Vicki was my best friend and I sure do miss her.

We lived next door to each other for as long as I can

remember. Nina was her mommy and my babysitter. In the summer, Nina walked us over to the

playground almost every day. We can’t go there anymore. Nina was the first one after me to find Vicki.

She couldn’t take care of me after that because she got really sick and had to go to the hospital. I asked

mommy when Nina will be better. She said it’s going to take a long time, maybe forever. I miss Nina as

much as I do Vicki, but maybe I can go see her someday. I hope she isn’t screaming anymore. It made my

ears hurt.

I feel bad for what happened. Mommy and daddy said it wasn’t my fault, but I think it was. I’m still here

so it has to be my fault, doesn’t it? If Vicki and I had minded Nina about talking to strangers then maybe

they would still be here and I wouldn’t be all alone. She told us never, ever to do that, but we didn’t

listen. Vicki and I thought Paul was a nice man because he lived in the church by the playground. We

saw him every day and we knew his name, so we didn’t know he was a stranger.

Vicki and I liked to play hide and seek. Paul used to watch us sometimes. He would try to give us hints to

help us find each other. It was sort of cheating, but it was funny so we let him. He always went back

inside when Nina called that it was time for us to go home. I don’t think she ever saw him. That side of

the church was way around the corner from the benches where Nina waited and read. He said we

couldn’t tell her about him because Nina would be mad if she knew we cheated in the game. We knew

she would make us put games away at home if we didn’t play fair, so we didn’t tell.
Vicki and I were playing before the bad thing happened. We weren’t cheating, but we kept finding each

other because we knew all of our hiding places. Paul was watching us for a long time, leaning against his

door and grinning. We were going to quit and play tag instead when he said he would help us find some

really good places that we hadn’t seen before. It was my turn to seek, so I closed my eyes and counted

to a hundred. When I opened my eyes, they were both gone.

I was seeking for a long time and I couldn’t find them. Nina stopped me after I had gone past her two or

three times and asked where Vicki was. I told her that Vicki must’ve found the best hiding place ever

because I didn’t see her anywhere! She set her book down and held one hand above her eyes like a sun

visor as she looked all around. She sighed. I thought she was going to get annoyed, but then she put her

hand down and smiled.

“It’s time to go home, so go find her, okay? Tell her you give up and we can go back to the house when

she comes out. Would you like to make cookies today?”

I ran back toward the playground yelling Vicki’s name. When I got back to where I had seen her last, I

stopped and looked around real carefully in case she was peeking from somewhere. I saw that Paul’s

door was open. It had been closed when I went past earlier. I had just started walking towards it when

Paul stepped out, laughing at me.

“Are you giving up already? I told you I had good places. Do you want me to give you a hint?”

“Nina says it’s time to go, so I have to give up.” I was at the door by then. “Vicki’s hiding inside?

That isn’t fair! We’re supposed to stay on the playground.”

“This is part of the playground,” Paul said, “so it’s alright. Don’t get mad at Vicki. It was my idea. She

didn’t think she should either, but you two have been playing here so long that you’ve used up all of the

places outside. It’s time to expand your horizons a little.”

I didn’t know what he meant, but I did know that Nina wasn’t going to be smiling or giving us cookies if

we didn’t hurry up. Paul held his finger up to his lips and stepped out of the doorway. I looked behind to

see if Nina was coming, then went inside. Paul was right behind me, shutting the door.

I didn’t see Vicki in Paul’s living room and it didn’t look like there were any good places to hide, either.

There was a yellow couch against the longest wall and a little TV on a table against the shortest wall. A

small bookcase full of magazines was across from the couch next to an open doorway. I could see a

hallway and part of a kitchen. I wished I was back outside because it smelled funny in there.

“Nina’s going to be really mad if we don’t leave,” I told him. I yelled towards the hall, “Vicki! C’mon!

We’ve got to go home!”

Paul jumped a little. “Wow! You sure are loud! Use your inside voice, please.” He walked over to the

bookcase. “I’m surprised she didn’t hear that. I know…she was hiding in the closet back in the back.

Maybe the clothes are hanging over her ears. Do you want to go get her?” He pointed down the hall and

motioned me to go.

I passed by him fast, through the hall and into the kitchen. There were two closed doors in there, so I

turned back to ask him which way. He was gone! The smell was getting worse. I didn’t feel good. I

wanted Vicki and I wanted to leave. I didn’t even care if Nina made me spend the rest of the day

standing in a corner, as long as it meant I could get out of Paul’s home. “Vicki, where are you?”

I heard a noise from the hall. I walked back that way, much more slowly than before. I hadn’t noticed the

bathroom door the first time. It was open. I could see the bathtub. I could see Vicki’s clothes sticking

out of the wastebasket and I could see Vicki lying beside the toilet with her face on the floor. She looked

like she was broken.

A hand covered up my mouth. I was picked up and thrown into the bathroom. My head hit the side of

the bathtub and I landed next to Vicki. Paul was standing over us. His clothes were gone and he was

laughing again. I tried to crawl, but I got tangled up on Vicki. I was dizzy and I couldn’t think. All I could

do was scream. Paul grabbed me up by the hair and slapped me so hard on the mouth that I bit my

tongue. I stopped yelling after that and just cried. Paul dropped me back to the floor and fell on me. I

couldn’t breathe and I couldn’t see. He was hurting me all over, and then I heard Nina screaming.

I told mommy and daddy and the police that I don’t know what happened. I told them I was hiding my

face, but it isn’t true. I hurt too much to move, so I know what happened to Paul. Nina pulled him off of

me by his neck. She was holding him up like he had done to me and I could breathe again. Nina was

madder than I ever saw her before. When Nina gets mad, her face gets all white and wrinkly and her

teeth get bigger and sometimes she hisses. Her nails got so long that they went right into Paul’s neck!

Paul was trying to kick her, but Nina held on to him tight and screamed right in his face. I think she was

spitting, too. Paul’s eyes melted and ran down his cheeks. They dribbled down from his chin and

plopped onto the floor. She screamed again and he choked and gagged. His tongue and lips were gone.

The more she screamed, the more his face got softer and runnier and plop, plopped all around Vicki and

me. Pretty soon he wasn’t kicking anymore. Nina tossed him into the tub. He made a squishing noise.

Nina picked me up and hugged me. She covered my ears, careful not to scratch me, and leaned way over

into the tub and let out the biggest shriek I ever heard.

When the police found us, Nina was holding Vicki in one arm and me in the other. She didn’t look scary

mad then, but she couldn’t stop screaming. I think they thought Paul hurt her too. I promised Vicki and

Nina a long time ago that I would never tell about what happens when Nina gets mad, so I can’t say that

Paul went down the drain and he won’t ever hurt anyone again. The police keep looking for him, but
Nina saved me and I won’t break my promise. I told them he was playing hide and seek…that’s all I

know. I will tell Nina that someday and tell her thank you, when she doesn’t scream anymore.

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