Moments of Reckoning Read online

  Chapter 12

  Jason

  Many hours passed as the three of us sat in my living room going over what all happened that night. Putting the stories together we all knew we played a part in what happened to Hannah and it hurt each one of us to admit it.

  “Why the hell did we all put so much trust into letting Hannah wander off alone without making sure she ended up with one of us…?” Xavier asked as Abby and I both shrugged our shoulders.

  He was right, we all made the mistake of letting Hannah wander off alone thinking one of us was right around the corner where she was headed. I wanted to punch myself in the fucking face, but there was no point in it. I probably wouldn’t feel much of the pain anyway, since my emotions were numb now.

  “All right you two…Let’s go get something to eat. We have been sitting here for hours and hours going over any and everything we can think of. My brain needs a short break and my belly needs some nutrition. No offense, Jason, but you need to go to the grocery.” Abby complained as she rummages through the cabinets in my kitchen.

  Agreeing on the short break, we headed down to a local joint right off the bypass. Hannah and I used to come here on occasions. The aroma of barbeque and beer engulfed my senses, causing my stomach to call out in hunger. I used to never, and I mean NEVER, miss a meal. Sometimes I found myself forgetting to eat altogether during the day now. The stress of Hannah’s whereabouts and the thought of the condition she is in, weighs heavy on me. My mind keeps picturing her chained up in some whack job’s basement. No matter how hard I tried to push away the images, they always seem to come back. They were now even flooding my dreams at night. Her screaming for help as no one responds. I shook myself back to reality we were seated in a booth towards the middle of the place.

  “Is this the first time you have been out this week, Jason?” Abby asked.

  “Not exactly…why, is something wrong?”

  “You seem a little jumpy in public is all...” She responded.

  “It’s hard going to places I’ve been to with Hannah before. Like this place, all I see is her smiling back at me, like the last time she did when we were here. Staying home is the only way to keep the demons at bay.”

  That awkward silence, that seems to hang around, fell over us again. Way to ruin a mood. I thought to myself as the waitress walked up. She was a short, very skinny girl around sixteen or seventeen if I had to guess. She was chomping her gum as she eye fucked Xavier and I. Definitely Daddy issues…

  “What would you all like to drink?” she winked at Xavier without looking Abby’s way.

  We all ordered draft beer and a water. Maybe the slow buzz from the beer will ease this madness inside me. I could tell Abby was getting aggravated because the girl wouldn’t even look her way, even when she told her what type of drink she wanted.

  “I will be right back with your drinks.” The waitress smiled, and then paused. “Wait…Are you three the friends that were with Hannah Davis that night? I don’t mean to poke and prod but that is just so heartbreaking. I pray they find her—I can’t even imagine how you all feel because you were there with her that night. Didn’t they question you all—”

  Before I could tell the waitress to mind her own fucking business Abby grabbed a hold of her arm sternly and cut her off mind sentence, “Thank you for your sympathy but we are rather thirsty and would like our drinks now, please.” Abby finished her sentence with a bitchy smile that put the waitress in her place.

  “Co—coming right up.” The waitress looked shocked as she turned and headed towards the bar.

  “I am so sick of people harassing us about that night. Don’t they think if we knew something—anything—about where Hannah was or what happened to her that we would have helped the police find her by now!? People are so fucking nosey…” Xavier barked out as he slammed a fist down on the table.

  “Honestly…I think she just wanted a reason to talk to you, Xavier.” Abby laughed coldly.

  “Babe…are you jealous?” Xavier joked as he pulled her into a side hug.

  “Oh shut up and kiss me…”

  As bad as it sounds, I couldn’t sit there and watch them kiss, because all I could picture was Hannah and that night at Silhouettes. Clearing my throat, I told them I would be right back and stepped out the back doors of the restaurant onto their patio. I needed some fresh air but I wasn’t sure how much the fresh air would help. My mind was driving me crazy and nothing seemed to help bring me back to sanity. The Davis’ suggested that I enroll into therapy but I wasn’t having all of that. What would talking to some stranger for forty-five minutes do and I wouldn’t feel right having Elliot Davis as my therapist. I just wanted Hannah to be back home and safe. Leaning my arms against the railing I looked out across the ocean. The sound of the waves crashing against the land was soothing. I’m not sure how long I stood there staring out at the ocean but Xavier had joined me quietly.

