Janet started to walk toward the front door. Andrea was old enough to solve her own problems. What was she supposed to do, devote a lifetime to bailing a grown woman out of jams? Andrea would be alright...wouldn't she? Janet was almost relieved when her sister reached out to stop her.
"They will kill you, if you go back."
Alarm cut Janet's breath short. She had to sit down before her legs gave out. It wasn't true. This just couldn't be happening! One stupid mistake and all those years of hard work were flushed away. It wasn't fair! Janet spun around in a fit of rage and smacked Andrea.
"You idiot! How could you do this to me? It wasn't enough for you to ruin your own pathetic life. You had to drag me into the cesspool!"
"I guess I deserve that," Andrea murmured.
"You're damn right you do. If by some miracle we find a way out of this mess alive, I never want to lay eyes on you again!"
Janet was not moved by the tears that sprang to her sister's eyes. Thirty-two years of pent-up anger and resentment came seething out. She had always drawn comfort from the predictable routine of the nine to five grind. While her sister squandered her youth, Janet was frugal and worked hard. Her diligence was rewarded; she was able to buy a beautiful house, drive an expensive car and had ambitious friends.
In one fell swoop, Andrea had swept all of that away. Janet turned on her heels and strode to the window by the front door, weighing her chances of survival alone. The wounded puppy eyes Andrea was giving her would not work this time.
Janet blinked back her own tears and glared out of the window. Life as she knew it was over. Janet searched for something to say, to break the tension in the air between them. Desperate to change the subject, she seized upon the first thing she saw.
"Hey, there's a dog outside. It's looking right at me."
"Yeah so what? It's probably just a stray."
The words were scarcely out of her mouth before the dog bared its teeth and began barking. Another dog leapt out of the tall weeds and launched itself at the door, striking it with a thud that echoed in the cavernous warehouse. Janet was staring at the door in stunned silence when Andrea seized her sister's hand and pulled her towards the basement.
They stumbled down the chipped concrete stairs, as footsteps sounded on the floor above their heads. In the dark recesses of the basement, Janet could make out the shadowy hulking masses of manufacturing machinery. Andrea pulled her down on her knees, beside a massive piece of equipment.
Janet followed her sister's lead and slid on her belly beneath the machine. Andrea ran a sweaty hand along the bottom, until she found what she was looking for. Janet wondered fleetingly, if her sister been to the warehouse before. One yank and a door opened. Andrea slithered through the opening and pulled her sister along behind her. Andrea noiselessly closed the trapdoor. They clung to one another and waited.
Dust tickled Janet's nose. She fought the urge to sneeze. The dogs were coming close. She could hear the dogs' claws clicking on the concrete floor. Andrea and Janet held each other tightly, in the filthy crawl space, listening to what sounded to their frightened ears like an army of men shouting to be heard over the incessant barking of the excited dogs.
The men's booted footsteps pounded the floor, as they rushed around searching for the sisters. One of the dogs snuffed around the base of their hiding place and began barking. Janet caught and held her breath, her eyes wide with fear. They anticipated the awful moment, when the trapdoor would open and they would be dragged out.
What if they set those dogs on them? Janet could practically feel those razor-sharp teeth sinking into her yielding flesh. They sat folded together, motionless for what seemed like hours, barely noticing cramps setting into their joints.
Just when Janet thought she could bear the suspense no longer, she heard footsteps retreating. All at once, the ordeal was over. Their pursuers had obviously overlooked the trapdoor. The men resumed their search upstairs and eventually, left them alone.
When the silence resumed, Janet could hear the scuttle of vermin in the gloom around them. She moved to slip out. Now that the fear of capture had receded, claustrophobia was closing in. She could feel herself about to begin hyperventilating.
Andrea grabbed her arm and shook her head. Janet signed and resigned herself to a few more moments in the cramped space. When they emerged, Janet allowed herself the luxury of a sneeze. Stiff legs conveyed them back up the stairs. The sunlight that shone weakly through the dusty window panes was reassuring, after the dark, fetid basement. Janet fixed her sister with a stern look.
"How on earth did they find us?"
"Do I look like a mind reader? Who knows how they tracked us down?"
"Why do I get the feeling you're not telling me something."
"I tried to tell you. You said you didn't want to talk about it."
"Yeah, well I changed my mind. Allowing you to keep secrets is obviously bad for my health. You've been here before haven't you?"
"Yes, but they don't know that."
"How the hell do you know what those people know? And who is 'they' anyway?"
"I don't know their names."
"Alright smart ass, what have you done or what is it that they think you did?"
"They may be under the impression that I have something that belongs to them. "
"I'm going to assume you have it. Where did you get it?"
"Steve gave it to me for safekeeping."
"So, give it back to Steve and let them chase him."
"It's valuable. I'm not just gonna hand it over to a bunch of strangers. Something tells me, they're not gonna just let us go on our merry way afterwards. My gut tells me that the minute I hand it over, they'll kill both of us. These are the kind of people who hold grudges."
"How do you know it's valuable? Let's face it sis, you've screwed over a lot of people. I would need a spreadsheet, just to keep them all straight. How do you know what those people want?"
"Steve told me all about it. He was going to double-cross them and then sell it to the highest bidder."
"Let me get this straight. This Steve guy tells you he's about to screw over a bunch of dangerous people and you decide to join him? Just give this, this...what is this thing that has everybody all worked up?"
"It's a talisman."
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