Abducted (Amber Alert Series Book 2)

by Sara Schoen

  I continued to walk until I made it to the bathroom, and for no real reason I let out a loud scream. It was a mix of terrified and tortured as I looked at myself in the mirror. I stopped when I saw the dead look in my eyes; I was a lost soul with no way out. My hair was a mess, there was dried blood all over me, and suddenly, as I looked at my appearance, I was taken over by anger. Another monstrous scream left my body as I slammed my fists into the mirror. There was a loud crack as the mirror broke from the impact, but I didn’t stop. I continued to pound the mirror, releasing my frustration, until I was in tears.

  “There’s no way out of this!” I cried as I slid onto the floor.

  I felt the crunch of glass beneath me as I laid down and let sorrow fill where anger had once reigned. I felt so hopeless and lost, I couldn’t handle it anymore, but what was there left to do? I felt a pinch as some of the glass shards dug into my skin at the change of position.

  Glancing between the broken shards of glass, I had one last idea for escape. A final, desperate attempt to escape, but it was all I had left. I looked between my reflections in the broken glass and reached for a distant shard. I pictured my mother; I had saved her. I thought of my father; he would understand, but be broken. Then I thought of Damien; he would be destroyed.

  That thought alone almost stopped me, but then I heard Steve open the front door and call my name. Then without another thought, I stabbed the shard into my arm and let out a sharp scream. Steve’s footsteps raced up the stairs, and I looked at the shard with disgust. I had to end it, I thought, as Steve burst through the door. I put the shard to my throat and he lunged for me.

  "If you want to die so badly, it will be at my hands," he said, as he pulled me off the floor and away from the glass. “You’ll die like all the other girls did; The Chase.”

  Chapter 29

  I was tossed out of the house without a second thought. Steve threw a rag out with me, to stop the blood from gushing out, and that was it, nothing else; I was on my own. Did he think by throwing me out I wouldn’t try to end this suffering? I would end it; after I ended him. If he was going to hunt me down, then I would make it my goal to bring him down. I just had to find a way to do that. I got up as quickly as I could and took off running in a random direction. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do since my parents had only warned me of the dangers of people, but didn’t take the time to tell me how to live in the woods. I could sharpen a stick, but I’d need a knife and I felt as if Steve had been shot and stabbed enough and he didn’t die.

  That’s when I stopped dead in my tracks in the middle of some field that I had no idea where I was. I felt as if I had run for hours, but I wasn’t sure. I knew I had covered a lot of ground before I sat down and took a rest. My thoughts couldn’t help but go to Damien. I wondered where he was, what he had done for the last few months, but mostly I wondered why he left me. I know my mom had said splitting up was for the better, but that was before Steve took me.

  I wouldn’t have been able to leave Damien with Steve, so why had he done it to me? What was he doing while I was here, running for my life and trying to find a way out. I thought back to when he saved me from the house, the smoke was choking me, the flames were closing in, but he was still there for me. He was fighting for me, trying to save me, but now when I needed him he wasn’t there. He had left without me and now I had to survive alone. I blinked a few times, trying to get rid of the tears in my eyes, and glanced around in the moonlight.

  I must have fallen asleep, soon after that, because when I woke up the sun was up and I could hear Steve behind me. His voice traveled through the trees and sent me into a sprint. I didn’t think he would actually come after me, but now that he was I didn’t want to die. I just wanted to get out of this alive. I got up and sprinted through the trees and brush. There were bushes cutting into my legs, but I could hear Steve’s laughter behind me so I kept running. There didn’t seem to be a place to stop or a place to run to, so I had to run and stay alive for those that couldn’t before.

  I wasn’t going to be another statistic in the Steve Bennett murders and kidnappings.

  I continued running through the trees until I made it to some cliffs. I glanced down to see a lake below me, and that’s when I got an idea. I turned around and held my arms up, not in surrender, but as if I was about to fly.

  "You've lost!" I screamed at him as I stepped onto the edge of the cliff, ready to plunge into the lake below. "You don't have the pleasure to kill me. You've lost my mother, and I can guarantee that you won't find her ever again. You've lost, Steve, and the only thing you have left is you!"

  "Not true, I still have you," he said as he lunged forward. I steadied myself as I took a step back and felt my feet go off the ledge, but as I dropped, Steve grabbed me and pulled me back.

  He threw us both on the ground, with him on top of me laughing manically. "I won, Audrey! I still have you! There is no end because—"

  I heard three loud shots ring out before Steve's body collapsed onto mine. There was something warm starting to seep through my clothing as the body was ripped away from mine. I looked up to see Damien in tears as he saw that I was okay. He immediately fell to the ground next to me and hugged me tightly to him. He sat me up after a while so I could see my parents, each with a gun, with triumphant smiles on their faces. They had successfully killed the man that made their lives and mine living hell.

