I'm sitting on my bed, replaying the newfound memories inside my head. My heart still races wildly as I try to make some sense of them.
They're from that night. Well, at least the first two. I even saw Chris in the old park. We were hanging out there when they kidnapped us.
I think about the memory fragment I got after that one. There were footsteps, but there was also the sound of water nearby. I remember there's an old cottage not too far from the river, and it's been abandoned for years. It could be a perfect place to leave two teenagers, considering how isolated it is. That must be the place.
I'm not sure if they're still keeping him there, but it's the only clue I have so far, so I have to get there somehow and investigate. However, I know how dangerous this is, which means I cannot do it alone. My best bet is to sneak out of the house and go to the police station to find someone who could help me.
But first, I need to go downstairs and see what Jasmine is doing. If I'm going to run away, I need to make sure to buy myself some time and keep her away from my bedroom for a while.
I spot her in the living room, watching TV on the couch.
"Elainne, is that you?" she asks when she hears my footsteps approaching.
"Yeah, I came down to grab some water," I reply with the first excuse that comes to my mind. "Where's dad? Is he not back yet?"
"No, he called in and said he'll be staying later, they got a delivery today so he has some extra work in the storage." She gives a quick glance to the clock on the wall. "Although, he should probably be back soon."
"Oh, okay. My head hurts a little, so I'm just gonna drink some water and then go to bed earlier. I'll probably be asleep when he comes back."
I see her expression changing from relaxed to worried in a second. "Are the headaches starting again?" She turns around to look at me with her arms crossed over her chest, so I try to put on my best tired expression.
"I don't think so, I'll probably be fine after I get some sleep." I reply.
"Alright then, make sure to get some rest. Good night!" she says as I walk out of the room. Since I have an excuse to own up to, I go to the kitchen and pour myself some water, then go upstairs when I gulp it down.
I waste no time in changing my previous clothesfor some more comfortable sweatpants and a hoodie to help me sneak around and run easier. Then I grab as many shirts and pants as I can, dumping them all on the bed. It's a bit difficult, but I shape them in a humanoid lump. It won't be able to deceive anyone for too long, but it might buy me some time if Jasmine comes to check on me later. I cover the lump with the blanket, hoping for the best.
When that trick is done, I open the window and look down. The height is huge, and I'd probably get hurt if I fell, but I know I've done this numerous times before. I take a deep breath, and then carefully swing one leg outside, then the other. I tightly grip the window ledge as I turn my body around, trying to find a footing in the facade. When I find it, I slowly start making my way down.
When I'm a few feet away from the ground, I assess it's safe enough for me to jump, so I do that, hoping that the sound wasn't loud enough to alert Jasmine. I tiptoe around the house and sneak through my own backyard, until I'm on the street. As soon as I get out of the reach of the house, I run.
As I make my way towards the police station, I remember the dream from a few days ago. Please don't let them appear there somehow, please, please...
Fortunately, there's no sign of them when I run in, only people in uniforms roaming around the hallway.
I drag my feet to the reception desk. "I need to talk to someone," I say, but my voice is barely audible, hoarse from all the running.
"Elainne?" a voice asks behind me. I turn around, only to see the man I came here for.
"You!" I breathe out. "I recognize you. You were in the hospital." I'm aware that's not a proper way to speak to a policeman, especially one that's so much older than me, but my mind is incapable of saying anything else.
Luckily for me, he sees how exhausted I am, and only nods politely. "Officer Marsh. What brings you here, Elainne?"
"I know where Chris is," I blurt out, not even waiting for him to take me somewhere more private. "Or, well, at least where we used to be. You need to come with me."
"Are you sure? Where is it?" I notice a few pairs of eyes staring at us intently, noticing the change in inspector's attitude.
"Near the river. There's that old cottage. You probably know about it. That's the place."
"Do your parents know about this?" he asks, and I let out a bitter laugh.
"Of course they do!" I'm not sure what's so funny, but I laugh again, driven by a sudden wave of exhaustion. "They're the ones who put us there."
The confusion on his face is almost too visible, but before he says anything, I tell him what really happened when we were kidnapped.
"Look, Elainne," he begins after hearing my story, putting his hand on my shoulder in a fatherly gesture. "This is a very complicated case, and we've kept in touch with your doctors. They said that delusions are a possibility with your condition. We've all seen how worried your parents were while you were gone. I doubt that what you're saying is the truth."
His words are like a punch to the gut. "B-b-but i-it's true!" I stutter. "You have to come with me!"
But he ignores my pleads. "Are any of your parents home?"
"No," I reply coldly, "there's no one there."
"Oh, is that so?" he asks with a tint of mockery in his voice, and I realize that he's not buying into my lie. "Well, I'm gonna go and call your home number just in case to see if anyone's gonna pick up. Wait for me here." He takes a step back, and just as he's about to turn around and leave me here, I grab his sleeve.
"I know what happened to me! I remember it," I cry out in an attempt to convince him, but he only gently pushes my hand away.
