Young Writers Society

"Where are you taking me?" a frightened Hailey demanded the hooded figure as it gripped her arm tightly, hauling her away from the outdoor birthday party that her boyfriend was hosting.

"Don't worry about it," the stranger snapped coldly as he continued dragging her.

Hailey tried yanking her arm away, but the masked man's grip was too strong. She looked back at the party and spotted her boyfriend, Jack, who was laughing and talking with his friends, not aware that his girlfriend was being abducted. "Jack!" she shouted his name as loudly as she could, but he didn't seem to hear her, so she called him again louder. "JACK!"

"Shut up!" the felon shouted at her as he gripped her arm even tighter, causing Hailey to cringe at the pain. "Another peep from you and you're gonna get shot! Got it?"

With tears beginning to stream down her cheeks, Hailey nodded.

As the man reached a black SUV, he opened the passenger door, fiercely shoved Hailey inside, and slammed the door. Hailey's heart began to race as thoughts began to run through her mind. What is he going to do to me? she thought to herself. As soon as the unidentified figure climbed into the vehicle, he turned on the ignition.

"Buckle your seat belt," he ordered.

Hailey did as he ordered. As he drove off, she took one last glance at the party. During the ride, Hailey quietly peered over at her abductor, trying to get a good look at him. She could tell it was a male because of his deep, yet shrill voice and the large, muscular build.

~

Jack couldn't believe that he was finally seventeen. He only had one year left of high school and he was free from all of the drama that it had to offer. Even though he was very popular at his school, he would often be harassed by the jocks. However, he had an outgoing personality. His girlfriend, on the other hand, was invisible to the student body. She always had trouble approaching a group of people and chiming into their conversation. She had a fear that people wouldn't accept her for who she was, so she decided to keep quiet around others.

"Hey, Jack," Jonny, one of his friends, approached him with a plastic, transparent cup filled with Mountain Dew in his hand. "Great party, man."

Jack flashed him a smile. "Thanks, man," he said. Suddenly, a thought struck his mind. Where is Hailey? he asked himself. He then began to scan the park for his girlfriend. Then, he looked at his buddy. "Hey, Jonny, have you seen Hailey anywhere?"

"Nope," Jonny replied as he took a sip of his Mountain Dew. "When was the last time you've seen her?"

"Like about fifteen minutes ago. She told me she was going to the bathroom."

"Oh," Jonny said, taking another swig of his soda. "Maybe she's still in there."

"Dude, who takes that long to use the bathroom?" Jack asked him.

"I don't know. People who have cramps, I guess." Jonny chuckled as he uttered the last part. "Or maybe she went home."

"The party just started an hour ago," Jack reminded him.

"I know, but you know she can be shy and there are like thousands of people here."

"That makes sense," Jack said. "But wait, she wouldn't leave without telling me, right? I'm going to call her to see if she's okay." Jack took out his Samsung Galaxy and dialed Hailey'snumber. After punching in the number, he heard a loud ring from a distance. With his electric blue eyes lighting up, Jack swiftly looked around to see if it was his girlfriend's phone ringing, but Hailey was nowhere to be found. Although, Jack continued looking around until he spotted a flashing phone lying upon the grass. With confusion striking his face, he approached the phone and picked it up. He narrowed his eyebrows as he noticed the screen blinking his name. Could this be Hailey's phone? he wondered to himself. As he examined the phone's bubblegum pink case, he began to recognize the quote that read, "Keep Calm and Carry On". It was her phone! But, what was it doing on the ground? Did she drop it by mistake?

~

The black van pulled up into the driveway of a small, tattered residence. The concealed male stopped the vehicle and climbed out of the car. He opened the passenger door and pulled Hailey forcefully out of the van and dragged her over to the porch. As they stepped inside, the stench of cigarettes and beer combined entered Hailey's nostrils, causing her to cough.

"Cover your mouth, brat!" the man retorted.

Ignoring his brutal remark, Hailey looked around and noticed how filthy the house was. Clothes nearly covered the whole floor and the furniture was stained with alcohol, leaving a rancid stench. 

"Let's go, Hailey," the man said harshly. "You're staying in the basement."

With fear remaining inside of her, confusion swirled inside her body as she realized that the man knew who she was. She wanted so desperately to ask him how he knew her name, but she continued to remain silent.

The man pushed her into a dark room which led them downstairs. As they entered, the man switched on the lights, revealing a tiny basement, which looked much worse than the living room. There were cobwebs nearly covering the walls, more disheveled pieces of clothing lying on the floor, and a lightbulb hanging onto the ceiling. 

The two climbed downstairs, causing a loud creak of the stairs. As they reached the bottom of the staircase, Hailey decided to speak up. "Alright, who are you and why are you doing this?" The fear in her voice began to fade away, being replaced with a hint of anger.

The man glared at her menacingly through the white mask. "That is none of your business!" he barked at her.

The anger inside of her escalated. "Who are you?" she demanded, her voice growing louder.

As his fury increased, the man thrust Hailey to a small wooden chair. As she attempted to get up from the chair, the man pushed her back down.

"Let go!" she cried, trying to squirm from the man's grip. "Let go of me!"

"Shut up!" the man shouted back as he swung a hand against her face, leaving a large, red wound on her cheek. While placing a hand on her face, Hailey's eyes began to flood with more tears.

"Oh, you are so pathetic!" the man taunted her. "Crying over being slapped."

"Please," Hailey sobbed, tears crawling down her face. "Please, please let me go! Please!" 

"Crying ain't gonna do nothin' for you, kid."

"Why?" she bawled. "Why are you doing this? What caused you to do this?"

"Because I couldn't have custody of you," the man admitted.

Hailey looked up at him in confusion with tears still blurring her vision. What did he mean he couldn't have custody of her? Then, Hailey slowly began to recognize the voice. The voice that she had dreaded hearing whenever it reached her eardrums.

"D-Dad?" she stuttered, shocked that the man that has abused her during her childhood and abandoned her and her mother years ago, has come back.

The man removed his mask, revealing a menacing expression on his face. Then, he pulled off the hood, revealing his round, bald head.

Hailey gazed at her father in disbelief. She could not believe who was standing before her. As she stared into those cold, brown eyes, those painful memories began flooding through her mind like a river.