Amber Alert (Amber Alert Series Book 1)

by Sara Schoen

  "We're ready to go," someone said through the door.

  "Thank you. Now, Anna, don't speak, don't say anything, just go. There will be guards around the safe house, and I will see you tomorrow."

  "Do you know where I'm going?" I asked as we walked toward the front door of the building.

  "No, sorry. Only five people know where you are going. This safe house idea wasn't mine, it was made from above me," he said as he waved me out the door into another police officer's protective arms.

  "I'm down to a matter of minutes so I hope this works," I stated to Officer Wright as I walked down the stairs.

  "I do too. I really do too,” I heard Officer Wright say just as I slammed the door shut behind me. It took an hour to get to the safe house because we took the long route in hopes of throwing off whoever may be following us. The last rays of lights were snuffed out as the officers took their positions around the house. There was one officer with me, but talking with him was like talking to a wall.

  "May I take a shower?" I asked, ending the silence between us for a moment. All the officer did was nod as an answer before returning to his position. The house had a square layout to allow for easy access into all the rooms, there were two ways in and out of the room. I went from the living room to the bedroom, through the bathroom and finally into the kitchen. I glanced into the living room from the second entrance to the kitchen, and the officer was still standing there. I wanted to be sure that it was only the officer and me in the house before I took a shower.

  I turned on the water and got in. I took a long shower, drowning out everything as the water ran down my body to clean the fresh mud and dirt off of me. Memories washed away from my mind for the moment, leaving me to remember the times with Garrett.

  After about ten months of being in the house with him, he admitted to having feelings for me and I could say I felt the same. I could feel the tingle on my lips just by remembering his soft gentle kiss or the way he wrapped his arms around me into a hug. He was my hope, my light and I couldn't wait to see him again. Then it took another two months for us to escape, and soon we would be together again.

  The water turned cold, breaking me from my recollection. I stepped out and grabbed a towel to shroud myself from the cold. That's when the sound of something crashing to the floor caught my attention. I gripped my towel tighter as I quietly opened the door to the kitchen and glanced in.

  I saw the officer on the floor with a pool of blood surrounding him, the blood slowly expanded around the body itself. I shut the door quietly again, and then froze as I heard another sound come from the bedroom. I slowly walked toward the other door and opened it slowly. From the small slit I allowed myself to open the door I could see candles lighting the room, I could smell perfume and see flower petals lying on the bed. Then I saw Steve—he had found me and killed the officer to get to me.

  "This will be the last time I allow myself to do this. She can't live much longer, she's too much trouble. It's a pity really; we could have had a wonderful life if you had just accepted it, Anna," Steve said, turning toward the door and taking quick steps toward me.

  I slammed the door and locked it as fast as I could. Steve started laughing as he pounded on the door trying to open it. Fear sprinted through me; I was stuck. I had nowhere to go and I didn't know where the other officers were. Why weren't they in here? Had Steve already killed them?

  "You can't hide from me forever. I'll find you! You have nowhere to run!" He laughed as he attempted to break the door down. Without a second thought, I took off running out the other bathroom door. I raced through the kitchen, past the dead officer, and I squeezed through the tight hallway that led out the back of the house.

  Chapter 29

  The sun was starting to rise, making the pain in my legs and chest a very harsh reality. I had run almost all night, with only a few breaks to ease the tension that was growing in my chest. I knew I had to keep running, but it was getting harder to breath with every step. I had no idea where I was going, only that I was running away from Steve. There were no paths, so I spent a lot of time and energy climbing over fallen trees and in between thorn bushes. The maniacal laughter from behind me was all the motivation I needed.

  I could hear voices coming from around me. The brush started to diminish as I hit a dirt path, worn down by years of someone coming back and forth. I felt slightly relieved, running would at least be easier now, I thought as Steve caught up to me.

  "Anna, when are you going to learn that I've been doing this for a while? I'm in good enough shape to catch up and toy with you while I wait for you to collapse with exhaustion."

  "I'm not going to let you catch me," I yelled in the general direction of Steve's voice as I took off again.

  “You can’t prevent the inevitable, Anna!”

  The voices got louder, but I was too afraid to stop. I was afraid I would turn around and see his gray eyes, and then I would be trapped. I would be claimed as his one last time, filling the last few moments of my life with pain before he killed me.

  It made me wonder what would become of Garrett if I was caught. Would Steve go back to the hospital to get him, or would he leave Garrett alone since he had me? There was no doubt in my mind that he would go right back to taking girls and this time there would be no one there to help them. Garrett wouldn't go back, he swore he'd kill himself before he went back if he ever got out.

  It had to end here and now. There had been too many girls affected by this, it wasn't fair to them or their families. Their families never had any clue what happened to them, and they needed to. They needed to see what certain individuals were capable of doing, but they also needed it for closure. I couldn't let those girls be labeled as runaways and missing. Someone needed to be told, which meant I needed to live.

  "Anna! Oh, Anna! I think it's time we went home. We have to check on our son and daughter," I heard Steve call from behind me.

  I stiffened at how close his voice sounded. As quickly as I could, I hid behind a tree as footsteps raced past me. If he hadn’t spoken I would have been captured and under his control again. Why hadn't I been paying more attention?

