Daphne

For a few, long moments, I couldn’t speak. My fear kept me silent. Their collective body odor and sleep breath permeated the small house. It felt like a choking grip in that small space, and I wanted to cough again as my roughened throat from earlier was getting agitated again from breathing in the awful stench.

“I thought this place was abandoned,” I admitted, though I probably just should have kept quiet to not antagonize them into hurting me. ...