He noticed me heading his way before I made it half way there and the smug look strewn across his face just pissed me off even more. Calm yourself, Jason—, I kept telling myself. I knew if I went straight to piss-off mode this wouldn’t go very far and I needed to find out what was going on with Hannah. Landon was standing right at the end of the bar with his elbow resting on it, so I took up shop on the end bar stool next to him.
“Look I know we don’t care much about one another but I need to know when you last saw Hannah last night. Her phone is going straight to voicemail and no one has seen her since around closing time.” I put it all out there.
“I’ll tell you exactly what I told her little girlfriend over there. I brought her in from the alleyway close to closing time. For some reason she was out there half drunk and alone, this didn’t seem very safe to me. I had business to take care of with some stragglers in here when her friend and that guy over there came up talking to her. When those two went to leave I asked where Hannah went because I was going to offer her a ride home, but they told me she went back outside to meet you.”
“She didn’t end up with me. I came back from hoisting Alex into a cab and she was gone, the bar was closed, and no answer on her phone. If you’re not telling me something, Landon, I swear….”
“Why would I lie to you? I could give two shits about letting you know Hannah was with me last night, if she actually was. Where she ended up and her current location is unknown to me...Now I have to get back to work.” Landon turned to walk away when I grabbed a hold of his bicep.
“I’m willing to put aside all the hostility between us if you are. I care a whole hell of a lot about her and if you remotely give a shit about her too, then you will help me figure out where the fuck she is.” I was now standing with a death grip on his bicep when he jerked his arm out of my hand and stood firm in front of me.
“I guess we should start in the alleyway then…since that’s where she supposedly last went,” he stated before heading towards the back exit. I waved for Xavier and Abby to follow.
The four of us split up once we made it outside, two in the parking lot and two in the alley, looking for any signs of Hannah. Unfortunately I was stuck with Landon’s ass in the alley. He started at one end and I started at the other. I knew exactly where we had been the night before—the empty wine barrel in the alley, it made me flash back to placing her down on top of it and kissing her like there was no tomorrow. I made myself push back the memory because I didn’t have time to go down memory lane right now.
Nothing...
No signs of Hannah anywhere near the barrel. So I continued to walk farther down towards Landon. I had contemplated calling her parents but I knew her relationship with them. She couldn’t stand what they wanted her to be, so I knew it was unlikely that she would have gone there. Calling them would be a last resort. I noticed something on the ground up against the wall that was reflecting the sun slightly. I bet down to get a closer look and saw that it was a smashed cell phone that I recognized instantly as Hannah’s by the painted design on the back.
“Guys, I found something!” I yelled out.
Landon wasn’t far away so he made it to me first. Standing up, I held my hand out with the shattered phone lying in my palm. He didn’t say anything because he knew, just like I did, that it was hers. Xavier and Abby came running over about that time. When Abby glanced down at my palm she shrieked as she covered her mouth with her hands. Xavier pulled her close to his side and rubbed his hand up and down her arm to try to comfort her. We all knew this was not a good sign.
“Even if Hannah had dropped her phone and broken it, she wouldn’t have left it lying here in the alleyway—would she?” my question sounded more like a statement I was trying to make everyone believe, including myself.
“We need to keep looking around here—there may be something else we find that can lead us to Hannah—I—I can’t believe I left her alone most of the night….” Abby started crying.
“Abs…don’t think the worst yet. She might have just been pissed off that she broke her phone so she left it here. That’s all.”
By this point Landon had made his way back down the alleyway towards the opposite end. Something about him and this ordeal still wasn’t sitting well with me. He hardly showed emotion when I showed him the shattered phone. Instead he walked away without so much as uttering a word. Xavier had Abby were in a full-on embrace as I continued to watch Landon make his way over to the dumpster. Surely he isn’t thinking there would be something in there to do with Hannah.
“Ummm guys…you may want to see this.” Landon said with an edge to his voice.
