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.I can’t! He has me tied up! I tried and tried to make a monster come, like in the apartment, but I couldn’tYou are too young to work on your own.You need the combined strength of other minds.I will help you this time, and you’ll succeed.Lorraine did not answer right away.She wriggled a little, trying to get comfortable.Then she thought to Marty:What were they doing to you?They put a needle into me.It has some kind of strange medicine inside and it makes me feel weird.I can’t communicate when that happens.Are they going to do that to me?They aren’t going to catch you.When we are all together, we’ll be too strong for them.When are we going to be together?Soon.You’re so close now.At that moment the door opened.Instinctively afraid of Trefill, Lorraine cut off all thoughts to Marty.She stared at the man as he set up cartons of Chinese food on the dresser.Wait until he unties you.Be ready.Lorraine was too nervous to answer him.Trefill came to the bed and began to unfasten her ties.She wiggled into a sitting position and tried to pull the gag from her mouth.Trefill grabbed her wrist.“Don’t misbehave,” he said.“You leave that alone for a minute.”Lorraine stared at him.He began opening the containers.She could smell the food from across the room, and realized she was famished.“I didn’t know what to get you,” Trefill said, “but I figured you’d like lo mein.Most kids I know do.Now, I’m gonna take off your gag and give you something to eat.Don’t even think of screaming.No one is near enough to hear you, and I’ll get mad.You won’t like me if I get mad.”He pulled out the gag.Lorraine gasped, sticking her tongue out to get rid of the horrible taste of wet washcloth.Then she took the food container and began to eat.Trefill parked himself in front of the TV, his back to her.He switched on the news.The weather reporter was just finishing his promise of rain.Lorraine was watching a commercial about dog food when Marty came into her mind again.The time has come to get rid of him.Think, Lorraine.Instantly Lorraine recalled what had happened to the hoods in the subway and to the landlord.She directed her full thoughts toward Trefill, staring hard at him.Trefill’s hand came up to the back of his head and brushed as if to get rid of a fly.But the sensation that something was touching him wouldn’t go away.He turned quickly and shot Lorraine a warning look, but the child only glowered at him.Freaky little bitch, he thought.He turned back to his food.The pressure on the back of his head increased, spreading around to his temples.It was a strange, fizzy sort of feeling—like when your foot falls asleep.Trefill squinted and rolled his neck; had to be a headache coming on.You can’t eat the food.Lorraine’s thoughts shot into his brain as if sent by a hypodermic needle.Trefill gasped and looked wide-eyed into the container in his hands.He couldn’t eat it, not now! If he ate it, something terrible would happen!“Stupid,” he growled, “it’s food, just friggin’ food!”And his eyes didn’t see anything but his dinner.But his mind insisted that the container was full of danger, of evil, of disease.Don’t eat! Don’t eat! Don’t eat!“Damn!”The room began to sway around him, the fizzing in his head changing to the buzzing of bees.Bees that stung, over and over, leaving burning pain behind.Trefill cupped his hands over his ears, the takeout box falling to the floor.He screamed in agony against pain that wasn’t even real, a worst-case scenario of “Chinese restaurant syndrome” from lo mein that did not contain even a dash of MSG.Lorraine climbed slowly from the bed, staring at him, unable to believe she’d done this to him.Lorraine! Get up! You have to run now!Lorraine didn’t argue with Marty.She jumped out of the bed, raced to put her shoes on, grabbed the money valise, and headed for the door.As Trefill struggled with unreal fears and pain, she ran down the dark road to dubious safety.34JULIE LAY WIDE-AWAKE in bed long after Samantha herself had retired for the night.She curled herself around a big stuffed bear that Samantha had won for her at Rocky Point Park.It wasn’t a fancy toy, just a cheap carnival prize made of magenta plush with felt eyes, stuffed with Styrofoam pellets.But it was special to Julie because Samantha had tried so hard to win it for her.She closed her eyes and remembered the way Samantha had thrown ball after ball at a pyramid of bottles.Samantha was the best person that Julie had ever known.She was certain of that, even though she could not recollect where she had come from.She knew now that she’d never been to the Cliffside Home, and that Mr
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