by PJ Fernor
I made it two steps and stopped.
My stomach felt like it had exploded.
I hunched forward, knowing I was about get sick.
“Allie, what’s wrong?” Ben yelled to me.
I tried to catch my breath.
I held my right hand out and threw my phone behind me for Ben to take.
He needed to see the article himself.
At the end of the article, there was a picture of Professor Mills on a milk carton, done as a joke.
But the picture was there… and I knew who Professor Mills was.
Only I didn’t know him as Professor Mills.
I knew him by a different name.
The missing professor?
It was Dr. Jerry.
And the full name shown on the milk carton was…
Professor Gerard William Mills.
Chapter Sixty-Five
Years Ago
“We just have to meet him quick,” he says to Megan. “Don’t say a word. Don’t do anything. Just look down. Count your fingers fifty times.”
“I don’t like this, Gerard,” Megan says.
He reaches across the seat and strokes her hair. “It’s fine. I’ve never let you down, have I?”
“No,” she says.
“Look at us. We did it. We’re doing this together. Like we promised each other.”
She nods. “I’m sorry. I’m scared.”
“Scared of what?”
“I just threw my life into the air for you.”
“If you’re unsure, then go back. You should go back. I’ve always told you that. I love you, Megan. From the moment you raised your hand and wanted to argue with me… I fell in love.”
She smiles. “Well, you are wrong sometimes.”
“And you’re not right all the time,” he says.
Megan laughs.
Her laugh is better than a cup of coffee after a long night.
She makes him happy.
The relationship has been scandalous from day one. All because of policy and politics. That was it. She’s his student and that’s wrong. Fine. They could throw all the rules they want around, but when it came to love, he knows the truth.
This is love.
Megan’s an adult. She makes her own decisions.
There’s nothing preventing her from getting out of the car and leaving.
That threat alone is enough to make him feel crazy.
It makes him feel alive too.
It makes him want to be a better person. The kind of person that Megan can be proud of.
“So how do we do this?” she asks.
“Do what?”
“This whole thing…”
“Well, it’s not as hard as you think,” he says. “I’m done with the college. I can’t handle that place. I won’t lose you for them. Or for any college for that matter. I don’t need to teach. I’ll use my other degree.”
“Psychology?” Megan asks.
“That’s right. I have to make a few calls and look into things, but it’ll be perfect. What I want you to do is pick the perfect place to live. A place where we can be together. Okay? A small town. A beach town. Imagine… you working at an outdoor restaurant on the beach. Serving people drinks and food. And I take care of us. You know, the age thing won’t matter then.”
“It doesn’t matter to me now ,” Megan says. “I hope you know that.”
“I believe you. I’m not that much older than you.”
“That’s what I don’t understand about it. I’m not stupid, Gerard.”
“I know you’re not,” he says. “It’s just that…” There’s a flash of light from the mirror. “Okay. He’s here. You stay put. I’ll be back in a minute.”
He leans over and kisses Megan.
He smiles.
He exits the car and walks to the large SUV that’s parked behind him.
The back driver’s side door opens and out steps the one.
The one’s face is full of anger.
More than usual.
He knows why. The one can’t let it go that he messed up. It was the only time he’s ever messed up.
The girl woke up and got away.
But why does it matter now?
Nobody believed her.
He made sure to help twist the story around and convince everyone that the girl was a silly drunk.
Carla likes to drink, okay? She’s far too young to drink as much as she does. I’ve spoken to her privately about it. I’ve tried to help her. I think it’s her previous home life. And this… this story is farfetched. I do not want my name in this. I do not want to be the face coming out against her, but that night I saw her. She was stumbling all over the place. She went down the alley and I lost sight of her. I’ll never forgive myself for not following her. But then again, if I did, then what? She could have blamed me and ruined my career…
The words were given for free, then taken and used.
So it made no sense why the one is still so mad.
“I hear you’re moving away?”
“I am,” he says. “My girlfriend and I are. I wanted to tell you in person.”
“So you think you’re just getting away?”
“No, sir. Not at all. I have a bigger plan in mind. My girlfriend can help.”
“Help?”
“She’s young and beautiful,” he says. He smiles. “She’s like the ones you always need. She can get more. Easily. Think about it…”
The one gently nods.
He smiles big.
This idea is perfect.
Who wouldn’t want…
The one snaps his fingers.
All the doors open on the SUV.
Two men rush toward his car.
“Hey, what’s happening?” he asks.
A third man grabs him by the neck and forces him to his knees.
“This is what you get for thinking you can tell me what to do,” the one says.
The two men open the passenger door and pull Megan out.
She starts to scream.
He starts to scream her name.
One of the men hits Megan and she’s silent.
“No!” he screams.
The one produces a gun and places it to the top of his head.
