Arielle
I was there when she was taken. I was only eight. I just didn't realize that it would be the last time that I saw her. They can believe what they want. I witnessed it with my own eyes. Even if they believed me, they wouldn't do anything. After all, why would the police risk confronting the most notorious gang in the city?
Ten years ago, I had a sister. By reputation in our town, Clara was the sweetest girl anyone could ever know. As a straight A student and a cheerleader, she was always busy, but still managed to find time to spend with me. When Clara was sixteen, she met Flynn Conner, a stereotypical bad boy. There were rumours about Flynn, rumours that he hung out with a bad crowd and sold drugs. My sister worked hard to disperse these rumours. Despite her reassurances, our parents were not impressed. Not a month after, they began dating. This was unlike my sister, but objections from my parents fell on deaf ears.
I was young back then, but even I began seeing changes in my sister. Clara began staying out later, and I eventually saw her less and less. She was different. She smiled less and wasn't as talkative anymore. She would have mood swings and snap at everyone. At one point, I even overheard the neighbours saying that she was on drugs. This made me angry. That couldn't be true. Not my sister. Not sweet Clara Reagan.
Some of the only times that I could be alone with her was when she came to pick me up from school. Even then, few words were exchanged between us. On several occasions, I would catch her looking over her shoulder in terror as we walked home. She brushed it off, but deep down, I knew something was very wrong.
One night, Clara came home especially late and she appeared to be very distressed. I tried to stop her, to talk to her, but she barely noticed my presence. She seemed to be deep in her thoughts as she ran upstairs to her room while her boyfriend waited at the door. I should have woken up my parents...but I didn't. Moments later, she ran back downstairs. Before I could say anything to her or even tell her that I loved her, she was gone. That was the last time I ever saw her.
The cops launched a brief investigation, but eventually determined that she was a runaway. My parents had no choice but to give up after months of searching on their own. No one cared about what I saw. Only I knew it was something more than that. I never gave up hope that I would see Clara again. Years later, I knew exactly what had happened.
Flynn Conner sold my sister to a gang.
I am eighteen now. My name is Arielle Reagan and I am willing to do anything to bring my sister back home.