I was 5 when it happened. I don't remember much, just someone behind me. Then I saw the string.
Don't worry, I didn't die or anything. I was hurt though.
Basically, it all started when I got home from school. Mum was stressed, as usual, and she wanted space, so I went outside with my favourite toy, Greg. Greg was a little rabbit I made when mum was out. He's badly made with lots of mistakes, but I've never let go of him. Anyway, I was skipping down the road like any kid, whispering to Greg the whole time. I was pretending I was famous and the paperatzi were taking pictures of me as I strode down the red carpet. As I stopped to pose for a picture, I dropped Greg. As I bent down to pick him up, I felt a hand go around my mouth. It smelt of metal and car fumes. Then I saw a pair of hands reach around me and tie a piece of string around my waist. My arms were trapped. Then they tied another piece around my legs. The person with there hand around me lifted me up and followed a woman towards a black van. All the windows were black, so you could see out but no one could see in. They opened the back seat and sat me in there. The whole time I was clutching onto Greg, not knowing what to do. I froze as the car drove off away from my street, my house, and my mum.
I don't really remember my mum, just a chubby woman with long brown hair and sad eyes. I remember her hitting me and crying when I was bad but that's it. I don't remember her when she was happy. Not once.
The car was spotless. No maps or McDonald's bags. Just me, Greg and the two people in the front. I was in the car for what felt like hours. Finally, the car stopped outside a small house, between two other houses. The woman came and wrapped me in a blanket and carried me towards the front door, as the man fiddled with the lock. I didn't dare make a sound. We waited in silence as the man tried to open the door. We got in the house to find a small dog yapping at us. "be quiet Herbie" said the man. The woman carried me upstairs and locked me in a room. She didn't even look at me. I was thrown in there like a heap of rubbish. I looked around me. I was in a little girls room. Two of the walls were pale pink and there was a white bed in one corner. There was a white bookshelf full of fairy tales and white spotted pink curtains. Where was I?
After a while I heard the door unlock and the woman walked in. "hello." she said. "I'm your mummy and the man downstairs is your daddy." but we only just met, i thought. My real mums back at home. I just stared at her, too scared and confused to say anything. She untied me and told me that this was my room and I am not allowed out, only to the toilet, which was just down the hall. Then she walked back out again and shut the door behind her.
I followed those rules for 3 weeks, but then I heard whispering downstairs. I know I was only allowed to go to the loo but I wanted to know what was happening, who they were. So I crept downstairs. That was a mistake.
I stood by the door and listened. They were in the kitchen, and I could here the clink of mugs as they were lifted from the cupboard. I heard them speaking. "Sooner or later we have to tell her." said my 'mum'. "no," said 'dad', "she could tell someone, and then we would be locked up." "but what about school?" She replied. "we can't send her there, either, so we will have to homeschool her." whispered 'dad'. "why did we take her in the fist place?" asked the women. "for gods sake Alice do I have to tell you again?" the woman nodded. "becuase she was..." Oh no. I knocked one of the umberellas and it fell to the floor with a crash. Oh no.
They stopped, frozen, as if they were robbing a shop and all the lights just turned on. I quickly scampered behind the wall, trying to hold my breath. I heared a chair squeak as the man got up. Then I heard footsteps. Closer and closer. I closed my eyes. "please," I whispered. "Please don't hurt me." I opened my eyes to see the man walk through the door and see me. He just stood there, no expression on his face, like a lion waiting for his pray to get too close, then SNAP. I tried to escape but he grabbed my shoulder and dragged me up the stairs. He took me to my room and smacked me against the wall as if I was a rug he needed to get the dust and dirt off of. after a few moments he did it again. And again. He was about to do it a fourth time when the woman ran in and pulled him away from me. I shuffled to the corner and hid under some bedsheets. The man turned to me and started to walk towards me when the woman grabbed him again. he spun around and slapped her so hard she fell to the ground. then he got a lighter out of his pocket and went downstairs and outside, slamming the door behind him.
I waited. The woman was crying, her face red and blood oozing from her nose. My arm hurt and my head was bleeding but I stayed still. I didn't dare move. After a while, the woman got up and walked out, as if nothing had happened. I looked at where she had been and there was a patch of blood on the floor. I waited for what seemed like a thousand years, until i felt brave enough to crawl out and grab Gregg. then i crawled back to the bloodstained bedsheets and hid.
I woke to the sunlight bleeding through the sheets like the blood last night. It was morning, and the house was silent. I peeped through the sheets and saw the bloodstain on the floor. it was darker than before and looked dry. I waited. Nothing happened, so i crawled out towards my bed and sat on it, squeezing Greg. After a while i snuggled under the sheets and whispered to Greg, pretending we were in a magical cave and searching for the lost tribe. We had found the treasure map and were so close to finding gold for the tribe when we heard a noise. It was a snuffling noise, coming from under the bed. i froze, wondering what it was. Was someone there, waiting to jump out and scare me? Or was it something? the snufflling noise continued, so I decided to bend over the bed and see what it was.
Thats when I met Jill. Jill is my pet dog. Yes i know what your thinking. A dog? under her bed? WHAT?
She must of snuck in last night when the angry man left, laying under my bed the whole night. She was filthing and there was a wet patch by her feet which was probably wee, but i didnt mind. I tried to get her out but she wouldnt budge, so i snuck downstairs and got some ham from the fridge. I showed it to her and as soon as she saw it her eyes lit up, but she didnt move. Then i put it on the floor in the middle of my room and waited. eventually she came out and i got a proper look at her.
She had what I thought was gingery brown fur, until I gave her a wash and discovered it was white. She is very small, and easy to hide. One thing I don't understand is that she never barks. Which, in some cases, s a good thing, because then mum and dad won't know I've got her.