“You work for me,” the one says. “Plus… you said she looks like the ones I need.”
“Please, please, please,” he whispers.
But it’s too late.
One of the men picks up Megan and carries her to the back of the SUV.
“Megan…”
“Beautiful name,” the one says. “I think we’ll call this even now. From the one you let get away.”
“Not her,” he says. “Please not her. I love her.”
“You don’t have time for love,” the one says. “You’re going to go take a vacation for a week and recoup yourself. Then I’ll tell you what I need next.”
He turns his head and the one smiles at him.
Before he can speak, the man holding his neck slams an object to the top of his skull.
Everything becomes a blur and he’s out cold before his face hits the ground.
He dreams about Megan waitressing on the beach.
It was supposed to be a good life.
But he knows he technically has no life, and never will.
Chapter Sixty-Six
The Other Place
Sixty-Six
It’s happening.
Or better yet it’s happened.
It’s not in the present tense.
No longer the future… this is reality.
She can barely contain herself. But she has to. She knows what’s at stake here. The price of fear is death. That’s one thing they all learn when they come to the house.
You want to cry? Cry for a minute.
But if you start crying for days on end, you were done for.
“Please don’t cry,” she whispers as she looks into the mirror. “We’re going to be sisters now.”
That’s how
this all has been designed.
With a single purpose.
“I can’t wait to find out your new name,” she says to the mirror. She’s practicing all the things she’s going to say soon. “I’ll tell you my names too. And we’ll laugh about it. You’ll forgive me for lying. But the lies were just my name. And to prove it, we’re going to make a new name each day. And we’re going to pretend to be someone new. We’re going to make up backstories and pick out clothes and maybe even talk with accents. Doesn’t that sound fun?”
She’s so happy she feels her eyes fill with tears.
The bedroom door swings open.
“Who are you talking to?”
Mr. G’s voice booms with anger.
She spins around. “Nobody. Just myself.”
“Are you sure?”
Mr. G rushes to the bed and rips all the perfectly placed and made blankets to the floor. He even kicks the mattress a few times.
“You didn’t move her, did you?” Mr. G asks.
“No,” she says. “I would never do that. I understand what has to happen. She has to be broken. Like the rest of us.”
Mr. G looks at her. He moves with speed.
She tenses.
She always fears him hitting her. Which is something he’s never done. But when he gets angry… well, when anyone gets angry, who knows what they are capable of.
She knows he’s killed some.
Even recently…
She’s not allowed to talk about that night.
But she wants to know what happened and why. Why someone would be involved for so long and suddenly decide they didn’t want this life anymore. Why someone had to show up and be so mean to Mr. G. The names that were called… it was no wonder why Mr. G lost his mind for a little bit.
“What are you thinking about, Lea?” Mr. G asks.
“Everything,” she says. “What her name is going to be. What we’re going to do together. I want to be able to tell her it’s okay and that I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?”
“My name,” she says. “I told her my name was-”
“That doesn’t matter,” Mr. G says. “What is a name? Do we even get to choose our own name? No. Think about that. From the moment we are born, we are told what to be called. That’s why I give everyone a new name. It’s a rebirthing process.”
“Can… can we pick our own names?” she asks.
“You don’t like the name Lea?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “I don’t know. I just thought we could do it together. Me and her. Choose our new names and be sisters.”
“I’ll think about,” he says. “You’ve always been good to me. You’ve kept me sane through all of this. I want you to enjoy your last little bit here.”
That line makes her shiver.
She’s not immune to fate.
A very long time ago, Mr. G explained why he chose her. She was to replace someone he lost. But it was designed on purpose for Lea to be young. So she would be innocent and loyal and he could love her like a daughter. Because in the past he loved someone who was younger but it wasn’t allowed.
She didn’t want to ever leave this house, but she knew forever wasn’t a real thing. That’s why she had been sneaking out lately. To get a feel for the other side of the world. And soon enough she and her new sister would break free and be free together.
New names.
New stories.
New lives.
“Thank you for doing this,” she says.
“Well, it’s not all for you,” he says. “I’ve found someone I love. And when this all comes together it’s going to be perfect. We’re going to be a family. That’s what I know. A family.”
“I just want to see her,” she says. “I want to hug her. I want her to see me. She’s going to be so happy to see me. Then she’ll be angry…”
She frowns.
She wants to cry.
“Anger is just an emotion,” Mr. G says. “And emotions are easily controlled.”
There’s a loud screaming sound and Mr. G runs for the open door.
She chases after him.
He races down the hallway.
She screams his name.
“Please don’t hurt her!” she begs Mr. G as she gets to the door to the room with the cages.
Mr. G looks at her. “There are rules to be followed. She cannot cry for this long.”
