Martha

The Attack

While Simon and Lucy were frantically searching for their little sister, Sable finished packing her bag to leave the bed and breakfast. She tossed the bag over her shoulder and started to make her way down the stairs.  That's when every light in the house went out.

Total darkness.

Fear rushed through her, and she ran down the stairs as fast as she could, stumbling over her feet as she hit the bottom step.  There was no longer any doubt in her mind that something sinister was happening. She had to get out right away.

But what about the other guests? She couldn't leave them to fend for themselves, especially if they didn't know there was danger all around them. She had to warn them before it was too late!

Using the light from her cellphone, she climbed back up the stairs and knocked on Porter's door, praying that he would answer before Lucy or Simon found out what she was doing.

He didn't answer. 

Cold sweat ran down her face.  "Porter!"  She cried, knocking again.  "Please, wake up.  We have to get out of here."

Silence.

She wrapped her hand around the doorknob to find that it was unlocked.  She went inside and shone the light on his bed.  A gasp escaped her lips when she saw no one there. 

The blanket was pulled back. and his headphones were lying on top of his pillow.

"Oh, God!"  She ran out of his room and knocked on Thomas Smith's door, only to find that he was missing.  Something had happened to them.

There was nothing she could do now. She had to get away from there and call the police!

She stumbled back down the stairs and ran to the front door, but when she tried to open it, she found it was locked.  "No!"  She screamed, running towards the kitchen to get to the back door.

Her knee slammed against the wooden table, and she came to a painful halt. She rested her hand on top of one of the chairs to catch her balance, gasping when she felt something warm and gooey on her fingers.  She shined the light of her cellphone on it to see what it was.  Her heart felt like it stopped cold in her chest when she saw a dead body sitting there.

It was Thomas Smith.

Someone had propped him in the chair, like he was the guest of a dinner party. There were traces of blood all over him.  His face was distorted.

Sable couldn't contain her scream. She slid open her phone screen and shakily dialed 911, praying that they would answer immediately.

"911, what is your emergency?"

"P-please, help me. There's been a murder."

"A murder? Where are you, ma'am?"

"I'm at-AHHHH!!!"

She let out another scream when a pair of arms wrapped around her waist.  The assailant tackled her to the floor and snatched the cellphone from her hand, stomping on it before she could finish her call.

The kitchen was dark. She tried to scurry away before her attacker could touch her again, but her feet were grabbed.  She was dragged across the floor.

"Let me go!! Please!!"

Her attacker grabbed underneath her arms, and she was hoisted from the ground. She kicked her legs out and dug her nails into the hands that so tightly held her, which caused her captor to release her.

She used the opportunity to make another run for the back door. Despite the darkness, she was able to find her way back through the kitchen.

She flung open the door, which was thankfully not locked, and screamed again when she saw the body of her best friend hanging there.  Her wrists and feet were bound by rope that was fastened on the two posts that sat on either side of the door. She was naked, and there was dried blood all around her nose and mouth.

The sight was terrifying.

"No!!  Halle!!"

She couldn't bring herself to push past her friend's corpse, so she ran back into the house. Her mind raced as she considered what was happening to her.

Why were Lucy and Simon doing this?

Had they already killed Porter?

The thought sent her over the edge. She screamed and ran through towards the staircase, only to be tackled again by the same person.

Her mouth was covered by an icy hand, and she was pulled through the house until they reached the dark basement. Her attacker breathed heavily and turned on the dim light inside, revealing something that made Sable feel sick.

Porter was tied to an old wooden chair. His eyes were widened in horror, and his mouth was covered with a thick piece of cloth.

He let out a muffled cry when he saw her.

Sable bit the hand that covered her mouth, causing it to release her. She looked back and saw a woman standing there, one eye filled with tears and the other covered by a bandage.

"Who are you!?" Sable demanded.

The woman didn't answer.

Instead, she pressed her finger over her lips and attempted to cover Sable's mouth again.

"Don't touch me, you bitch!  You killed my friend!"

The girl shook her head. She raised her hands in front of her, silently pleading with Sable to give her a chance to explain herself. She picked up the pencil and note pad that sat on the worn out table next to her bed, then she frantically scribbled a note.

The handwriting was so distorted that Sable could hardly make it out.

Pleeez.  U haf to be kwiet.

"No, I will not be quiet!" Sable growled, "Now let my friend go!"

The woman scribbled another note.

She is gunna kill u.

"Who? Who's going to kill me!?"

"That would be me." A voice answered from the top of the stairs.

Sable looked up to see Lucy standing there.

She had a smile on her face and a knife in her hand.

"Thank you for bringing them down here for me, Martha." She said, "You saved me a lot of work."