She was almost euphoric at the thought of food. After another few minutes, the handle to the door finally jiggled, followed by a knock on their door. Why is he knocking? Addie thought. Keys jangled and then it sounded as though he was trying several keys. Has it been so long that he forgot what key it is? Another car door slammed. Addie’s eyebrows knitted together. Finally, the right key went into the lock and the doorknob turned. A woman rushed into the room, quickly closing the door behind her. She seemed scared. She squinted at them but didn’t seem to see them. She was too busy pulling some kind of cylinder out of her pocket and flattening her body against the wall behind the door, as if anyone could hide from him. Did he kidnap someone else to join them? He’d already gone off his normal routine, maybe he was adding someone new to the mix.

‘Did he take you too?’ Addie asked the woman, causing her eyes to dart in Addie’s direction and widen, finally seeing her sitting on the mattress. The woman put her finger up to her mouth and quietly hissed, ‘Shhh! He’s still out there.’

Addie was confused. What did this mean? Had the woman escaped from his clutches? If so, she’d certainly picked the wrong room to hide in. Suddenly the doorknob turned and when the door inched open, a man stood in the doorway. The mystery woman tensed, looking ready to pounce and attack the man from behind as he stepped in.

Addie slowly stood, and clearing her throat, she asked, ‘Are you our new Master?’

Perhaps their captor had passed them along like hand-me-down dolls to his next of kin. They shared several physical features, most notably their eyebrows. Addie would never forget the way those caterpillars hovered over his cold eyes as he stared down at her.

The new man stood still with his mouth open. A few seconds passed before he answered, ‘What? No. Are you … Are you Addie Wilson and Zoey Davis?’

The woman’s hand flew to her mouth as the keys in her hand fell to the floor and she gasped. ‘Oh my God.’

The man opened the door wider and peered behind it. ‘Liz?’

The woman still had the cylinder poised in her shaky hand. ‘You’re not TSK?’

The man seemed to deflate like a balloon. ‘Liz, no. How could you ever think that?’

‘I don’t know … I’m so sorry,’ she cried, tears starting to pour down her cheeks.

The man looked at the woman for a long moment. Addie coughed, her throat dry, and it seemed to bring his attention back to her and Zoey. He turned and abruptly walked out into the kitchen where Addie heard him saying, ‘We found the two missing women from the news. Please, send help right away. They need medical attention.’