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trying to poison me or something. But I was so hungry that I ate the whole thing.”
    Sarah tried not to laugh. Really? Captured by someone, held prisoner, and she gets served ranch with her carrots? Sarah yawned. “I think I need to go to bed.”
    â€œBut I’m not done,” said Cash.
    â€œYeah,” said Nacho. “She’s not done.”
    Yvonna said, “That’s enough for tonight. Cash can finish her story tomorrow.”
    â€œY’all don’t believe me.” Cash sniffled, like she was about to cry.
    Sarah and Marco shared a look. He lifted and lowered a shoulder and snuggled down in his bedding. Yvonna knelt beside Cash. “It’s been a really long day and I think the kids have been scared enough. They don’t need to hear more strange things right before bed.”
    â€œBut you believe me, right?” asked Cash. Her gaze darted to Sarah and then John. “I’m telling the truth. He kept me prisoner.”
    â€œWho?” asked Sarah. “Did you see him?”
    â€œNot exactly.” Cash swallowed. “But he spoke to me. And his voice was … weird. I couldn’t exactly tell if it was male or female, but it seemed more male.”
    Marco sat back up. “What did he say?”
    Cash frowned. “He said, ‘I am a … collector. I am the curator of this place, you might say.’”
    Goose bumps rose on Sarah’s arms. What exactly did the Curator collect? Even if Cash was making it all up, it was downright spooky.
    Cash continued, “I began to wonder what that place was. And if I was there to be part of his collection.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Or if I already was.”
    John dropped a water bottle and Sarah shrieked. He rolled his eyes. “Okay, this is enough. Everyone is going to sleep, now!”
    Yvonna said, “John, they’ll never sleep. We’d better let Cash finish.”
    â€œThank you.” Cash smiled at Yvonna. “I told myself I wouldn’t eat anything else. Maybe not eating would force him to let me go. But I got hungry. And the next time I ate, I felt all woozy. And I passed out.”
    â€œThey drugged you?” asked Nacho.
    Marco let out a huge sigh. “Like we didn’t see that coming.”
    Nacho kicked at him. “Stop it. I believe her.” He nodded at Cash. “Go on.”
    Cash hesitated, then went on. “When I woke up, I couldn’t think straight. My head hurt. I reached up, but my hands were tied.”
    Cash reached down to rub one of her wrists. The light was too dim for Sarah to see if there were actually any marks. Her gaze flicked up to Cash’s face. Maybe she was making it up. Maybe she was a great actress. But the look on her face was definitely one of fear.
    Cash said, “The ceiling above me was made of rock. Like I was in a cave. I tried to kick, but my legs were tied too. I lifted my head enough to see someone in a blue jumpsuit dragging me by my feet.”
    â€œDragging you where?” asked Nacho.
    Cash shook her head. “I don’t know. But I managed to get my hands loosened. And when he stopped to rest, he let go of my feet. I untied them and began to run. But then…” She stopped talking.
    Sarah had begun to half believe Cash. She knew it was farfetched and weird, but she’d seen things too, things nobody would believe. Softly, Sarah asked, “What happened?”
    Cash met her gaze. “There was this huge boom . Rocks started falling down. So I just started running. The rough ground hurt my bare feet, but I just wanted to get out of there. So I saw a light and ran toward it.”
    â€œWhat was the light?” asked Sarah. “Where did you end up?”
    Cash smiled. “The beach. I was so thankful to have soft sand under my feet.” The smile left her face as quickly as it came. “But then I looked farther down the shoreline and there was this—”