Kidnapped

Midnight Calling

                                              Finn

   

        When Ashley collapsed I wasn’t sure what to think. Was she dead?

        Evan quickly grabbed Ashley from the ground and ran her to the couch. He had asked Celia and I to help, but he was in too much of a panic to waste time waiting for us. Harriet, the maid, also came in, holding a small minimalistic First Aid Kit. Ashley had just fainted, a few latex band-aids weren’t the answer. The others, myself included, stood at the other side of the room, not wanting to be close to the injured Ashley. When I walked over to see what was going on, Ashley's face was paper white and she was sweating bullets. Evan quickly shooed me away so Harriet would have room to inspect Ashley with her First Aid Kit.

        Soon enough Ashley was back in consciousness and was drinking bottles upon bottles of water. Evan was kneeling by her head just to make sure she would be ok. Almost all of us had left though, except me and Celia. I decided to strike up a conversation, I really didn’t know this girl yet.

        “Hey, Celia right?”

        “Yep, that’s me.’’ Celia shot back with a look on her face I couldn’t name.

        “Wow, I can’t believe this happened to Ashley, and she hasn’t even been here a full day yet,” I said, bringing a conversation to the table.

        “It’s pretty strange, “ she admitted agreeably, folding her arms across her chest.

        “Yeah, it’s definitely interesting, I wonder what caused her to faint?”

        “By the looks of it, she was very dehydrated,” Celia noted. “She’s been drinking loads of water since she woke up.”

        “Yeah the water has definitely helped her get back to her normal self,” I agreed. The conversation ensued an awkward silence. Celia walked out to the kitchen to grab Ashley more water and I was left alone. She didn’t seem like the friendly type, but I was in need of one. I was now alone in the room except for Evan, Harriet, and Ashley. In the corner, Evan and Harriet were conversing in hushed voices as Ashley laid there on the couch draining another bottle of water.

   

                                              B-Mo

   

    Harriet had came to the conclusion that Ashley was fine, and had just been a little dehydrated. The drama had calmed down by lunch, and Ashley had successfully sat in her chair that time. Now it was time for bed, and we all went up to our new rooms.

    Ashley, Celia, and Lexi all shared a room at the end of the hall. Then Finn, Cedrick, and I shared one too across from the bathroom. The rooms were larger than any other orphanage and foster room I’d been in, and Evan gave us more than the bare minimum in terms of blankets and pillows. As far as I was concerned, I was living in the lap of luxury.

    Evan popped his head into our room as I bounced onto my bed.

    “Light out, everyone,” he chimed and flicked off the switch. I snuggled under the covers and shut my eyes. Evan shut the door, leaving us in darkness.

    I was about to drift off to sleep when I heard the door creak open. I sat up, watching the figure of Finn or Cedric tiptoe out the room. I was confused, so I pushed back my covers and followed.

    As I tiptoed after them, I realized that it couldn’t be Cedric. Finn was much taller. Either way, what was Finn doing in the middle of the night? Finn was going towards the end of the hallway where Evan’s room was. The door was open a crack with a soft light from the bottom.

    Finn looked behind him. I had been feeling along the hall for support in the dark hall, and plastered myself to it. He didn’t seem to notice, and slipped inside Evan’s room. I was curious, and tiptoed to the door. It was still open a crack, and I could see two armchairs in front of the lit fireplace. I could tell Evan was in one, and Finn was just sitting down in the other.

    “Hello, Finn,” Evan said. I drew in a breath. For once, Evan sounded anything but peppy. He sounded dead serious. “You’re sure you weren’t followed by Cedric or B-Mo?”

    “Yeah,” Finn replied. “Or Lexi. She heard us in the kitchen earlier before Ashley fainted. She seemed awfully curious.” I laughed silently to myself. Sure, I was seven, but being in orphanages for a year made one very sneaky.

    “Lexi’s a good kid,” Evan interjected. “you all are. Speaking of Ashley, did you do what I asked? Lexi did interrupt us.”

    “I did,” Finn said, nodding. “She only got up once during the end of the movie. The credits were rolling and everyone else had fallen asleep.”

    “Go on,” Evan pressed.

    “So,” Finn said, beginning his story, “she got up and left her blankets on the floor. She didn’t come back for them, either. I followed her, and she went upstairs to her room. Luckily for me, she left the door open a crack and I could peer inside,” he said. Again, ironic, I thought as I peered in Evan’s room. Finn continued. “She started pacing quickly in a circle and pulling out pieces of her hair. She muttered under her breath, ‘Stop, stop bothering me!’ Then, all the sudden, she sat down on her bed and flopped over. At first, I just thought she was asleep. Then she started twitching like she did earlier today! And then, it turned into violent shaking, like she-or something- was torturing her! I was going to go in and help her, but then-” Finn paused and swallowed. “Then she got up, and her eyes looked bloodshot. She said, ‘They’re alive.’ and flopped back onto the bed. Only that time, she was asleep.”

Finn’s story was over, and I was shocked. It sounded like Ashley didn’t faint earlier, but it was something more. It didn’t make sense!

    Evan sighed. “Thank you, Finn, but it seems like my problem is bigger than I imagined.” He then got up and tossed a tin bucket of water on the fire, leaving him, Finn, and myself in darkness once again.