  “You know…I never thought I would be where I am in life right now. Everything was fine—a little over a week ago and now my world has been shattered—completely turned upside-down. I hardly sleep, but when I do Hannah haunts my dreams. I’m not eating right anymore, because my mind is stuck on finding her. Who the fuck would take her? Why haven’t they tried to contact anyone regarding a ransom? No calls or letters scares the fuck out of me man. Like the police say…If there was some sort of contact they would believe there was a greater chance that she is still alive. She has to be alive…”

  “She’s a fighter bro…She’s alive and we will find her. Now come back inside and drink your beer, I also ordered you some wings.” Xavier patted me on the back as I turned and walked back inside with him.

  ∙∞∙

  About an hour later we found ourselves heading down the interstate towards Mission Beach. It wasn’t very far from the strip where Silhouettes is located, so we thought maybe—just maybe—we would find some trace of Hannah. We had to start somewhere and this beach was as good as anywhere else.

  The lack of evidence has made Hannah’s case extremely difficult for the San Diego Police Department. The only evidence that was recovered in the alley was her shattered phone along with one bloody shoe, which was what we found ourselves. The canine unit was called in to thoroughly search the surrounding area, but nothing else was recovered. The amount of blood on the sandal was low, this made everyone very hopeful. The fact that the sandal was thrown into the dumpster meant they had time to cover their tracks, which isn’t good. This led the police to believe that she had to have been unconscious or knew her attacker. The fact that she possibly knew her attacker made me automatically jump back to pointing the blame at Landon. The feeling I got about him being guilty was something I couldn’t get out from beneath my skin. He was one of the last people to see her, the person who happened to find the sandal, and he had no emotion to the blood when he found it. Hell, even I broke down at the sight of the blood. Anyone in their right mind would, especially if they knew the person it belonged to.

  The slamming of the truck door brought me back to reality. I was still sitting in the front seat as Xavier and Abby made their way across the parking lot to the beach. I overheard Abby telling Xavier to let me be, that I would come down to the beach when I was ready. Abby is definitely going to be good for Xavier. She is just what he needs to calm him down and I am thankful they found each other—even through all this madness. The dreaded phone call from Alex had never come. Even though we weren’t all that close, due to the fact that he was never around, I still felt bad for how things ended between him and Abby. It was pretty shitty on her part, but what can you do? Nobody had heard from Alex since the escapade at the bar that night, but I chalked it up to him being back to work wherever his company had sent him this time. But the lack of communication from him regarding Hannah’s disappearance was strange. He was pretty close to Hannah for a few years; I even believe she was the one who introduced Abby to him. But I could be wrong.

  The sun was blazing today so I slid my Ray-Ban
s on and made my way down to the beach. Xavier and Abby were sitting in the sand patiently waiting for me. Xavier stood and dusted himself off when he saw me approaching. He extended his hand to Abby as she appreciatively took it and then helped her to her feet.

  “So what’s the plan?” I asked.

  “Abby and I thought maybe we could scan the area closer to Belmont Park.” Xavier suggested.

  “That’s fine with me,” I replied as we headed towards Belmont Park.

  Chapter 13

  Hannah

  “MOM!!! HE BROKE MY SCOOTER!! CRASHED IT RIGHT INTO THE ROCK WALL DOWN THE HILL—THE FRONT WHEEL IS BROKEN NOW!!” The eight year old-version of me screamed and cried at my mother.

  “Hannah dear…Calm down. You know he is different than your other friends. He doesn’t mean to break your things.”