  "How did you find me?"

  "When he went to prison, I got everything. Including the deed to the house here in Ohio. Which was hidden in one of his old books."

  "Why did it take so long then?" I asked curiously.

  "We needed to end this and get you out safely. Plus he had too many books and hiding places. We spent months combing through them all to finally get a lead," my father answered, as he leaned down and hugged me. "I'm glad you're safe, Audrey. I'm sorry it didn't seem as if we were fair to you growing up, but we did what we believed was best and now it's up to you to fix what parents believe now."

  "I'll do it," I said confidently, as another shot went off. We all turned to see Damien standing above Steve's body with a smoking pistol in his hand.

  "I had to make sure he was dead,” he said in a sullen tone, as the blood pooled out of Steve's head and onto the ground around his cooling body.

  "We'll find your sister one day, Damien," I responded, knowing that he was upset that he would never know what happened to her.

  "Maybe, but I'm glad to have you back, Audrey." he said, hugging me again and kissing me in front of my parents.

  "Like mother, like daughter,” I heard my father say in a light tone as he kissed my mother. "Now let's go home."

  ***

  I had to go to the hospital and have surgery to repair my injuries. I had broken a few bones, cracked ribs, and there was a case of malnutrition. It was hard to hear. I was told that it would be a long road to recovery because my body would fight the medication the entire time. I'd need a lot of time to heal, if I ever did. Damien comforted me as best as he could, and my father tried, but neither of them really knew what to say or how to fix it, so they left and allowed my mother to do it for them. My mom and I had had a long talk and shared experience, and I finally understood that some secrets are better left a secret, but others had to be told.

  "I never told you because I didn't want you to live through it, but I see now that it didn't work."

  "I lived it through your eyes for a while. I had dreams, and I finally understand what you went through. I wish I had understood that before. It wasn’t fair to blame you for the laws; it was others. They wanted to feel safe, but the laws made teens act out more. It put us more in danger than without the laws."

  "It’s okay, sweetheart. I’m glad you’re safe and that you understand now. Maybe you can work to get rid of some of the laws, you’ll see how much power you’ll have in those choices after this. It’s stressful, but if you want to see change, then you have to be the one to lead it in this case."

  "Thanks,
Mom. I know you’ll be there for me. The dreams weren’t so bad, it allowed me to see what it was like, but they also helped me understand how I felt about Damien," I said quietly, with a broad smile on my face.

  "Do you love him?"

  "Yes—I agreed to marry him, and for a moment the horrors of what Steve could do to me were gone."

  "That's exactly how I felt when your father proposed to me," my mother said with a smile as she gave me a hug. "I'm sorry you had to live through this, but it's over now. We can both move on with our lives, and move past this."

  "Do I have to change my name like you did?" I asked my mother as she got up to leave.

  "That's up to you. I'm done changing names, there's nothing else to fear now that Steve is dead," she said with a smile.

  "Wait, Mom!"

  "Yes?"

  "If I told you our story, would you write another book?" I asked.

  "Why would I do that?" she asked curiously. “The first book was the only story I had to tell. It answered all the questions that people had, and I was never searched for again after it was published.”

  "Damien loved your first book, Amber Alert, and I think he'd love a sequel," I suggested with a smile.

  A smile curled my mother’s lips, "I'll have to have your father help me again, let's see if he's up for it. What would you like it to be called?"

  "Abducted."

  "I can work with that. I'm sure Damien would love a copy," my mother said with a laugh, as she walked out of the room.

  For the first time ever, I finally felt like I had a relationship with my parents. I couldn't be more thankful for that. It's also what gave me the power and confidence to give a speech against the harsh laws that children were now put under. Even as I stepped to the podium, I knew that I had the courage to do it. I was the new voice of change, and I had a lot to say.

  Epilogue

  *Six months later*

  “Well, at least I wasn’t a part of this kidnapping by the infamous Steve Bennett,” Jessi said with a roll of her eyes, as she sat down across the table from Damien and me. We had just finished explaining to her what happened since she had gotten out of training and would be leaving to join the FBI.

  “Maybe you’ll be in on the next one,” Damien said lightheartedly.

  “No thanks, my specialty is not with ghost hunters,” Jessi scoffed, while the rest of the family laughed.

  It was hard to believe that Steve Bennett was dead. It came down to one shot and that was it, he was gone forever. He had been cremated and tossed out just to make sure. Dad made sure of it, since he was still technically the only family Steve had. There were papers, legal ones to prove it, but of course that meant that Dad wanted to make sure Steve was dead.

