by Ryan P. Ruiz
“I know someone is in here!” the man’s voice echoed angrily.
Cody put his hand over his mouth and stayed as quiet as he could while wrapped in the sheet hanging from the ceiling by the wall. Room by room, the man stomped through, looking in every closet and hiding place he could. He walked violently through the kitchen, unlocked the door to the breezeway, and walked in. He saw a long metal item on the floor.
Getting angrier and angrier by the second, the man opened the back door to the house and saw that it had been jarred. The man stormed down the basement stairs for a brief moment and came back up. He turned around, flew back through the kitchen, and ran up the stairs.
“I know you’re in here. I’m sorry to inform you, but this is a bad day for you. How did you find out, anyways?” the man calmly said as he stepped up to the top floor. “Do you know who I am?”
The man had a crazed look on his face as he walked slowly. He continued, “I bet you saw my souvenirs, didn’t you?”
Cody’s heart was racing like crazy, and he could hear it through his chest. The man looked around the room and went straight to a closet on the opposite side of where Cody was. It took every ounce of effort to keep quiet as the man reached for the handle on the door. Before the man could open the door to the closet, Cody bolted from the sheet he was wrapped in and headed for the stairs. Part of the sheet was still wrapped around his leg as he made it to the stairs. The man lunged for Cody and missed as the boy flew down the stairs.
Cody ran into the kitchen, looking around, and the man was coming down the stairs not far behind him. Cody saw the side door to the left and hurried down the few stairs to the side door. The door was dead-bolted, and the handle was locked as Cody tried twisting the handle to open the door. The man stared at Cody as he saw that Cody was trapped between him and the basement. Having no choice, Cody sprinted down the old basement stairs. The man slowly followed the helpless boy.
Cody reached the bottom of the stairs and saw something more shocking than what he had discovered in the upstairs loft. There in the corner of the basement was a little girl in chains, lying on a mattress. Cody knew right away it was Mandy Coefield, the girl who had gone missing in Sheldon Township. She was in dirty clothes and had a bandana wrapped around her mouth. She looked starved and weak. The little girl appeared lifeless as she saw Cody at the bottom of the basement stairs in the dark. Cody ran to her and pulled a string to a light switch right in the area of where she was.
“It’s okay, little girl. I’m going to help you. You’re Mandy, aren’t you?” he told her as his voice trembled with fear. She didn’t respond.
The slow knocking of each step of the man’s shoes sent shivers down Cody’s spine as he tried to loosen the chains on Mandy’s wrists. There was no hope of freeing her. The chains were attached to the basement wall.
Through the pitch-dark, the man’s voice boomed through the cold and damp basement.
“Hey, I know you. I know you from somewhere, yeah. You’re that kid at the gas station last week. The real quiet one. Say, how did you find out about me?” the man said.
Cody didn’t say a word as the footsteps came closer and closer, then he spoke, “I found your car by the church on Lincoln Street in Tippwood.”
The man continued, “Wow! You have been spying on me. What are you trying to accomplish coming here, kid? You think you are some kind of hero? I do give you credit, though, and you do have courage.”
Cody spoke up as a tear dripped down his cheek, “I know who you are. You’re Melvin Werner, and you offered me a ride to school a few weeks ago. I have spent every day since trying to find you. Why was your car parked on Lincoln Street?” said Cody bravely.
The man stood in the dark, just beyond the stairs.
“Very good, kid. Very good. I knew that I saw your eyes before the gas station. My car is on Lincoln Street because I volunteer at the church. Kind of ironic, isn’t it?” the man said, motioning over to the little girl. He continued, “I am impressed. I really am. Your parents taught you well, didn’t they? Had it been you that decided to get in my car that day, it would be you locked to the basement wall like her.” He thought for a second. “Well, maybe I would still have her too.”
More tears came down the boy’s face as he tried to hold Mandy, who was now slowly gaining consciousness.
“You are a monster! And if—”
Cody was interrupted by the man.
“Save it, kid! Was that your friend out there with the ‘lost dog’?” the man said, mocking the boy.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” said Cody, lying, wondering if Zach went to get help or if the man did something to his friend.
“Mmm… well, let me ask you something. Was it really worth it? Did you think you were going to come here and do something to me? This isn’t a movie, kid. I am going to do bad things to you, and your parents will never see you again,” said the man convincingly. “In fact, I will be the last person you will see just like all of the others. Do you have any clue what I have done in my past, kid? I am responsible for many missing children over the years. Who are you to try and stop me?”
Cody stared in the direction of the man and thought for a second, scared out of his mind. Tears fiercely dripped onto the ground. He ignored the Melvin’s crazy rant.
“Would you make me a deal?” the boy asked, shaking.
The man started laughing at Cody.
“Sure, kid, let’s hear your offer,” he said. “Your tears don’t affect me one bit kid, let’s hear your offer though.”
“Let Mandy go. I’ll take her place. She’s just an eight-year-old girl. You can have me,” Cody said, still trembling.
