It hurts to move. Every time I take a deep breath I have to push on a muscle below my ribs so I am distracted by how much it hurts. He probably broke a few of my ribs kicking me. My face is swollen for sure. I don't know what to do or where to go.
Here's what I do know: I have a bag of chips, he's not coming back anytime soon, and the windows are sealed along with the door. He made sure to lock the door before he left which only made me feel worse. I lift my arm to examine myself for the first time. (I don't want to look.) Most of my skin is purple. There's blood everywhere. I feel nauseous looking at myself and I haven't seen my face yet. I should just accept my fate. Kill myself. Save myself the struggle of starvation and internal bleeding.
I attempt to get myself sat upright. "Ah," I wince. Get out. Get justice. I reach for a chair to pull myself into. I turn myself around and scoot into the bathroom. I shut the door behind me. I look into the mirror. However, what I see is not me. What I see is a disgusting creature. A swollen black eyes. Lips all puffy. Cuts all over my face. It's not me. I close my eyes. Don't cry now.
There's no electricity here. So why is it still bright in here? There's no windows. No skylight. Wait a minute. I hammer on all the walls with my fist. Bam! Bam! Bam! Thud! It's hollow. I rip everything away from that wall and rip off the board that was lazily nailed in. "It's not sealed shut!" I scream. It was a very thin window. It might have been impossible to fit through. But I just barely squeezed through, falling to the hard dirt ground. "Ahhhh," I groan, "fuck." I laid on the ground, taking in the surroundings. There was a gravel road in front of the cabin. I crawled my way to the front of the cabin. I bet if I followed it I could find a main road.
I army crawled my way on this rocky dirt road, skinning my knees until the bled. It been an hour I swear. I'm in too much pain to walk properly but I swear I can hear cars.
Then I saw one driving by.
That's when I knew I was close. I could taste my freedom. And I must say it tastes like happiness. I can hear Eddie and Max screaming, "come home Ellie!" Robin is crying. The group is standing there clapping. They know that I make it. My dad is here too, pushing my knees forward, giving me his last ounce of strength. I know I'm hallucinating, but I can't give up.
I reach asphalt. I sit up to try and wave my hands at the next car that passes. Luckily, one did stop by, and was horrified to see a person on the side of the road all beat up looking. "Please help me, I was kidnapped. Take me to the police station or the hospital, I don't care just please help me." My voice is scratchier than I expected. "Oh dear god," the older woman said. She had two kids in the car, one about 7 or 8 and the other probably 2 year old. Thank god I ran into a woman. "Please get in," she helped me into the passenger side of her car, "do you have anything with you?" "No all I have is this shirt. Please remember where we are! For the police." The woman nods and drives away. "What's you're name? How old are you?" "My name is Ellie Quinn. I am 19 years old. My parents do not live here, but I am living on my own with my friend and her mom." The woman gently touches my hand. "I'm so sorry." "Mom?" The little 8 year old asks. "Yes, Carson?" "What happened to her?" I try an turn and face him. "A boy took me out of my car and locked me in a house. He did bad things. I was stuck there for a while, but I got out! I will be all better soon." The boy is horrified at just the look of me. The two year old won't look at me. I am a disaster. "And that is why I say to never talk to strangers!" The mom turned it into a lesson which I am eternally grateful for because the look on these children's faces will scar me.
I realize I wasn't that far out into the woods. It was actually off of a small (yet hardly used) highway. Down the road from that was Will's old house and the cliff. I know where I am now, and if I could, I would get out of this poor woman's car and walk. I am such a burden to her and her children. But I am so tired. I close my eyes for a moment.
The woman called 911 to notify them that I have been found and she would personally transport me to the hospital. I could hear shouting and cheering through the phone. "They will meet you at the hospital and you can file to press charges or whatever is the next step." She scrutinizes me for a moment as we are stopped at a red light. "Although, your injuries look awful." Blood was seeping through my shirt. My knees were cut up. I think my neck is really bruised. It hurts so much more to talk. I give her a thumbs down. "Is there anyone you need to call? We will be there in a few minutes." I nod. And then I see lights. Police lights. But they are in front, and speeding up. They are escorting us. She hands me her personal phone. I haven't touched one of these in a minute. I dial Max's number and pray she answers.
"Hello?" "Max." I try to say, but my voice breaks. "Ellie? Is that you? You sound awful!" "I'm going to hospital." "Are you okay?" I try to say no but it hurts. I just grunt. "I will see you there Ellie."
And then I pass out cold.
__________________________
it felt weird including a wireless phone because i know it was around in the 80's but wasn't as common.