Awake

All the air leaves my body and every one of my muscles tensing with horror and fear.
The flashlight slips out of my hand and clatters to the floor, but I pay no attention.
Please let Blake be okay. Please let Blake be okay. Please let Blake be okay....

Like as if in a dream nightmare, my voice is lost and I can't utter a sound.

"Farrah? Farrah, what is it? What's wrong?"
Asher is behind right behind me now, hand on my shoulder.

After awhile, I manage a squeak that breaks through the wall of silence.
"M-Mrs. Cherri?"

Ashers' hand contracts suddenly as I speak the name.

"Yes Penny?"

"Why do you keep calling me that? Why are at my house?"

"Oh, Oops!" She chuckles evilly "Your just so much like that little slut that sometimes I forget that your different people"

"She was not a slut! She was brave, she knew you were evil and sadistic and how put all the kids in a deep depression, so they could be your dolls that you could dress up and throw around!"
I yell, anger and fear pulsing through me.

Please let Blake be okay, Please let Blake be okay, Please let Blake be okay....

"Do tell me dear, is daring Asher there?"

I look at Asher and swallow.
"Y-yeah, he's here"
I try to steady my shaky voice, but I fail.

"Could you be a dear and put him on?"

"No"
The answer is spoken through gritted teeth.

"Sweetie, if you don't put him on, then I'm not going to put Blake on.....If I can get him to wake up that is"

Blake..

"What have you done to him?!"

"Now if you don't let me talk to Asher, then I can't tell you"

There is silence for a very long minute before I stiffly hold out the phone.
Asher takes it and presses it to his ear.

"Hello?.....Like hell! Never!.....You will not touch her you evil witch!.....Don't you dare- Fuck!"
He rashly exclaims pulling the phone away from his ear and looking down at it.
"She hung up"

"What did she say?"

"She said" He paused, sighing "That if we don't do what we are told, she will punish us"

"H-How?"
I question nervously.

"By killing Blake"

*X*

"Okay lets go over the plan one more time"
Asher says, looking me in the eyes.

"We'll start a fire and call 911, they'll come and take all the kids away, that should wake them up from the depression. Then we'll go back to my house- "And tear the head off that psychopathic hag"
Asher finishes, taking in a breath.

We stand in the middle of the dinning room, the best room to start a fire since there is no second floor above it. We made a pile out of anything we found that would burn and even found some gasoline in the kitchen to throw on it.
"You ready?"
He asks, dragging me over to the the door, as far as we can get from the pile.

"As I'll ever be"

Striking a match, he lights a wad of gasoline treated rags tide around a wooden spoon, the rags inflame immediately.
He throws it across the room, onto the pile, lighting the whole thing up.

We run to the office and he grabs the phone, dialing 911 swiftly.
"Hello? There's a fire at 47431 Hallows Rd., Come quick! Please!"
He hangs up and we start for the stairs, by now the smoke detectors are screeching.

He races from door to door, bursting inside and dragging a kid out.

I jog painfully behind, going into the ones he doesn't.
I hurry to each bed, shaking the kids there and telling them to get up, get dressed and go outside, there's a fire.
They robotically obey.

By the time we finish with all the rooms, get back down stairs and out the front doors, almost all the kids are outside in the cold.

Already, in the beam of my flashlight, I can see a new alertness to their faces, a confused and disoriented look.
Like when you fall asleep on a car trip and wake up, not knowing where or who you are.

They look around, eyes widening at the sight of the last kids running out of the building where you can clearly see the fire roaring.

I hope it burns to the ground.

Soon the sirens of the fire trucks pierce the air, when this happens, Asher takes hold of me and yanks me towards the car.

"Did you get the record book?"
I ask in a whisper.

"Yes, come on, we have to hurry"