hands and knees. Now he had the sense to crawl away, trying to escape.
    That could not be allowed to happen. He came to his feet, stumbling after the blurry blob that was moving alarmingly fast. He aimed for the blob and fired. Ken screamed, but kept moving, so he kept firing. Finally the blob stopped, inches from the corner of the house.
    Mt Carmel, Ohio, Monday 3 November, 2.55 P.M.
     
    Please God , Arianna prayed. Please let him help us, whoever he is .
    She could hear the girl, who she now knew was named Roza, shuffling across the floor, but she passed the table, stopping on the other side of the room. ‘What is Earl P and L?’ Roza asked.
    Under her blindfold, Arianna blinked in surprise. ‘The power company. Why?’
    ‘Because there’s a sign on a truck outside that says that. There’s a man up there, with tools. And he’s afraid.’ Something was different. A hardness in her tone that hadn’t been there before.
    Arianna felt the girl’s hand, cold and bony against her arm. Then . . . tugging. Tugging and the rough sound of rope being cut. Arianna was afraid to breathe, afraid she was imagining this, but she wasn’t. Roza was cutting her free.
    Holding her breath, Arianna said nothing, afraid of making Roza change her mind. But she didn’t, and soon Arianna’s other hand was free. Tearing the blindfold from her face, she gritted her teeth and struggled to sit up while the girl cut the ropes at her ankles.
    Arianna blinked hard, squinting against the bright overhead lights to get her first glimpse of the girl, who looked as young as she sounded. Maybe twelve years old. Her dark hair was tangled, her skin almost white. Like she’d never seen the sun.
    Then she noticed that in the corner there was a laptop whose screen was divided into six areas, like in the security office of a department store. He had cameras, Arianna realized. One of the six partitions held the video of a man wearing a jacket that said ‘Earl Power and Light’ across the back. That picture was from a camera to the outside.
    Arianna’s heart sank. He’d come to read the meter. He hadn’t come to help them.
    He doesn’t know we’re here .
    She had to get his attention. Shoving back the panic, she scanned the room, looking for something to use to make some noise. Instead she saw walls lined with shelves, and on the shelves were jars filled with liquid. The countertop was also covered with jars. All containing dark brown liquid. Some had . . . things floating in them. Arianna gagged.
    ‘Don’t throw up,’ Roza snapped, briskly rubbing Arianna’s feet, forcing circulation. ‘There are some stairs that go up. There’s a door at the top. That’s all I can do for you. Go.’
    ‘Thank you.’ Arianna reached out her hand. ‘Let’s go.’
    A beat of silence passed, then the girl shook her head. ‘No,’ she whispered. ‘I can’t go.’
    ‘Why not?’ Arianna whispered back desperately. ‘Who does he have that you love?’
    Saying nothing, Roza grabbed Arianna’s arms and slid her off the table. The moment Arianna’s feet hit the floor, they felt as if they were being stung by a thousand bees. ‘Who?’ she repeated through clenched teeth. ‘Who does he have that you love?’
    ‘My mother. You need to go. Get help. Get Faith Frye.’
    ‘Why? Who is she?’
    ‘I don’t know, but he’s trying to find her. He hates her.’
    ‘What about my friend? Is she here?’
    ‘Yes. But she’s chained and I don’t have the key. I