Free The Haven: A Novel by Carol Lynch Williams

even a place to use the restroom. Nothing to eat— nothing! —and little to drink. Then there was the steady whine of words that filled the mind and blocked out everything else, the stark walls and no one else at all.
    If I had to, I would save Gideon from himself. Like Juliet tried to save Romeo and then died in the process.
    I whispered the last line of Romeo and Juliet, “For never was a story of more woe/ Than this of Juliet and defiant Romeo,” and stepped into the hall. Ms. Iverson, I was sure, was long asleep. Still, I felt nervous. What if I found Gideon? What if his arm was gone? Or came off in my own hand?
    My stomach tightened. Maybe if I counted. Onetwothreefourfi—
    No! I could talk my way out of the worry.
    “None of those things will happen, Shiloh,” I said. “Please, please don’t let that happen.” I kept my voice quiet, but in the dark hall the words felt like they floated near the doorways, waiting for someone to follow behind and collect what I’d said.
    Tonight, I was on my own and my dream did not help at all. In the shadowed corners, I saw that hole of a face. The curtains looked like Dr. King in his lab coat. A severed head swung near the ceiling. The fireplace seemed to yawn wide. I clutched my sweatshirt close and edged along the halls.
    “What in the world are you doing, Shiloh?” I felt like a crazed Terminal. Tonight was nothing like exploring before. Tonight was dangerous.
    I walked down the corridor to the open expanse of the great hall that connected all the wings of Haven Hospital & Halls.
    And then I saw it.
    Something real, not just my imagination. Ahead of me. I thought I might swallow my tongue. Let this be another dream. I squeezed my eyes shut. No arms. No shoulders. Why didn’t I take the nighttime Tonic? I could be safe in bed, sleeping. What had I been thinking?…
    I opened my eyes. Pulled in air. Squeezed my hands together. There it was again! Farther away this time.
    Unable to move I stopped. If I had wanted, I’m not sure I could have gone on.
    What should I do? I couldn’t even answer my own question. What if I screamed? How would I explain what I was doing awake, fully dressed at this late hour if the Teacher on duty saw my offensive behavior? If I didn’t move at all, maybe whatever that was wouldn’t see me. I could go right back to bed. I would go back and—
    The figure slunk away, moving with speed and with a low shhhh sound. The hair rose all over my body. A cold sweat broke out down my back and under my arms.
    It turned the corner in the direction I was to go, then disappeared from my sight.
    Move, Shiloh. But I couldn’t. I was melted ice.
    “Shiloh, are you coming?”
    My voice came out a squeak. “Abigail? Please be real,” I said. “Please don’t let me break off your only arm.”
    “Break off my arm? What are you talking about?”
    And there she was. Stepping out of the darkness.
    “Are you okay?” Her voice was soft as the night. I felt my eyes burn, I was that relieved.
    My legs were no longer tied to the floor. I could move, though my kneecaps felt like they might pop off.
    “Abigail,” I said. “Oh, Abigail. I’m so…” I couldn’t think of a word to describe it, the way I felt, the nerves that ran through me. “… jumpy.”
    She came up close. “Come on. We’ve got work to do and I’ve got things to show you.” She gestured and I followed her, relief warming the coldest parts of my body.
    All around us the school seemed alive. Flickering shadows. Sounds, as though the walls breathed. I wanted to run, but I knew I’d not get far. Abigail slunk down the hall, making no noise at all. She blended in with the darkness. Were those shapes Terminals moving from corner to corner like Abigail did?
    “I want to go back to bed, Abigail,” I said. My mouth felt dry but words squeezed out. “This is bad. You know what will happen if our blood pressure goes up. We can be called out during lunch. Neither of us wants that.”
    Abigail