Chapter 3

My stomach lurched. "What's wrong with me? Low blood sugar?"

Before I could work it out, my body hit the floor, hard.

Right after, Clive's voice came from outside the door. "Ha. She's out cold. I heard her drop."

Then Josephine's voice. "Clive, you really know your stuff. That poison works like a charm."

Clive said, smug, "Course it does. It's what we use at the factory to kill rats. Bunch of different rat poisons mixed together. Works great."

"You spray it in, and in under five minutes the rat's dead."

Only then did I notice it, faint wisps of white gas seeping in under the door.

And I understood. The cursing had stopped, not because they'd left, but because they were poisoning me.

Grief welled up in me.

A whole second life, and I'd still ended up walking the same road to the same grave.

Last time, I'd gone to bed right after the fight with them, and died in my sleep, poisoned, never knowing what had happened.

This time, waiting on the delivery, I knew the truth. And it changed nothing. There was nothing I could do.

A rustling started outside. They were prying at the door.

I heard Josephine, worried. "If we go in, won't we get poisoned too?"

Clive said, "Relax. This stuff breaks down with water. We hold a wet towel over our mouths and noses, and we're fine."

"Once we're in, open the window first, let the poison air out. Three minutes and it's clear."

Hearing that, a thread of hope for survival stirred in me.

I dragged myself toward the bathroom, but my body weighed a thousand pounds, and every scrap of strength I had moved me only a few inches.

And the lock was already turning. Any second now, they'd have the door open.

Just then, footsteps sounded in the stairwell.

Josephine said in a panic, "Trouble, it's the delivery guy. Let's hide."

Leonard swore. "Ordering food this late. Just let her eat herself dead."

Right after that, I heard the door next to mine.

Josephine's family, going home.

A few seconds later, the delivery driver knocked on my door.

I wanted to answer. Not a sound would come out.

Outside, the knocking grew more impatient, until he was nearly pounding on it.

I seized the chance and threw everything I had into crawling toward the bathroom.

I kept cheering myself on, silently. "It takes five minutes to kill a rat. I'm a full-grown person, it'd take longer. There's still a chance. I can't give up."

The driver started calling me. My phone was on the table, way out of reach.

I heard him outside, thoroughly annoyed. "Order food, nobody's home, won't pick up the phone. Who eats the cost when this goes missing?"

By then I'd reached the bathroom.

Cold water poured over my head, and my mind snapped a good deal clearer.

My whole body was still weak, but I could move now.

I fought my way to my feet and got the door open.

The driver was already gone. The food sat outside my door.

I crept to the corner of the stairwell, fetched the rat poison bait, mixed it all into the food, and eased the door shut again.

Then I opened the window to air the place out.

As the poison thinned, my head cleared more and more.

I gathered a few things, meaning to run. But just as I reached for the door, I heard Josephine's voice.