| Narrow Escape

Ava spun around to find another old man tottering out from the thick foliage that lined the wall behind her. He was taller and thinner but dressed in the same style as his companion. His eyes were white and cloudy, flicking about uselessly in shriveled sockets.

Sunni cried out and backed away, and Ava instinctively did the same. Stupid, she realized. The old man moved across to block their exit.

'What is this place?' Ava demanded.

'Why it is our current abode,' said the portly man behind her. He too had a hard-edged accent, German perhaps, and his voice crackled like dead leaves. 'Maski has taken good care to make us feel at home.' He gestured around him.

'We have to get out of here,' Sunday whispered. 'They're evil!'