Amber Alert (Amber Alert Series Book 1) (10 page)

Chapter 14

"Shut up, Kelly! After you, I'm going to go after that little brat I brought back home for you! I should have known that bringing another child in would make you act like this," Steve threatened as he yelled over my screams.

The pain was searing every inch of my body as I tried ineffectively to fight him off. I couldn’t think of anything else except the pain and his threats about Jessi.

"You wouldn't dare!" I screamed at him through clenched teeth. I leaned forward, determined to keep him away from Jessi, and banged heads with him. He was stunned for a moment as his hands went to cover the impact point. Then I punched him in the stomach and thrashed around for a little bit while he regained his senses, but my actions only made him angrier.

"I'll throw you out into the woods for a few days, then I'll come after you, and when I find you you'll wish you were back here letting me have you like this. Oh, it won't be pleasant, but you have to learn," Steve growled. He pushed off of me, leaving me to bluster before he threw me out.

"I'll see you soon, Kelly. It will be worse than before, I promise you that!" Steve spat.

"I won't be back!" I screamed as tears fell onto the bed sheets.

Steve just laughed as I heard the zipper of his jeans slip back into place.

"We will see about that. Now, where is that little bitch that called Garrett 'daddy'?" Steve growled as he threw open the door, which cracked due to the force.

"Jessi! Run! Hide!" I screamed through the pain, hoping she would hear me and go any place that would keep her safe.

"Yeah, Jessi, run and hide! When I find you, you won't be able to hide anymore," Steve threatened as he left the room.

I couldn’t move—the pain was intense. I was too exhausted to force myself up from the bed, my arms tired from struggling

There were footsteps quickly approaching, along with a voice I couldn't hear clearly. I turned my head toward the door, but my vision started to blur. I was being enveloped by the pain and had to force myself to focus on the objective at hand. I had to get out of the house. I had to save Jessi, and then we had to run for our lives. As footsteps got closer, I could hear the voice clearly, but it sounded blocked, as if someone had their sweatshirt over their mouth and was talking to me.

"Come on," the voice said as, they lifted me effortlessly from the bed and into their arms.

"Garrett?" I asked in a confused haze.

"Yeah, who else would you expect?" he asked with a tingle of laughter in his voice.

As Garrett carried me out of the room I heard something break. A few seconds later another loud crashing sound penetrated the through the ceiling. There were heavy footfalls racing around the house as more things impacted against the wooden floors. The sounds echoed off the bare walls and empty halls, making it impossible to pin point where Steve actually was.

"Where's Jessi?" I asked as the haze started to clear enough for me to think properly.

"I got her out. She's waiting for you outside." Garrett said setting me down on the floor. It was ice cold on my bare skin, but it eased the pain and heat of my skin.

"How?"

"I got her through the window in the basement once I heard Steve say what he was going to do to her." He paused for a moment.

"What's wrong?" I asked as I tried to open my eyes.

"That's a lot of blood," Garrett finally stated after a long pause, as if he was debating on telling me the truth. Another loud crash hit overhead as Garrett swallowed the lump in his throat. He had to find a way to stop the bleeding, if it didn’t stop I wouldn’t make it far from here.

"That bad?"

"Yeah, it's pretty bad, Anna. I have to think of a way to stop the bleeding before I get you out of the house. You'll leave a trail if you're dripping blood," he said, as another loud crash echoed through the house.

"Do it quickly, I don't think you have much time," I said attempting to chuckle, but making a choking sound.

There was soft thud next to me that caused me to turn my head and open my eyes. Through the hazy vision I was able to make out a fully stuffed backpack. Garrett had thought to prepare for our escape before it even crossed my mind. I was so overwhelmed with the actual process of escaping and making it somewhere safe that the amount of time I would be in the woods hadn't crossed my mind. 

"This is everything I found for you and Jessi to take. I have a separate one upstairs so don't worry about me," Garrett said as he moved me into a seated position and pulled the cotton fabric shirt over my bare torso.