  “YES, HE DOES! HE IS A JERK! I HATE HIM!” I yelled as I rubbed my eyes with my fists.

  “Don’t let me hear you say that again little lady! We can get you a new scooter—just calm down.” My mother responded sternly as she placed her soothing hands on my shoulders before taking me into an embrace. “Little boys tend to be mean to girls if they like them. He probably didn’t mean to break your scooter sweetie.” She spoke softly as she kissed the top of my head.

  “He likes me?! Eeewwwww…” I made a spitting noise.

  “Someday silly girl—you will understand. Now go get changed and we will go pick you out a new scooter.”

  Chapter 14

  Hannah

  It was unbelievably dark when I woke and the silence in the warehouse was almost too eerie. I rolled onto my side on the mattress and glanced around the best I could. He must still have been gone and I had no idea how long I was out of it. Pushing off the mattress to sit up I noticed another plate of food along with a foam cup sitting on the metal table that was bolted to the floor beside me. Fear ran through my veins. Was he back and hiding in the shadows or had he left again? I didn’t move for a few minutes as I scanned around the empty warehouse. No one was in here with me. The aroma of the food made my stomach growl. Man, I’m starving… My legs felt like rubber as I tried to stand but I forced them to move me closer to the table. This time the plate was lined with green beans, turkey shavings, and stuffing. At least he is feeding me good. I took the plate back over to the mattress and sat it down so I could retrieve my drink this time. I was hoping for some kind of carbonated drink, but I was let down when I realized it was water—yet again. Taking a seat on the mattress, I opened the plastic silverware package he gave me this time and began to dig in. It was delicious.

  Picking up the few stray green beans I dropped on the floor an idea flooded my mind. Glancing back and forth between the green beans in my hand and the cage I decided to go for it. Throwing a bean at the chain link door—I missed. “Dammit…” I cursed under my breath. I stood up and moved closer to the chain link door. I didn’t want to get too close for fear of the shock reaching me. I threw the second green bean, which hit the door and nothing happened. Could the electric current actually be off?! My adrenaline began pumping through my veins at the thought of it. Moving closer and closer to the chain link wall that was between me and my freedom, I listened for the low hum of electricity flowing through it. Nothing…Silence was all I heard. Maybe he didn’t keep the current flowing or maybe something happened to cause it to go out. Either way I was going to try my best to get the hell out of here.

  Terror shook through me as I was face-to-face with the chain link wall. I still heard no sound coming from it so I had a good feeling about this. I reached out and barely touched it, then pulled my hand back swiftly. Nothing—no pain. I was okay. A smile began to spread across my face as I grabbed a hold of the cage door. It was locked—with a padlock. “Just lovely…” I cried out as I slid down the cage door until I was sitting on the cold concrete floor with my legs out in front of me. “Think, Hannah! THINK!” I lightly smacked myself in the forehead numerous times. I spun around on the floor until I was facing the chain link door again and I kicked the hell out of it. The bottom of the door connecting to the frame of it slightly bent out. Right then I knew if I kept kicking it hard enough I might be able to bend the chain link back off the frame enough for me to squeeze through. The only problem with this escape route was the fact that I was barefoot. But that didn’t stop me. Scooting closer to the door I reared back and put every ounce of anger into thrusting my legs against the door. A dozen thrusts later, the chain link flapped against the frame of the door. I was shaking with adrenaline as my feet ached in pain. Flipping onto my knees I crawled up to the door frame and began pushing with my hands. The opening wasn’t very big but it looked almost big enough for me to squeeze through.

  My heart was knocking so rapidly within my chest I thought it was going to explode. Time was of the essence at this point, so taking a moment to calm down wasn’t an option. I held up the chain link with my right hand as I balanced my left arm on the floor outside the cage. I pushed my head through and turned around so I was facing the outside of the fence, as I slowly started pulling my legs through. The material of the pants he had put on me snagged on the gate, I was officially stuck hanging halfway out of the opening.

