you all day,? Claire told Helen. The phone buzzed again.
238/395
?It?s him.? She read the screen. ?He wants me to keep you here.
He?s on his way over.?
?No! I?m not ready to talk to any of them yet!? Helen exclaimed,
backing away.
?Len, he?s really worried about you, they all are.?
?I gotta get out of here,? Helen stammered. She ran a hand over
her face and turned for the window.
?Where are you going?? Claire asked, trying to block Helen?s path
with an outstretched arm. ?I?ll tell him to go away if you want, but
you have to let me know that you?ll be okay.?
?I?m just going home. Promise you won?t let him follow me,
okay??
Claire promised and gave Helen a hug. Then Helen jumped out
the window, transitioning states in midair. She heard Claire gasp
as she flew away. A minute later Helen was landing in her front
yard and heading right for the stairs to take a shower and warm up.
He was waiting for her behind the front door. He swept her feet
out from under her before he even bothered to slam the front door
shut. Everything went completely dark, darker than any night, any
blindfold, or any closed room that Helen had ever experienced. She
was enveloped in a disorienting blackness that made her feel dizzy
and cut off from the rest of the world that she couldn?t even remember
the layout of her own house anymore. Where were the
stairs? The furniture? She didn?t know. It was as if she had fallen
into a black hole.
Helen was so shocked she didn?t have time to roll over before she
felt a very large man cover her from behind. He took her head
between his hands and wrenched it to the side, trying to break her