  When I didn't answer he continued to call for me.

  "We can go home and enjoy alone time together. I have a few new ideas for what to do. I think you'll like them, we can enjoy each other just like our honeymoon."

  I turned and ran in the opposite direction. I didn't even look back when I saw two runners coming my way, a man and a woman, to see if Steve was following me. Both looked exhausted, but when I popped out in front of them they stopped for a few moments. I sighed in relief as they took tentative steps toward me on the converging paths before they ran faster toward me.

  "You're that girl!" the man yelled.

  "Anna! Anna Cowles! Do you remember us, we live in your neighborhood?" the woman said as she gave me a once over to look for injuries or scars.

  "We have to get out of here! He's behind me!" I yelled in panic, trying to pull the woman along with me.

  "Who's behind you, Anna?" the lady asked me.

  "Steve! He's behind us!"

  "Who's that? I've never heard of him," she asked, giving me a look of disbelief. She didn’t believe me that there was a man following me. I thought James had told me my whole town was looking for me, but this didn't make any sense. Did they all think I had run away or something? Why else would I be breathing so hard from running in the woods all night?

  "We have to go to the police station! The hospital! Anywhere but here!" I yelled in frustration, raking my fingers through my wildly matted hair.

  "We have to get you home. Your parents have been worried sick!" The man took my hand and started walking me down the path. I didn't recognize the people, but they sounded familiar, like a voice from my past.

  I wobbled with them as they walked me down the path. I felt as if I had aged drastically from my captivity, both mentally and physically. As we walked down a hill I saw the three dirt paths combine and then take a fo
rk on the road. At the intersection of all three paths is where Andy had asked me to be his girlfriend, and where I had said yes.

  I let one tear fall for my fallen friend, but I had little emotion to show for him. He was gone, just like I was, and the only person I felt any connection to anymore was Garrett. From him it expanded to Jessi then to James, the few that saved me. Would I be able to feel anything for my family after this? I glanced up just in time from my reverie to see a tall figure running out of sight. His hair was a dark curly brown, with a bald spot just on top of his head. His reminded me of someone I knew.

  "Dad? Dad! Dad!" I called, breaking from the man's hand and running toward my dad.

  "Anna, wait!" I heard the man yell after me.

  I ran down the dirt path, ignoring the couple behind me as they called for me to come back. I followed the man up the hill and out of the park. I was just about to touch him when I heard a blood-curdling scream from behind me. I turned around to see the woman running toward me with fear chiseled across her face. There was a significant air current created as she ran past me, leaving me there staring at the man that had once been attempting to help me.

  He was lying on the ground with a knife in his back, his position contorted. He was lying as if he was thrown sideways, like he had leapt in front of his wife to save her life. I looked up to see Steve slinking from the body and coming toward me. I was frozen with fear as he continued to advance. I couldn't get my body to cooperate with me, I needed to run, but couldn't.

  "Tsk, tsk, tsk, Anna, Anna, Anna. Did you really think those people would do you any good? Have you learned nothing? It's a pity, really. Do you have any idea what a wonderful life we could have had?”

  I started to walk backwards, away from him, but he followed and continued to talk to me as we got closer out of the woods. Steve would kill anyone that got in his way—that much was clear. How many people would I put in danger if I left this park? Was it worth risking my life over?

  “That wouldn’t have happened. I was faking the whole time!”

  “Don’t say that, Anna! Don’t say that!”

  “I just did! By the way, that honeymoon was horrible!” I spat, knowing it would hurt him.

  “Don’t say that, Anna!”

  “What are you going to about it?” I yelled angrily, unsure of what I was trying to accomplish. I was ready for this all to be over, maybe this was the only way to do that.

  "You were the one, Anna, but if you think I'll let you go and tell people what happened, you're sadly mistaken," Steve stated, pulling a gun to my head.

  "No, Mr. Bennett, I'm afraid you’re the one that's mistaken," a voice stated from behind me as a gunshot went off.

  Chapter 30

  The shot made me jump, and I turned to look at the officer standing behind me with his gun in the air. The pistol was smoking from the recent shot into the air. The sound must have alerted his back-up because soon we were surrounded by officers and patrons that had come to assist in any way possible.

  "Put the gun down, Mr. Bennett. You're surrounded; let this end peacefully," the officer commanded, as he took hold of my shoulder and pushed me behind him for protection.

  "Fine, I can see that I'm beaten. I surrender," Steve stated nonchalantly. I glanced around the officer to see that Steve was holding his hands in the air as two other officers put him on the ground. A smile curved onto my lips as I heard the handcuffs click into place.

  "Anna! Anna!" I heard a voice calling from the woods. I attempted to glance around the officer again, but he put me behind him again and leveled his gun.

  "Don't move!" the officer stated authoritatively.

  "I'm not here to hurt anyone! I'm here to find Anna. Is Anna okay? I heard a gunshot!" the voice asked, his words dripping with worry.

  "Garrett?" I hadn't heard his voice in so long. I glanced around the officer again to see Garrett standing on the edge of the trees, taking tentative steps toward my voice. "Garrett!" I stated excitedly, as I ran around the officer and toward Garrett.

