A New Fear Read Free Page B

said softly. She looked at her son. “It is wrong to lie, Nicholas, but I am desperate. To save you, I will do anything.”
    Bowing her head, she kissed his soft cheek. “When you grow up, always tell the truth.”
    Metal ground against metal as the key turned.
    Silence filled the room.
    Seconds ticked by like minutes.
    The knob turned.
    The hinges squeaked.
    The door slowly opened.
    The doctor and two large assistants stood in the shadows.
    Escape was impossible.
    Nora stepped into the center of the room. She straightened her back, tilted up her chin, and met the doctor’s questioning gaze.
    “I lied the night you questioned me. You were right.There were no ghosts that night. No screaming faces in the flames. The only screams I heard were my own.”
    Nora rushed on. “I know the truth. The Fears possess no dark powers. There is no curse on the family. There is nothing wrong with building a road on Fear property. No one in Shadyside is in danger.”
    “I am proud of you, Nora. I know that was difficult for you,” the doctor said.
    Nora released her breath in a long sigh. Would she and Nicholas finally be able to begin a new life?
    She gazed at the doctor. Her heart beat fast as she waited for his decision.
    “I knew someday you would tell me the truth about that night in the Fear mansion,” he continued. Then the doctor’s eyes hardened. “But it is too late, Nora.”
    “No!” Nora cried as rage rushed through her. “You promised to release me when I realized the truth about that night. A fire destroyed the Fear mansion. A horrible fire. I imagined all the rest.”
    “It is clear you still believe the Fear family is cursed,” the doctor said firmly. “You still need our help. I have arranged for Nicholas to live with a good family until you are ready to be released.”

Chapter 4

    “Please ,” Nora wailed. “Please do not take my baby away. He is all I have.”
    “When you are well, he will be returned to you, I promise,” the doctor told her.
    Nora backed against the wall. “Your promises are worthless,” she spat. “I will not let you take my son.”
    “You cannot stop me, my dear. You are the patient. I am the doctor. And the family has agreed to pay me a large sum for a male child. I do not want to disappoint them.” He signalled to the attendants. They lumbered toward Nora.
    She raced across the room and placed Nicholas in his cradle. “I can defend you better if you are not in my arms,” she whispered.
    She turned and glared at the two men approachingher. Like the madwoman they claimed she was, she released a wild yell that rose from deep within her soul.
    She bared her teeth.
    Her nostrils flared and her green eyes narrowed.
    Her fingers curled into claws as she lunged at the huge men.
    She slashed her fingernails across the neck of the closest man. She felt his skin gather beneath her nails. He yelled as blood flowed down his chest in rivulets. Nora reached for the man’s eyes.
    The second man grabbed her and yanked her back. She sunk her teeth into his upper arm. Jerking her head back viciously, she ripped out a chunk of his flesh. His agonized scream drowned out the doctor’s frantic orders.
    The first man knocked Nora to the floor. Breathing heavily, she savored the metallic, salty taste of warm blood on her lips.
    “You take one arm, I will take the other,” one of the men growled.
    Nora scrambled to her feet. Both men lunged at her. She darted to the right. One man caught her arm. He slammed her into the other man. Their hands closed around her arms like iron bands.
    She kicked and bucked. She heard laughter. The doctor’s laughter. Echoing off the walls. Surrounding her. Suffocating her.
    The stale odor of their unwashed bodies filled her nose as she struggled to free herself. She was nomatch for their strength. She was so tiny. They were so big.
    The doctor sauntered over and stood before her. “My dear Nora,” he said softly, “continue to fight them, and a slip of their