Ghost Bird Fanfiction: Sang's Lyric, The Story of Sang Sorenson's Mother

James

Lyric's trailer was disgusting. I set up the last of the cameras and stepped over stains and mashed in... I don't know what.

Her little room was an oasis in a dump. The floors were as clean as she could make them. The bed, though neat, looked like it hadn't been slept in. I pushed my hand down on the comforter and a puff of dust erupted into the air. I closed my eyes as a wave of anger descended on me. It'd been at least a week since she'd slept here, which that meant she was sleeping in the woods, on the ground. The drawers to her bureau were opened, the clothes pushed aside like someone had rifled through them. A few coins were visible on the bottom of the drawers, and I realized her mother or that dirtbag, Tim, had taken whatever money Lyric had kept in there.

I heard the roar of an engine and stopped, waiting to see if it was coming down the driveway or continuing along the main road. It kept going.

I went into Lyric's mother's room. It was filthy. Empty bottles littered the floor, and it looked like the sheets hadn't been washed, in... ever. I opened the closet, looking along the tops of shelves. A shoebox on the top caught my attention, especially as it had a flannel shirt half covering it, like someone had tried to wrap the shirt around it. I pulled it down, and squatted on the floor, before taking off the top.

I wasn't surprised by what I found.

Porn mags, an empty bag with a few buds in it, a pipe. I snapped on a rubber glove and took out the items. I sucked in a breath when I saw what was underneath. At first, it looked like folded computer paper, but when I opened it, I had to swallow against the bile that rose up in my throat. Pictures of girls, not much older than Lyric, in various states of undress. It was clear that some of them didn't know the pictures had been taken. It looked like some were shot through windows or doorways, but other ones...

Those girls had empty eyes, emotionless faces. I flipped through the papers faster and faster, dread rising up in my chest.

There they were.

I wanted to throw up.

It was Lyric.

Asleep in bed, one hand curled on her pillow.

Another picture. This one with a hand in the frame, pulling away the comforter.

And a final one, Lyric asleep in a sleeping bag, surrounded by branches and trees.

My heart broke when I thought of our girl. Because she was now. She was ours. Our family. Ours to protect.

She had thought she was safe in the woods, that they hadn't known she was gone. But they knew. Because that hand on the comforter? That wasn't a man's hand.

I pulled my phone out and rang our adviser at the Academy. "Dr. Roberts?" I said when he answered the phone. "This is James McInnish. Where are we in the adoption process? We need to extract our bird."

James McInnish's Report

Subject: Lyric Sorenson

Mother: Stacey Manning

Father: Kevin Sorenson

Present Family Situation: Neglect, Possible abuse, At-Risk for assault.

Subjective Assessment: Lyric is supporting both her mother and herself using babysitting money. She is malnourished, and at risk for exposure as she is sleeping in woods. Mother and mother's boyfriend, Tim Bush, in possession of child pornography. See attached.

Objective Assessment: Past reports by school made to Child Protective Services- reports investigated, never substantiated. Review of school reports show above average IQ, grade point average 3.95, on track for early graduation, as well as completion of college credits. See attached.

Proposal: Adoption into McInnish team. Entrance into Academy if amenable.

Cost/Risk: Lyric is underage; mother must sign away rights or Lyric could be classified runaway or unmanageable delinquent. Team will incur all costs and debts.