Finding Lilly

Written by D.C. Mitchell

Chapter 2

    Amber's mom pulled up alongside the curb in front of The Mills. "Alright girls, I will be back in a couple of hours to get you. Meet me here, ok?" She looked back at the girls as they both nodded yes and proceeded to get out of the car.

    As Lilly watched Amber's mom drive away, the uneasiness in the pit of her stomach reared its head. "I thought your mom was coming with us."

    "No, she never comes with me. I only told you that so you would come with me because I know how your mom is. Besides she has to pick up my dad from work. Come on we only have a few hours before she comes back. Let's go shopping!" Amber said excitedly as she linked her arm through Lilly's pulling her towards the mall entrance.

    Lilly didn't feel comfortable being lied to but then again hadn't she done the same thing to her sister as well as to her parents? She pushed her thoughts aside, Well, might as well enjoy myself while I am here, she thought as she reluctantly let Amber pull her in her direction.

    "Oh, hold on a sec, can I see your phone?" she asked Amber who handed it over to her without asking why.

Lilly quickly updated her Facebook status, "At The Mills with my BFF!" and then sent a quick private message to Chad letting him know they will be making a stop at Forever 21 and to come find her. She handed the phone back to Amber, adjusted her bag on her arm as she tried to get the butterflies to settle in her stomach.

    "Do you think he will show?" Lilly asked as they casually looked through a rack of dresses.

    Amber shrugged, "Oh look at this one!" she said excitedly as she held up a dress for Lilly to see not really listening to Lilly.

    "I showed my mom that same dress and she said it was too old for me," Lilly said as Amber put the dress back.

    "Well, my mom said I can get whatever I wanted and she would be ok with it as she trusts my decisions. I know why don't we spilt up and pick out a few dresses out since we don't have a whole lot of time. We can meet back at the dressing rooms so I can try them on."

    "Alright, see you in ten minutes. I will take this side of the store and you take that side," Lilly pointed in the opposite direction.

    "Sounds like a plan," Amber replied as she went in her direction.

    Lilly giggled to herself as she thought about Amber's reaction. She knew why Amber wanted a new dress. The Spring Fling Dance was their first high school dance and the first dance Amber would be going to with her supposed boyfriend, Steve. He was all Amber really talked about and Lilly knew she wanted to look her best.

Lilly made her way over to the rack where she had found her dress when she heard someone call her name.

    "Lilly? Lilly Chatsworth?"

    Lilly turned around to see an older man standing behind her.

    "No, I'm sorry," she replied as she stepped away from him.

    She watched him from the corner of her eye as he looked down at something in his hand and then back at her. He turned around and moved in the opposite direction. Lilly let out the breath she wasn't aware she was holding. She continued to look through the rack in front of her when she heard her name again.

    "Lilly?"

    She turned around and saw the same man standing close behind her.

    "No, I'm . . ."

    "Please, this is your picture, is it not?" The man held his phone up for her to see. She looked at it and noticed it was the picture she had sent Chad over Facebook. She looked up at the man and could only imagine she had turned pale. She casually placed the dresses she had hung over her arm on the rack as well as letting her bag fall to the floor under the rack. She turned to move away from the man when he grabbed her arm. She felt something hard placed against the small of her back.

    "Now, don't do anything foolish. I really wouldn't want something to happen to someone as pretty as you. Walk in front of me and be casual, like we know each other. Well, we do sorta know each other however you are clearly not sixteen as you have listed on your Facebook profile."

    "You're Chad . . ." As the realization hit her, Lilly could feel her heart racing as it threatened to burst through her chest. She quickly scanned the store to see if Amber was around. She didn't see her. She then looked for the nearest security camera. What was it her mom had told her to do? Everything her parents had taught her to do in this type of situation seemed to be blocked from her brain. She looked up into the security camera closest to the door and mouthed "Help me," before they exited the store.

    "Why are you doing this?" Lilly asked as they kept walking towards the mall exit. She noticed the security guard standing to the left. She could have kicked herself for thinking it was a good idea to leave her bag behind at the store. This would have been the better place to drop it.

    As if he sensed what she was thinking, Chad moved closer causing the object he had to dig into her back, "Don't even think about it," he hissed close to her ear.

    Lilly wanted to cry not only from the pain in her back but because had she not lied to her parents or Kristy she would be home, safe.

