Black as it was, I saw bright spots in front of my eyes, and when I tried to stand, the spots and the whole dark universe behind them whirled and spun. I fell to my knees and vomited onto the dirt floor. They’ve given me some kind of disease, I thought. Then I crawled a few feet into the darkness and collapsed.
When I opened my eyes next, they were starting to get used to the dark. I raised my head and, although it ached, I wasn’t so dizzy. I groped around and my hand found a step. It rattled when I leaned on it. From up where I thought the door should be, I could hear nothing; not a voice or a creaking floorboard. Either everyone had left awfully fast, or I had been on the floor longer than I thought. I was sure cold. I tried to pull myself up off the floor. It wasn’t easy; I hurt all ov
