Trust

Every girl screamed, every girl fought, and every girl cried. Their families starving themselves, crying on the news, and searching each and every night. Little did they know all their baby girls are hours away. Charlotte, Isabella, Scarlett, Imani, and Aliyah didn’t see this coming. They were just having fun at the lake. They go there every year for Charlotte and Scarlett’s birthday. Would it be different if there were people at the lake this year?

It’s been a year of shivering cold nights, night terrors, and traumatic flash backs. This old barn that they have been in, in the middle of nowhere. It smells like manure and dried blood mixed together. All the girls were laughing until they heard Dr. Baker’s truck pull up in the grass. He came in the room singing happy birthday to Charlotte and Scarlett. As he runs his fingers through their hair he says, “I hope you guys enjoy this chocolate cake I brought just for the two of you.” You can tell by their faces that they won’t be laughing anymore that day. “What do you say girls?” Dr. Baker says in his raspy voice.

Charlotte and Scarlett were in the middle of saying thank you but the light kept flickering and his son cut them off by saying “Dad if I’m being honest, I don’t know how to fix the lights.” Dr. Baker thought he had locked the door to come downstairs of the barn. His son Kyle noticed the girls from the news and he was confused as why they were here. A whole bunch of scenarios were running through his head and all of them he wouldn’t think his father would do. He started to think of the nights his father came in late, the mornings where he didn’t make it to breakfast, and the bruises on his body. His dad was trying to avoid eye contact and didn’t say anything to him about the lights. Everyone was sitting in complete silence for about three minutes. “Hey dad can you help me get something from the truck?”

“Sure son,” Dr. Baker says back.

Honestly Kyle didn’t have anything he needed to get out of the truck, I mean just a water bottle but nothing he needed help with. The first thing he says to his dad when they get outside is “Those girls are from the news, why are they here?”

“Stop asking questions son.”

” I’m so serious dad, why are they in our barn?”

“Now what did you need help getting?”

Kyle knew his dad wasn’t going to give him the answers he wanted so he had the idea to go ask them himself. “Nothing its fine.”

“I’m pretty sure you know this has to stay between us, right?”

In a convincing but sarcastic way Kyle says, “Of course dad.”

“Stay here, I’m going to grab a few things, then we can head home.”

Dr. Baker heads back inside to check if all the door and windows are locked.

He usually goes to the barn everyday but if he doesn’t, he will leave enough sandwiches to last them until he returns. Kyle still can’t wrap his head around the fact that his dad is an abductor. It all makes sense to him now, the way his father is pushing himself way from his mother. Days went by and not once have they talked about what Kyle seen. He doesn’t know how his dad acts like everything is normal. Acting like he doesn’t have five girls locked in our barn.

One day while his dad is out running errands, he decides to bring the girls a piece offering and see what they are willing to tell him. He also brought blankets because it can get cold in the barn at night. When he gets inside the barn there are only four girls sleeping. He lays the blanket on top of them and turns to noticed someone staring at him. Imani has a wooden plank in her hand ready to swing but Kyle stops her. “I’m here to help.” Kyle says.

“How do I know; you could be just like your dad.” Imani tried to say that in the loudest but quietest way.

“No, I just found out that he was crazy. Is there anything you can tell me? I want to help you guys out.”

“Like I said I don’t know you. You’re wasting your time. “

“See I brought you guys some blankets I know it gets cold down here.”

Imani looks surprised because they haven’t gotten any special treatment in a long time. Seeing someone actually care made her emotional, but she was rethinking because if he actually cared he could just open the door and let them out.

“Thank you for the blankets but the best way for you to help us would be for you to let us out.”

He looks at her while trying to gather the courage to tell her it’s not that easy. They both then hear Dr. Baker truck come to a stop as his breaks screech. As the other girls start to wake Kyle begins to panic. Not knowing what lie to tell he secretly yells at the girls to pretend they are sleep. He then opens the door before his dad could and he says “dad, I didn’t know you were coming here tonight.”

Dr. Baker grabs him by his neck and smacks him. “Kyle, what are you doing here?

“Its not what it looks like dad.”

“Come on son, I’m not stupid.”

“No dad I swear, I just brought them blankets. You know how cold it gets a night.”

“Who said they needed blankets?”

“Dad I promise, I’m just trying to help. You know people could die from not producing enough body heat.

Kyle didn’t know that the door wasn’t closed all the way and the girls heard what he said. He had to go along with it because the day Kyle seen the girls his dad told him that could be him if the girls end up missing from the barn or he tells. Imani gets upsent because she possibly thought she found someone who cared. She gathers the girls and tries to convince them to run away while they can. Isabella had seen a tiny bag in the corner and tried to stuff all the sandwiches they had left. Suddenly Imani seen Kyle through the crack in the door and he signaled them to come through. Imani disregards what he said a little while ago to his dad and she tells her friends to hurry and make a run for it. Kyle grabs a piece of wood lying near by and charges at his dad beats him until he bleeds out. The girls continue to run but they had no exact plan or destination but filled with fear and adrenalin.​

Kyle did not know why he had a change of heart but in that moment, he knew that was the right thing to do. There was not much to hear on the road only the sounds of the girls crying. Kyle gets in his car and drives up to them and tells them to get in. They are skeptical if they should trust him regarding on what he said to his dad. Aliyah without saying anything opens the door and pushes all of them in the car and she gets in the front seat looking at the blood on the steering wheel. They all look at each other and ask the same question “Is he dead?”