"What about the bleeding, Garrett? I can't go like this."

"I packed these for Jessi, but I think you need one right now. They are old, but I think they should still work. I mean I've never heard of diapers expiring," Garrett said as he put my legs into the two leg holes and pulled a scratchy material up my legs.

"Why?"

"I'm hoping it will stop the bleeding or at least absorb so you aren’t covered in blood. I don't want you scaring the people that are supposed to help you," he stated with a light chuckle as he pulled jeans on top of the diaper. The jeans were too big for me because they were Garrett's, but fit better because of the bulky underwear I now had.

"No, why for Jessi?" Jessi was potty trained, she insisted on going by herself even when Steve was home.

"Because there may not always be time to stop and just in case. I'm trying Anna, it made sense to me," Garrett said with a sad sigh as he helped me up. I was so weak that I had to lean against the counter so I could stand.

"Not so fast. I can't move that fast yet," I said as I held my head to stop the spinning. There was a constant sound of things crashing to the floor above me; we had to hurry.

"Do you think you can run?" Garrett asked taking my face in his hands and looking deep into my eyes. I swallowed all of my fears, and let determination take its place. I needed to get out of here now, before Steve came back downstairs and found Garrett and me together again.

"I can, but not straight."

"That's going to have to be good enough for now," Garrett said as he leaned down and kissed me hard on the lips. His kiss was tense because he was scared, I was too, but I tried to hide it so I could give him the same hope he gave me.

"I love you," we said in unison when we broke from the kiss. I caught Garrett's shocked expression, he clearly wanted to say something, but he stopped as Steve started coming down the stairs. Garrett grabbed my arm and pulled me towards the front door.

"I will see you again, Anna! I promise!" Garrett said as shoved me out the door.

I stumbled down the stairs and into the dirt below. I hit my head on the ground, it was enough to wake me up and pull me back to my horrible reality. I shot up and glanced around, there was no car, which meant I had to start running.

"Mommy!"

I turned around to see Jessi hugging a tree like her life depended on it. I was about to ask he what she was doing, but I heard someone trying to force the front door open. I grabbed her hand as I ran past her and kept running; there was no turning back now. We were heading toward her hometown of Charleston. Jessi had found the name on the map that she recognized, which according to Garrett was a right turn from the house, and you keep running until you see the road. We had to be careful since Garrett thought the police were in on it with Steve, so we couldn't go there for help. I was going there to find her family, and then I was going to continue on toward the state line. Garrett thought if I crossed state lines I would be harder for Steve to find me, and there was a better chance to find helpful police officers.

It would have been a few hours drive to Charleston; it would take forever to run there. I can only hope it doesn't take long, because Steve would be after me in a few hours.

Chapter 15

"Mommy, I'm tired!" Jessi complained. Exhaustion was getting to her because we had been running for hours on end; I was too afraid to stop for even a second. I was constantly looking over my shoulder expecting to see Steve right behind us, but every time all I saw were trees and brush. That didn't stop the paranoia from taking over my mind. We had to fight through the brush, and now my legs were starting to hurt from pushing through the branches, thorns, and leaves that covered the ground. My feet ached, but I had to ignore it, and every time pain shot through them when I took a wrong step.

"I know, honey, but we have to keep moving," I said as I pulled her along by her hand. Right now, I was thanking Coach Chinos for making me a distance runner in track. I had stamina to run and keep going, at least for a little while longer, but soon we would need to rest.

"But Mommy, I'm tired."

"Okay, we can rest for a little while, but then we have to keep going," I let her hand drop so that she could sit down. The second I let go of her hand she plopped down in a heap and looked as if she was ready to fall asleep.

"Can we see what Daddy packed Mommy? I'm thirsty."

I had told Jessi that Garrett took good care of us and prepared something for our trip. I hoped that it would ease her. She was so scared, and the news that Garrett was taking care of us seemed to relax Jessi enough so that she wasn't on the verge of tears. 

