The Pendants and the Mystery of the Wozniak Five Part I

by Stephanie Steele

  Carson rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw. “Alright. I'm going to humor you because I can see you're struggling.”

  “Something no one else knows,” she reminded.

  “I heard you,” he said back impatiently. “Let me think.”

  She waited.

  “I stole my dad's credit card last year to buy my girlfriend a diamond necklace.”

  “What?” Valie asked in disgust.

  “You were expecting something more whimsical? I'm not that kind of guy.”

  “I was expecting something more genuine, more sincere, at least.”

  “I'm not that kind--”

  “I know, I know, you're not that kind of guy,” she said putting her hand up and turning back towards the window.

  They both went quiet.

  He could see her pouting. Again, he clenched his jaw and resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

  “When I was eight, my dad sent me to boarding school for troubled youth because I was getting into so much trouble. He thought it would straighten me out...”

  Valie slowly turned her head back towards him.

  “When I got there,” he continued, “I was scared. I was just a kid, tossed into this world far away from home, with all these people I didn't know. I cried every night. Every single night. I called my older brother and begged him to convince my dad to bring me home. One day, these older kids somehow knew I came from money. They, uh, they beat me up for my CD player and my Gameboy. They were a big deal back then, ya know. It went on for months. I was really too small to fight back and after they beat me up, they would see me the next day with no bruises or marks, they thought they weren't hitting me hard enough. I told my brother and it wasn't until that my dad learned I was getting beat up that he brought me home. He didn't want to risk people seeing my injuries healing so quickly. It would've been suspicious. I mean, I didn't know that then, but now, I believe that's the only reason he brought me home. He and I haven't had a normal conversation since. I never forgave him for that. My brother was the glue that kept our family together.”

  “That's awful.”

  “Yeah, whatever. It's ancient history. I don't even think about it anymore.”

  “I'm sorry, Carson.”

  “It was a long time ago.”

  “Did your brother know? Did he know that you're one of,” Valie looked around her cautiously, “did he know you were one of The Wozniak Five?”

  “He found out eventually.”

  “Well...where is he now?”

  It took him a while to answer. Valie knew right away that is was something that he didn't like talking about.

  "He's in Boston." Carson closed his eyes again and turned away from her.

  Valie felt bad for Carson, it wasn't her intention to make him relive something traumatic. She leaned her head against the window and drifted back to sleep.

  When Valie woke next, it was to Carson softly shaking her shoulder. It was daylight, the sun was shining through the window, and she could feel the warmth on her face. The train had stopped, Valie looked around, people were standing and shuffling towards the exit.

  “I dreamt I died,” she said quickly, recalling her dream. “I was walking down some railroad tracks at nighttime. I was walking and a train was coming behind me and I saw it, I just started to run. I was, I was trying to outrun the train and it hit me and I died.”

  Valie looked up at Carson for an explanation. He didn't say anything.

  "I died, Carson. I saw myself die; doesn't that mean something...bad?"

  "You should've gotten off the tracks."

  “Gotten off the tracks?” Valie questioned to herself.

  Carson put the backpack on and was looking out of the window. "I think someone is out there...waiting for us."

  "What? Who?" Valie asked nervously, violently turning her head back towards the window.

  "There's a cop car out there with two officer's standing next to it. They're watching everyone get off the train."

  Valie's mind immediately went to Emma. She must've said something.

  "Then, behind them are two other people watching everyone get off the train...and they're not cops."

  "Oh no..." Valie shuddered. It felt like she got punched in the stomach. “That's him, Carson...that's the man who kidnapped me.”

  It was Hunter, standing next to man who was a little older and little shorter, but equally as intimidating, Brutis Rule.

  “It's my fault...this is all my fault, I called Emma, I'm so sorry, Carson!” Valie cried. “What do we do? We can't get off the train!" She looked up at him, like a child pleading for a parent's instruction.

  She started to cry and Carson grabbed her face gently with both of his hands, "It's not the time for that, we have to be strong."

  Valie tried to control her sudden heavy breathing by breathing through her nose. She was so angry at herself and felt a guilt that encompassed her whole body quickly, as if she could feel it everywhere.

  "If we get separated--"

  "What!” Valie screamed, jumping up and hitting her head on the overheard compartment, then sitting back down.

  "Hey, I said if. Okay, if we get separated, go to your pendant and I'll find you there. If I don't, go back home, okay? We're here in Montana, so you have to go for your pendant."

  “No,” Valie's chin was quivering. “No, Carson...”

  “We have to have a plan, if I'm not there to meet you at your pendant site, then you have to head home, okay?”

  “I can't do this,” she whispered.

  "Yes you can. Just stay close to me," he warned, taking her arm.

  Valie knew that if the police got to them, they would question the pair and even worse, if the bad people got to them, it would've been game over.

  Carson pushed himself through the crowd of people heading towards the exit on the train, with Valie in tow.

  Valie's motions were mechanical. She tried to move swiftly, but her whole body had tensed. She couldn't help but to worry that those men were going to snatch her again.

  A couple of train-goers mumbled things under their breath as Carson and Valie pushed them out of the way.

