27 - Kidnapped

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Vinny explains to me what happened when the Rake attacked, how I fought back and killed it somehow. He describes the fight as best as he can without upsetting either of us.

But as we are sitting there in the attic talking, there's a noise downstairs.

"Not again," I groan.

Vinny chuckles. He gets up and heads to the landing to look and see what's going on. I pick up a nearby camera and turn it on. Just as I look through the camera, Vinny disappears from sight.

"Vin?" I call, walking carefully toward the spot where he just was. "This isn't funny, Vin."

Nothing.

Suddenly, the lightbulb above me explodes, showering me with shards of glass. I yell in shock and stagger backwards into the room, only for me to run into someone. I turn, expecting Habit or Vinny.

But there stands Claire Maxwell, looking at me with the deadest eyes I've ever seen.

"C - Claire?" I stammer.

She grins and shrugs. "Close enough." Her brown hair is caked in blood and I look at her brown eyes, searching for any sign of that awkward girl from the boardwalk, but she's not there. This is some sort of Habit shit, or something.

"Who are you?" I breathe.

"Martyr of the Collective."

My blood runs cold. "What do you want from me?"

"Lots of things, my dear. Lots of things. But first off, I want you to bring Habit to me. I've got a little something for him," she says.

"Bring Habit to you? How? Why?"

"Because ... I said so. And this is how."

She grabs me and then all I see is blackness.

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