The Purgatorium

Chapter Twenty-Two

As frightened as Daphne was to be alone in her room in Unit One, she refused to move into another unit to accommodate her and her parents. She had demanded that they return her home immediately, but they said the therapy required they all stay as a family for another few days.

She was sick and tired of what the therapy required.

Besides, Joey was still living in his facility back in Houston and Kara was dead. Her parents could call them a family all they wanted and it wouldn't make it so. And although throwing the buckets of water on her parents and Brock and Cam had felt good, it hadn't meant she would ever forgive them.

Exhausted, she took a warm shower, scrubbing all the oil from her skin. After toweling herself dry, she stood before the mirror, horrified again by her hairless body. She looked inhuman—more like a giant tadpole. Tears stung her eyes as she turned away and climbed into sweats and a hoodie, covering her bald head with the hood.

She was tempted to stay in the bathroom because of the cameras, but she decided she didn't care, since all she wanted to do was crawl into bed and sleep. As she lay beneath the covers and closed her eyes, the events of the past several days ran over and over in her mind, like a film on a loop. She felt like such a fool. They had played her, and she had let them. She clenched her fists and rolled over to her side, and then punched a fist into her pillow and fought the urge to scream. She couldn't sleep. Would probably never be able to sleep again.

She threw off the covers and slipped on her shoes. She needed air.

It was dark by this time, and although a basket of food had been waiting for her in her room, she hadn't eaten since she and Brock had shared their snack in the woods. That seemed like such a long time ago. Nevertheless, she had no appetite. Her entire body felt numb and shaky.

Though the deck area in the center of the resort was dark, the lights from inside the pool cast a glow onto two people sitting on loungers. Gregory Gray and Emma leaned close together, maybe even kissing. She crept past and headed for the beach.

The wind chilled her when she reached the top of the steps, which were lit by tall lamps, so anyone who looked up would see her standing there. But with her hood pulled low over her eyes, she might not be recognized. Unlike the wooden steps, the beach was covered by shadows, and the hill of poppies to her left and the bluffs to her right were shrouded in darkness. But the light from the moon was enough to see that there were people below near the shore. Daphne stole down a few of the steps to get a better look.

At first, they were huddled together, and she couldn't make out much about them except that they all wore black. But then one of them shot a fist into the air and screeched, "Wooh hoo!" The huddle then broke up in a whirl of laughter and hand clapping, and before Daphne could make out individual faces, one of them looked up, noticed her, and waved. The face wasn't familiar and looked pale in the moonlight. Then the group ran toward the steps below, heading straight up for Daphne, who stood there, frozen, unsure whether to wait for them or to run.

As they got closer, she noticed the white powder covering their bodies and black clothes. They had the same blue lips and red goo dripping from their eyes and mouths as the ghost girl and company who came to Daphne's room her first night at the Purgatorium. They clamored up the stairs toward her, laughing and smiling, but this made them seem even creepier than when they told her with their somber faces that she was one of the dead. Just as Daphne was about to turn and run back to her unit, she recognized one of the leaders. It was Cam.

He took her hand as the other ghosts ran past her and said, "Come with us."

"What's happening?' she asked.