Chapter 1 - The Fire Escape

I stared through the peephole, my breath caught tight in my throat. It wasn't the police. It wasn't the building manager. It was a man in a perfectly tailored black suit, his face obscured by the brim of a dark hat, and in his right hand, resting casually against his leg, was a suppressed handgun.

THUD. THUD. THUD.

"Sarah," a voice hissed through the thin wood, smooth and devoid of any emotion. "We know you have the bear. Open the door and we won't have to wake the neighbors."

My blood turned to ice. They knew my name.

I backed away, my bare feet silent on the cheap linoleum. I rushed into Lily's room. She was sitting up in bed, clutching her blankets, her wide eyes reflecting the fear that was radiating off me.

"Mama?" she whispered.

"Shh," I hushed her, grabbing her small hand and pulling her out of bed. "We're going to play a game, sweetie. The quiet game. We have to leave right now."

I didn't bother packing a bag. I shoved the SD card deeper into my pocket, threw a heavy coat over Lily's shoulders, and dragged her toward the bedroom window that led to the fire escape. Outside, the Los Angeles rain was coming down in sheets.

CRACK.

The sound of the front door splintering echoed through the apartment. They were kicking it in.

I shoved the window up, the rusted hinges squealing in protest. The cold rain hit my face like needles. I climbed out onto the iron grate, pulling Lily out behind me. I scooped her into my arms just as I heard heavy boots enter my living room.

"Check the bedrooms!" a voice barked.

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I flew down the metal stairs, my feet slipping on the wet iron. I didn't look back. We reached the alleyway just as the beam of a flashlight swept across my bedroom window above us. I pulled Lily under the shadow of a dumpster, wrapping my body around hers to shield her from the cold and the sight of whatever was hunting us.

We had nothing but the clothes on our backs, a broken toy, and a digital ghost of the man who had broken my heart. And they were going to kill us for it.