Free The Haunted (Sarah Roberts 12) by Jonas Saul

assess her. They would allow the use of a bathroom. Food. Soap. Maybe a phone call.
     
    Aaron was probably going mad after the message she left him. He would show up at the cabin and she wouldn’t be there. He’d have no idea where she had gone to meet the doctor. He wouldn’t be able to reach her and within a short time, Parkman would come, then the police would get in on it.
     
    From what Williams said, she didn’t have a lot of time to survive this place. The only way she knew how to survive was to do it on her terms and that meant being disruptive.
     
    She released her bladder. The warmth oozed out and puddled on the bed under her. The wetness was uncomfortable, but the pressure in her bladder ebbed, which was a relief.
     
    They would have to change her bedsheets now. That meant untying her to take her off the bed. There’d be a new gown, possibly a shower. No one would want to do horrific things to her while she was covered in urine.
     
    Her hunger would subside in time. It would come back stronger, but for now, she could deal with it.
     
    Vivian’s silence was more difficult. She had grown to trust her sister implicitly over the years. In the past, there were many times when Vivian was silent and it served a purpose, but it would be so much nicer if she could just show her what’s going to happen so it didn’t come so much of a surprise.
     
    Surprises weren’t a lot of fun.
     
    Footsteps echoed down the corridor. They got closer. Outside her door, they stopped.
     
    Sarah lifted her head, breath caught in her throat as she listened, staring at the door.
     
    There was a click as the lock was disengaged, then the handle turned.
     
    Light spilled in from the hallway. A tall man, at least six four, bald and wearing a security uniform, stepped just inside the door. He brought a hand up to his nose.
     
    “What’s that smell?” he asked.
     
    “Bad dream. Pissed myself. Is this where I wake up? I’m still dreaming, right?”
     
    “No, no dream. Reality. Anyway, doesn’t matter. I’m supposed to take you for your shower, then new clothes and possibly breakfast. I’ll have your bedsheets changed while we’re away.”
     
    “And you’ve come to do this alone? You’re not worried about me?”
     
    He stepped closer. As he did, she saw the disfigurement in his face. A burn victim, his facial skin deformed, twisted and melted in spots. His security guard’s uniform came complete with a loaded utility belt.
     
    He held up a small canister. “Pepper spray.” He placed it back on his belt, felt around to the other side and pulled up a small Taser. “Just in case you decide to test me, I’ll be ready. Now that we know the stakes, are you ready to be placed into a wheelchair and taken for your shower?”
     
    “A wheelchair?”
     
    “My orders are to keep you restrained one hundred percent of the time. Normally, there’d be two of us, but we’re short staffed. A lot of crazies in the building.” He dipped his chin closer to his chest and rolled his head back and forth in short bursts in an eerie attempt to appear crazy. The skin deformity on his face only made the picture all that more alarming. He stopped rolling his head, then said, “I’ll wheel the chair in and set it beside the bed. I will untie one ankle, then one wrist. You will do the rest. Understood?”
     
    Sarah nodded.
     
    He didn’t move. After another moment, he said, “Understood?”
     
    “Yes, for fuck’s sake.”
     
    He pivoted on his heels as if he was in the military and left the room, leaving the door to the hallway open. His footfalls retreated until there was silence.
     
    She laid her head back, stared up at the ceiling, and realized something. None of Vivian’s memories had come surfacing to haunt her since before the doctor’s appointment. What could that mean? Had Vivian retreated? Does she have that ability now that they were so close?
     
    A noise at the door startled her. She popped her head up and