The three of us were frozen right there where we stood. The look on Landon’s face and what he had just said scared the shit out me; I could only imagine how Abby was feeling right now. I began walking slowly over until I had no choice but to look inside. Leaning over I saw a sandal—that looked just like the ones Hannah had on last night.
“OH MY GOD—is that blood?!?!” Abby cried out.
Chapter 8
Hannah
The pounding in my skull reminded me of a bad drummer of some rock band, beating the crap out of his drum set. I wasn’t ready to wake up, let alone open my eyes, but I was dying for some medicine to help kick this massive headache I had going on.
“Uuugh…my head is killing me. I drank way too much last night—and whatever I am laying on is the most uncomfortable thing ever. I’ll make sure and thank Abby for not getting me to my bed. See if I ever carry her drunken ass into her room again after this,” I said to myself before opening my eyes. The room was out of focus and way too dark to be able to see much of anything, but I knew instantly something was off—and that something wasn’t just me.
I slightly sat up and realized that I was lying on a half-ass single mattress on the floor of some grungy-looking—basement, maybe. My eyes were still out of focus but I kept trying to push them into focus so I could tell where the hell I was. My limbs felt like rubber and were unbelievably weak from last night’s drinking escapade. Closing my eyes, I tried massaging my temples to relieve some of the pounding in my head, which actually seemed to help momentarily. A few minutes passed before I tried reopening my eyes—thankfully I could see—but what I saw was terrifying. I pushed myself off the dingy mattress and stood shakily with my bare feet on the ice-cold concrete floor.
“Either I am still drunk or I am dreaming one hellacious dream right now…” I spoke out loud with a raspy voice.
“Good morning, sweetheart…This is not a dream; it’s in fact your new home.” The familiar voice came from the darkness.
“Who—who’s there…?” my voice was almost a whisper. But no response came. Instead a very large spot light came on. Shielding my eyes from the blinding light, I started to take in my surroundings. I wasn’t in someone’s grungy basement. It was more along the lines of an abandoned warehouse, which wouldn’t have been that bad if I wasn’t locked inside a chain link cage…
“IS THIS SOME KIND OF SICK JOKE!? HELLOOOO…SOMEONE PLEASE—ANSWER ME!!!!” But no answer came. I was left trembling in this cage. Wearing a torn-up version of the dress and leggings I had on last night and no shoes. I kept yelling and yelling but no one would answer. Deciding to make as much noise as possible to try and stir up some sort of response out of whoever put me in here. I was grabbing for the chain links as I heard the low humming coming from them. My hands locked onto the fencing as mass amounts of electric shock wreaked havoc through my body until black silence seeped into my vision and mind.
Chapter 9
Hannah
“Hannah! Give me my G.I. Joe’s back or I’m telling!” the boy beside me yelled at me with clenched fists.
“No! You broke my dolls head off and flushed it in the toilet. These are mine now!” a six year old version of me yelled back to the boy as she waved the G.I. Joes in the air tempting him to try and grab them.
“DON’T MAKE ME HURT YOU!” the little boy snarled as
he yanked my hair then pushed me to the ground with great force.
“I’m telling my mommy!!!!” I cried hysterically as I jumped up and took off running down the street home.
“Come back, Hannah…Please…I didn’t mean it!” he spoke through clenched teeth in a conflicted tone.
But she was long gone.
Chapter 10
Jason
(One week since Hannah went missing)
Six hundred and four thousand eight hundred seconds, one hundred sixty eight hours, seven days, or one week, whichever you choose doesn’t matter, because they are all the same. This is how long it has been since I last laid eyes on Hannah.