  Once they got off the train, Valie felt a blast of cool air hit her face, Carson moved his hand down her arm and grasped her hand tightly.

  When he did, Valie felt her heart skip a beat, but she knew he was doing it so it looked less suspicious than dragging her by the arm.

  "Act natural," he instructed. Valie tried looking straight ahead but glanced at the police--they were watching them and then started to walk in their direction.

  "Excuse me?" one of the officers yelled. "Stop!"

  Valie didn't know if they were supposed to stop or run, but Carson stopped so Valie did too. Valie looked like a deer caught in headlights of a car. As the police officers approached, one of them asked if she was alright.

  Valie nodded vigorously.

  There were two of them. One huskier than the other and the thinner one had a thick mustache and kept his thumbs tucked into his waistband.

  "Nice sweatshirt," the heavier one said with a chuckle. The sweatshirt was going to be a problem, Valie suspected.

  "Can we help you with something officers?" Carson asked with a forced smile.

  Valie was impressed, seeing him being polite and all.

  "What are your names, kids?"

  "I'm Jake, this is Jennifer."

  Valie nodded in agreement, she had a fake driver's license that said so.

  "There were a couple of kids reported missing from Wisconsin, one matching this young lady's description," the rounder of the two said.

  Carson shrugged, "I don't really know what you want me to say, we're from Ohio, here visiting family."

  The officers looked at each other. "You two got ID on you?" the thin, mustached man asked.

  Valie whipped her fake ID out of her pocket almost too quickly, Carson reluctantly handed his over.

  The officers examined them carefully. The thin one stepped back
and said something into the radio attached to his shoulder.

  Valie didn't know what they would do if they found out that she was a missing minor from Wisconsin. She didn't realize it at first, but she was holding her breath as the officers held their IDs

  Carson squeezed her hand, and Valie looked up, past the officers. That's when she saw the bad people were walking towards them. If they got to them, Valie worried that the police wouldn't even be able to help.

  Her knees started to shake, both out of fear and because her body wanted her to run. Everything in her was telling her to get out of there.

  They handed their ID's back.

  “Where'd you get the sweater from?” the thin one asked.

  Valie could feel their suspicious eyes fall on her, they weren't questioning Carson anymore. If Valie told them where she got the sweatshirt, they would've known. That had to be how they found them.

  Valie was about to construct a lie, but it was difficult because the bad people were still slinking their way towards them. Before she could open her mouth, Carson yanked her away and they were running.

  They took off, pushing their way through the crowds of people.

  "Stop!" The officers yelled from behind them, but they were fast. Valie had always been a good runner and Carson was a few steps ahead of her, squeezing her hand tightly.

  They sprinted through the station, and suddenly they didn't need to push people out of the way, they were dodging out of the way. Valie was so focused on holding onto Carson's hand and running as fast as her legs would let her, that for a moment, she forgot who they were running from. She forgot until an arm came around her waist and ripped her hand away from Carson's.

  "No!" she screamed. The arm wrapped around her, lifting her right off of the ground.

  Valie kept screaming, even when a heavy hand covered her mouth. For a second, everything seemed like it was in slow motion. All the colors around her became very vivid and bright. People were standing back in disbelief, their faces becoming a blurred mass as she was whirled around.

  Valie was reaching out for Carson, but he was pulled off in a different direction. Using what strength she had, she peeled the hand off of her mouth and screamed for Carson. She could hear his voice, somehow above all the other shouts and screams.

  "Get out of here, Valie!"

  Valie didn't know it, but it was Hunter who had her and he began to run, carrying Valie like a ragdoll. She was kicking and screaming. The people in the station stood back in horror, no one sure of what to do. It was like a flashback to Valie, a flashback to the night that she was first kidnapped. She felt a rage building in her quickly because it was happening to her again.

  Valie brought her fist up, twisting her body and punching Hunter in the face, hitting his nose and he dropped her. She landed hard on her side and Hunter fell to his knees, groaning. Valie didn't take time to look at his face; she didn't want to see him. She scrambled to her feet and started to run. He grabbed her foot and she fell forward.

  Before Valie could get back up, he tried grabbing her again, but she kicked him as hard as she could and he stumbled back, only for a second and lunged forward, grabbing her once more.

  “No!” Valie screamed. She screamed for someone to help, but no one was there. Hunter started to run with her again.

  She tried moving his hand off of her waist, but he was too strong. His arm felt like a small tree trunk compressing her stomach and limbs and then...he halted.

  Valie wriggled to see what made him stop. She was hoping it was Carson, but it wasn't. They were facing five police officers with their guns drawn, ordering Hunter to drop her.

  At first, he didn't move.

  "Drop her now!" one of them yelled.

  He slowly let her go. Her feet touched the ground and she tried to steady herself, but just as his arms left her, he yanked her back, bringing one hand to the back of her head and the other to her chin.

  Valie could hear the officers yelling things, but it was all muffled. She stood perfectly still with her eyes squeezed shut, not knowing what else to do. She tensed her neck and heard the deafening sound of a gunshot. Valie fell to the ground.

