Chapter 25: The Long Return
Elsie’s POV
The forty-eight hours beneath the floorboards blurred into a slow test of sanity.
The dust was thick, the dark absolute, and every shift of weight from Stone’s guards on the porch above resonated through the pine planks inches from my face. I drank the lukewarm water in small, careful sips. I squeezed my eyes shut against the phantom flashes of light that danced across my vision. When the dull, heavy pressure flared behind my sternum, I pressed my knuckles into my ribs and forced my breathing to match the steady, rhythmic ticking of my own pulse.
Stay small. Stay invisible.
On the third night, long after the desert air had turned bitter cold, the heavy floorboards above the closet let out three distinct, rhythmic thuds.
Clack. Clack. Clack.
A