Lying in bed I made my decision to skip classes today because walking around campus was unbearable. There are hundreds of flyers hanging around asking if anyone has seen her or has any information regarding her disappearance. All with her smiling face plastered across every one of them. My heart clenched every time I found myself looking at one. I’m a ghost of a person anymore so I can only imagine how Abby feels, or Hannah’s parents, for that matter. The Davis’ have been all over the news pleading for someone to come forward and give them any information about their daughter. Since Mr. Davis is a well known Psychologist, we all assumed it was for ransom money. But no one has sent a letter or made a phone call asking for any. At first the police believed she had run away from her life and was living on the run—we all knew better. After finally convincing them that someone had taken her, they began the search. I mean, why would someone leave their own bloody shoe in a dumpster? If you were running away from your own life, you would most likely want to keep your shoes. Police protocol makes no sense to me. Every single person that was with us that night was interrogated, even Landon. I still have this nagging feeling that he had something to do with this, but I have no proof that ties him to it.
This makes the third day in a row that I have skipped out on classes without giving it a second thought. I’ve been thinking about dropping this semester all together. I can’t make myself sit through lecture after lecture when I know Hannah is out there desperately waiting for someone to rescue her. Abby and Xavier both have dropped this semester. Abby did so because she cried all day in her classes and Xavier dropped to keep an eye on her and support her through this.
I rolled myself out of bed, threw on some track shorts and walked into the bathroom. The reflection staring back at me in the mirror wasn’t even remotely recognizable. My facial hair was longer than ever before and the circles under my eyes were more pronounced. I looked like I had been on a weeklong drinking binge, but in reality I have been trapped in this crazed reality that Hannah may never be found. Pushing the thought into the farthest part of my mind I grabbed a razor to shave all the madness of hair off my face. It was beyond time to get my act together and do more to try to find any trace of Hannah’s whereabouts. She had to be okay—otherwise I don’t know what would happen to a lot of people who love her, including me.
Loud knocking started coming from the front door. “Great…Visitors…It sure as hell better not be some more reporters.” Unfortunately my door didn’t have a peep hole so I couldn’t check to see who was out there, without them seeing me looking from the window. Pulling the door opened in an annoyed manner I found Xavier and Abby standing in front of me. Not who I expected. We hadn’t been around one another since the day after we found Hannah’s phone and shoe in the alleyway behind Silhouettes.
“Hey…”Xavier trailed off while Abby fixed her eyes on the ground.
“Hey…What are you all doing here?” the awkward silence hung in the air.
“We need to do something—I can’t stand sitting around crying anymore—I want my best friend back—I want Hannah to be okay! We need to find her, Jason—we need to find her!” Abby broke her silence as she looked me dead in the eyes while clutching my arms.
Her actions caught me off guard. I hadn’t spoken to either of them in days. I assumed they couldn’t be around me because they felt I was responsible for what happened. Hell, I hold myself responsible for what happened—not Abby. Something in my mind clicked and I knew the three of us had to try and find answers together. Even if seeing one another made the situation even more real, we couldn’t just push each other away. I invited them inside, and agreed that we should all put our heads together and try to find Hannah.
Chapter 11
Hannah
“Hannah—Sweet Hannah…Wake up and eat some food my love.” The voice in the darkness kept calling out to me. My mind wanted to stay lost within itself but my body wouldn’t allow it. The pain started coming on full force as I pushed myself towards consciousness. “Yes, Hannah…Open those eyes.” The voice came again. That’s when I realized it wasn’t a dream—but in fact, someone was forcing me awake. My whole body screamed with aching pain. All I could do was lie there clenching my arms around myself moaning in agony.
“You touched the fence! DON’T TOUCH THE FENCE! That’s a no-no, Hannah! Now eat your food before I get angry.” The man sounded conflicted between anger and sympathy.
A metal gate started screeching as the latch slammed into place. This noise forced my mind into motion. My eyelids were beyond heavy but I commanded them to open. At first all I could see was a blurry mixture of colors. After my eyes finally focused, I could only make out the damn spotlight shining like the deadly sun in a desert. It all began to sink in, being locked in this cage was not a bad dream—it was my current reality and terrified the hell out of me. I saw a small metal table with a paper plate of food sitting on it. The sight of it caused my stomach to churn. Could I trust that the food wasn’t poisoned?