"Elainne, look, I'm not saying you're doing this on purpose, but your mind can't discern the truth right now. Just calm down and wait for me here, I'll be right back," he says as he walks away, not sparing me a second glance. Damn it.
He's going to call her. She'll realize I escaped, and she'll come here to get me. And everything will be over.
No. I can't let that happen. I didn't come all this way for nothing. I just need a plan to run away again before she arrives.
Two policemen stand at the door, their gazes locked on me from the distance, so I suppose that going back through the main entrance is not an option. I head further in until I'm out of their sight, and sit down on one of the waiting chairs in another hallway.
"Excuse me," I stop one of the policemen passing by while clutching my stomach. He looks only a few years older than me, and the name tag on his uniform tells me his name is Officer Jones. "Could you show me the way to the bathroom?"
"Sure thing, Miss, follow me," he agrees immediately, and I silently thank my luck for his gullibility as I get up and follow his lead. "You're Elainne, right? The girl who was kidnapped?"
"Yeah," I confirm reluctantly. I can only hope that he wasn't anywhere nearby while I was talking to Officer Marsh a few minutes ago.
"Oh, nice. I mean, not nice, obviously, but, you know," he says awkwardly, as if I'm supposed to know what that means. "My grandpa is actually the one who found you in the woods and took you to the hospital." There's a moment of silence between us as I take my time to process what he says. "I'm sorry if that sounds a bit out of the blue," he apologizes instantly. "He likes hunting, so he frequents the area often, that's how he found you."
Hearing his words, I realize that I truly never knew anything about the person who found me and saved my life. All I was told was that it was a man, and that's about it. By the time I woke up in the hospital, the police already interrogated him, and he was free to go afterwards. "No, no, don't worry about it. Please thank him for me. I owe him a lot."
"I will." He nods solemnly. "So, what brings you here?" he asks.
I let out a fake sigh and try to play innocent. "Oh, I thought I remembered some useful information for the investigation and I wanted to tell Officer Marsh about it, but he doesn't think it's that valuable, so now I'm just waiting for my parents to come here and take me back home."
The young officer frowns upon hearing my words. "It's a bummer that your intel was a dead end. But don't worry, it may not look like it, but we're still working on the case, so hopefully we'll have some progress soon." Before I have the chance to thank him for the reassurement, he stops in front of a door with a toilet sign on it. "Alright, we're here. This is a staff bathroom, so if anyone asks you why you're there, tell them Officer Jones brought you here. You're not a convict, so it's not a big deal, and let me tell you, this bathroom is a lot cleaner than the other one we have."
I giggle at his words, even though they're exactly what I was hoping to hear. "Got it. Thanks a lot. Don't forget to say thanks to your grandpa for me!"
"Will do. See you around!" He waves as he leaves me behind and continues his route, so I waste no time in slipping through the door. .
When I get inside, the bathroom seems empty. I peek over the stall dividers until I spot what I need. I knock on the stall door, but there's no answer, so I push the door open and lock myself inside. Then turn around, looking at the window above me.
It's not that large, but I think I could squeeze through it with some effort. What's even better is that I don't see any bars on the outside.
I climb onto the lavatory lid that slightly bends under the pressure, and twist the handle, letting the chilly night air greet me. I look at the concrete not too far below me, bracing myself for another window escape. Seriously, if I have to crawl out of another window tonight, I won't even bother landing on my feet.
I push myself up, leaving the hardest part of work to my arms. First my head peaks out of the window, and I breathe a little sigh of relief when I see no one around. I push my feet against the wall for support as I try to squeeze my torso—the hardest part of my window escapade—through the window.
It takes a lot of wriggling, but inch by inch, I only have to swing my legs over the windowsill and jump down. I underestimate how hard it is to do that final step in such a narrow place, but I succeed after some struggle, and finally plummet down to the ground. I thank all the weight I've lost after the kidnapping as I roll over the concrete. Luckily for me, there's no one outside. When I get back to my feet, I take a few seconds to figure out the right direction, and then I flee.
If they don't want to follow me willingly, I'll make them follow me.
The cottage is even further from the police station than my house is, and I was already exhausted enough, so I start losing my breath after just a little bit of running. By the time I get to the river, I'm completely breathless, so I take a few minutes to calm down and regain my breath.
I jog forward, and the cottage soon comes into my field of vision. Slowly approach it, inspecting the area at the same time.
There's no sign of other people; no cars, no noise, no visible footprints. I approach the cottage carefully, and open the old, rusty door. It creaks as it moves in its hinges, the sound of it sending the shivers through my entire body.
I step inside, but don't get too far when I feel something. A touch of cold metal against the back of my head.
"Hello, Elainne."
***
Hey guys! So, I know I fell behind with updating the past few days. But don't worry, since I missed 2 days in a row, we're getting a double update now (chapters 12 & 13), tomorrow (14 & 15), AND on Sunday (epilogue & author's note). Hang on tight, we're so close to the end <3