Samantha didn't know how much time had passed in the cell. She tried to count the seconds, but stopped after reaching three thousand. "I can't sit here and wait for him," she said into the darkness, her voice echoing in the cell.
She had to find a way out of here before Reverend Crane returned to make her a baby. She got to her feet and started to walk around the cell, searching for anything that might help her escape. She found fragments of the clay jar she'd drank from scattered across the floor. A wedge-shaped fragment pricked her finger hard enough to draw blood. She picked it up and tucked it into the pocket of her apron. If she couldn't find any other means of escape, she might be able to take the reverend by surprise. The odds were against her, but they gave her a small amount of comfort. She would go down fighting at least.
The cell contained no furniture, but in the far corner she found a pile of straw. Samantha tapped the pile with her foot and felt something soft. She got down on her knees and felt a tight knot of hair. When she touched a bulging stomach, she said, "Prudence! Are you awake?"
Prudence said nothing. Samantha shook her, but still Prudence didn't wake up. In desperation, Samantha rolled Prudence flat on her back and slapped her across the face as hard as she could. "Ow! Who's there?" Prudence said.
"It's me, Samantha. Do you remember?"
"Of course I do."
"How old are you?"
"I'm still nine. Why?"
"I thought he might have poisoned you like the others. Are you hurt?"
"My head feels a little sore from where Mr. Pryde hit me." Samantha found Prudence's hand and helped her sit up. "What happened to you after we split up?"
Samantha told her about the fight with the dog, the chase through the forest, diving into the sea, and waking up in Reverend Crane's bedroom. "He's going to make us babies like the others," she said. "We have to escape before then."
"How?"
"I'm not sure, but there has to be a way out. No jail is escape-proof."
"Even if we escape, they're going to capture us again. There's nothing we can do," Prudence said. She curled back up on the pile of straw to wait for the end.
"We can't give up."
"Why not? We can't beat the reverend and Mr. Pryde. They're too strong. They're adults and we're children."
"Just because we're littler than him doesn't mean we have to let him push us around." Samantha rolled Prudence back towards her. "He only has the power we give him. If no one ever stands up to him, he'll always be able to control us."