“Eat the food, Hannah…You need nourishment. The electric shock did a number on you and you haven’t eaten since you’ve been here. Besides the IV bags I gave you. I’ve kept you sedated for a few days.” He sounded like a completely different person than before, but the voice was the same.
“How long have I been here?” I spoke up while glancing at the bend in my arm. Sure enough, I’ve had IV’s.
“Oh—about a week or so. But who keeps track of time anymore? We have each other and that’s all that matters.”
My jaw almost hit the floor. A WEEK OR SO!? The shock from the fence had knocked me out to the point that he sedated me for almost a week. I couldn’t believe it! My parents have got to be terrified—and Abby—and Jason…My mind was swirling with this information. But wait…I have on different clothes and—and my hairs been brushed. Running one hand over my freshly cleaned clothes and the other through my tamed hair, I wanted to break down in a sobbing frenzy. OH MY GOD…HE TOUCHED ME! The thought of him touching me in those ways, whoever he was, caused bile to start rising up my throat. Swallowing it back down, I knew I had to form a plan to get the hell out of this godforsaken place. Think, Hannah…Think! You’re a psychology major…use it to your advantage.
“You gave me clean clothes…” I stated.
“Yes…I did. I couldn’t let you stay filthy. You deserve so much more than the filth you had on. I washed you off some too and cleaned your hair, I hope you don’t mind. Don’t you feel much better?” he asked sincerely.
“Yes, I do. Thank you…” I replied as sincerely as I possibly could.
“Now will you please eat your food? There is nothing wrong with it. I promise you that. I would never intentionally hurt you.”
Pulling myself closer to the table I forced myself to stand by holding onto it. It was bolted down to the floor so I knew I wouldn’t be using it as a weapon later on. But I was thankful it was there to help me get to my feet. I took the plate in my hands and slowly walked back over to the mattress on the floor. It smelled heavenly. Roast beef shavings, mashed potatoes with gravy, and two slices of bread.
“How am I supposed to eat this without utensils?” I asked.
“Use the bread.” His voice came across more firm than before. “Here is some water to wash it down with.” The shadowed man walked over, unlatched the fence, and sat the large
foam cup down right inside the cage. As much as I wanted to attack him when he opened that door, I knew my body wouldn’t allow me to. So instead, I began to devour the food in front of me.
“I’m going out for a little while. Make yourself comfortable, Hannah… Just don’t touch the damn fence again…”
Before I could respond a door across the building from me slammed shut and I knew I was all alone. Devouring the remainder of the food, I glanced around for something—anything to help me escape. This was the first time I was awake and half-way coherent since I’ve been here. It was time to start planning my escape.
The cage was empty except for my mattress and the bolted-down metal table. There was nothing in here to help me escape and the fear of touching that damn fence again prevented me from getting remotely close to it. To my surprise, the spot light clicked off, allowing me to take in my surroundings for the first time. I was definitely inside an abandoned warehouse. The place was rusted, moldy, and pretty empty. There were living quarters on the far side of the warehouse; it was so far away I could hardly make out what it was. “He lives here…” I said out loud to myself. I don’t know why it was such a shock to me that he lived in the warehouse, but for some reason I couldn’t quite grasp, it freaked me out beyond belief! Who am I kidding—this whole situation shook me with fear all the way to my core. Sitting back down on the mattress I looked to the right of the cage. A long fold-up style table sat a few feet back from the cage. Half of the table was lined with syringes, masking tape, pill bottles, and a few different-sized knives. The wall on that side of the room wasn’t that far away either. Behind the table was a small refrigerator with who knows what stored inside it. My insides clenched at the thought of him using any of those knives or syringes on the table against me. “I HAVE GOT TO GET OUT OF HERE!” I yelled out as I flopped back onto the mattress. Tears began falling down the sides of my face as I sobbed uncontrollably until I was swept under into a deep slumber.
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