Longing Years

Part 1

She runs towards the rusted, peeling gates. Stopping in front of the opening to the run-down property, she looks around desperately, hoping for a better option than what she sees. The half open gates silently beckons. Looking over her shoulder, hearing the hollering and jeering that is approaching, she crosses over into the dilapidated site. Scrap metal littered among brambles entangled in bits of discarded hardware. Apart from the broken glass and gaping tins catching moon light, the place is dark and looks presently unoccupied. Scurrying under a bush, she closes her eyes as tears run down her cheek, mixing with sweat and dirt. She covers her mouth with both hands. She can hear the group nearing the gates. 

"Where'd she go?" 

"She came this way. I saw it."

"Come out, come out, wherever you are." Laughing, the young men join together in the taunting chant.

"Think she went in there?"

The group fall silent.

"Jimmy you go."

"No fucking way." Jimmy replies sharply.

"What'd you say?" The exchange is muffled.

She cannot make out what they're saying. There is a loud ringing in her ear. Is it blood pumping in her veins or from when they grabbed her hair and she yanked away hard? She wants to stay very still but it feel like she is making a world of noise; her shivering, heaving breathing is rustling the leaves and rumbling the earth.

She can hear them. They've come in the yard and are stepping around carefully. Her vision is blurred by tears brimming in her eyes as she waits for them to circle closer. She cannot outrun them. The occasional tear leaks down her cheek. Carefully reaching, she grips her fingers around a rock and waits for an opportunity. She's not sure what she'll achieve.

"Ow fuck!" One of them hisses.

"What?"

"I cut my leg. This dump, there's barbed wire just lying about."

"Go slowly. We'll grab her and be out of here."

"Here puss, puss" someone calls "got some sausages for ya." Others laugh.

Creaking sounding from the house broke the laugher. Foot falls from the pitch-black resident casually strolls across the porch, down the steps towards them. All is still and silent. The air hangs heavy as they wait for something to happen. Stories about the man remain fresh in their youthful minds. Though it was several years ago, they were old enough to understand and fill in missing pieces of the tales picked from hushed adult conversations.

Warm liquid snaking down the inner thigh startles a young man and he tries to run but trips on a dulled scrap metal. His pained gasp causes the rest of them to reassess similar escape plans. A sudden flash stuns them and delayed realisation that a photo has been snapped.

"You're trespassing." The man states flatly. "Shoes off, ten laps around the house and you're free to go."

"We're leaving." The leader says, gesturing to the others.

"Or you can find all your details with photos posted online. She's a minor, isn't she? You all have jobs and prospects lined up in the big city."

They stand in silence. "Look, mister, we're sorry. We'll be out of here and stay far away, we promise."

She listens to them beg, argue, negotiate and beg some more. She listens to him pace back to his spot on the porch and sit down.

"You're running out of time. You've got until the sun comes up." He announces unemotionally.