    Chad didn't ease the pressure on the object he was pressing into her back as they continued to walk towards the parking lot. Lilly wanted to scream and run but didn't know what the object was. They passed by many people who did not give them a second glance.

    Chad guided her towards a dark four door sedan and looking about cautiously before opening the trunk to his car.

    "Turn around and put your hands behind your back.

    As Lilly felt a rope being tied around her hands she couldn't help but to start crying.

    "Why are you doing this?"

    "No questions."

    She let out a sob and noticed a couple a few cars away but they were looking in the other direction. She inhaled deeply and was just about to let out a loud scream when Chad placed his hand over her mouth.

    "No screaming either!" He hissed.

    He had finished tying her hands behind her back and looked around before picking Lilly up, putting her in the trunk, and slamming the lid shut but not before putting a piece of duct tape over her mouth.

    Lilly lay in the dark space of the trunk crying. It was hot and stuffy and she could feel sweat starting to build up on her forehead. She tried to wiggle her hands free but the rope was tied too tight. She tried calming herself as she knew she wouldn't be able to help herself if she had an anxiety or asthma attack while being tied up. She had to remain calm enough to think.

    She could hear Chad start the engine of the car and felt the car begin to move. She noticed he hadn't tied her feet together. She braced herself as she felt the car lurch to a stop before it continued to move again. She remembered what her mom had said if either of the girls had found themselves in a situation where they were locked in a trunk of a car. Lilly shifted herself so that her hands could reach the interior close to the opening of the truck. She had to find a way to pull that down to get her boot behind it. She pulled at it frantically. She cried in frustration when she couldn't pull it loose.

    Lilly had just about given up when she shifted her weight and felt her arm scrap against something sharp. She tried blowing her hair out of her face so she could see better but it was no use as it was matted to her forehead due to sweat that now threatened to sting her eyes. She shifted so her hands could move a bit more and tried to find what her arm had scrapped against. Her hand closed around a slender metal rod. She let it slide through her hands until she found the end, it was a crowbar. She hurriedly shifted herself until she was close again to the interior of the truck closest to the taillight. She then shoved the end of the crowbar as hard as she could through the interior. It didn't budge. She readjusted herself and did it again. She could feel the interior starting to give way under the pressure. She tried again until at least she felt it break through. She then used the hooked end to pull the hole wider.

    Just as she was getting ready to shove the end of the crowbar through the hole to the taillight, the car came to a stop. She had lost track of how many times it had stopped, turned or how long they had been driving. She stilled herself and listened. The car didn't turn off which meant they hadn't reached their destination. She then felt the car speed up. She had to act quickly. Lilly rolled over to see the hole she had made. She moved so she could wedge her foot into the hole. With her heel flush with the back of the taillight, she gave it a hard kick. She heard something crack and gave another hard kick but still her foot didn't break through. She started to panic as the car again started to slow down. She frantically gave it two more hard kicks before the heel of her boot broke through.

    Please, dear God, let there be someone behind us, she prayed as a new rush of tears slid down her face. Please, please someone see it. Lilly began to cry harder as with each move she made it caused pain to shoot up her arms as they were still tied behind her back.

    Her leg was starting to ache and she was pulling her foot in when she heard the whine of a siren from a police car. She frantically wiggled her foot back through the hole as she felt the car swerve over and roll to a stop. She heard the officer get out of his car. She tried screaming but all she managed was a sound muffled by the duct tape still over her mouth. Lilly could barely hear the conversation between Chad and the officer over the roar of the passing traffic who was asking something about his taillight. She tried to shift herself so she could stick her hands out of the hole. But by the time she got into place, she could heard the car door to the officer's car close and the sound of its tires on the loose gravel as it drove away.

    She lay still as she heard Chad open his door, the seat squeaking slightly as he got out. It seemed like an eternity before she heard the click of the truck release and the lid fly open, the crisp night air rushing in. She tried to adjust to the glow of the street lights when Chad appeared before her. She shrieked and tried to move away but she had nowhere to go. She kicked at him wildly until he was able to catch both her feet in his hands.

    Without saying a word to her, he tied them tightly together. He glared at her one last time before he slammed the trunk lid shut.

    Lilly began crying again, no one was going to help her now.

Penned on Friday, 10 May 2013