Sarah knocked at the front door. Sweat drenched her school uniform. Her long black hair was tangled in the wind, but she didn't care. She had ran here straight from the bus station. A mere four hundred meters, but that plus the latent summer heat were enough to make a reasonably fit body like hers to pour sweat all over.

Her mind was a mess of emotions. She really, really wanted to punch Silva, how dare she left her without any word! Yet she felt worried because she knew she heard Silva cough, and Sarah knew how bad that cough sounded. Silva must be sick. She felt guilty for not checking on her earlier, she wished she had been here a week earlier. Back then she assumed that Silva got picked up by her parents on another cruise ship, helping them with doctor stuff. But here she picked up the phone! She must be home.

Sarah was sure Silva was inside. There's a car on the driveway. She could also hear her talking from inside the house. Determined to get in, she had previously called both the landline and Silva's phone. No response. The intercom was dead, either. She tried peeking from the mail door. It's dark inside, but she could hear Silva's voice close by.

She knocked at the door, harder this time. The murmur inside stopped. Sarah perked up. "Silva? Open the door, please?"

She waited for a few minutes, but no more sounds came. Sarah sighed and slumped on the door. Why did she came all the way here, again? Useless. Useless hope that Silva might be here. Of course she wasn't. That cough might be the sound of the sea waves crashing on the ship. She came here for nothing.

In her frustation, she shoved the door hard.

The door opened.

Yeah, so much for her frustation.

As she closed the door behind her, her worry began to grow. The front door's unlocked, the house was dark, and Silva's voice seemed to come from the basement. Sarah didn't know why Silva was talking so loud she could hear it from outside.

"Silva? Hello?" called Sarah. The house was pitch black, but Sarah persevered and found the basement warm and alight. She heard Silva's voice, but she still couldn't make sense of what she was saying.

Stepping down the stairs, Sarah found Silva bound on a heater. She was naked, blindfolded, and gagged, all with duct tape. Her muffled scream stopped when she heard Sarah.

"Oh God, Silva, what the hell?" Sarah dropped to her side and started ripping the tape off her. As she revealed more of Silva's body, Sarah noticed the gaping, bleeding wounds. "Oh god oh god oh god the blood-"

Silva hushed. "Not my blood, I'm- Sarah, duck!"

Goosebumps sprang on Sarah's neck. She turned her head to see a hammer driving straight into her forehead, splitting her skull open. Sarah crashed to the floor, limp as a ragdoll.