Mary

Prologue

Mary, it's time to come inside now; come on," Mary's mother, Morgan, called out to her.

"Yes, mummy," responded Mary, running back towards their family home, a midsize ranch outside the town.

Its old metal roof sweltering from the constantly scorching sun. She ran toward her mother, the gravel crushing beneath her feet. Morgan steps inside, waiting for her daughter to enter, when she hears Mary scream, "Mummy, help!" and the screeching tires of a black van as it speeds off. Despite the dust cloud concealing the van's escape, Morgan struggles to run after it, her eyes stinging from the dirt. Her husband, who had just finished working in their shed, ran out to see the noise. Running closer he saw Morgan lying on their gravel driveway. Instantly realising the screaming was coming from his own wife. Interrupting whatever peace remained in their home.

"Honey, who was that? Where is Mary?" he asked in a panicked and shaky tone.

Without a response Morgan became unresponsive her eyes turning glassy and empty. His desperate attempts to shake his dear wife, amounting to nothing. The world around them continued even though their hearts had stopped. So focused Hank was caught off guard as his wife's body began to violently jerk. His knees grazed from the gravel driveway. Overwhelmed he grabbed his phone while holding his wife with the other. Entering the police's number it rang, with a voice appearing seconds later.

"What is the nature of your emergency? " asked the operator.

"Our daughter was snatched... right from our front yard in a black van; please help!", he begged as the operator wrote down what he said.

Did you see a license plate, sir? Or catch any faces?" they asked.

"No, we couldn't get anything," Hank exclaimed, breaking down in tears.

A unit will be sent to your address and we will stop any cars near the address", replied the operator, to their relief. Thankful of a quick response Morgan became stable enough, with the help of her husband to walk back to their expansive porch.

"Hank, it's... it was all my fault," Morgan said as she continued crying.

Listen, you are not to blame... Only the people who took our daughter are to blame," Hank replied, trying to calm her down. Nervously waiting, holding onto hope that still remained. Both thankful their wait didn't last long as sirens crept closer and closer. Pulling up beside the worried couple, a tall man stepped out.

"...Are you Mrs. Morgan and Mr. Green?" He asked, walking closer.

"Yes, that's us," replied Morgan sniffly.

"Please call me Jeff, Could you explain what happened?" he said nicely.

As Jeff found a seat, the field of tall grass began dancing gracefully. The gentle breeze sweeping across the land behind them. Across their large patio sat deck chairs, toys that Mary loved to play with, and plants that hung from the roof.

"From the porch, I watched her play on the edge of the field. I wanted her inside after 30 minutes, so I called for her and started walking inside," Morgan recalled as she recounted the story.

"Did you see the van drive down your driveway?" asked Jeff.

"No. I was inside, and Hank was in the shed working on building a tractor", she said, beginning to calm down and stop crying. Officer Jeff nodded as she spoke, writing it on his notepad.

"I see. Do you know who would be interested in doing this?" He replied.

"No, there were no enemies against Mary or us; neither of us had enemies," Hank said, shaking his head.

"Dispatch... the car matches the description, so we're chasing them down," added another officer as they carefully listened.

"We've pulled them over; we're nearing them now," they said.

"Baby, did they find my Mary?" she asked as a breif glimmer of hope presented itself.

The officer instructed the driver to step out after receiving the warrant to search the vehicle for possible victims. Some clothing items were discovered inside without evidence of Mary or her struggle. Hank and Morgan's hearts dropped as they heard, "Negative over, nothing.".

Jeff comforted them, "I'm sorry to hear this, but we'll do our best to find her.".

Thanks, keep us up to date," he said as he got back into his police car and drove away.

"Baby, let's go for a hot cup of coffee," Hank said.

As they go inside, she replies, "Thank you.".

Mary's parents never heard any good news, leads, or witnesses in the months. The black van they pulled over only an hour after being reported after closer inspection did not match the description leading to a dead end. The community was appalled by these individuals' disgusting acts sending tributes and condolences. As Hank stopped working on the farm's tractor, Morgan couldn't bear to enter Mary's room as the pain would be overwhelming. As the chances of finding her alive shrank, the residents of Bearside, a small town without a history of such occurrences, began to lose hope. In the end, police sent squads into local forests and found no evidence after expanding the search area to a neighbouring town. As a result, they accepted that she might never be found alive or dead. Both are constantly inside their home, unable to face the outside world or the people who took their only daughter. Despite his best efforts, with limited information Jeff's luck quickly diminished.

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Did this leave you with many questions? Did you feel the suspense and want to know what happens next? Leave a comment saying how the prologue made you feel!

I hope you enjoy Mary's many twists and turns and ups and downs!

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