Janet was still slumbering soundly. Andrea dragged her into the empty walk in pantry on the other side of the room and pulled the door shut behind them. She had a hunch that Ethan's boss might send someone to find out why he hadn't returned with the two of them trussed up in his trunk.
Andrea would have rather left there and then but Janet was still unconscious and she wasn't strong enough to carry her. Ethan had seen fit conceal his car in a separate location. They were going to have to walk a little ways to get to it. Andrea took one last look at Ethan through a small hole in the wall beside the pantry door before lying down beside her sister. Within moments, Andrea was asleep.
Early afternoon passed into evening. Janet awoke and sat up groggily, took in the close confines of the pantry and shook her sister awake, fearful that they were captives. Andrea reassured her sister, catching her up on everything she missed. Janet shook her head in wonderment.
"Wait a minute, how did you know not to drink the beer?"
"I was about to drink it when you said your ginger ale was salty. I've been around enough sleazebags to know that roofies taste salty when you put too much in a drink."
"Roofies?"
"Really Janet? You've never heard of roofies? You know, Rohypnol the date rape drug? You need to get out more girl."
"Oh shut up, Slutella. Anyway, something else is bugging me. I could swear you drank the beer."
"I stuck my tongue over the opening when I tipped my head back. That's why I knocked it over. Even an idiot like Ethan would notice sooner or later that the level of beer in the bottle wasn't going down. Enough talking. Try to rest up. You never know when we're gonna have to run for it again."
Andrea lay back down. Janet also laid down but could not get comfortable. It was hot inside the pantry and she felt a little claustrophobic. Janet sat up and peered through the hole at Ethan. He lay so still that she feared him dead until she saw the slight rise and fall of his chest.
The sun was going down outside and she watched the shadows gradually lengthen across the floor of the kitchen. Her eyelids grew heavy once more and she was about to turn away and lay back down when she caught movement in her peripheral vision.
Janet sat straight up and carefully scanned the kitchen but there was no one else out there. She was just about to turn away when the movement came again. Two shadows lengthened and separated themselves from the gathering gloom around Ethan.
Janet's hand flew up to stifle her gasp as the shadows resolved themselves into male silhouettes. At least she assumed they were male. They appeared to be wearing hoods. Maybe I fell asleep and I'm dreaming all of this. Yes, that's it. I'm sound asleep and having a vivid dream. No man stood in the kitchen yet two shadows leaned over Ethan.
A dark arm extended down into his head and he snapped awake panting as though awakened from a nightmare. He looked up at the figures above him and Janet could see dismay stamped on his features. She heard a low rumble and assumed that they were speaking to Ethan. He listened and shook his head.
"I wasn't able to get the talisman. They drugged me. Help me get out of these binds and I will go and get it from them. "
He broke off as the rumble of voices resumed. His eyes widened and he shook his head violently. One shadow began reaching towards him with a hand that widened into a claw with sharp talons. Ethan closed his eyes and screamed so loud that Andrea was jolted awake. Janet put a restraining hand on her sister's chest. Holding a finger to her own lips to silence her before turning back to watch the scene unfolding in the kitchen.
"Nooo, please don't. I can find them. I know where they're going. I won't fail this time. I won't, I swear it!"
The shadow reached down and the hand passed into Ethan's neck. Janet winced as he began audibly choking. His body began bucking as the figure straightened, pulling and tugging on something. It slowly emerged from Ethan's chest seeming to glow in the dimness of the kitchen.
Janet's mouth opened in disbelief as the luminous form of a man struggled and kicked in the grasp of the shadow. She looked down at Ethan's still form. Ethan? Is that his...his...soul? Her eyes returned to the shadow in time to see it drop through the floor and disappear dragging the struggling form with it.
The second shadow began following suit when it appeared to catch the scent of something. Janet's heart skipped a beat as the head swiveled slowly in her direction. All at once, it began racing towards the pantry. She shook her head in disbelief, wanting to scoot backwards but riveted to the spot.
One arm extended towards the door and she could feel a scream forming in her throat. Just then, headlights flashed outside piercing the darkness inside the kitchen and dissolving the shadow. Andrea grabbed her arm.
"What's going on Janet?"
"Ssh, someone's coming."
Andrea shoved her sister aside and peered through the hole in the wall, cursing under her breath. Two young couples came striding into the kitchen. The second couple was locked in a passionate embrace. The girl was walking backwards with lips clamped on her lover's. She tripped over Ethan and the two of them landed on top of him.
"What the....oh gawd Bobby, it's a dead body. I told you coming here was a bad idea."
"Calm down Sandra. He might just be sleeping one off. Give me some light. There, see he's just passed out."
"Are you sure? He doesn't look so good."
"He's breathing ain't he?"
"Just barely and look at his color. He's too pale. Bobby, I think we should call an ambulance."
The others strongly disagreed. The police might show up with the ambulance and ask them a bunch of questions. One of them had a packet of weed on him and they all had alcohol. Their parents thought they were studying. Ethan began convulsing and they all jumped.
"Bobby, if you let that guy die in here I'm never coming back to this creepy place. I mean it!"
"Fine, let's just go. We'll call from the car."
Andrea and Janet were out of the pantry and streaking towards the front door in a heartbeat. They paused long enough for the tail lights to retreat before running out into the night.
Andrea and Janet ran along the road for what seemed to Janet like hours pausing only to hide when they saw approaching headlights. Each time, they felt almost certain that their pursuers had found them. Janet would hold her breath, waiting until the headlights disappeared before allowing herself to heave a shaky sigh of relief.
Her mind continued to grapple with what she had seen in that kitchen. Surely, it was some form of hallucination brought on by the roofies in her soda. She wanted to tell her sister but could not figure out where to begin or how to describe it. When they finally reached the old tumbledown barn, squeezed in through the sagging wooden doors and found Ethan's car where he said it was concealed, Janet nearly wept with relief.
"Where are we going Andrea?"
"Downtown St. Louis. There is a man there who is going to facilitate the sale of the talisman."
"How do we know we can trust this guy?"
"We don't but what other choice do we have? We need cash. He seemed harmless enough over the phone. He's got a shop where he sells antiquities."
Andrea shrugged out of her summer-weight jacket and handed it to Janet.
"Here, put this on. The talisman is sewn into the lining. Since everybody seems to know I've got the thing, it will be safer with you. That way if anything happens to me, you've still got a bargaining chip."
Janet lapsed into silence. She didn't like the thought that something might happen to her sister. They were on their way a few moments later and reached their destination in two hours.
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