Only Human: Monsters and Men

Chapter 4 Ben Kingston

Change of POV

After Devin and I received the call to head out, we couldn't believe how far out in the boonies it was. It took a good 45 minutes for anyone to actually reach where the cell phone was traced. We were one of the first police to arrive on the scene. At first, we couldn't see anyone in the decaying gas station. I drove the car up close to the building and set it in park.

"What's the plan Ben?" Devin asked.

"The station said that the 911 call was from a total of five girls claiming to have escaped from their kidnappers. We should check the area, but stay on our toes. Who knows where those supposed kidnappers are now?" I thought aloud.

Devin nodded in understanding and stepped out of the car with his gun in hand. I quickly followed suit and examined our surroundings. We heard nothing. Unfortunately, the 911 call was cut short due to poor cell service. We had no clue whether or not the girls were still here in need of assistance, assuming that it wasn't a prank call to begin with.

"Hello?! Is anyone here?! I am Officer McKeith and my partner Officer Kingston! We received a 911 call!" Devin called out. At first there was no reply, but suddenly a few figures peeked out from a hole in the building.

"That was us!" A young woman called from the group. They filed out of the hole one by one, and from this distance we could tell they were four young girls. "We made that call! Please help us!" The group of girls ran our way and we cautiously advanced towards them as well. It wasn't until they got closer that we saw that their hands were handcuffed together and numbers were hung around their necks.

"What madness is this?" Devin asked me, as his face went pale.

"Maybe it's human trafficking?" I offered, but still feeling as sick as Devin. Neither of us have ever dealt with a case so severe before. Once the girls reached us, they were practically jumping in excitement. It was at this moment that more cop cars were arriving on scene.

"You came. You really came," The blue haired girl started to sob.

"We want our Mommy and Daddy." The two twins demanded while tugging at my pants. The only one to stay calm was a young woman who seemed to be the oldest out of all of them.

"All right we have you now. It's going to be okay." Devin reassured leading the twins and the blue-haired teenager to the paramedics that had only arrived a few moments ago. I looked around and then turned to the young woman.

"The 911 call said there were five of you," I explained to her.

The young woman's calm façade shattered as she fell to her knees. She clutched her stomach and shook her head. "You need to help her! Please, I don't know what they'll do to her. She helped us escape, and sacrificed herself for us. She said she'd be okay, but she's new to the market. She doesn't know how relentless and dangerous they really are. If they get a hold of her... I should have stopped her before she drove away but she seemed so confident. I was only thinking of my escape, but she was thinking of everyone else's freedom. She only knew us for maybe a couple hours, yet she laid her life on the line for us... You must help her!" She sobbed and hiccupped. Before I could even try to comprehend what she was trying to tell me she abruptly stood up and gripped my shoulders. "Why are you just standing here!? Go save her! Before she..." The woman's ranting cut off in a pained whisper.

"Save who? Who do you want me to save?" I calmly asked her as I glanced at the paramedics rushing towards the both grieving and rampaging woman. Her eyes widened in panic for a moment, but relaxed into a serious stare.

"June Jackson." She whispered. The paramedics gently pulled the woman off me and led her towards the ambulance, but her eyes never left mine. "You have to save June Jackson."