“You are something else, kid,” the man said with a laugh. “Still trying to be a hero. Why can’t every kid I take be like you? Now, you know I can’t do that, kid. It’s a great offer, it really is—but I can’t take it,” the man explained, still chuckling. Melvin’s laugh was creepy and sinister.
The man stepped out of the shadows and walked toward a sink nearby then turned on a light. He picked up a brown medicine bottle and a rag. With his eyes on Cody, he unscrewed the cap and poured some of the contents in the rag. Setting down the bottle, the man started walking toward Cody.
It was at that moment that Cody snapped out of his fear and reached into his pocket. He pulled out his black pocketknife and opened it behind his back. The man didn’t see it. Cody took a few steps away from Mandy, who watched hopelessly. The man started walking faster toward Cody, holding a rag in his hand.
“I’m sorry, kid. You should have kept to yourself. You have ruined my big plan, and now you belong to me,” the man said with anger in his voice.
The man lunged toward Cody, knocking him against the concrete wall face-first. A cut formed over Cody’s left eye from the wall. With the pocketknife still in his right hand, Cody turned his body and swung his hand toward the man. Cody sliced the man’s arm, and blood dripped to the floor. The man looked at his arm and then punched Cody in the chest area, and the boy fell to the ground. Blood dripped down right next to Cody’s head as he lay hunched over, gasping for air. The man reached down and pulled Cody’s hair up, making the boy look at him.
“Remember this face. This is the face that took you from your family. It will be the only face you will ever see again, kid,” the man said with more anger.
The man grabbed Cody and put the rag up to his face. The past few weeks flashed in the boy’s head. He quickly pictured his best friend running to get help. He wondered if the man knew Zach was connected with him. With drooping eyes, Cody looked over at Mandy and saw Olive’s face. His eyes slowly faded towards the back of his head. Just as Cody started to pass out, he heard a siren in the distance.
His eyes shut, and he fell asleep.
The man turned in the direction of the basement stairs with a look of d
isappointment. The man grabbed Cody and threw his sleeping body like a rag doll against the concrete wall next to Mandy’s mattress. There was a loud thud as Cody bounced off the concrete and lay passed out on the floor.
“Do you see what has happened? I thought we would be happy here. Don’t you like it here?” the man asked the little girl with a crazed look. The little girl just put her head down and cried.
His face was sweating and growing pale. He looked at his arm where he was sliced. The man walked over to the sink, put his arm under the spout, and turned the water on. Dark-red blood splattered all over the sink and poured out of his arm. He reached down to the floor where a sock was on the ground next to the dryer. He picked it up, wrapped it around the deep cut, and tied it off. He pulled down the sleeve of his flannel shirt to cover up his arm.
Suddenly, there was another quick loud siren outside and a pounding on the side door.
“Police! Open up, please,” said a loud voice.
“Crestwood Police, open this door please!”
The man walked up the stairs grabbing the wooden railing to help pull himself up, unlocked the side door, and opened the door halfway.
“Hello officers, how can I help you?” the man politely said.
“Sorry to disturb you sir, we received a call about a disturbance.” the first officer said.
“No disturbance here. Quiet as the night, officer.” The man calmly replied.
The officers tried to peak around the man. The second officer spoke,
“We have reason to believe that someone broke in to your house. Do you mind if we come in and inspect?”
The man looked at the police officers, then replied and chuckled, “Sure no problem. I assure you no one broke in my house though, I would definitely know that.”
“Well, let us just have a look, then we will be on our way.” the second officer suggested.
The man opened the door all the way and took a step back blocking the basement stairs. He motioned for the officers to go up to the kitchen. The officers entered the kitchen and looked around. The first officer glanced around towards the living room and the second officer motioned towards the breezeway room.
“Sir, do you mind if I look in this room?” the second officer asked.
“No, not at all, let me open that for you.” the man replied.
He unlocked the door between the kitchen and breezeway, then let the officer in. It was dark and the officer turned his flashlight on. Just as he started to shine the light towards the floor by the back door, the man spoke, “Hey guys, can I offer you something to drink?”
The second officer turned his head before he saw the mangled metal piece on the floor.
“That won’t be necessary, sir. We will get out of here and on our way. Sorry to disturb you like this.” the first officer said.
“Well, thank you for stopping gentlemen. You guys are great police officers, keep up the good work.” the man said reaching to shake the first officer’s hand.
The first officer gave a nice thorough handshake to the man and the man winced a little. The officer noticed, but didn’t say anything. Melvin walked the officers to the stairs to the side door and turned the light at the landing on. The second officer noticed something on the wooden railing going down the basement stairs. There were some blood stains on the top of the railing.
“Are you sure everything is okay here?” the second officer asked.
“Yes, everything is fine. You two have a good night.” the man replied as he opened the side door.
It was at that instance that a small cry came from the basement. With every ounce of energy, Mandy let out another cry. Still holding the door, the second officer turned and looked at the man. The man’s eyes had a different look to them. Melvin turned around and ran down the basement stairs. The officers stormed back in through the side door.
The man stumbled over to the bed Mandy was on and attacked her. He wrapped his hands around her neck and started squeezing.