“But all the work you did…”
“I’ll still be in love. Even if she has to die, I will have someone to love…”
“Please,” she begs again.
Mr. G opens the door.
The screams are horrendous.
At this point, she hopes her new sister breaks her vocal cords and becomes unable to make noise. Because if not…
She steps forward and Mr. G is expecting it.
“No, Lea,” he growls. “Stay out of here.”
She gets a quick look at the cage and sees her new sister.
She smiles and Mr. G slams the door.
“You’ll never get away with this! I trusted you!”
She walks away, wishing her new sister would just stay quiet.
It doesn’t matter who her new sister’s aunt is…
Mr. G makes the rules.
And above that, it’s the one.
Her teeth chatter and she whispers…
“We’re all his.”
Chapter Sixty-Seven
“I have to get in touch with Lo right now!” I yelled at Ben.
He stepped back and showed me his hands.
I needed to apologize for yelling at him, but that was something I could do later.
Right now…
Dr. Jerry is this professor. Gerard. Jerry. Gerard. It matches, right? The picture…
I’d get back to the picture in a second.
I called Lo’s phone.
I turned and looked down the road.
The beautiful trees with their colorful leaves. The way the road bended, eventually making it look like the trees overtook the road.
Lo’s voicemail picked up.
“No, no, no,” I whispered.
I called her again.
“She didn’t answer?” Ben asked.
“She’s a teenager,” I said. “They don’t know how to answer their phones. It’s all texting and videoing.”
I held my breath and shut my eyes.
Lo, pick up the phone. It’s me. You have to answer. You have to see…
The voicemail picked up again.
I spun around and looked at Ben.
I felt panic begin to creep through my body.
“Allie, take a breath,” Ben said. “I’m sure she’s fine. She’s safe. Show me the picture again so I-”
“Let me text her,” I said.
I looked down at my phone.
Lo - it’s me. Need to talk to you. Where are you?
“I can’t believe this,” I said. “He’s been lying to us all this time…”
“Just one breath and one second at a time,” Ben said. “Let’s get in the car and start driving. We have to get back into town. No matter what. Right?”
Ben was calm, soothing, the exact voice I needed right then.
“Yeah,” I said.
I reached for the car door and my phone buzzed in my hand.
I gasped.
“It’s Lo!” I yelled.
“See? Is she okay?”
“She’s… okay,” I said. “She’s at home. At the apartment. She’s on the phone with a friend. Talking about Trevor and Steph.”
“Okay,” Ben said. “There. You know Lo is safe.”
I got into the car and sent Lo another text.
I need you to stay there, okay? Listen to whatever Miss Kesslier says. We’ll talk in a little bit. Love you.
Ben began to drive and I cradled my phone like it was a newborn, waiting for Lo to reply again.
“Do you feel any better yet?” Ben asked.
“Of course I don’t,” I said. “I�
��m drawing so many lines in my mind right now, nothing is making much sense.” I looked at Ben and my eyes welled with tears. “I need your help, Ben. I need to understand what’s happening.”
Ben reached across and put his hand to mine. “First of all, I’ve got your back, Allie Down. Second, you just heard from Lo. Take that as a win.”
My phone vibrated again.
“It’s Lo again,” I said.
I’m not going anywhere. Love u 2.
I smiled.
I did not understand texting u instead of you. Was it that hard to add in the two other letters? And the number two…
I took a deep breath.
I looked at Ben’s hand.
Slowly, I pulled my hand away.
I transferred my phone to that hand.
I thought about Jerry.
Dr. Jerry.
Professor Gerard William Mills.
The man I had been spending time with.
The man I… you know… with…
My stomach felt ill.
“Ben,” I said.
“Allie,” he said.
“Please say something.”
“All I can ask about is that picture and the article.”
I looked at my phone again.
The picture on the milk carton was meant to be a joke, but it was all right there.
“Who is this man then?” I asked.
I clicked out of that article and found another one.
As I skimmed, a few words popped out at me.
Words that made my stomach sick.
“Ben, I found something else,” I said.
“Good or bad?” he asked.
“I’ll give you two guesses,” I said.
“What is it?”
“There’s another article,” I said. “This one is a little more in depth and was definitely not put on the front page.”
“Why’s that?”
“It’s about Jerry. Or Gerard. Whatever he actually goes by in his life.”
I read a few parts again just to make sure I saw the words correctly.
I looked at Ben. “I was right all along.”
“About?”
“The girls. Kidnapping. Sold. Used. Trafficked…”
“What?” Ben asked. “We need to call Laura right now, Allie. We need to get her to get county on the line… maybe even-”
“Ben,” I said. “Just drive and listen to this. Nothing in this article was confirmed as true. It’s all just words. But… Professor Mills or Jerry or-”
