Puzzle Pieces

Chapter Two

"I don’t know his name, but he’s in the other room," the little girl cried. “I just want to go home. Please help me go home.”

"It's okay. You'll be okay," I said, reaching for her. She lowered her head, causing more of her dark hair to fall over her shoulders. “I’ll get you out of here.”

I looked around the darkness of the room again, trying to find something, anything, that could help with the boards across the window. I tried yanking them free, but they wouldn’t budge. The dirty hardwood floor creaked lightly beneath me even as I stood on my tiptoes. I looked back at the light surrounding the door. It’s the only way out.

"I'll be right back," I whispered to the little girl in the corner. She shook her head and her eyes widened even more, but didn't say anything or try to stop me.

My heart raced as I reached the door. Slowly, I lifted a shaky hand to the doorknob. From the cold or nervousness I couldn’t tell, but I took deep, quiet, breaths to try and calm myself. I put my face against the doorframe and slowly peeked out through the small opening of the cracked door. It was a small hallway with a lantern sitting on some dirty scratched floorboards near the corner of the hall. A closed door was directly across from this room. Is that where the music is coming from? Didn’t seem likely, as the music wasn’t muffled or loud enough.

The dancing flame of the lantern was almost ominous. It wasn't just this room that was dirty and rundown. Spider webs hung all around the ceiling. My skin crawled and I wanted to retreat, but where? There is no escape from this room. I took a deep breath and gently pulled the door open. Wrong move! It creaked loudly and the music stopped.

“Hey!” A man’s voice called as loud food steps made their way towards the hall. I quickly closed the door, but something prevented the door from closing all the way. I scrambled to find a place to hide, but my foot hit something, causing me to fly to the floor. I turned over and scooted back as much as I could, bumping into the dirty floor mattress.

The door flew open and I froze. His narrowed eyes looked around the room. My heart beat in my ears and I tried to sink into the wall.

"What do you think you're doing?!" he demanded to know, charging towards me.

He reached for me, grabbed me by the hair, and began to drag me out of the room. I kicked and screamed, scanning the room for the little girl. I begged her on the inside to help me. I looked at the dark corner and the little girl is no longer there. Where did she go? How could she just leave me? I was trying to help her! I tried digging my fingernails into his hands to free myself, but it didn’t faze him. Instead, I cried out as parts of the scratched up floor dug into my back.

He pulled me through a room with a bunch of locks on a door. The room was empty. More boards crossed along windows with shredded cloth hanging open over them. He pulled me to a small mattress on the floor and handcuffed me to a pipe. A small radio sat on a small table in the corner. He took heavy breaths on my face with his hand still tangled in my hair. Dark strands flew over my face.

Wait…what? I glanced down as his hand made its way out of my hair and down my shoulder. I gasped. My Hello Kitty pajamas were now replaced with wrinkled, dirty, purple unicorn pajamas. My bare feet and hands were dirty. My golden straight hair had been replaced with a dark tangled mess. He stood up and went back to the radio, clicking it on and filling the air with Mozart.

“No, no, no, no, no,” I said as tears pooled in my eyes. My hands shook as I grabbed at the dark strands of hair on my chest. Was I the girl in the corner of the dark, dirty room?

“You’re hurting my feelings,” the man said, kneeling in front of me with a sideways smile. A dog’s deep voice barked uncontrollably somewhere outside. Like he was tied up outside and was trying to get away. "You keep trying to get away after I already told you it’s not going to work. You’re mine now, Katrina.”

Katrina? No! My name is not Katrina! It's Annabel. Annabel James!

"Please. I just want to go home!" I cried, pulling at the handcuffs. The cry didn’t belong to me. It was too small a voice. I didn’t see the smack until it connected with my face, bringing fresh tears to my eyes.

“This is your home, Katrina!”

“P-Please…”

“That’s it! You want to get punished!? Now you’re going to get punished!” He said, undoing the belt from his pants.

"No! Please don't!" I said in a voice that wasn't my own.

The man didn't stop. Instead, he freed his belt from his pants.

“No! Stop!” I called, putting my hands out and backing against the wall. He grabbed me and turned me, forcing me to lay on my stomach. I closed my eyes and cried harder. A searing pain spread across my bottom as a loud smack! sounded.

