“I guess I should have kidnapped Marla if I wanted a nurse,” the girl said sardonically. “I told you, he wants you to watch. Look over here.” Jessica obeyed, feeling her head go light as the girl pressed the scalpel into Afton’s skin. Don’t pass out. She drew the blade across his lower abdomen with steady, practiced hands, making a six-inch incision. She held out the scalpel, and Jessica stared for a moment before realizing she was supposed to take it. “He wants you to watch; it’s the only reason you’re alive. If you don’t watch, then there is no reason for you to be here. Do you understand?” Jessica steadied herself. Breathe. Don’t faint. Think about something else.

John, Charlie—no, I’ll start crying. Something else, something else …

Shoes. Black boots, knee high. The kind that look like riding boots. Italian leather. Jessica took the scalpel and set it down where it had been, and the blood dripped onto the paper, seeping into the fibers. Jessica took another deep breath.

The animatronic girl had one of her hands inside the incision, and was pulling it back, peering into the wound she had just made. “Scalpel,” she said again, and Jessica picked up a new one and handed it to her. “Watch,” the girl warned, and Jessica watched as she reached into the incision and cut something inside. Jessica flinched. Shoes. Maroon clogs. Chunky heel, three inches. Patchwork stitching. The girl held out the scalpel, her hand still inside Afton’s body. “Take it; give me clamps.” Jessica took the scalpel and replaced it.

“Clamps?” she asked, starting to panic as she searched among the instruments.

“They look like scissors, with teeth instead of blades. Open them and hand them to me, and do it fast.”

Shoes. Jelly sandals, purple, sparkly. Jessica grabbed the clamps and tried to open them, but they were stuck together, hooked by an odd clasp at the top.

“Hurry up, do you want him to die?”

Yes, I do! Jessica wanted to shout, but held her tongue. She pinched the scissor handles together, and they came free. She handed them to the girl, relieved, and watched as she stuck the pointed end into the opening and pinched whatever she had been holding, clamping it shut. She took her hand slowly out of the wound and looked at Jessica.

“You have to be faster. Scalpel, then I’ll need clamps right away.”

Jessica nodded.

Shoes. Green suede kitten heels with a rhinestone strap at the ankle. She handed the girl the scalpel, then wrestled the clamps open as fast as she could, and was holding them out by the time the bloody blade was returned to her. She watched dizzily as the animatronic girl made another cut, severing something she could not see, and using the last set of clamps to hold it shut.