Kidnapped

Chapter 32

Chapter 32:

It was around seven-thirty at night when we got to the hospital.

I didn't cry anymore. My body shook as if sobbing, but no tears formed in my eyes. It was almost like a person gagging them self when there's nothing left in their stomach to get out. I'd cried myself dry.

Jane was gone, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

"Come on, you're okay now." A gentle and soothing voice, like the sound of water running, washed over the kids in the van. The doors of the ambulance had opened and they were unloading the children.

Seven ambulances. Four firetrucks. Eleven policemen. That was how much help they'd had to get. There were at least four children in a vehicle, at most ten. If you did the math right, that added up to way, way too many.

It was sickening. My stomach flopped at even the thought of it. Most of these children were starved and injured, some beyond the point of saving. Two had died while waiting to be loaded up, four passed on the way to the hospital.

I didn't think I'd ever be able to sleep again. Not without waking up screaming, at least. It was nauseating. Implausible.

Appalling.

And it made me wonder what kind of sick, disgusting person could do all this and still live with them self.

They took us to a hospital in a town called Garneville. It was two hours away from home.

Home. I wondered if I even had a home anymore. If I even belonged anywhere. My house was foreclosed, I'd never be able to go in it again. My stuff, everything I owned, was long gone. And then Dave's house, the only other place that felt like a home to me, was in ashes. And Jake was gone, to add to the list of wonderful things that had happened over the past few weeks.

"What are we going to do when this is all over?" I asked Dave. They were unloading the children, rushing the ones in worse conditions into the hospital frantically. "Where are we supposed to go?"

"Wherever life takes us." He responded simply, without much emotion. His eyes were closed, they had been since we'd gotten into the ambulance.

"Come on out," A paramedic said, ushering us out of the vehicle. I squeezed Dave's hand and slid out of the vehicle, pulling him along with me.

"What is your name?" A doctor with long red hair asked us once we got into the hospital. She was staring down at her notepad, scribbling something down. I was about to answer when she looked up, and then her face went through a series of emotions. Shock. Confusion. Pity. Sadness.

"Erica." I told her, and she shook her head.

"Come on back." She said, then led us down the hospital's hallway. "Rumors have been going around about you two, you know. Your faces popped up in the news a few days ago, everyone thought you were dead. But then a few people said they'd seen you and suddenly people were coming up with all kinds of crazy things."

"Crazy things?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. The doctor shook her head, smiling to herself.

"One guy said you were zombies come to raise an army."

"We've come to eat you." Dave said from beside me. Then we all laughed.

The doctor led us into a room and had us both sit down before starting to look at my wounds.

"These don't look horribly bad." She said after a few minutes. "I'm glad you're both okay. Although I am a bit overwhelmed. These children keep coming, there's so many. And they're all in bad condition. Cuts. Scars. Dehydration. Undernourishment. Some are as young as five, and nobody will tell me where they're from. I suppose you two know what's going on around here?" She asked, eyeing us both.

I nodded, then shook my head. "It's probably better if you don't know." I told her solemnly.

She nodded slowly. "Ignorance is bliss."

Forty-five minutes later, Dave and I were clean, bandaged, and given the all-clear to leave. The doctor was just about to take two kids back to examine when I snagged her arm.

"Wait." I said. "Can I ask a favor?"

"Sure." She replied.

"Well, I need to get somewhere, and I need to be there by midnight. It's a good two hours away, and I don't have a car..." I trailed off.

"I can't just leave-" She started, but cut herself off. Then her eyes widened. "You want to take my car."

"I'll bring it back, I promise." I told her. She shook her head.

"I can't just give you my car! How am I to know you won't steal it?" She asked.

"You don't know, but I know. I wouldn't steal a car. I'll bring it back, I promise."

"How can I trust you?" She asked, glaring at me. I was quiet for a moment.

"Because if I don't go, the man that caused all of this," I gestured at the room full of dirty, wounded children, "will get away with all he's done. And he'll kill Dave's parents." I said softly, my voice cracking.

The doctor glanced around the room, then looked me in the eye. "You know who did this?" She asked, her face going pale.

"I don't just know him." I said, shaking my head. "He's my father."

Now the blood seemed to leave her face completely. She blinked a few times, then took a deep breath. "Do you have a license?"

"Not on me." I replied.

She thought for a moment, then reached deep into her pocket. She tossed me the keys, and my heart jumped.

"Do you have a weapon? In case he tries to hurt you?" She asked.

"No." I replied. She shook her head.

"You're a brave girl, Erica, you know that? And you're also in luck. My husband's a cop, and he has a gun stashed underneath the back seat. Extra bullets are in the trunk. You know how to use a gun?"

"I'll figure it out." I told her.

Then she took me by surprise and pulled me into a hug. "When you find that man, kill him. It's the least he deserves." She said, then pulled away. She had tears in her eyes. "Look at me, I've only known you for half an hour and I'm already crying. Sorry. Go. Do what you must." She said.

"Thank you." I said, then turned towards the door.

"Erica?" The doctor said. I looked at her. "Don't you dare die. And I do want my car back."

"I know. We'll have it back to you as soon as possible."

"Good." She replied, then turned down the hallway. Dave and I headed out the door and I clicked a button on the keychain. A red car lit up about ten feet away. Dave and I hopped in silently, and I turned the key in the ignition. Before pulling out, I reached around the seat and found the gun under the back seat. I set it on the middle seat and turned back to the front.

"Here goes nothing." I said, putting it in reverse. Dave shook his head.

"No. Here goes everything." He said, and I stepped on the gas.