  At first she thought she was dead. She opened her eyes and was being pulled to her feet by some of the officers. Everything seemed like it was going in slow motion, even their voices were low and drawn out. Valie could stand on her own. She shook the officers off. There was a small opening in the mass of police. She saw the chance to get out of there and took it.

  Valie started to run through the train station without looking back. She ran as fast as she could until there was no one in front of her, until she was away from people. She kept going. Everything hurt. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst, but she didn't stop.

  When she finally did stop, she found herself in a small wooded area and fell to the ground, quite dramatically, but she was both tired and emotional.

  Valie lay in the dirt, chest heaving, arms out. She didn't know where she was, but she could hear cars whizzing nearby. She had to be close to an interstate or a highway.

  Her thoughts went to Carson. Instinctively, she felt like she had to go back for him, but there were police everywhere. She didn't think she would be able to escape them a second time. And what about the man who grabbed her? She had heard a gunshot, so was he shot? It wasn't until that very thought that Valie felt a sting in her shoulder.

  She gasped.

  “Oh my God! I'm shot!” She screamed, pulling off her hoodie and examining the hole in her shoulder. She was bleeding but only a little.

  “Oh no, no, no, no!”

  It hurt. Valie craned to see if the bullet went through the other side, but she couldn't tell. “I can't believe they shot me!” She was completely flabbergasted and scared. They must've been aiming for the man who had her and missed, she figured. After panicking, she calmed a little when she remembered that the wound would heal itself, according to Carson anyway.

  As she sat there, looking at her wound, she suddenly felt the pit of her stomach rising to her throat. She crawled to a nearby bush and threw up.

  The wound was slow to heal, but it slowly started to disappear. Valie was entranced by it, but she couldn't sit there and watch it forever. She had to get out of there, so she stood and started to walk. Somewhere along the line she developed a limp, feeling a pain in her right knee. She hoped her body would heal that quickly. She couldn't afford a limp, but she also knew that her body was losing its steam, everything was becoming harder.

  As Valie started to walk, her heart felt the heaviest it had since the whole thing started. She was alone now. There wasn't Phaedra or Carson there guiding her, Trent wasn't there...it was the time for her to be the grown-up she'd always claimed to be. She recalled the conversation with her uncle, when he told her that she was strong and explained the meaning behind her name, but she didn't feel very strong. She felt like throwing up again.

  Valie couldn't shake the guilt from leaving Carson. She wanted to go back. She needed him to be okay and didn't want to face losing him, even though she didn't really know him that well, Valie didn't think she could handle it.

  She had the address of her pendant, but Carson had the money and the backpack. Valie knew that if she could get to her pendant, she could set out after Carson's pendant and keep it safe until she found him. How she was going to do all that, she didn't know. It was going to be more of a one-step-at-a-time operation. Valie found her way to the highway and started walking-- well into the ditch to keep herself partially hidden from the cars. She wasn't even sure if she was going in the right direction until she saw a sign that said: 50 miles to Helena.

  It was a small victory and she was grateful for that.

  Valie kept walking.

  Chapter 12

  Carson was slammed down hard in a steel chair. It was a very typical setting for a police station interrogation room. A small steel table with two steel chairs in a room with a harsh light and a camera in the corner.

  After h
e and Valie had run from the officers at the station, he was taken down by the police. He saw Valie get captured, but didn't know what happened after that.

  The police didn't have Valie in custody and he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. They weren't telling him anything. They hauled him there in handcuffs and now he was sitting in an interview room waiting. His thoughts were focused on Valie, wondering if she had been taken, he cursed to himself, feeling angry that he allowed them to get separated.

  About 20 minutes later, a tall, thin detective came into the room holding a file. He greeted Carson, Carson said nothing.

  “You know why you're here?”

  “Because apparently you can't run from the cops.” Carson shrugged coolly.

  “That's right,” the detective said with a chuckle. He had a southern drawl and very dominating presence. “You care to enlighten me as to why you ran?”

  “Someone was after us.” Carson said bluntly.

  “Yeah, we noticed that. Who?”

  Carson shrugged.

  “So...some men were chasing you and your counterpart, what was her name?”

  Carson felt the trap, “You've seen her I.D. You know what her name is.”

  The detective pressed Carson for information, but he was unwavering, stating he didn't know who the men were or why they were chasing them. Carson pointed out that they were victims.

  The detective seemed amused by Carson, smiling slightly at his victim statement. He opened the folder in front of him, pulling out a paper and pushing it across the table.

  Carson only intended on glancing, but the image pulled him in. He leaned forward; he didn't understand what it was.

  In front of him was a picture of Valie that looked dated by a couple of years. On top it said: MISSING. Below her picture: Helena “Valie” Revels AGE: 16 WEIGHT:120 lbs. HEIGHT:5'4.

  “What is this?” Carson asked picking up the paper, trying to mask his confusion.

  “That...is a copy of a missing person's poster from almost two years ago. A young girl named Valie Revels disappeared from her home, her family was panicked, an Amber Alert issued, and essentially a statewide manhunt was ordered, everyone searching for this missing teen. She was tracked down a week later; she had run away from home with a boyfriend.”