  The bottom of the chain link was bluntly cut off and it was digging into my leg where I was attached to it by the material of my pants. Continually pulling at my leg for release, blood started seeping down it as pain shot up my shin. “No…No…No…” I whined as I pulled again until I heard the material rip. My legs then pulled through the opening. Falling back onto the cold floor I let out a sigh of happiness. But the moment was soon fleeting as I leaned forward to inspect my leg. The blood was coming rather fast, even though the cut didn’t look too awful. Grabbing the torn material on my pants I ripped a piece off to tie around the wound. The blood slowed after the material was in place. Getting to my feet I looked around frantically for a weapon. Not seeing anything right away I remembered the table on the side of the cage that was lined with syringes, different size knives, along with other items. Running around to the side of the cage I saw the table in the darkness. Almost falling onto the table I began feeling around on it…Nothing—it was empty!

  “FUCK….FUCK NO…! Where are the syringes and knives…?” I was frantically pawing around the table and the floor. Holding onto the table for support, I felt around on the floor again—for something—anything, and then I saw the counter. A few feet away, above the small refrigerator was a counter covered with a sheet. I just knew something good had to be hidden under it. I sprinted over to the counter, ripped the sheet from it and found a couple knives thrown recklessly across it. Grabbing a good-sized knife, I kissed the blade and silently sent up a thankful prayer.

  The rumble of a vehicle pulling up made me scream. I saw the headlights peeking through a far window and knew I had to act fast. I clasped my hands down on my mouth to try and hold back the sobs that were on the verge of breaking through. “Shit! Oh my god…Oh god!” running up to the side of the cage I pushed the knife and my hand through the chain link. Tossing it as hard as I could, it slid right up against the wall and slightly under the mattress. My mind was racing, my heart was banging against my chest, and I was frozen to the floor in-between the cage and the table. I had to hide—but I was sure he would find me. The engine stopped as the headlights disappeared—I knew I was in big trouble.

  My mind kept yelling at me to run but I couldn’t move. It was like my brain wasn’t sending the right signals for my body to actually work. Not to mention that my leg was back to pouring blood from the wound and my feet were aching beyond belief. The sound of a key wiggling into the outside lock had me terrified. I didn’t know what to do—or where to run to—but I knew I had to do something. I ran towards the door that was opening and threw myself up against it. The man on the other side cursed in confusion as he forced himself through the door, causing me to smack the floor with great force.

  “Son of a bitch…” he growled as he picked me up and threw me over h
is shoulder.

  My mind was swimming in a daze and my eyes were out of focus again. The way my head hit the floor probably caused a concussion. I felt myself going in and out of consciousness as he carried me across the warehouse. I was helpless at this point and I knew that nothing good was to come of this failed attempt to escape.

  “My…my, what have you done, Hannah?” The anger in his voice was strained. “You were so peacefully sleeping when I came back; I thought you would be okay here all alone without the threat of being shocked—but NO! You had to go and pull this shit…trying to escape… don’t you want to stay with me, Hannah?”

  “I haven’t even seen your face…I don’t know who you are…” my voice came out in a whisper.

  “You know me, Hannah…” He ran his hand up the back of my leg until he was almost grabbing my butt as I lay limp over his shoulder.

  Walking over to the table I watched him grab a syringe full of liquid and then we turned and headed back towards the cage. “That door is going to need some fixing,” he barked out as he slammed the cage door shut behind us. I was dying to see his face—my kidnapper. He knew who I was, but I couldn’t quite grasp his voice and why it was so familiar. His hand started riding up my leg again, coming to a stop about hands length away from my knee. I felt the sting of the syringe as it pierced through my skin. I tried fighting him off to no avail as my vision began to falter. My mind was going under before I could register anything as he began to lean me forward. Placing me on the mattress, I knew I was about to see his face for the first time. I fought to keep my eyes open, the bright glare from the spotlight made a halo around him as I felt the mattress secure my weight. Everything was becoming a haze as his face started coming into focus.