Ariel’s parents had stepped into the hall to speak with the man in the suit but she could still snatch bits of speech through the door. Words like ‘special’ and ‘utilize’ and ‘facility’, spoken in the reassuring tone a man might use to coax a dog.

None of them had noticed the man in the corner of her room. They had questioned her about the trick, asked her to show them her secret, and he had shaken his head slowly. The trick was not for them.

“They want to take me somewhere.”

“Yes.”

“Somewhere bad?”

Hesitation. “You will never be free again.”

“Can you help me?”

“You will kill me one day, if I do. You will kill us all.”

“I would never hurt anyone! I promise. I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

The conversation outside halted abruptly. The hall was empty. Kneeling before her now was a man in filthy rags, wet with blood. Hot tears streamed from his milky eyes and in a wheezing ragged voice he said,

“You already have.”