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Grade
12

In the Dark

I heard my heart pounding, the engine running, the tires gripping the pavement. The smell of gas and dirt filled the room. I felt my head throbbing, my eyes burning, my stomach aching. I knew nothing about what was going on. I remembered nothing. The last thing I remember was that I was heading to the store to get frosting for my sugar cookies and that was it. I opened my eyes only to find darkness. I felt a cold, hard, piece of metal pressed against my back. I reached out my hand above me to find a wall. I reached to the side of me, only to find walls. I was in a trunk. I knew we were moving, I heard the cars passing by us, the tires gripping the pavement as we drove along. Why was I here? Who is doing this to me? I reached my hand to the back of my head and felt the blood oozing from my head. I had no idea what had happened, but I knew it wasn’t good. I reached around the trunk to try to find a way to escape. I grabbed the shovel and started hitting the walls as hard as I could, but quickly lost my energy. I searched around with my hands to try to find an escape tab that newer car models had. I didn’t know where the door was as my eyes had not adjusted to the darkness. I searched and searched and finally hit something. I grabbed onto it and started pulling as hard as I could and finally the door opened. There was light! My eyes couldn’t adjust fast enough. I started waving my hands, screaming for help. The car behind us suddenly got closer and closer, but then cut around us as fast as they could. I kept screaming, tears sliding down my face, but then found it hard to breath. I kept swallowing the wind every time I tried to open my mouth and could no longer get words out. I kept waving my arms, hoping someone would be able to see me. I made eye contact with a middle aged lady and screamed and screamed for help. I saw her eyes grow wide and her hand reach towards her bag, but then suddenly it went dark again.

*****

Rising from his bed, 16 year old Connor Kyle arose from his slumber on a cold winter morning. The snow was falling from the sky, then covering the ground like a blanket. He instantly got up, brushed his teeth, and headed downstairs to get some breakfast.  He went to the fridge, grabbed some milk, then made his way toward the cabinet to grab some Lucky Charms. Shortly after making his breakfast he heard a car door slam outside his house. He walked toward his front door quietly, hid behind the curtain on the window, and slowly peeked his head toward the window. As he turned his head, he saw a grey 2006 Ford fusion running in front of his house. He saw no one in or near the car, and thought nothing of it. He has never seen it before. He went back to the kitchen and turned on the TV. The first channel that popped up was the local news. Connor grew worried as the reporter started talking about a serial killer on the loose and that had escaped using a grey 2006 Ford fusion and could be heading towards the Bookie River where many citizens keep kayaks and canoes. Connor realized that his back yard held the Bookie River and he had kept his canoe outside, even during the winter. He made his way toward the back window and looked down to the dock, but his canoe was still there. Since his canoe was still there, he shrugged off the situation and carried on with his day. His parents wouldn’t be home for at least 6 more hours and he had the whole day to himself. Rather than starting on his homework, he invited his friends over to keep him company throughout the day. Connor warned his friends about the car and said he had no idea where it came from, who it belonged to, or why it was in his lawn. His friends arrived and came inside to join him in playing Call of Duty: Black Ops, on his PlayStation. Suddenly they heard a car door slam outside. They all ran to the front door to find the car, still running, still no one to be found, and still in the same spot. He decided to go out and look around the car to see if he could find any identification to see who the car belonged to. He looked inside the car only to find a spotless empty car. Nothing was in the backseat, and nothing was in the front except a receipt for some beef jerky. He then went behind the vehicle to find that the tail lights had been busted and the trunk was left slightly open. He opened the trunk to find me passed out with a bleeding head. Spooked, he then yelled to his friends that were hiding behind the front door of the house. They all ran out to meet Connor.

“Dude what is this?!?!?” Asked one boy

“Bro please tell me you didn’t do this.” Said another.

“No of course I didn’t! You saw me the whole time!” He responded.

“But we don’t know what you did before we got here,” stated the first boy, “you could’ve invited us over to clean up your mess!”

“I would never! I’ve never seen her before! I don’t even have my license!” Connor shot back.

The boys sat in silence, waiting for someone to suggest something. Finally Connor opened his mouth,

“Let’s just call the cops. I can tell them everything and my mom even has a front door camera so they might be able to watch it and find the guy that did this. Plus she will be able to get some medical attention.”

The boys all nodded in agreement. Two boys went inside to call the police, and Connor and the last boy stayed with the girl.

“Hey Chris!” Called Connor.

“Yeah?” He responded.

“Ask them what we should do with her!” He called back.

“Okay!”

Connor waited anxiously for Chris to give him some instructions. As they waited the girl began to wake up.

“WHO ARE YOU? WHERE AM I? WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?” I screamed. I grabbed the shovel behind me and began waving it around, ready to attack the boys.

“Woah woah calm down calm down!” The boy shouted.

“We didn’t do this to you! You were just left in this car in front of my house and we found you! The cops are on their way.” Stated Connor.

I paused, looked around me and dropped my shovel on the pavement.

“Oh. Sorry. It’s been a long day. I’m crystal.” I responded.

Chris and the other boy ran out of the house with instructions. Now that I was awake they had to change these instructions based off of my condition. The boys went and got mea blanket and some water and started asking what me what I knew.

The cops and ambulance arrived. The police began questioning the boys and I got the medical attention she needed. The police then went inside and searched the tapes that Connor said his mom had. While they were searching I was taken to the hospital and the cops began to split up and search the car and the backyard for any trace of the criminal. The police watched the tapes and saw the man that left the car. They began to freeze the frame and once they did Connor’s face dropped in shock.

“That’s- that’s my… dad.” Connor said.

He began to fall to the floor and began sobbing.

*****

At the hospital I was taken to the emergency room to get a CAT scan and stitches. I was still so confused. I had no idea who had done this to me or why they did this. I was taken to a hospital room and told that I would be kept there overnight just to be safe. Several minutes later, a woman walked into my room with tears in her eyes. I recognized her but I didn’t know how. She began talking and explaining something from years back. It all sounded like gibberish until she looked at me and said:

“I’m your mom.”

None of this made sense. I didn’t know how she found me. I was never adopted from the orphanage but I also never knew she was my legal guardian. The doctor came in and began to explain.

“Due to the situation the police requested that we take a DNA sample to find any family you may have and Christen Kyle popped up, and well, here we are.”

It still made no sense. Why did they give me up?

*****

Connor later received a call from his mother and found out that I, Crystal Kyle, was his long lost sister that his father had kept hidden from the family. His father escaped to the river and knew that Connor would call the cops about the car in front of the house. Connor’s mother went to the hospital to get me and later bring her home. Connor’s friends comforted him and began to ask the police to take him to the hospital to be with his family. His father was being tracked down through credit card purchases and would later be put into a federal prison. Connor’s world had turned upside down and he too was as lost as I was. We still had no idea why our father would do this to bring us back together. It made no sense. Suddenly Christen’s phone began to ring. Her face dropped.

“It’s It’s- Your father.”