I jumped up in my own bed. My heart raced as my body shook. I sat up and switched on the lamp that sat on the night stand. I was in my own room. I wore my Hello Kitty pajamas. With my fingers I grabbed my gold locks of hair. “It was just a dream,” I said, taking deep breaths.

I laid my head back against the white headboard. That was different. I crumbled the cupcake paper and promised myself I would never eat chocolate before bed again. The alarm clock in front of the lamp read three-thirty-three. I still had a few hours before school, I should try to get some more sleep. I laid down and hugged my pillow tightly to myself. For a few moments I looked around my dark room. It felt so real. I shook my head trying to get the dream off my mind. After a few toss and turns, I was able to drift off to a nice, peaceful, but dreamless sleep.

The alarm went off at six-thirty and I struggled to get out of bed. Oh, how I wish I was homeschooled so that I could sleep in. After my morning routine, I went downstairs and served myself a bowl of cereal. "Good morning Anna, how did you sleep?" my mom asked as I came into the kitchen.

"Not too great. I had a nightmare," I said with a yawn. I still couldn’t shake the dream, but when I thought about it, small chills made their way down my spine.

"Really? What kind of nightmare?" mom asked with her attention on the coffee pot. She poured freshly made coffee into her thermos. I hopped on top of the counter and began eating my cereal.

"Anna is a nightmare," Noah said, coming into the kitchen.

"Your face is a nightmare," I said, swinging my foot towards him, aiming to kick him. He hit my foot out of the way, grabbing the box of cereal and milk and taking them to the table.

“Both of you are my nightmare,” mom said with a growl. “Anyway, nightmare Annabel?”

"It was about this little girl and a man. When I tried to leave this old, ugly, room, he caught me and it was like I was the little girl. I don't know, it's kind of hard to explain."

"Sounds like you have a vivid imagination," my mom said, taking a drink of her coffee.

"Or she's just a psycho," Noah said with a shrug.

"Noah, enough already! Stop fighting with your sister. Anyway, you guys need to hurry. I don't want you guys to be late for school. I'll see you after work, though I’ll probably be late," Mom said, giving us each a kiss. She picked up her briefcase and thermos, grabbed her keys, then walked out of the kitchen.

"Think you can give me a ride to school?" I asked Noah before drinking the remainder of milk in my bowl.

"We are going to the same school, but maybe I should make you walk since you tried to kick me and mom yelled at me."

"You called me a nightmare and a psycho! Should I have said 'Yes Noah. You are right. When I look into the mirror, I see a psychotic nightmare’"? I asked before rolling my eyes.

"Sarcasm and eye rolling? Good way to get in my car," he replied, equally sarcastic. Man! Was he really going to make me walk? I jumped off the counter and put my bowl in the sink before walking out of the kitchen.

Once inside my room, I went to my closet and grabbed my favorite sweater. It's a long black knitted cardigan I got from my dad two years ago, before he passed away. After I put it on, I grabbed my book bag from the floor and cell phone from the nightstand. I tucked it into the back pocket of my jeans as I walked downstairs. When I got downstairs, there was no sign of Noah.

"Noah! We're going to be late!" I called, putting my books on the table. Nothing. "Noah?!" I called again. I looked at the key holder and saw that his keys were gone. WHAT A JERK! That jerk really did leave me! I stomped out of the house, making sure to lock the door behind me.

I wrapped the cardigan tighter around my chest to warm me from the fresh air before walking down the street in the direction of the school. Thank you for leaving me, Noah! Now I was really going to be late. Awesome! Detention here I come!

About halfway to school, just as I was about to cross the street, a woman's voice caught my attention. "Katrina, hurry or you'll be late for school," the woman's voice called. I instantly froze. Did she just say? Suddenly, the air around me changed. My body tensed while all the hair on my body stood up. I slowly turned in the direction I heard the voice coming from. My heart thumped and raced while I watched a woman with short, dark, curly hair stand by a minivan in front of an open garage door. She had her hands on her hips waiting impatiently. I could almost see her foot tapping in impatience.

My mouth grew dry and tears formed in my eyes, but I couldn’t blink. I stared at the white door to the two-story blue house. My legs turned to jell-o as a young girl with dark wavy hair stepped onto the porch closing the door behind her. Although the clothing was different, she was the same girl from my nightmare.