To escape the dangers of wartime London, Millie has been sent away to Wickford Hall, but what lurks there is far more sinister than anything war might bring.
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THERE'S SOMETHING WICKED STALKING WICKFORD HALL...
As war rages on, Mildred Cunningham...
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The acrid smoke burned her lungs and stung her nose, but Millie kept running. Her muscles screamed with every stride, but she pushed herself forward. She was almost there. Her house was in sight now. She could see the yellow door, and Olivia on the step waiting for her. Her sister Olivia was yelling for her to hurry while bombs and planes screamed overhead.
She was so close, so close...
There wasn't much time. Every second counted. Just a little further...
Her foot caught a crack in the sidewalk, and she went down hard. As she fell, she felt her ankle give a sickening crack. The wind had been knocked out of her, but she couldn't waste a second to recover. She tried to get up, to keep moving... but agony shot through her leg as she tried to put weight on it. Her ankle was sprained, or worse. It couldn't carry her.
She was doomed.
"MILLIE!"
Millie looked up to see her sister leap off their doorstep.
"Olivia, no! What are you doing?" Millie cried as her sister ran towards her. "Don't worry about me! You have to hurry, you have to get to shelter! We'll never make it if you're dragging me behind you..."
Olivia ignored her. As she reached her side, she looped Millie's arm around her neck and heaved her to her feet.
"And what, you think I'm just going to leave you here?" she said as she smiled her perfect smile, all red lipstick and pearly white teeth. "You're my sister, Millie. I'll never leave you."
Despite the madness all around them, Millie felt safe. She smiled back and tightened her grip on Olivia. She could face anything the war threw at them with her sister by her side.
The bomb landed with a boom and engulfed them both.
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Millie's head was pounding when she finally awoke. The surface at her back was cool, and she rolled over to press her aching forehead to it. She wished she could sink into it, let the cold stone embrace her and lull her back into sleep. Her hands roamed its surface, trying to find a hold to push her up. They ran over the undulating ridges of the stone, the divots and grit between each one, before touching upon on a sharper edge, a deeper crevice...