  There was no way to come back from the dead if you were just dust and ashes.

  “Who knows, Jessi, there may be a few copycats,” James said jokingly as he pointed at Damien.

  “I wasn’t a copycat,” Damien retorted.

  “You were just an accomplice. You’re lucky that Audrey and her parents could knock down your sentence to three months. Even if they didn’t press charges, the time had to be spent for kidnapping.” James answered.

  “I know. I’m just glad I got out early on good behavior. I couldn’t have handled three full months in there,” Damien shivered slightly and squeezed my hand for comfort.

  “Just don’t kidnap me or anyone else again, and you won’t have to go back,” I said as I kissed his cheek.

  “I don’t plan on it.”

  “How did the funeral for your sister go, Damien?” my mother asked, walking into the room with my father close behind.

  “It was touching. I’m glad she’s with our parents now. I can’t thank you enough for convincing people to continue the search for more bodies.”

  “Her body needed to be found. Even if Jessi’s specialty isn’t in the supernatural, someone’s was, and I could only imagine the horrors of being haunted by those that were trapped by Steve.”

  “It would make for some good horror stories, Anna,” my father said with a smile and a kiss.

  “I agree with, Mr. Thomas,” Damien said. He was hoping my mom would start writing again. He loved her story and even asked her to sign a copy of her book while he was in jail for kidnapping me.

  “You can call me Garrett, Damien, there’s no need to be so formal,” my father said, looking at my mother with a knowing smile.

  “Did I miss something?” I asked curiously, looking between my parents, James, Jessi, and Damien, who all had the same knowing smile traced onto their lips.

  “You did, in fact. I have a question for you,” Damien said, as he got up from his chair and then got down on one knee. He pulled out a small black box and opened it to reveal a simple silver band and a small cut diamond in the center.

  “Oh my, Damien.”

  “Don’t get excited, it’s a promise ring, not a wedding ring. I want you to finish school first, but I want to say that we certainly didn't meet under normal circumstances. I never expected to meet the love of my life at a bar and then kidnap her, but I’m glad I did. It’s an experience that showed me plans don’t always work out how we want them too, but often work out how they are supposed to. You are my everything. I can’t think of a moment before I met you. I love you; I risked my life for you and would gladly do it again if it meant keeping you safe. That's what this experience has shown me, and there’s no one else I would rather be with. This is to show you that I’ll be here for you, waiting for you to finish school, and with you every step of the way.”

  “I love it, Damien!” I squealed, as I jumped from my chair and into his arms. We crashed onto the floor laughing and kissing each other.

  “That scene looks quite familiar,” I heard my father say, as Damien sat up and wrapped me in his arms, happily kissing my neck.

  “I believe that was my reaction when you asked me that same question,” my mother said, giving my father a kiss. “And your speech before the question was just as sappy,” she added with a laugh.

  “It wasn’t sappy, it was heartfelt!” my father and Damien yelled at the same time as my mother and I continued laughing.

  “Wow, the similarities are astonishing,” James said, glancing between Damien and me to my mother and father. “Something tells me you two will get along famously,” James said with a smile.

  “I better be the maid of honor when that wedding happens,” Jessi said, getting up from the table and rinsing her syrup-covered plate in the sink.

  The room was filled with such a pleasant laughter that I never wanted it to end. For once I actually had Steve Bennett to thank for this. Without him, I’d still be rebelling, the laws would still be in place, and my family wouldn’t get along. And, I wouldn’t have Damien either. My parents and I were getting along better now because we had all lived through the experience of Steve Bennett, and I’m sure that’s the only reason my parents were okay with Damien proposing to an eighteen year old. I had my loving family back and now a loving boyfriend. Things were looking up for everyone, and I couldn’t wait to live my life with a fresh start.

  About the Author

  My name is Sara, I’m 19 years old, and I was born and raised in Alexandria, Virginia.

  I have always been interested in writing, even started a book in elementary school, but it didn’t get very far. It wasn’t until high school that my friend, and writing partner, more or less forced me to join an amateur writing site. After some convincing from her, I plucked up the courage to post one of my stories. While it wasn’t popular at first, I was shocked and overwhelmed by the support of readers on Wattpad, and they gave me the support and confidence to get where I am today. I continued to write for the next three years I was on the website, starting countless stories, some of which got surprisingly popular.

  It’s all thanks to those that supported me over the years, or I wouldn’t have had the courage to post or submit my stories anywhere. I can’t wait to start sharing more works and ideas w
ith you guys, and I hope you enjoy the works.

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