The Journal

by Lori Meyer

spared it a glance. I could already smell it was rotted past its due.

  Instead, my gaze found the slab of wood I had earlier pried free from the wall, resting beside me on the floor, and I snatched it up.

  Hands firmly grasping the plank of wood, I waited for one of them to get close enough. Just as the bulkier man neared, I leapt to my feet and slammed the board into his temple with every last bit of strength I had. He dropped like a load of bricks.

  Shaking off the shock of my sudden attack on his accomplice, the thinner man then lunged for me. But he was a second too late. I shot off for the open door and ran like the hounds of hell were after me. At that point I would have rather that been the case.

  Dodging low lying branches and desperately trying to avoid any roots jutting from the ground, I dashed through the woods at lightning speed. Adding to the challenge of navigating through unfamiliar woods was the fact that it was well into the night and only a sliver of moonlight trickled in through the overhanging leaves.

  I could hear the man right at my heels, cursing and breathing heavily. I spared him no glance over my shoulder; I couldn’t risk him catching up. I had barely a minute lead.

  God, how much farther till I was out of these woods? Losing momentary concentration, my toe snagged on a root I hadn’t seen until it was too late and I did a face plant into the hard wet ground.

  Releasing a blood curdling scream – one I was positive tore up from my toes – I prayed somebody in the vicinity would hear me because there was no way in hell I was going back to that shed.

  Scrambling to my feet, I slammed into a hard sturdy body. Not another one! I thought there were only two!

  Panic was almost immediately replaced by relief when the huge figure put his arms around me and said, “Lilian, I thought I had lost you like your mom.” Tears were thick in my dad’s strong voice.

  However, our tearful reunion was interrupted when the thin man caught up to where we were standing.

  When I heard the man’s pounding feet stop not much more than two feet from where I stood surrounded in the protective embrace of my father, I half turned. From the security of my dad’s arms, I couldn’t help enjoying the parade of emotions across my pursuer’s face – anger, fear, and defeat all made an appearance.

  One quick glance from my dad gave him all the information he needed. I was gone for several days, my body and clothes were tattered, dirty, and bloodied and I was running from this man at warp speed. No interrogations were necessary.

  “He’ll never hurt you again, Lilian.” Wrapping his left arm around me and hugging me to his chest so he could shield me from the unavoidable event about to unfold, my dad pulled his gun from his holster with his right hand and shot.

  Returning his gun to his holster, he snuggled me closer and let me just feel safe in his arms. After a few minutes, he picked me up, cradled me to his chest, and carried me to his patrol car.

  During the short trip through the woods, I kept thinking to myself that my horrid ordeal was actually over. Even though I was in my father’s arms, it was still so hard to believe. I really wasn’t one hundred percent sure I was going to get away.

  When we got to the car, my dad carefully sat me in the passenger seat, kissed my forehead, and then crawled in behind the wheel. “Was that man the only one who took you?”

  Not quite ready to talk about things, I could only shake my head and put up my pointer finger.

  After nodding to me, my dad pressed the button on his mouthpiece. “Hey Alan, there are two men. One is incapacitated in the woods. I’m not sure where the other one is. Be careful, he could be armed.”

  “Roger that, Josh. I’ll keep you posted.”

  Then he turned his attention back to me. “I won’t ask anything else right now, you need time to deal, but I will have to get the whole story soon.” He started the engine and then shifted into drive. Then he reached over and grasped my hand tightly in his. “And anytime you need to talk about it, unofficially, I’m here. Okay?”

  Once again, I couldn’t speak but just nodded. However, this time the nod was accompanied by a small smile.

  He returned the gesture. “That’s my girl. I’m taking you down to the emergency room but I won’t leave you alone there even for a second. I’ll be with you the entire time.”

  A few tears trickled down my cheeks. “I love you, Dad.” I managed to croak out of a raspy throat.

  “I love you too, Kid.” He gently squeezed my hand.

  The rest of the trip to the local hospital was in silence but I felt so safe and secure with my dad’s hand firmly grasping mine.

  One of the few perks of being the police chief’s daughter was when I required emergency assistance I usually didn’t have to wait very long. That held true this time as well. The fact that I had been missing for several days didn’t hurt my case either.

  Sitting on the exam table waiting for the doctor, I remembered my mom’s journal. I reached into the front of my pants and found it wasn’t there. It must have fallen out when I had stumbled in the woods.

  I turned to my dad, who was right at my side, still holding my hand. “Dad, I found mom’s journal in the shed where I was being held. I took it with me when I escaped but it must have fallen out when I fell. Could you see if the other officers could look around for it? It would mean a lot to me to have it.”

  My dad’s eyes grew to the size of saucers then slowly returned to normal before he was able to respond. He rested his unoccupied hand on my cheek, unshed tears glistening in his eyes. “You found Emmy’s journal? I didn’t know she kept a journal. Are you sure it was hers and not someone else’s?”

  I nodded. “I recognized her writing.” I choked back a sob but a few tears managed to trickle out. “And she mentioned us in it.”

  My dad brushed the tears from my cheek. “Then those men must have taken her too.” His voice grew hard at the end.

  I decided not to delve into anything else about the journal while at the hospital. I would eventually have to tell him everything so justice could be served, but now was not the appropriate time. And I wanted privacy when I told him what else I suspected about the journal. That would have to be ‘off the record’.

  Radio static drew us both out of our thoughts. “Josh, we have the man Lilan knocked unconscious in custody and found the other man in the woods.”

  My dad pressed the button on his mouthpiece. “Thanks, Alan. Hey, could you have the guys take another sweep of the woods there? We’re looking for a small book, a journal.”

  “Sure, Josh. I’ll let you know what we find.”

  Three hours later, I was released from the emergency room. The examination showed I sustained no serious injuries – just some bruised ribs and cuts, scratches, and bruises along my arms and face. I was also severely dehydrated but the three drained IV bags took care of most of that. I needed a huge amount of rest and when my stomach was up to it, some real food.

  On the way home, Alan radioed my dad back. They didn’t find my mom’s journal. It was like it had vanished.

  I may never know what really happened to my mom over a year ago – and maybe it was better that way. But one thing I did know for sure; even though she was no longer around, she still watched over me.

  About the Author

  Lori Meyer is currently busy at work on the second novel in a series about a teenage boy with incredible abilities that are connected to an immense, uncontrollable power hidden away in a cave.

  She hopes to publish the first in that series soon. But for now, you can check out her other short story, also available as an e-book.

  Race To Sate

  Valerie enjoys being a normal teenager. But when changes begin occurring and she discovers what is really going on with her, nothing can prepare her for the mortification. And to make matters worse, the only one who can help her is her dad . . . but he’s no longer in the picture.

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