Week 332 – Someone grabbed Clover from behind

Oh no.

That couldn’t be good.

Looking around in a panic as the alarm blared at top volume, Clover knew her best-her only-chance at surviving this had just gone up in smoke.

Why had Hunky Horror told her she could come down here and go to the bathroom if he knew she was going to set off an alarm? Maybe she’d made a mistake in trusting him.

When he came running down the hall towards her she backed away from him. Instead of grabbing her like she had expected he slowed, held up his hands, palms out in a gesture meant to calm her. When he spoke his voice was soothing, like he was speaking to a spooked animal. “Wrong door, Lucky.”

“Huh?”

“Offices are through there, you opened the exterior door.” When he nodded at the still open door she saw he was right. Through it was the dark night, not an office or a bathroom.

“I’m sorry,” she said quickly, and for the first time since she was taken from the hospital tears burned the backs of her eyes, a couple tumbling free. She was scared. Really scared. All she wanted was to go home, but that wasn’t happening any time soon … probably not ever.

For a moment Hunky Horror looked stricken at the sight of her tears. Then he did the unexpected by reaching out and catching a tear with the pad of his thumb. “Don’t cry, Clover,” he said softly. “I’m going to do everything I can to get you out of here. Trust me, okay? I need you to stay strong a little longer. Can you do that for me?”

His sudden kindness and gentleness nearly broke her but somehow she managed to pull herself back from the brink. Rubbing at her eyes she gave him a single nod, the best she could manage at the moment.

“There’s my girl, you got this.”

There was no time for her to wonder why he was being so nice to her, or address the my girl comment, because someone grabbed Clover from behind and she screamed.