The man spat onto the cement and dragged his shoe across it.
“Well, how do I take you with me?”
Teddy beat into the wall, “Shadow! Shadow! I’m over here. You have the wrong cell!”
Both the shadow and the man on the other side were quiet.
“Shadow, please! We’ll get out. I promise we’ll get out.”
Teddy pounded his fists into the cement, watching his own blood smeared across them.
Teddy wiped the blood off with his palm and held it out as an offering. “Here, Shadow! Take mine! Take mine! Please, Shadow. I’m so scared.”
* * *
The next morning, the guard whispered to Dae. “I have a daughter and a son. My daughter is the same age as Marlene Byers. Do it, but do it fast. Just as we talked about.”
The metal cell door echoed through the hall as it opened.
“Okay, is there anything else you need me to do? Just this, right, and then we’re set?”
Then, in front of Teddy’s cell stood a man. He didn’t have anger or even determination on his face. Instead, he wore hesitation and regret, and that scared Teddy even more. He knew that feeling. He had carried it several times when he helped the shadow. And Teddy knew that kind of killer was easier to sway than the one who came to crave the blood themself.
The man put a key in the door and slid Teddy’s cell open. The man held a ball of white cloth. It was his bedsheets.
Teddy stood and ran at the man. Teddy curved his hands around the man’s throat. The man dodged Teddy, bent him over, and kneed him in the gut.
When Teddy fell to the floor, a cotton noose formed around his neck, and the man tugged it back. Teddy gasped and clawed at the man’s hands, but that only made him tug harder.
Teddy saw yellow eyes before him. He reached out for it, and then his hand went limp.
Teddy’s body fell to the floor.
Acknowledgments
This one is for my readers, whether this is your first time with me or if you’ve been here since my first novel, Not Another Sarah Halls.
Readers have asked, “Was it easier writing this book, now that you’ve already written one?”
Long answer short, no. Take Your Turn, Teddy felt like my Everest. I related to both Strode and Teddy, as I’m sure you did too. I empathized with Strode’s pain, Teddy’s sense of isolation, and both of their day-to-day struggles of feeling worthy.
In their struggles, I wanted to highlight control, the shadow’s control over Teddy, his fear of his father and being alone; and with Strode, the power he relinquished to his trauma.
Control is difficult to hold onto, but it is not an allusion. Rather, the loss of it is.
Thank you to my readers for delving into this dark tale with me. It was one of the greatest challenges of my life, and I wouldn’t be here without you.
Secondly, thank you to my incredible editor Clayton, who gave me a push when the shadows in my head called me away from this story. Also, for helping me “kill my darlings” and produce the polished piece this book became. I never could’ve done it without your editorial touch.
Thank you to my family for celebrating my love of the macabre and keeping me sane while I embark on the maddening journey of writing a book. I love you all.
Lastly, a special thanks to everyone who supported me early on by pre-ordering the book, e-book, or donating to my pre-sale campaign.
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