"Sure, sweetheart," I said softly, as I pulled the backpack off my back and started to dig through the contents. There was a blanket, a packet of diapers, extra clothes, water bottles, food, and a map. I handed Jessi the bottle of water so she could take a sip while I re-tied her shoes.

"Where is Daddy, Mommy?" Jessi asked with a tearful expression on her face. She worried about Garrett and me greatly.

She had been so worried about me when Steve had taken me away. Then when Garrett had broken the window in the basement, he pushed her through the opening and instructed her to hug a tree and wait for me to come out and get her. I was glad that Garrett had reacted so quickly, I wouldn’t have been able to think as clearly as he had. That's what saved both of our lives, and hopefully his once this is all over. I shook my head viciously, I had to push Garrett from my thoughts for a while—I needed to focus and get Jessi out safely before worrying about him.

I looked at Jessi as the night started to shroud everything in a pitch-black blanket. I could tell she was worried about Garrett and me, and we had grown attached to each other. We were now a part of her and she would never be able to forget us, even if I got her home and back into her old life.

"He is back at the house. He will come find me later after you're somewhere safe," I said, hoping that it would ease her mind slightly.

"Doesn't he want to see me?" She asked as she choked on her tears.

"Of course he does! But he's working really hard on keeping you safe and once you're somewhere safe, then he will come find us," I said, as I wiped off the dirt and thorns on the bottoms of my feet so I could slide my shoes on.

I glanced up at the sky, it was growing dark and there was barely a sliver of moon tonight, soon I wouldn't be able to see. Who knew how long I had before Steve came looking for Jessi and me? I needed to get Jessi back to Charleston before Steve could come looking for us. Would he go back to her hometown to take her again? I hoped her family would protect her better this time, and prevent her from being taken again. 

"We have to keep moving, Jessi," I said, as she handed the water bottle back to me. We had made it a fair distance from the house, for running on foot, but we still weren't close to Charleston yet.

"But Mommy, I'm tired!"

"I know you are, sweetheart. I'm hoping to make it to your home tomorrow morning, and to do that we have to keep going."

Jessi looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding her head and getting up from the ground. She had seen the horrors of a world that no one her age should be subjected to and knew that it was wrong. That's what made her understand that we had to keep going, so that we could get away.

"Okay, Mommy," she said as she slipped her hand into mine again. We walked as the sun had almost completely vanished, giving off a purplish glow in the dark night. This would be the last visible light of the day and then Jessi and I would be sent into darkness. I glanced around the area to see if there was any cover we could take to sleep for the night. There were dead branches and tall bushes littering the ground, making it difficult to walk through the brush. I could hear animal claws scratching into the earth around us, frightening Jessi and me. There was a growl, here and there, while we could see the yellow eyes watching our every move.

"Mommy, can we stop?" Jessi asked hugging me around the waist after about another hour of walking difficultly through the woods.

"Sure, Jessi. Your daddy packed us a blanket to sleep on." I said, as she sat on the ground ready to fall asleep right there on the cold hard ground.

I laid the blanket on a patch of grass so that there would be something underneath us. Jessi rolled on top of it the second it settled on the ground and fell asleep a few seconds later. I tried to relax as I laid down to go to sleep, but I couldn't. I didn't know if Steve was still beating Garrett or if he was out looking for me already. If he was looking for me, would he know the way I went or just guess? To say I was scared would be an understatement. I didn't know what fear was before I was taken, now I lived it every day. My brain finally went blank for a moment and let me fall into an uneasy sleep.

We spent the next day traveling as fast as we could toward the direction of Charleston. We forced our way through bushes, thorns, and over fallen branches and trees. Each day we got closer to her home, but also toward people who would try to bring us back to Steve. Steve would be leaving the house soon to track us down, if he hadn't already, which put me into an uneasy sleep each night.