“Hold it right there! Hold it!”
The officers rumbled down the basement stairs after the man.
“Sir, come back here!” said the second officer as he reached the bottom of the stairs.
The first officer followed right behind down the basement stairs and flipped on the light switch at the bottom. They saw the man choking a little girl.
“Freeze! Take your hands off her!” the first officer screamed. Both men had their guns drawn.
The man turned to look at them, still grasping Mandy’s neck. The man looked at the officers and smiled. Mandy’s eyes closed. The second officer took two shots at the man, one to the knee and one to the shoulder. The man fell to the ground and let go of the little girl. She gasped for air as she fell to the ground.
The first officer raced over to the man and restrained him. The second sprinted toward the girl.
“I need an EMT down here right away!” the first officer reported into his radio.
“Here’s the boy,” said the second officer, looking at the wall nearby.
“I repeat: we need multiple EMTs down here now!” the first officer said.
Cody was passed out against the wall where he had been thrown.
The first officer grabbed a hold of the little girl. “Can you hear me, sweetie? You’re safe now. Do you know your name?” the first officer said.
The little girl was breathing, but just barely, and managed to whisper, “Mandy.”
“What’s your last name, Mandy?” the first officer asked, already confident he knew the answer.
“Coefield,” she whispered with her eyes closed.
“Okay, Mandy, we are going to get you out of here. Just hang in there, okay? I’m Officer Harris, and that’s Officer Quinn over there. You’re going to be all right,” said the first officer.
Officer Quinn got on the radio right away. “We believe that we have found Mandy Coefield,” said Officer Quinn.
She closed her eyes. Officer Harris looked at the shackles on her wrists. He went to the man, who was on the floor facedown in handcuffs. He patted the man’s pant pockets, looking for keys. The kidnapper had passed out from loss of blood. There were small puddles of blood all over the basement floor.
Officer Harris pulled out a keychain with multiple keys on it out of the man’s pant leg pocket. He tried every key he thought went to the shackles. On the third try, the restraints released, and Mandy was free. Officer Harris cradled the girl in his arms and ran up the basement stairs with her.
He ran out the side door to where an ambulance was waiting at the end of the driveway toward the street. Multicolored lights were flashing everywhere from all the emergency vehicles on the scene. Neighbors in houses on the street had started crowding around. People started to talk as they saw a little girl being carried by a police officer.
“Oh my god, is that the girl that has been missing?” a voice out of the crowd yelled to the officers on the scene.
Officer Harris handed the girl to two medics at the ambulance and stayed with the little girl. A boy came out of the crowd and yelled to Officer Harris while being blocked by authorities. It was Zach.
“Please tell me if my friend is in there!” screamed Zach.
The officer motioned to let him through. Zach came running over to the officer and looked at the little girl in the ambulance.
“Your friend is in there. He’s not doing well. You did the right thing, but you two were stupid for going in this by yourselves,” said Officer Harris.
“I know, but where’s my friend?” said Zach hysterically.
Just then, two officers with a restrained man came out of the house. It was Melvin Wermer, and he was in police custody. The officers basically carried him down the driveway. The man’s beady eyes looked down the driveway and saw Zach. The boy turned away.
The man responsible for taking Mandy Coefield was being carried down the driveway and placed into the back of a squad car. Two more medics came out of the side door with a boy in a stretcher. It was Cody. The squad car with the kidnapper in it drove off, sounding the sirens. Another ambulance and unmarked police car followed right behind it.
Zach ran past two more officers and up the driveway. He met his friend who was being wheeled to the ambulance.
“Cody! Can you hear me? It’s Zach. Can you hear me, buddy?” Zach exclaimed to his friend who had both eyes shut.
Officer Harris grabbed Zach and put him in a bear hug. A shower of tears poured down the boy’s face as his friend was put into a different ambulance. The officer then let go.
News vans and media started to arrive, filling the street. A woman frantically ran through the crowd. The woman was Zach’s mother. Zach threw his hands up and yelled for his mother.
“Mom!” he screamed as loud as he could. The woman spotted her son and ran toward him. She grabbed him and hugged him and didn’t let go. Her eyes were completely red, and she was crying hysterically.
“What did you guys do?” she screamed, still crying.
“I’m sorry, Mom! I’m so sorry, Mom!” Zach said, crying into his mother’s arms. “Cody is in that ambulance, Mom. We need to get to the hospital.”
“What did you guys get into?” she repeated, still gripping her son tight.
Zach just hugged his mother.
CHAPTER XV
Heroes
Two ambulances pulled into the ER entrance at Sheldon General Hospital. The first had Cody in it, and the second had Mandy. The back doors of the ambulances flew open, and two stretchers went rolling into the ER. A police brigade surrounded them. Cody opened his eyes as he saw the ceiling of the hospital quickly going by.
“Where am I?” the boy softly asked.
“You’re at Sheldon Hospital, and you have been injured. What’s your name?” the medic said.
“My name is Cody Roberts. Did we get him? Is Mandy safe?” said Cody in a daze.
