Nine

I must have fallen asleep or maybe just zoned out for a while—I don’t know. When I woke up, I had no way of knowing what time or even what day it was. My phone battery was dead.

Again I wondered how long a person can survive with nothing to eat or drink. I felt exhausted and completely dehydrated, as if I’d run a marathon without a drop of water.

I started tapping out another SOS. The moment I stopped, I heard some concerning sounds. I tried to figure out what they were.

Books moving on shelves, soft footsteps, nails scratching at the walls, someone moving furniture. I strained my ears, but all I could hear then was an eerie silence. Was I going crazy?

I was so weak, I couldn’t stand up. I curled up on the floor, trying to save what little energy I still had.