I woke up as the sun was rising. The sound of cars met my ears as I stretched and looked around our surroundings again. We must be getting close to Charleston; I heard a car honk its horn in the distance. Lightly shaking my head, I forced myself awake and dug through the backpack for breakfast. Jessi was curled up sleeping next to me cuddling on the shirts that Garrett had put in the bag like a teddy bear. I lightly shook Jessi awake when it was ready, "Jessi, it's time to get up."

"Are we home yet, Mommy?" she asked, wiping the sleep from her eyes and yawning loudly.

"Almost, only a little while longer."

"Will you be living with me still?" she asked.

"No, but you'll have your real mommy and daddy who will take care of you," I said, petting her hair down from the bed head she now had.

"I'll miss you, Mommy."

"I'll miss you, too." I heard a car whiz by from somewhere around me, bringing my thoughts back to the problem at hand. We had to get out of these woods before Steve came looking for us, or we would be easily targets. "Come on, Jessi, let's get you home." I packed up the camp and we started walking in the direction of the sound of cars. We headed toward a thinning of trees and hit a road right off the tree line. If I had gone as far as I thought I had last night, this should be somewhere outside of Charleston, or at least close enough to find signs for it. I glanced left to see a road sign: Charleston five miles.

"That's your hometown, right, Jessi?" I asked, pointing to the sign.

"Yes, Mommy. Are we home yet?"

"Soon, very soon. Come on." I took a tight hold of her hand and started to walk back into the woods for cover, just in case Steve was using the road to track me down. Garrett had explained that Steve would at times use the car to track down the girls if he thought they could have made it pretty far. I didn't want to be caught and trapped in his car trying to escape again. It was better to play it safe at this point.

I wonder how many girls made that mistake.

It was exhausting walking through the woods, but it was the safest way to do it. My legs were cut up, along with my arms, and blood was starting to seep through my clothes. I could only imagine how badly cut up Jessi was, but she didn't complain. Maybe she finally understood the situation we were in and knew that it was the price to pay for freedom.

When we stepped out of the woods again, the sun was high in the sky. It had taken hours to walk five miles through the brush, and it was painful to say the least. Jessi now had a cut on her face that started just barely below her eye and raked down her face. I had blood pooling through my jeans and I didn't know if it was from the rape or something from the woods, but it was nauseating to see. I looked around to see that we were near a school crossing.

"Jessi, do you know where we are?" I asked, hoping she knew her town well enough to lead us through the town.

"Yes," she said with a smile.

"How do we get to your house?" I asked, hoping she knew where it was so that I could take her home.

"There," she pointed in the direction of the school, to a cop car sitting out front. Of course her parents had taught her if she ever needed help to go to a police officer. They thought all cops would help, but little did they know some cops kept children hidden.

I wanted to avoid cops, but Jessi raced toward the parked car, and I had to follow.

Please don’t let them be a part of Steve's scheme
, I silently begged as we crossed the street. I met Jessi near the cop car and held her tight as we approached. If I had any bad feelings about the police officer, we would just have to run again, go back into the trees, and try a different town. Jessi could be safe anywhere where good police officers were found, then I could make my way to state lines

"Excuse me?" I asked through the open window of the car.

"Yes?" The officer asked turning his head to look at Jessi and me. For a moment he looked us up and down in disgust at our appearance. Then a flash of wonder crossed in front of his eyes, and a smile ran across his face. "You're the two missing girls!" he yelled in excitement, as he took his radio in his hand and reported back to someone.

"Yes we are. How long have we been missing?" I asked, choking on the word. I wasn't missing. I was taken, kidnapped. There was a lifetime of pain in a matter of months.

"I found those two missing girls." There was a pause as he waited for a response on the other side. "Yes, Jessi Sparks and Anna Cowles." There was another pause. "Yes sir." He said before turning back to us.

"What's going on?" I asked nervously as I pulled Jessi closer to me.

"Let's go to the station girls. Whatever has happened will soon be over," he promised as Jessi got in the car

I only wished that it could have been true.