  "Anna, it's good to see you again," he said, as I closed the distance between us and he lifted me into a hug. He felt better than I remembered. The second I touched him all my fears vanished and only he and I were left. I missed him so much, I hadn't even realized how much he meant to me until I touched him again. I heard him groan as he put me back on the ground, a loud crack echoed in my ears and his grip loosened slightly.

  "Are you okay?" I asked.

  "Let's just say I'm not really healed and I should still be in the hospital," he stated with a soft chuckle.

  "Garrett..." I started to reprimand, but stopped when I felt a hand come down on my shoulder. I turned to see the same officer that protected me earlier standing behind me. His nametag flashed in my eyes to show that his name was Weston, Officer Weston.

  "Anna, this isn't the place to do this. Plus, I have a few people that have been waiting for you to come home," he stated to me, then turned to the officers and citizens behind him. "We can call off the search! Anna Cowles has returned home and her captor has been captured."

  A loud roaring cheer echoed off the trees around us as everyone let out an excited scream. I felt one of the few genuine smiles that I've had over the past few months stretch across my face as I watched them cheer. Garrett took hold of my hand as we followed Officer Weston out of the woods. We were escorted to a police cruiser and for the first time I wasn't worried about the police working with Steve.

  After all of this, I would never be able to look at police officers the same way. It had been their job to protect me, to keep me safe, but look what happened. I was torn; I couldn't truly blame them. I had been alone at the park, but what about the other parents? Maybe they knew Steve meant business and that's why they didn't step in, but then why did one dad choose to step in? Did he see something the others didn't? I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time; it could have been anyone. I shook my head lightly to get rid of those hopeful thoughts; it couldn't have been anyone else. He had been watching me, he had been waiting for me. He would have just found another way to kidnap me later.

  I saved at least one other girl by escaping and having him caught. No other girl would have to suffer now; they were safe. I knew I wouldn't be able to live a normal life because I couldn't pretend that this didn't happen to me; although, I took solace in knowing that one life was spared torture by my actions.

  The cruiser pulled in front of the police station as I felt Garrett lightly squeezed me hand.

  "Are you ready, Anna?" Garrett asked as he stepped out of the car and took my hand again. "If you aren't, tell me and we can wait outside for a while, until you're ready," he said, giving me a soft kiss on the cheek as a form of comfort.

  "I should do it now or I'll chicken out," I said honestly, as I looked at the looming building. He nodded and led me up the steps.

  As we walked up the stairs to the police station doors, I noticed that each step was difficult for him. He tried to hide the pain that it caused him, but it didn't work. His movements gave him away as he limped slightly and his hand covered his ribs. I could hear him groan with each few steps and his breathing quickened far too soon for such little effort it should take to climb stairs.

  "Are you sure you're okay? Maybe you should go back to the hospital," I suggested as I looked around for an officer to take him back.

  "No, I'm fine. I'd rather be here with you. This is important, and I'll be here in case you need someone," he said, offering a gentle smile and a quick kiss on my forehead.

  He opened the door for me against my opposition and let me go in front of him. I glanced around the police station and couldn't believe what I was seeing. There were posters of me everywhere asking where I was and if anyone had seen me. They were plastered to the wall, all over tables and desks of the officers, and filling up the recycling bins as they started to throw them out. Found posters were being printed off the big printer near the door; my face was everywhere.

  Another loud cheer
came into my ears as I came into view of all the people in the station. Garrett came from behind me and took my hand again as we were told to follow one of the officers. The throng of police officers and citizens slowly parted to make way for us. Creating a single path through them to the opposite side of the station. That's when I heard a loud screech that hurt my ears because of the sudden high pitch. The officer in front of us stepped into the side crowd to make way for my frantic mother to wrap me in a hug.

  "I've missed you so much! We never gave up! We didn't know what was going on in other stations though. We didn't know they found you until James Sparks called us personally!" she stated loudly as she squeezed me into a hug.

  "Mom, please let go. This hurts!" I said as the air slowly left my body.

  "Sorry," she apologized sweetly as she set me down.

  Kendall was on me the second my mother let go, my father came next, his hug wasn't as tight as Mom's, but it was still solid, and it wasn't as careful as Kendall's. I could tell that they had been worried and never gave up the fight to find me. It was all in their touch, my mom's was strong but tired, and Dad's was strong and relaxed. They had missed me and were exhausted from a year of searching. When he let me go, he offered a gentle smile to Garrett when he saw that Garrett's hand hadn't left mine during the exchange. It was as if he respected Garrett for his determination to be with me, even though pain was evident on his face from his beatings.

  "Did you say that James called you?" I asked curiously.

  "Yeah, Kendall had answered. They’re actually with a lovely little girl named-"

  "Mommy! Daddy!" a familiar voice cut in before my mom could finish speaking. Garrett and I turned around to see Jessi running toward us with a big smile on her face. I hadn't seen her smile so genuinely since she heard we were having mac and cheese for dinner back at Steve's.

  "Hey, little one!" Garrett said excitedly, kneeling down to hug Jessi when she came up to him.